LEADVILLE AND THE SISTERS OF CHARITY

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

1879 Map of Leadville Colorado
from World Maps Online

By 1880 Leadville, Colorado had grown from a tiny mining community to one of the largest towns in Colorado. This town, at an elevation of 10, 151', was a wild boom town. It saw the likes of Doc Holiday,Wyatt Earp and possibly the James brothers. Margaret Brown, known to the world as Molly Brown was there. It was also the scene of brawls, gunfights and killings. It was a place where many found their fortunes, including the Horace W. Tabor, who divorced his wife Augusta, to marry Elizabeth 'Baby Doe' McCort. 

Into this town, in late 1878, came the Sisters of Charity. They were: Sister Bernard Mary Pendergast, Sister Mary Crescentia Fischer, and Sister Francis Xavier Davey. According to the below article, from the June 3, 1879 issue of the Leadville Daily Evening Chronicle, they traveled through the treacherous winter weather, around Christmas time, through the mountains to care for the sick and build a hospital.

Of course the article alludes to six, but it began with the above three, as far as documentation shows.

In my upcoming novel, "The Outlaw's Letter", my hero, Grant Davis has need of the services provided by these noble and dedicated women.  Make sure to check out his story when the ebook releases on April 6, 2019 on Amazon. You can also pre-order here: The Outlaw's Letter

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

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