Famous Coloradoans of the 1800s

Susan “Doc Susie” Anderson

1870-1960

One of the first female doctors in Colorado

Rode her horse to get to patients in remote mining and logging areas

Saved many lives during the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918-19.

Casamira Barela 1847-1920

Colorado state senator for 37 years

Helped write Colorado State Constitution

Businessman

James Beckworth 1798-1866

African-American mountain man and fur trader

Led early expeditions of the Rocky Mountains

Lived with the Crow Indians for many years

William Bent 1809-1869

Built Bent’s Fort along the Santa Fe Trail

Married to a Cheyenne, he helped build good relationships between whites and Indians

Isabella Bird 1831-1904

World traveler and author

3,000 mile horseback trip on “Birdie” along the Front Range

One of the first women to climb Long’s Peak in 1873.

Black Kettle 1803-1868

Cheyenne chief

A great peacemaker between the Indians and white settlers

Survived Sand Creek Massacre

“Aunt” Clara Brown 1803-1885

Nicknamed “Angel of the Rockies”

Freed slave

Businesswoman

Worked hard to bring black people out of enslavement and poverty

Margaret “Molly” Brown

1867-1932

Worked for women’s suffrage

Gave generously to poor

Survived sinking of The Titanic

William Byers 1831-1905

First newspaper in Denver, the Rocky Mountain News

Businessman

Kit Carson

1809-1868

Mountain man, trapper

Guide for early pioneers and explorers

Chipeta 1843-1924

Ute tribe

She and her husband, Chief Ouray, were peacemakers

Traveled to Washington DC in attempts to negotiate better relations between whites and Indians

Buffalo Bill Cody 1846-1917

Rode for the pony express

Army scout

Wild West showman

Mary Elitch 1865-1936

Businesswoman

Opened Elitch Zoological Gardens in 1890, only zoo west of Chicago

Later added roller coaster and other amusement rides

Elizabeth Ensely 1848-1915

African-American who worked for civil rights for blacks

Fought for women’s suffrage (Colorado was the 2nd state to allow women for vote in 1893)

Justina Ford 1871-1952

Denver’s 1st female African-American doctor

She treated anyone who needed medical care regardless of their race, citizenship, or ability to pay

John Gregory 1820-1865

Discovered first lode gold in Colorado in 1859.

Emily Griffith 1868-1947

Teacher

Founded Emily Griffith Opportunity School

Believed education could lift people out of poverty

Helped poor with food and money

Frances Jacobs 1843-1892

“Mother of Charities”

Founded the Denver Ladies’ Relief Society to help with sickness and poverty

Her concern over tuberculosis led her to establish National Jewish Hospital in 1892.

John Henry “Doc” Holliday

1851-1887

Dentist turned outlaw

Shootout at the O.K. Corral

Little Raven 1810?-1889

Arapaho chief

Negotiated peace between the Southern Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, and Plains Apache in 1840

Survived Sand Creek Massacre

Travelled to Washington, DC to try to make peace between government and Indians

Martha Maxwell 1831-1881

Naturalist, taxidermist, and markswoman

Opened her own natural history museum in Boulder

Ellis Meredith 1865-1955

Journalist for Rocky Mountain News

Suffragist

Worked hard for women’s rights

Author of 4 books

Enos Mills 1870-1922

Mountain guide in Estes Park

Naturalist and photographer

Established Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915

Chief Ouray 1833-1880

Great Ute chief

Spoke 4 languages

Peacemaker

Owl Woman 1800?-1840

Cheyenne Indian married to William Bent, founder of Bent’s Fort

Built positive relationships between two worlds – white and Indian

Alferd Packer 1842-1907

Mountain man who led expeditions over the Rocky Mountains

Accused of cannibalism

William Palmer 1838-1909

Civil War soldier

Owner and co-founder of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad

Built first railroad from Denver to Pikes Peak region

Founded Colorado Springs

Zebulon Pike 1879-1913

Soldier and explorer

Led expedition to explore Pikes Peak region

Dr. Florence Sabin 1871-1953

Doctor, medical researcher

1st woman to become a professor at any medical college in U.S.

Pioneered research in fighting tuberculosis

Teresita Sandoval 1811-1894

One of Colorado’s first pioneers

Early settler along Arkansas River near Pueblo

Helped her husband run Fort El Pueblo

Minnie Scalabrino 1865-1936

Journalist for Rocky Mountain News

Suffragist

Equal rights for African-Americans

Jefferson “Soapy” Smith

1860-1898

One of the greatest con men of all times

Very generous, and gave to charities

Chin Lin Sou 1837-1894

Immigrant, railroad worker, miner

Brought thousands of Chinese to Colorado

Mayor of Hop Alley

Helped improve working conditions for workers

Winfield S. Stratton 1848-1902

Known as “The Gold King”

Discovered one of the richest gold mines on Earth in Colorado

Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor

1854-1935

Colorado’s Silver Queen

Rags to riches to……..

Horace Tabor 1830-1899

Silver King

Became one of Colorado’s richest men

“Uncle Dick” Wootten 1816-1892

Mountain man

Provided buffalo meat for sale at Bent’s Fort

Built toll road over Raton Pass

Bibliography http://www.coloradohistory.

org/kids/kidsbios.htm

http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/elem/stevens/library/colorado.html

http://www.loc.gov/index.html

http://hewit.unco.edu/dohist/teachers/webs/famous.htm

http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/arcbiog.html