Augusta Pierce Tabor (March 29, 1833 – January 30, 1895) was the wife of a merchant and miner,

Horace Tabor Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, 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 The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted. History There was a short-lived recogniti ...

in 1991 for her contributions to social service and philanthropy.

Early life

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

Marriage

William B. Pierce hired

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. Augusta and Horace made a plan to move west to Kansas Territory to help populate the territory with pro-slavery supporters. First, though, Horace traveled to Kansas and worked to save money to get married. He arrived with other members of the

New England Emigrant Aid Company The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...

in 1855. Horace worked at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

as a stonemason, and he fought with others to defend the town of

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

against pro-slavery men during the

Sacking of Lawrence The sacking of Lawrence occurred on May 21, 1856, when pro-slavery settlers, led by Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones, attacked and ransacked Lawrence, Kansas, a town which had been founded by anti-slavery settlers from Massachusetts w ...

. A member of the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...

, Tabor was elected to the Topeka Legislature. Augusta was married to Horace Tabor on January 31, 1857, becoming Augusta Tabor. 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). They had a son named Nathaniel Maxcy, who was also known as Maxey.

Colorado

Augusta and Horace Tabor lived in the Idaho Springs mining camp before moving to

Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...

. 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 () per day. The Tabors established a mansion in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

after Horace was elected lieutenant governor later in 1878. The 20-room mansion, built at Eighteenth and Broadway for $40,000 (), 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.

In culture

With then-husband Horace, Augusta was a co-developer of the

Tabor Grand Opera House The Tabor Grand Opera House, not to be confused with the Tabor Opera House of Leadville, was a Denver opera house and theatre built and subsidized by the silver magnate Horace Tabor and his first wife Augusta Tabor. Description Located on Denver ...

(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 Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...

and John Latouche; the role was created by

Martha Lipton Martha Lipton (April 6, 1913 – November 28, 2006) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography Lipton was born in New York City. She won a scholarship to the Juilliard School and made her debut as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's opera '' The Quee ...

at the opera's 1956 premiere.Smith, Duane A. The Ballad of Baby Doe. University Press of Colorado (2002), pp.121-122. A noted interpreter of the part was

Frances Bible Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a number of opera appearances with other companies t ...

, who recorded it in 1961.

References

Bibliography

* * For more information about the documentary, se
IMDB

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabor, Augusta Pierce 1833 births 1895 deaths Colorado Mining Boom People from Augusta, Maine People from Leadville, Colorado