TERRITORIAL DAUGHTERS OF COLORADO SOUTHERN CHAPTER
Lectures and Events
Francisco Fort Day in La Veta
July 22nd
Join Francisco Fort for their most special event at Francisco Fort. Francisco Fort Day is a celebration of the museum and the beginnings of La Veta, Colorado. The fort is 155 years old this year! Admission is free, and visitors will be treated to special presentations. The events start at 8:00 a.m. with the Methodist Men's Pancake Breakfast. All proceeds raised go to the museum.
5th Annual Colorado Grown Fun Day
July 29th
Southern Chapter has been invited to participate in this event. We will need to come up with an activity to have at our booth.
On Saturday, July 29 from 10am to 2pm join the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum for a day of food trucks, live music, and family-friendly activities! Celebrate Colorado’s 141st birthday and discover local history and heritage.
More Events and Lectures can be found on the website.
July Birthdays
Susan Nossaman—July 6
Norma Jean Head—July 19
Diane Alexander—July 20
Olena Ottinger—July 24
Natalie Henderson—July 27
Lynell Jeffryes—July 29
In this issue:
• July meeting
• July Birthdays
• Lectures/Events
•August Meeting
•Chapter News
•Meet a TD member—
Denise Gimlin
•Nathan Russell
•July Calendar
Monthly Newsletter
August meeting
The August will be meeting August 19 at 12:00
p.m
We will meet in Canon City.
The details and the program will be announced
soon.
To Subscribe / unsubscribe to the monthly email list contact Tamara Estes at:
(tjestes2@gmail,com or [email protected])
July Meeting
The July meeting will be held July 15th at the picnic area in Pueblo Mountain
Park in Beulah, CO. The meeting will be at noon. A map is located on the
website and a link is in the email. The Taos Trail committee will meet at 11:00.
Please bring a sack lunch.
The program will presented by John Campbell on the historic buildings of
Beulah. We will be able to take a driving tour of Beulah after the program. The
book “Tour Beulah’s Historic, Unusual and Forgotten Places” by Marilyn Klipfel
Brehe will be available for purchase.
July 2017
Meet a Territorial Daughter
Southern Chapter News
Doyle School– The Doyle School preservation meeting went well. Around twenty-two peo-
ple representing TDC-SC, History Connections Pueblo, Pueblo County Historical Society, Col-
orado Preservation Inc. and local land owners were there. We will present the project and
goals to the Pueblo County Commissioners on July 10th. A Facebook page has been estab-
lished for people to follow the progress of this project. (Friends of Doyle School).
Taos Trail– The Taos Trail committee is finishing up editing a driving tour booklet. We have
collected a lot of great information, and are hoping to publish some of this information in com-
panion booklets in the near future. We are still investigating funding for the placement of signs
along the route. Many thanks to everyone that has continued to work on this project.
TDC Scholarship—The TDC Scholarship was awarded to Dawn Carver from Pueblo. Ms.
Carver attends CSU-Pueblo. We are hoping to have her attend a future meeting, so we can
recognize her accomplishment. There were multiple applicants for the scholarship this year.
Denise Gimlin was born in Monte Vista, Colorado.
Denise’s Colorado ancestor is Nathan Russell. See the
article on Nathan Russell on page 3.
Denise attended Monte Vista Elementary and Junior
High. She then attended school in Del Norte from the
8th grade through high school. Denise went on to
study at the University of California, San Diego where
she received her B.S degree. She then attended law
school in San Francisco.
Denise has worked for large law firms in California, as
a Franchise Coordinator, Stock Transfer Agent, Gift
Tax Processor, Incorporations, Lease Agent, Estate
Preparer, Caregiver, her son’s Personal Assistant, Dog
Walker and Genealogist.
Denise has lived in Monte Vista, Del Norte and Nederland, along with her time in California. Denise
currently lives in Nederland with her husband, Mike, and their youngest son, Shea. Their oldest son
Jordan is serving with the US Army after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Denise joined TDC-Southern Chapter in 1977 when she turned 18. Denise loves history. She would try
to attend the summer TDC meetings while she was living in California. When she moved back to Colo-
rado in 1996, her mom asked her to attend a state TDC board meeting. She has been producing the
state TDC Newsletter since attending that meeting. She has produced 32 wonderful state newsletters,
and has been serving as the State TDC Board Secretary since 2006. Denise is a valued and cherished
member of the TDC State Board and Southern Chapter.
July 2017
Denise and Mike pin their son Jordan’s
lieutenant’s bars on at West Point 2016
Nathan Russell
(1831– 1895)
By Denise Gimlin
Nathan Russell is my great, great grandfather. He was born in 1831 in Donegal County, Ire-land. His story is that of a true Colorado pioneer. He was a blacksmith by training and left Pittsfield, Pike, Illinois to join the 1859 Colorado gold rush. He signed on with Union forces and served with Kit Carson in the Civil War. He homesteaded Saguache, Colorado in 1866 and teamed up with Otto Mears in many adventures including his first marriage (to Maria Juliana Lobato) when Otto was his best man. Nathan was one of the two first County Commissioners, first postmaster and an early day Sheriff. The first court was held in his corral. He became a successful stockman and civic leader. But to really understand Nathan and his hearty stock you must look at his mother, Catherine Kelly Russell. Catherine lived in Donegal County, Ireland, in 1837 her husband died leaving her with six chil-dren. After two years, Catherine went to Ohio to be with her parents and brothers and earn money to bring her family to America. She arranged with a sister to care for her children. Within two years she was able to send for her children. In 1841 they set sail for America. The voyage consumed eight weeks of time and was an unhappy one for the family, as the two youngest (twins) died and were buried at sea. The family was briefly reunited in Ohio when the Kelly’s and the Russell’s moved to Pittsfield, Pike, Illinois. As Helen Russell Pinkerton and Alpha Russell Groves wrote in 1936, “We pause to pay tribute to the memory of this noble Irish pioneer mother, who struggled so bravely to make a home for her fatherless children in a strange new land.”
July 2017
Nathan Russell (1831-1895) Russell’s gravesite at Hillside Cemetery in
Saguache
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
25 26 27 28 29 30 1
Cowboy Trouba-
dours, Pikes Peak
Library
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Susan Nossa-
man birthday
Fort Massachusetts
Trip , San Luis Valley
Historical Society
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Doyle Settlement
presentation to
Pueblo County
Commissioners
Chapter meeting,
Beulah, CO -
Noon
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Norma Head
birthday
Diane Alexan-
der birthday
Francisco Fort Day, La
Veta
Jicarilla Apaches of Dul-
ce, Sand Dunes Nat. Park
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Olena Ottinger
Birthday
Natalie Hen-
derson birth-
day
Lynell Jeffryes birthday
Colorado Grown Fun
Day—CS Pioneer
Museum
30 31 1 2 3 4 5
Meeting and Event details available on the website, or by contacting The Southern
Chapter at [email protected]
July 2017
High bridge near Buena
Vista, Colorado in 1880.
Train is from the Colorado
Midland RR.
Photo from the Library of
Congress Collections.