John and Elizabeth Tallman settled in Pine Grove of
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado.
The territory was organized in the ...
, present-day
Parker, Colorado
Parker is a home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous town in the county; Castle Rock is the most populous (the community of Hi ...
, in 1866. They were among the early settlers in
Douglas County, Colorado
Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 357,978. The county seat is Castle Rock.
Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado, metropolitan statistica ...
, with John working as a cattle rancher, sawmill hand, county clerk, and businessman. John and Elizabeth ran the Elizabeth Hotel in the late 1890s. She also wrote of her experiences with Native Americans and observations of warfare among the
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...
,
Arapaho
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho ba ...
, and the
Utes.
Early years
John M. Tallman was born April 25, 1837, or 1838 in
Wyoming County, New York
Wyoming County is a county in the U.S. state of New York in the state's western area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,531. The county seat is Warsaw. The name is modified from a Lenape (Delaware) Native American word meaning "b ...
, to Polly Maxon Tallman (born 1820) and Lymon Tallman (born 1810). His parents married in 1837. They moved to Michigan around 1840. He came to Colorado when he was 22 years of age,
and according to Colorado Business Directory, he was the only resident in Pine Grove in 1859.
He owned property at 15th and California Streets 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 ...
.
Elizabeth Jane Pennock was born July 14, 1841, in
Livingston County, New York. Her parents were Oliver P. Pennock (born about 1801 in Vermont) and Caroline Rowell Pennock (born in New York),
who died in 1854. Her father enlisted in 1861 in the
104th New York Volunteer Infantry during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. He died in 1863.
Her parents gave birth to nine children, a number of whom came to Colorado. Her sister Mary came to Colorado in 1860 and married Horatio M. Foster. Ellen came to Colorado, married Edward Peck, and lived in
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. Charles came to Colorado in 1865, after serving in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. George died in Fort Collins in 1886. Her brother John R. Pennock stayed in New York, brother William died in the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
, and two other children died young.
She was orphaned by 1864 when she moved west to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Mary and H.M. Foster. She married John in 1865 in Russellville (now
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
) and they had two children, Mary Ellen and Charles Strafford.
Contact with Native Americans
Hungate and Sand Creek massacres
In 1864, John was one of the first to reach the site of the
Hungate massacre. A member of the
1st Regiment of Colorado Volunteers, he served under Colonel
John Chivington
John Milton Chivington (January 27, 1821 – October 4, 1894) was an American Methodism, Methodist pastor and Freemasonry, Mason who served as a colonel (United States), colonel in the United States Volunteers during the New Mexico Campaign ...
during the
Sand Creek massacre. His brother Jonathan was attacked by a band of Native Americans while riding a mule in 1870. Unable to get away from the men on horseback, he was killed and scalped. He is buried in
Parker Cemetery.
She also said that the Cheyenne and Arapaho were much quieter after Sand Creek massacre.
Interaction at the ranch
The Cheyenne,
Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...
, and Ute camped along
Cherry Creek during the winter and passed by the Tallman's cabin in the spring when they went hunting on the
Eastern Plains
The Eastern Plains of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains and east of the population centers of the Front Range.
Geography
The Eastern Plains are part of the High Plains, which are the wester ...
.
Elizabeth wrote stories about her early years of marriage when she was visited by Native Americans—like
Ute Chiefs
Coloros
ColorOS is a mobile operating system created by Oppo Electronics based on the Android Open Source Project. Initially, Realme phones used ColorOS until it was replaced by Realme UI in 2020. Starting from OnePlus 9 series OnePlus will preinsta ...
,
Ouray, and Washington who traveled along
Sulphur Gulch. Utes came to her cabin demanding biscuits. Chief Washington once tried to trade for her red-headed son.
Elizabeth said of the encounter, "First he held up two fingers, then three until he indicated he would swap twenty ponies for my
wo-year-oldson. He was disgusted when I refused him." He liked her and once asked her to a scalp dance,
which
Merriam-Webster defines as "an American Indian victory dance often by women around a pole with enemy scalps or with scalp-surmounted sticks in hand." She also wrote about warfare among the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and the Utes.
Careers
John raised a herd of
Hereford cattle
The Hereford is a British breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands of England. It has spread to many countries – there are more than five million purebred Hereford cattle in over fifty nations worldwide. The bre ...
and operated a sawmill on Running Creek near the present-day town of Elizabeth with H.M. Foster. They made wooden shingles for the first shingled house 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 ...
. Mary and Elizabeth often drove the wagon to Denver for supplies.
In 1878, the family moved to
Castle Rock after John was elected to the position of Douglas County Clerk. He then operated a grocery store in
Franktown with Ed Krakaw. He also grew alfalfa hay on five fields alongside
Cherry Creek with a partner, F. H. Allison. John help plan for construction of a new County Court House about 1888 and into 1889.
John and Elizabeth purchased the Elizabeth Hotel in Elizabeth in the late 1890s. It was run-down when they bought it, and the ''Denver Hotel Bulletin'' stated that they ran the business well.
In 1936, Elizabeth was interviewed by James R. Harvey for the article "Pioneer Experiences in Colorado", which was printed in ''The Colorado Magazine''. She wrote an article "Early History of Parker and Vicinity" that appeared in a 1946 issue of the same magazine.
Tallman–Newlin Cabin
John Tallman is considered the likely builder of the two-room cabin and the large barn on their 160-acre ranch. Both were built in 1866. The barn was constructed without nails, using
mortise and tenon construction. The ranch was located east of Pine Grove (near Mainstreet and Dwyer in present-day Parker). The ranch was sold to William G. Newlin in 1878.
In 1900, the hewn log cabin was covered with wood siding. The Newlins had a family cemetery, which is next to the house.
The cabin was moved to Callaway Road and Canterberry (sic) Trail in 1977 to prevent it from being demolished. It was restored by the Parker Area Historical Society, who has owned it since 1996. It is the only remaining log cabin in Parker and an example of Colorado pioneer life. Elizabeth Tallman mentioned the cabin in an article published by ''The Colorado Magazine'' in 1936.
Later years and death
They lived briefly in
Kansas City and then moved in 1918 to Colorado Springs. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on December 1, 1925.
And he died at their home eight days later on December 9. He was the oldest member of Masonic Lodge No. 5.
Elizabeth died in 1941.
They are both buried at
Parker Cemetery in Parker, Colorado.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tallman, John and Elizabeth
1830s births
1841 births
1925 deaths
1941 deaths
People from Parker, Colorado
People of the American Old West
People from Douglas County, Colorado