caption death_date religion children birth_place death_place image_size nationality ethnicity name birth_date known_for spouse image article_title birth_name occupation
photograph of tessie wall april 1932 -lrb- aged 62 -rrb- roman catholic one son san francisco , california san francisco , california 200px american irish tessie wall may 1869 proprietor of brothels in san francisco mr. wall frank daroux tessie wall.png tessie wall
 teresa susan donohue madam
tessie wall

teresa susan donohue -lrb- may 1869 -- april 1932 -rrb- , better known as tessie wall was an american madam who owned and operated brothels in san francisco , california from 1898 to 1917 .
she was married to gambler and political boss frank daroux , whom she attempted to kill in 1917 as he sought to divorce her .
in the 1920s she was the unofficial `` queen '' of the annual policeman 's balls that were held at the civic auditorium .
she was the most successful madam in san francisco in the early 20th-century .
