Augusta Pierce Tabor

Augusta Pierce Tabor (March 29, 1833 – January 30, 1895) was the wife of a merchant and miner, Horace Tabor, the first white woman to live in the Idaho Springs mining camp, and a Denver philanthropist. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1991 for her contributions to social service and philanthropy.[1]

Early life

Augusta Pierce was born in Augusta, Maine on March 29, 1833.[2][3] Her father, William B. Pierce,[4] owned a quarry[2][3] and was a contractor. Tabor, one of ten children and the third of seven girls, suffered poor health during her childhood.[2] She had a lovely figure, thick dark hair and was determined and charming.[5] Tabor was a debutante, grew up in a pampered lifestyle, and believed in women's rights.[6] She was the cousin of Franklin Pierce, president of the United States.[7]

Marriage

William B. Pierce hired Horace Tabor to supervisor stone-cutters who worked on the construction of a mental institution (called an insane asylum at the time) in Augusta, Maine. Augusta Pierce met Horace and they fell in love.[8][9] Augusta and Horace made a plan to move west to Kansas Territory to help populate the territory with anti-slavery supporters. First, though, Horace traveled to Kansas and worked to save money to get married.[10] He arrived with other members of the New England Emigrant Aid Company in 1855.[11][12] Horace worked at Fort Riley as a stonemason,[12] and he fought with others to defend the town of Lawrence against pro-slavery men during the Sacking of Lawrence.[13]

A member of the Free Soil Party,[14] Tabor was elected to the Topeka Legislature.[12][14]

Augusta was married to Horace Tabor on January 31, 1857, becoming Augusta Tabor.[15][16] After their marriage at her family's home in Maine, the couple farmed for two years along Deep Creek in Zeandale, Kansas (known today as Tabor Valley).[12][15][16] They had a son named Nathaniel Maxcy,[12] who was also known as Maxey.[17]

Colorado

Augusta and Horace Tabor's house in Leadville

Augusta and Horace Tabor lived in the Idaho Springs mining camp before moving to Leadville. The Tabors established a store and Augusta made money as a washerwoman and as a landlady to boarders. Horace mined for gold in the mountains of Colorado and in 1878, after 20 years, he struck a silver vein that made US$10,000 (equivalent to $303,241 in 2022) per day.[1]

The Tabors established a mansion in Denver after Horace was elected lieutenant governor later in 1878. The 20-room mansion, built at Eighteenth and Broadway for $40,000 (equivalent to $1,212,966 in 2022), was operated as a boarding house after Horace left her for Elizabeth "Baby Doe" McCourt. Augusta was landlady for up to 14 people at a time and was engaged in community activities, such as contributing to civic projects and charities and hosting fund-raising events. Tabor was particularly involved in the Pioneer Ladies Aid Society.[1]

In culture

With then-husband Horace, Augusta was a co-developer of the Tabor Grand Opera House (1881), Denver's first opera-quality theatrical performance space. Augusta Tabor is a major character in the opera The Ballad of Baby Doe by Douglas Moore and John Latouche; the role was created by Martha Lipton at the opera's 1956 premiere.[18] A noted interpreter of the part was Frances Bible, who recorded it in 1961.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Augusta Pierce Tabor". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Jeanne Varnell (1999). Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Big Earth Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-55566-214-1.
  3. 1 2 "Augusta Tabor" (PDF). History Colorado. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Augusta Mental Health Institute". Women's History Month, Augusta, Maine. The University of Maine. 2002. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  5. ↑ Glenda Riley; Richard W. Etulain (2003). Wild Women of the Old West. Fulcrum Publishing. pp. 12, 15–16. ISBN 978-1-55591-295-6.
  6. ↑ Glenda Riley; Richard W. Etulain (2003). Wild Women of the Old West. Fulcrum Publishing. pp. 13, 15. ISBN 978-1-55591-295-6.
  7. ↑ Vivian Sheldon Epstein (November 1, 1997). History of Colorado's Women for Young People. Denver, Colorado: Vivian Sheldon Epstein. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-891424-01-4.
  8. ↑ Gandy 1934, pp. 9–10.
  9. ↑ Jackson 2016, 2:47 in.
  10. ↑ Gandy 1934, p. 13.
  11. ↑ "Horace Tabor Dies". The Earth. Burlington, Vermont. 1899-04-22. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015-02-24). Settlers of the American West: The Lives of 231 Notable Pioneers. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9735-5.
  13. ↑ Gandy 1934, p. 37.
  14. 1 2 Wilson, James Grant; Fiske John, eds. (1889). Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889. Vol. VI-2. New York: D. Appleton & Company. p. 17.
  15. 1 2 "Augusta Tabor" (PDF). History Colorado. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  16. 1 2 "Augusta Tabor". coloradoencyclopedia.org. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  17. ↑ "Horace Tabor: The Silver King". Colorado Virtual Library. 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  18. ↑ Smith, Duane A. The Ballad of Baby Doe. University Press of Colorado (2002), pp.121-122.
  19. ↑ "Frances Bible, 82; Starred in City Opera". The New York Times. February 7, 2001. Retrieved May 20, 2009.

Bibliography

  • Gandy, Lewis Cass (1934). The Tabors, a footnote of western history. The Press of the Pioneers, Inc.
  • Jackson, Julie, writer and director (November 17, 2016). The Tabors (Documentary) (video). Colorado Experience. Rocky Mountain PBS. Retrieved 2022-09-17 – via PBS.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) For more information about the documentary, see IMDB.

Further reading

  • "Augusta Louise Pierce Tabor, Notable Unitarian and Universalist Women". Unitarian Universalist Women's Heritage Society. Archived from the original on 2015-01-24.
  • Caroline Bancroft (1991) [1955]. Augusta Tabor, Her Side of the Scandal. Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Publishing Company. ISBN 0933472145.
  • Diane C. Major (2013). Augusta Tabor: Enterprising Pioneer. Palmer Lake, Colorado: Filter Press. ISBN 978-0865411722.
  • Betty Moynihan (1988). Augusta Tabor, A Pioneering Woman. Evergreen, Colorado: Cordillera Press. OCLC 17877111.
  • Augusta Tabor, Hubert Howe Bancroft (1884). Cabin Life in Colorado. Palmer Lake, Colorado: Filter Press. OCLC 25912042. A statement recorded at Denver, Oct. 22, 1884, concerning arrival in Colorado, 1859; experiences in mining regions; work with her husband in the Post and Express Office; carrying gold to Denver.
  • Linda Wommack. "Augusta Louise Pierce Tabor". From the Grave: A Roadside Guide to Colorado's Pioneer Cemeteries. Caxton Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-87004-565-3.

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