Denver Public Library Western History/Genealogy Digital Collections

- South High School Sewing Class
- Students sitting at tables in sewing class cutting material, stitching by hand or using a sewing machine at South High School in Denver, Colorado.
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- Edna Wilson Mosley
- Edna Wilson Mosley Aurora City Councilwoman First African American to be elected to the Aurora, Colorado City Council. (1991) Edna Wilson Mosley has demonstrated her commitment to the advancement of human rights and social justice through...
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- Walker Anderson
- Walker Anderson 1866-1904 Construction Man Came to Denver in 1880 to learn the brick laying trade; helped construct the old Denver Court Housem State Capitol, Daniels and Fisher building, Mining Exchange, Antlers Hotel in Colorado Springs, and the...
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- James A. Atkins
- James A. Atkins 1890-1968 Teacher Came to Denver in 1927; teacher at Tennessee A & I College; assisted Dr. Ambrose Calves in Federal Emergency Relief activities for Negroes during the depression; national conferee in formulating the Charter of...
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- Jack Bradley
- Jack Bradley Musician Native Denverite; charter member of Denver Civic Symphony, 1935; first black member of Denver Symphony 1940-1941 and 1946-1949; first black person serving as a regular member of any United States symphony orchestra; presently...
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- Odell C. Barry
- Odell C. Barry October 10, 1941 Politician and Businessman Mayor, Northglenn Colorado 1980-1982; Northglenn City Councilman, Ward II 1971-1979; Denver Bronco. Odell C. Barry's accomplishments throughout Northglenn and the State of Colorado are...
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- Honorable Raymond Dean Jones
- Honorable Raymond Dean Jones Colorado Appellate Judge The Honorable Raymond Dean Jones was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado. He attended Harvard Law School. After a distinguished career as a trial attorney, County Judge and District Judge, he...
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- Jerome C. Biffle
- Jerome C. Biffle Athlete and High School Counselor Native Denverite; named outstanding broad jumper in the United States, 1950; All American A.A.U. track team, 1952; first Coloradan to win an Olympic Gold Medal, Helsinki, Finland, 1952; first black...
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- Mrs. Lula Craig
- Mrs. Lula Craig 1867-1971 Teacher Came to Colorado from Kansas in a covered wagon; early teacher in southern Colorado; writer of western history; homesteader and civic leader. Died at age 105.
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- Moses Brewer
- Moses Brewer, Multicultural Relations/Marketing
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- Jim Beckwourth
- Jim Beckwourth 1798-ca. 1866 Scout and Trapper Named chief of the Crow Indians. Beckwourth's Pass and Beckwourth's Valley in the High Sierras of Nevada are named in his honor.
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- George L. Brown, Jr.
- George L. Brown, Jr. Lieutenant - Governor of Colorado World War II pilot; staff writer and night city editor, Denver Post, 1950-1964; first black senator in the Colorado Legislature, 1956-1974; director of Denver Urban Coalition, 1969-1974;...
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- Honorable Terrance D. Carroll
- Honorable Terrance D. Carroll First African American Speaker of the House 2009-2010 Colorado House of Representatives State Representative 2003-2010
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- Byron Caldwell
- Byron Caldwell Civic Worker Native Denverite; supervisor of Job Corps, Pleasanton, California, 1965; director of Peace Corps, Nigeria, Africa, 1966-1972; director of the International Division of One World, 1972; presently national director of the...
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- "Aunt" Clara Brown
- "Aunt" Clara Brown 1800-1882 Former Slave Settled in Denver or Auraria Cherry Creek in 1959; set up the first laundry in the "new country" at Central City, Colorado, amassed a fortune, bought mining claims, and used her money to help bring other...
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- Thomas Campbell, L.L.D.
- Thomas Campbell, L.L.D. 1869-1957 Attorney Graduated from Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C., in 1893; first black man to practice law in the Indian Territory, Oklahoma, 1893. Served as major in the Spanish American War, personally...
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- Ulysses H. Baker
- Ulysses H. Baker 1869-1933 Became a policeman in 1898; first motorcycle patrolman in the City and County of Denver; created the first auto-theft department in the West. Was promoted to the rank of City Detective; held this position until...
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- Alta Cousins
- Alta Cousins 1884-1971 A woman respected by all who knew her. She and her husband were married sixty years.
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- Elvin R. Caldwell
- Elvin R. Caldwell Denver City Councilman Native Denverite; served three terms in the Colorado Legislature, 1950-1955; first black person elected to Denver City Council, 1955 to present; served three of five City Council terms as president. ...
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- James C. Gaskin
- James C. Gaskin Director, Veterans Administration Hospital, Denver Former assistant manager, Veterans Administration Hospital, Tuskegee, Alabama; special assistant to the manager, Veterans Administration Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;...
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- Gilbert Cruter
- Gilbert Cruter School Administrator First male black teacher in Denver Public Schools; U.S. Department of State, Goodwill Ambassador to West Africa, 1955; U.S. Cultural Affairs Officer to Eastern Nigeria, 1961-1963; Congressional Liaison Officer...
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- Honorable James C. Flanigan
- Honorable James C. Flanigan Colorado's First Black Judge Appointed as Denver deputy district attorney, 1949; municipal court judge, 1957; district court judge, 1965; faculty member of National College of State Judiciary, 1974; presiding judge,...
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- Hiawatha Davis Jr.
- Hiawatha Davis Jr. Denver City Councilman Hiawatha Davis Jr., a Denver native, grew up in the same Northeast Denver neighborhood he now represents as District 8 City Councilmember. Since elected in 1983, he has served four terms. During this time...
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- Major Oleta Lawanda Crain
- Major Oleta Lawanda Crain First African American Woman to enter the military from the State of Colorado (1942). Entering as a private and retiring 20 years later as a Major. Crain joined the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington D.C. as a...
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- Elva Jones Dulan
- Elva Jones Dulan, R.N. Counselor for Black Students, Loretto Heights College One of the first 18 black nurses serving in Baltimore City Hospitals; one of the first 24 black nurses to enter the Army Nurses Corps, 1941; transferred to Fitzsimons...
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- Rachel B. Noel
- Rachel B. Noel Assistant Professor of Sociology, Metropolitan State College Member of the national board of directors, Girl Scouts of America; National Teachers Examination Board; vice-president, Denver Area Council of Churches; member of Board of...
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- Barney Ford
- Barney Ford 1822-1902 Businessman Came to Denver in 1860; gold miner in Breckenridge, Colorado; owner of the former Inter-Ocean Hotel at 16th and Black Streets; a civil rights leader of the 19th century; established Denver's first Adult Education...
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- Evie G. Dennis
- Evie G. Dennis Superintendent of Denver Public Schools As of September 1990, Dr. Dennis will be the first woman and the first minority to hold the superintendent's post in the Denver Public Schools. Presently, she serves as the district's deputy...
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- Eugene Gash
- Eugene Gash Concert Pianist First Native-born black Coloradan to perform at Carnegie Hall; Fulbright Scholar; Carnegie Scholar; former member of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; professor of music, University of California at Berkeley;...
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- Oliver T. Jackson
- Oliver T. Jackson 1862-1946 Pioneer Inspired by Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery, Jackson established the community of Dearfield in Weld County, Colorado. It was his hope this would be a place in which black people could become capable...
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- Bernard F. Gipson, M.D.
- Bernard F. Gipson, M.D. Physician Studied at Howard University; first chief of surgery, Lowry Air Force Base, 1954-1956; first black doctor in the West to become a member of the American College of Surgeons; presently a diplomat of the American...
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- Justina L. Ford, M.D.
- Justina L. Ford, M.D. 1871-1952 Colorado's First Black Woman Physician Came to Denver in 1902; medical practice was widespread among Spanish, foreign-born and black people; spoke eleven languages. Was the attending physician at the delivery of...
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- Clarence F. Holmes, D.D.S.
- Clarence F. Holmes, D.D.S. Dentist Native Denverite; co-founder of the Colorado N.A.A.C.P. in 1914; founder of the Inter-racial Cosmopolitan Club for Human Relations, Denver; served on Denver's first Commission on Community Relations with its...
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- Hon. Wiley Y. Daniel
- Hon. Wiley Y. Daniel; Judge, U.S. District Court District of Colorado
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- Ledyard C. Jones
- Ledyard C. Jones Bookkeeper and Auditor Native Coloradan; first black to be appointed to United States Treasury Department in Colorado, 1934; retired in 1961; received the Albert Gallatin Award from the U.S. Treasury upon retirement. Served a...
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- Juanita Ross Gray
- Juanita Ross Gray 1916-1987 Civic Leader Former Denver Public Library employee from 1971-1977. she established a comprehensive outreach program promoting the library. Her community and civic involvement in Denver spans nearly forty years from...
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- Claudia J. Jordan
- Claudia J. Jordan First African American County Court Judge in the State of Colorado Jordan was the first African American hired as a Research Assistant for the Legislative Council in Colorado. In 1980 she received her law degree from the...
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- Jessie Whaley Maxwell
- Jessie Whaley Maxwell Educator Mrs. Maxwell was the first African-American principal in the State of Colorado and in the Denver Public Schools. She served as teacher and later principal at Whittier Elementary School in 19792.???????? Mrs. Maxwell...
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- Wendell T. Liggins
- Wendell T. Liggins Minister Pastor of Zion Baptist Church since October 1941. Served as Chaplain for both the House of Representative and Senate for the state of Colorado. First Black appointed to the Regional Transportation District (RTD) and...
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- Reverend Murphy C. Williams
- The Reverend Murphy C. Williams Pastor Preached in Europe in Goodwill Tour of World Council of Churches, 1953; Co-Founder of International Opportunity Life Insurance Company in 1957; first Black appointed as Chaplain for the Colorado House of...
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- Keith "KC" Matthews
- Keith "KC" Matthews 1962 Engineer, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Co-founder of Denver Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Past National Alumni Chairperson of National Society of Black Engineers the premier...
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- James "Dr. Daddio" Walker
- James "Dr. Daddio" Walker Radio Station Owner Pioneer of Black Radio - "Soul to the Rockies." The first owner of an urban radio station, West of the Mississippi river - "Power 1510 KDKO". He gave true recognition to the black community for its...
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- Irene McWilliams
- Irene McWilliams Musician, Teacher and Churchwoman W.P.A. music teacher, 1933-1939; director of Denver U.S.O., WWII: taught at Littlejohn School of Music (a federal project to rehabilitate wounded soldiers through music); conducted choirs for...
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- Earl Mann
- Earl Mann 1886-1969 Legislator Came to Fitzsimons General Hospital as a wounded officer; elected for five terms to Colorado House of Representatives (1944-1953); actively participated in the passage of the Fair Employment Practices Act and the...
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- Oglesvie L. Lawson (Sonny)
- Oglesvie L. Lawson (Sonny) 1893-1969 Pharmacist Co-owner of Radio Drug Store for fifty years; political leader and counselor; thirty-third degree Mason; an original member of Denver Career Service, 1955; first black to serve on Denver Public...
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- Lt. Col. John W. Mosley, Jr.
- Lt. Col. John W. Mosley, Jr. Administrator Native Denverite; World War II flyer; air scientist; one of the draftsmen of the integration orders of the Air Force for President Harry S. Truman; special assistant to James Farmer, assistant Secretary of...
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- Jacqueline G. Peterson-Hall
- Jacqueline G. Peterson-Hall 1956 Real Estate Developer The first African-American female in the State of Colorado to develop a 7 million dollar housing/mixed use project. Mrs. Peterson-Hall is the CEO/President of Eldercare 2000 Inc. and founder...
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- Sebastian Cabot Owens
- Sebastian Cabot Owens Director, Colorado Urban League Minority groups field representative, 1941-1948; Urban League of Colorado, 1948-1975; executive director, Urban League of Colorado, 1952. Guest lecturer at University of Denver and University...
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- George Morrison, Sr.
- George Morrison, Sr. Musician Violinist, orchestra leader, music teacher, churchman and philanthropist; served on Mayor's Committee on Music, 1947-1960; furnished music on the famous Denver Post Special Train to Cheyenne, Wyoming Frontier Days...
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- Arie Parks Taylor
- Arie Parks Taylor March 27, 1927-September 27, 2003 Politician and Businesswoman, State Representative, Colorado House of Representatives "The "Fierce Black Woman from Colorado." Arie Parks Taylor's accomplishments are numerous and well known...
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