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 AfricanAmerican 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 AfricanAmericans
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/te
achers/webs/famous.htm

http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/
doit/archives/arcbiog.html