MEMORIES OF FANNIE & ALFRED OSBORN: My Great Grandparents Who Lived in Teller County at Gillett Flats, Victor and the Osborn Homestead which is now part of Mueller State Park.
By Marge Breth
By Marge Breth
My great grandparents, Frances Sophronia “Fannie” (Hopkins) Osborn and Alfred Henry Osborn, came to Colorado behind a covered wagon with three small children—all the way from Guthrie Center, Iowa in 1888. My great grandmother told me often of the trip out from Iowa and said Poppa (great grandpa) parked one night on a bed of rattle snakes, which caused quite a stir. Fannie and their oldest child Annie (seven years of age) herded a few cattle and sheep up Ute Pass while Poppa drove the horse-drawn wagon carrying the younger children who were too young to walk, Bessie (age three) and Sumner (age two).
Frances Sophronia “Fannie” Hopkins was born in Iowa in 1857. After marriage to Alfred Osborn, the couple came to Teller County, Colorado in 1888 and raised a family while living at Gillett Flats, Victor, and the Osborn Homestead which is now part of Mueller State Park.
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Alfred Henry Osborn was born in 1855. Fannie and Alfred Osborn had seven children--Anna, Bessie, Sumner, Katherine (Kitty), Nellie, Neil (Earl), and Hazel. While at Gillett Flats, Alfred worked for the Midland Terminal Rail Line, refilling the steam engines with water. In Victor, Fannie managed a boarding house for miners. Alfred died in 1943 and Fannie in 1945.
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The Osborn family settled in Gillett, Colorado, which at that time was just a wide spot in the road. Remnants of the old house they lived in are still there. The Midland Terminal Railroad, which reached Victor in December 1894, had a water tank at Gillett and Poppa had been hired by the railroad to put water on the trains as they came into the station headed for the towns near Cripple Creek and Victor. While they were waiting for the engines to fill up with water, Great Grandma Osborn fixed meals for the miners consisting of homemade rolls, beans with ham and cinnamon rolls. During the time they lived in Gillette, four more children were added to the Osborn family—Katherine (Kitty), Nellie (my grandmother), Earl (my grandmother’s twin brother also known as Neil), and Hazel.
After a few years, more families settled in the Gillett area. On cold winter evenings they got together and made beautiful elaborate homemade quilts. Even the men helped. My sister, Earleen, has a couple of those quilts. You can see the men’s and women’s signatures embroidered on them (including my great grandpa Osborn’s signature). They also had pot luck suppers when they sewed.
The Osborn children went to the school in Divide and most of the other families helped get the children there in winter with horse drawn wagons, as did Great Grandpa Osborn. During warmer weather the children had to walk and that was over four miles. The children carried baked hot potatoes in their pockets to help keep their hands warm, as well as that was their lunch. That old school house is now a church at the corner of Highway 24 and Highway 67. It has been added on to many times, and housed many different functions in the years that have followed.
Great Grandma Osborn told me when the twins were born, while they were living in the Gillett flats, both were so small they fitted in a shoe box, which was small in those days. They didn’t think the boy child would live, and had not named him, but my Grandmother Nellie called him Earl and finally, at close to a year of age, they named him Neil as they had named her Nellie.
A rich miner offered my great grandmother a job running a boarding house for the miners in Victor. It was a large log house that still stands at 705 Victor Avenue. The owner of the boarding house supplied Great Grandmother Osborn with flour, rice, beans and sugar in 100 pound sacks.
After a few years, more families settled in the Gillett area. On cold winter evenings they got together and made beautiful elaborate homemade quilts. Even the men helped. My sister, Earleen, has a couple of those quilts. You can see the men’s and women’s signatures embroidered on them (including my great grandpa Osborn’s signature). They also had pot luck suppers when they sewed.
The Osborn children went to the school in Divide and most of the other families helped get the children there in winter with horse drawn wagons, as did Great Grandpa Osborn. During warmer weather the children had to walk and that was over four miles. The children carried baked hot potatoes in their pockets to help keep their hands warm, as well as that was their lunch. That old school house is now a church at the corner of Highway 24 and Highway 67. It has been added on to many times, and housed many different functions in the years that have followed.
Great Grandma Osborn told me when the twins were born, while they were living in the Gillett flats, both were so small they fitted in a shoe box, which was small in those days. They didn’t think the boy child would live, and had not named him, but my Grandmother Nellie called him Earl and finally, at close to a year of age, they named him Neil as they had named her Nellie.
A rich miner offered my great grandmother a job running a boarding house for the miners in Victor. It was a large log house that still stands at 705 Victor Avenue. The owner of the boarding house supplied Great Grandmother Osborn with flour, rice, beans and sugar in 100 pound sacks.
A rich miner offered Great Grandmother Osborn a job managing this historic Victor boarding house that catered to miners in the early days of the 1890s Gold Rush. Front view, about 2010. The home at 705 Victor Avenue was most recently sold in 2015 and an extensive restoration project is now underway.
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Fannie Osborn’s children helped prepare meals, do laundry, make beds, clean, and haul firewood for the boarding house she managed in Victor. The owner of the boarding house supplied 100 pound sacks of flour, rice, beans and sugar. Side view, about 2010, of the historic boarding house now undergoing an extensive restoration.
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At the time there were seven Osborn children to help with the work. Being a poor family and living in hard times, all the girls quit school at an early age and married early. They all attended country dances with suppers in Divide, Cripple Creek and Victor where future husbands were met.
While living in Victor and managing the boarding house, Great Grandma Osborn raised chickens, some geese, a couple pigs, a goat and a cow. The animals had to be fed, the cow milked, and eggs gathered. Water had to be drawn, and wood had to be brought in for the kitchen stove and the stove in the parlor. There were no stoves in the bedrooms in the boarding house at that time. Lye soap had to be made from lard and wood ash out in the yard in big vats.
While living in Victor and managing the boarding house, Great Grandma Osborn raised chickens, some geese, a couple pigs, a goat and a cow. The animals had to be fed, the cow milked, and eggs gathered. Water had to be drawn, and wood had to be brought in for the kitchen stove and the stove in the parlor. There were no stoves in the bedrooms in the boarding house at that time. Lye soap had to be made from lard and wood ash out in the yard in big vats.
Great Grandpa Alfred Osborn at the homestead on what is now part of Mueller State Park, 1933.
Remnants of the cabin can be seen by hiking the Osborn Homestead Trail in the Park.
When Great Grandma Osborn and the children moved to Victor, Great Grandpa Osborn filed for homestead rights on a place that is now part of Mueller State Park. He had horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and goats.
The land had to be cleared and a cabin, which never had a wood floor, was raised. Trees also had to be cut to provide firewood for the cabin, as well as for the boarding house in Victor.
Great Grandpa also had a vegetable garden on the homestead where he, Sumner and Earl lived from time to time and also did some hunting and trapping.
Great Grandpa Osborn worked many jobs as well as homesteading. At one time he was the Game Warden at Rainbow Falls and the Hatchery.
It was always stated that Poppa did not hold a job for a very long period of time, and was not a good provider. That often left the responsibility of being the bread winner to Fannie, my great grandmother.
The land had to be cleared and a cabin, which never had a wood floor, was raised. Trees also had to be cut to provide firewood for the cabin, as well as for the boarding house in Victor.
Great Grandpa also had a vegetable garden on the homestead where he, Sumner and Earl lived from time to time and also did some hunting and trapping.
Great Grandpa Osborn worked many jobs as well as homesteading. At one time he was the Game Warden at Rainbow Falls and the Hatchery.
It was always stated that Poppa did not hold a job for a very long period of time, and was not a good provider. That often left the responsibility of being the bread winner to Fannie, my great grandmother.
The family living with my great grandmother Osborn in Victor helped with work at the boarding house—washing dishes, doing laundry, making up beds, and preparing meals for the miners. My grandmother Nellie told me that she and her twin brother, Earl, learned their times-tables washing and drying dishes. Nellie and Earl had to bring in sand and water to scrub the wood floors in the dining room with stiff brushes as the miners carried in mud on their boots.
The two stoves at the boarding house had to be blackened and this left the kids with black hands for days. My grandmother Nellie stated to me that she hated doing this task while her older sister, Kitty, sat in the living room playing the piano in a blue silk dress.
The chickens laid eggs which had to be gathered. When the hens quit laying they were made into stewed chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, and other dishes. The ham went toward the beans that Great Grandmother Fanny Osborn always cooked with cinnamon and tomatoes. I still make that recipe today. She also baked delicious homemade dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls for every meal.
My grandmother Nellie told me how she helped churn milk from the cow into butter and cream that was used in the meals. The Osborn family also had a garden in Victor which provided carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, potatoes, green beans, sweet peas, onions, beets, turnips and cucumbers as well as lettuce and other herbs. They home canned vegetables, made jams and jellies of wild raspberries, wild currents, and any fruit they could get their hands on. The owner of the boarding house paid Great Grandpa to bring in meat for boarding miners.
People would come from Canon City with apples which were stored for the winter in the cellar as were the potatoes. Great Grandma Osborn was famous for her ability to cook and sew; she even tatted lace for her daughters' wedding dresses and collars.
My grandmother Nellie also told me how they got even with my aunt Kitty when they were living at the boarding house. Kitty was dating a man 20 years older than she was. His name was Robert (Bob) White and he worked as a bookkeeper at the bank in Victor. He would bring Aunt Kitty big boxes of fancy chocolates. When my grandmother Nellie and her twin brother Earl could get ahold of the chocolates, they would go behind the house in Victor (as far as they could and not be seen from the house) and eat as much of the chocolates as they desired, then throw the remainder down the hill.
The two stoves at the boarding house had to be blackened and this left the kids with black hands for days. My grandmother Nellie stated to me that she hated doing this task while her older sister, Kitty, sat in the living room playing the piano in a blue silk dress.
The chickens laid eggs which had to be gathered. When the hens quit laying they were made into stewed chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, and other dishes. The ham went toward the beans that Great Grandmother Fanny Osborn always cooked with cinnamon and tomatoes. I still make that recipe today. She also baked delicious homemade dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls for every meal.
My grandmother Nellie told me how she helped churn milk from the cow into butter and cream that was used in the meals. The Osborn family also had a garden in Victor which provided carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, potatoes, green beans, sweet peas, onions, beets, turnips and cucumbers as well as lettuce and other herbs. They home canned vegetables, made jams and jellies of wild raspberries, wild currents, and any fruit they could get their hands on. The owner of the boarding house paid Great Grandpa to bring in meat for boarding miners.
People would come from Canon City with apples which were stored for the winter in the cellar as were the potatoes. Great Grandma Osborn was famous for her ability to cook and sew; she even tatted lace for her daughters' wedding dresses and collars.
My grandmother Nellie also told me how they got even with my aunt Kitty when they were living at the boarding house. Kitty was dating a man 20 years older than she was. His name was Robert (Bob) White and he worked as a bookkeeper at the bank in Victor. He would bring Aunt Kitty big boxes of fancy chocolates. When my grandmother Nellie and her twin brother Earl could get ahold of the chocolates, they would go behind the house in Victor (as far as they could and not be seen from the house) and eat as much of the chocolates as they desired, then throw the remainder down the hill.
Fannie and Alfred Osborn by lilac bushes in yard of their home in Victor.
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Great Grandpa Osborn in front of his doctor’s home in Victor.
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Two of the Osborn children, my grandmother Nellie and her younger sister Hazel, were given bicycles by Winfield Scott Stratton. Grandmother Nellie told me they washed Stratton's clothes from time to time, and she said quite a few of the kids in Victor were given bicycles by him as well.
After marrying, my grandmother Nellie lived for a while in Cripple Creek and then they moved to Goldfield in 1909 where her husband, Hanson Kirk, worked at a mine across from Goldfield. They lived just two houses down from the fire station in Goldfield. Grandmother Nellie would walk to Victor, even in the winter with two small children (Earl and Robert), to help her mother, Fanny Osborn, do some of the work and wash clothes for the miners at the boarding house.
My grandmother Nellie’s husband died in 1918 when their children were three and seven. She continued helping her mother with the boarding house, and would enter and win foot races held in Victor for bags of groceries. A little later she moved to various locations in Colorado Springs and, being a widow, would take in laundry to earn a living for her children.
Great Grandma Fanny Osborn raised two of her grandchildren (Francis and Dorothy) after the wife of her son Earl (Neil) passed away. My grandmother Nellie raised their third child, Lucille, who we called Micky. Micky was more like a sister to my grandmother’s children (Earl and Robert). Robert was my father. My grandmother Nellie also went to Iowa when her sister needed her to help, and then she moved to Fowler when her sister Annie was having sick children. There are many stories about snakes in Fowler, Colorado when she was helping.
Life was tough for all of them. Great Grandma Osborn had a hard life. Her oldest son, Sumner, was murdered in 1941 and she also lost a grandchild in 1936 in an explosion when the Little Ike tunnel was being built on Highway 67. He was also named Earl. He was born in 1917 and they called him Buddy. Someone threw a cigarette in the dynamite storage shed where he was working. He was buried first in the cemetery in Divide, and then moved and reburied in Evergreen cemetery in Colorado Springs. He told Uncle Sumner not to lay him on the cold ground. They said the flesh fell off his legs and feet immediately.
I have many more memories of the Osborn family as I grew up living with my grandmother Nellie and heard all the stories of the relatives at one time or another. Being a curious kid, I would settle beneath the dining room table cloth and listen.
By 1936 my great grandma Fanny Osborn accumulated enough money to purchase a modest little house in Colorado Springs on 10th Street where she and Poppa spent the rest of their lives. I have many wonderful memories of Great Grandmother Osborn. When she passed away, she left me a broach that looks like a pansy. I used to go to her house, which was only one block away from where I lived with my grandmother Nellie, and she let me choose which pin she would wear every day. I usually chose the Pansy pin, and that was the reason she gave it to me. I remember her sitting by the dining room window peeling an apple with a little silver knife and saying she was waiting for Sumner to come home because we did not have proof he was dead.
I don’t know much about where Great Grandpa Alfred Osborn came from other than the fact he used to tell us he lived in Kansas, somewhere he could see Pikes Peak in the far distance, and wild Indians used to come to their home and beg for food.
I don’t know where Great Grandmother Fannie Osborn (nee Hopkins) met Great Grandpa Osborn, but she was raised in Iowa in an influential family and had never left Iowa before she married Poppa. One of her sisters, Katherine, went to Japan to be a missionary and was in Japan many years. The story goes she was greatly loved by the Japanese people.
Submitted by Margaret (Marge) Breth, December 2016.
After marrying, my grandmother Nellie lived for a while in Cripple Creek and then they moved to Goldfield in 1909 where her husband, Hanson Kirk, worked at a mine across from Goldfield. They lived just two houses down from the fire station in Goldfield. Grandmother Nellie would walk to Victor, even in the winter with two small children (Earl and Robert), to help her mother, Fanny Osborn, do some of the work and wash clothes for the miners at the boarding house.
My grandmother Nellie’s husband died in 1918 when their children were three and seven. She continued helping her mother with the boarding house, and would enter and win foot races held in Victor for bags of groceries. A little later she moved to various locations in Colorado Springs and, being a widow, would take in laundry to earn a living for her children.
Great Grandma Fanny Osborn raised two of her grandchildren (Francis and Dorothy) after the wife of her son Earl (Neil) passed away. My grandmother Nellie raised their third child, Lucille, who we called Micky. Micky was more like a sister to my grandmother’s children (Earl and Robert). Robert was my father. My grandmother Nellie also went to Iowa when her sister needed her to help, and then she moved to Fowler when her sister Annie was having sick children. There are many stories about snakes in Fowler, Colorado when she was helping.
Life was tough for all of them. Great Grandma Osborn had a hard life. Her oldest son, Sumner, was murdered in 1941 and she also lost a grandchild in 1936 in an explosion when the Little Ike tunnel was being built on Highway 67. He was also named Earl. He was born in 1917 and they called him Buddy. Someone threw a cigarette in the dynamite storage shed where he was working. He was buried first in the cemetery in Divide, and then moved and reburied in Evergreen cemetery in Colorado Springs. He told Uncle Sumner not to lay him on the cold ground. They said the flesh fell off his legs and feet immediately.
I have many more memories of the Osborn family as I grew up living with my grandmother Nellie and heard all the stories of the relatives at one time or another. Being a curious kid, I would settle beneath the dining room table cloth and listen.
By 1936 my great grandma Fanny Osborn accumulated enough money to purchase a modest little house in Colorado Springs on 10th Street where she and Poppa spent the rest of their lives. I have many wonderful memories of Great Grandmother Osborn. When she passed away, she left me a broach that looks like a pansy. I used to go to her house, which was only one block away from where I lived with my grandmother Nellie, and she let me choose which pin she would wear every day. I usually chose the Pansy pin, and that was the reason she gave it to me. I remember her sitting by the dining room window peeling an apple with a little silver knife and saying she was waiting for Sumner to come home because we did not have proof he was dead.
I don’t know much about where Great Grandpa Alfred Osborn came from other than the fact he used to tell us he lived in Kansas, somewhere he could see Pikes Peak in the far distance, and wild Indians used to come to their home and beg for food.
I don’t know where Great Grandmother Fannie Osborn (nee Hopkins) met Great Grandpa Osborn, but she was raised in Iowa in an influential family and had never left Iowa before she married Poppa. One of her sisters, Katherine, went to Japan to be a missionary and was in Japan many years. The story goes she was greatly loved by the Japanese people.
Submitted by Margaret (Marge) Breth, December 2016.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margaret (Marge) Breth was born in Kapaa, Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands to Robert Kirk and Florence Henriquez, who met there while her father was serving in the United States Navy. Robert’s parents (Marge’s grandparents) were Nellie Osborn and Hanson Kirk. Nellie’s parents (Marge’s great grandparents) were Alfred Henry Osborn and Sophronia "Fannie" (Hopkins) Osborn, who lived in Teller County until old age when they moved to Colorado Springs.
Marge’s great grandparents homesteaded on what is now Mueller State Park where her great grandpa Osborn and his sons, Sumner and Earl (Neil), lived from time to time. Their original cabin still stands, although it is in sad repair. According to Marge: “If you take a guided hike to the Osborn Homestead at night, the ranger will give an accounting of the homesteaders around a campfire and tell a story about Sumner Osborn and his death—asking ‘Did the Cahill brothers really kill Sumner Osborn?’—a real story about my family”.
Marge explains: “My parents brought me to Colorado when I was nine months old and my grandmother Nellie raised me from that time until I got married to my first husband. For some reason my mother was incapable of raising me.”
“I grew up on the west side of Colorado Springs. At that time my great grandparents, Fanny and Alfred Osborn, lived one block away on South 10th Street. I visited them several times every day when my grandmother Nellie went to check on them and help them, as they were old at that point. I grew up listening under the dining room table to all the family history, gossip, and tales of the family trials and problems.”
“I have physically lived in six foreign countries, visited twenty four other foreign countries, and completely circled the globe fourteen times in my travels. After traveling the world, my husband Adam retired and we purchased our home in Woodland Park. My hobbies are gardening, hunting mushrooms, hunting for gemstones, camping, and painting. Renewing my family ties to Victor became a priority in 2014 when we purchased and began renovating a historic vacation home at 517 Portland Avenue—just a couple blocks from the big log boarding house that my great grandmother once managed.”
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Margaret (Marge) Breth was born in Kapaa, Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands to Robert Kirk and Florence Henriquez, who met there while her father was serving in the United States Navy. Robert’s parents (Marge’s grandparents) were Nellie Osborn and Hanson Kirk. Nellie’s parents (Marge’s great grandparents) were Alfred Henry Osborn and Sophronia "Fannie" (Hopkins) Osborn, who lived in Teller County until old age when they moved to Colorado Springs.
Marge’s great grandparents homesteaded on what is now Mueller State Park where her great grandpa Osborn and his sons, Sumner and Earl (Neil), lived from time to time. Their original cabin still stands, although it is in sad repair. According to Marge: “If you take a guided hike to the Osborn Homestead at night, the ranger will give an accounting of the homesteaders around a campfire and tell a story about Sumner Osborn and his death—asking ‘Did the Cahill brothers really kill Sumner Osborn?’—a real story about my family”.
Marge explains: “My parents brought me to Colorado when I was nine months old and my grandmother Nellie raised me from that time until I got married to my first husband. For some reason my mother was incapable of raising me.”
“I grew up on the west side of Colorado Springs. At that time my great grandparents, Fanny and Alfred Osborn, lived one block away on South 10th Street. I visited them several times every day when my grandmother Nellie went to check on them and help them, as they were old at that point. I grew up listening under the dining room table to all the family history, gossip, and tales of the family trials and problems.”
“I have physically lived in six foreign countries, visited twenty four other foreign countries, and completely circled the globe fourteen times in my travels. After traveling the world, my husband Adam retired and we purchased our home in Woodland Park. My hobbies are gardening, hunting mushrooms, hunting for gemstones, camping, and painting. Renewing my family ties to Victor became a priority in 2014 when we purchased and began renovating a historic vacation home at 517 Portland Avenue—just a couple blocks from the big log boarding house that my great grandmother once managed.”
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Additional Information about the Family of Frances Sophronia “Fannie” Hopkins & Alfred Henry Osborn, who lived in Teller County, Colorado at Gillett Flats, Victor, and the Osborn Homestead (now part of Mueller State Park).
Frances Sophronia “Fannie” Hopkins: Born 1857 in Iowa. Married Alfred Henry Osborn. Died 1945 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Age at time of death 88. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.
Alfred Henry Osborn: Born 3 Dec 1855. Married Frances Sophronia "Fannie" Hopkins. Died 31 Dec 1943 in Colorado Springs. Age at time of death 88. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.
This union produced seven children:
1. Anna Elizabeth Osborn: Born 16 Mar 1881, Coon Rapids, Carroll County, Iowa. Married 24 Dec 1899 to Ferdinand Pauli of Sweden. Died 1 Mar 1955, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs. This union produced 4 children—Morris, Myrtle, Pearl, and Vincent. All children deceased at date of this writing, grandchildren and great-grandchildren living.
Ferdinand Pauli: Died 1961, Fowler Colorado. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. Ferdinand had been a potter in Sweden. He and his brother Gustauf traveled to America and became citizens. He went into farming after living awhile outside Florissant, Colorado; then went to live and farm in Fowler, Colorado.
2. Bessie Marilda Osborn: Born Jan 1885, Guthrie Center, Guthrie County, Iowa. Married 12 Mar 1901 to Jay Matthews from Idaho. Died 44 Mar 1958, Boise, Ada County, Idaho. This union produced 4 children—Kathleen, Nellie, and Hesper, all deceased at the date of this writing, grandchildren and great grandchildren living.
3. Sumner Alfred Osborn: Born 7 Jun 1886, Guthrie Center, Guthrie County, Iowa. Never Married. No children. Disappeared Oct 1941 and declared dead 30 Oct 1941, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. His body has never been found to this day—murdered?
4. Katherine (Kitty) Hesper Osborn: Born 4 Jul 1891, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. Married 4 Jul 1922 to Robert H. White. Died 12 Jan 1968, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. Buried 6 Apr 1968 in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. This union produced 3 children—John, Orville & Willis, all children deceased at the date of this writing, grandchildren and great grandchildren living at present.
Robert H. White: Born 1885. Died 1918, Colorado Springs. Buried Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs.
5. Nellie Margaret Osborn (my Grandmother): Twin, Born 13 Aug 1893, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. Married 1908 to William Hanson Kirk of Missouri. This union produced 2 children—Earl and Robert. Died 2 Apr 1976, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Buried 6 Apr 1976, Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs.
First husband, William Hanson Kirk: Born 1888 in Missouri. Died 1918, Salida, Colorado. This union produced 2 children—Earl and Robert (my father), both deceased at present date, grandchildren and great grandchildren are living at present.
Second husband, Frank Ray Dillon of Kansas. Born 1891. Died 1945 in Colorado Springs. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. This union produced no children. "Daddy Ray" had a son from a previous marriage whose wife passed away. Frank Ray Dillon was a wonderful fiddle player and my best friend. I grieved his passing immensely as I was only 6 years old. He used to take me to see the trains as I always loved the steam trains. Grandma Nellie Dillon who raised me would get cranky and "Daddy Ray", as I called him, would put me in the truck and away we would go to look at various trains going over bridges on the old highway that used to go to Pueblo.
6. Earl (Neil) Osborn: Twin, Born 13 Aug 1893, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. Married 8 Oct 1914 to Mayme Fishburn. Died 29 Dec , Cripple Creek, Teller County, Colorado. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. This union produced 4 children—Francis, Lucille, Dorothy, and Earl (who was called Buddy). Buddy, died in a tragic death in the explosion while working on the Little Ike Tunnel on the highway to between Divide and Cripple Creek. Grandchildren and great grandchildren are living at present.
Mayme Fishburn: Born 1898. Died 1927, at 29 years of age in childbirth.
7. Hazel Dorothy Osborn: Born 14 Nov 1989. Married 9 Feb 1916 to Gustauf Pauli from Sweden. Died 12 Sep 1976. Buried in Rosemont Cemetery, Pueblo County, Pueblo, Colorado. This union produced 3 children—Mary, Giles, and Dansil. Dansil was an Oceanographic researcher with the famous Jock Cousteau. Grandchildren and great grandchildren are living at present.
Gustauf Adolph Pauli: Born 2 Apr 1891, Sweden. Died Nov 1974. Buried in Rosemont Cemetery, Pueblo Colorado. Hazel married the brother of her sister Anna’s husband. Gustauf Pauli had also been a potter in Sweden and later became a famous Bee Keeper known for compiling research data published in Bee Keeping Journals. Gus shipped honey out by the freight car loads.
Frances Sophronia “Fannie” Hopkins: Born 1857 in Iowa. Married Alfred Henry Osborn. Died 1945 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Age at time of death 88. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.
Alfred Henry Osborn: Born 3 Dec 1855. Married Frances Sophronia "Fannie" Hopkins. Died 31 Dec 1943 in Colorado Springs. Age at time of death 88. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.
This union produced seven children:
1. Anna Elizabeth Osborn: Born 16 Mar 1881, Coon Rapids, Carroll County, Iowa. Married 24 Dec 1899 to Ferdinand Pauli of Sweden. Died 1 Mar 1955, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs. This union produced 4 children—Morris, Myrtle, Pearl, and Vincent. All children deceased at date of this writing, grandchildren and great-grandchildren living.
Ferdinand Pauli: Died 1961, Fowler Colorado. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. Ferdinand had been a potter in Sweden. He and his brother Gustauf traveled to America and became citizens. He went into farming after living awhile outside Florissant, Colorado; then went to live and farm in Fowler, Colorado.
2. Bessie Marilda Osborn: Born Jan 1885, Guthrie Center, Guthrie County, Iowa. Married 12 Mar 1901 to Jay Matthews from Idaho. Died 44 Mar 1958, Boise, Ada County, Idaho. This union produced 4 children—Kathleen, Nellie, and Hesper, all deceased at the date of this writing, grandchildren and great grandchildren living.
3. Sumner Alfred Osborn: Born 7 Jun 1886, Guthrie Center, Guthrie County, Iowa. Never Married. No children. Disappeared Oct 1941 and declared dead 30 Oct 1941, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. His body has never been found to this day—murdered?
4. Katherine (Kitty) Hesper Osborn: Born 4 Jul 1891, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. Married 4 Jul 1922 to Robert H. White. Died 12 Jan 1968, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. Buried 6 Apr 1968 in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. This union produced 3 children—John, Orville & Willis, all children deceased at the date of this writing, grandchildren and great grandchildren living at present.
Robert H. White: Born 1885. Died 1918, Colorado Springs. Buried Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs.
5. Nellie Margaret Osborn (my Grandmother): Twin, Born 13 Aug 1893, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. Married 1908 to William Hanson Kirk of Missouri. This union produced 2 children—Earl and Robert. Died 2 Apr 1976, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Buried 6 Apr 1976, Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs.
First husband, William Hanson Kirk: Born 1888 in Missouri. Died 1918, Salida, Colorado. This union produced 2 children—Earl and Robert (my father), both deceased at present date, grandchildren and great grandchildren are living at present.
Second husband, Frank Ray Dillon of Kansas. Born 1891. Died 1945 in Colorado Springs. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. This union produced no children. "Daddy Ray" had a son from a previous marriage whose wife passed away. Frank Ray Dillon was a wonderful fiddle player and my best friend. I grieved his passing immensely as I was only 6 years old. He used to take me to see the trains as I always loved the steam trains. Grandma Nellie Dillon who raised me would get cranky and "Daddy Ray", as I called him, would put me in the truck and away we would go to look at various trains going over bridges on the old highway that used to go to Pueblo.
6. Earl (Neil) Osborn: Twin, Born 13 Aug 1893, Midland, Teller County, Colorado. Married 8 Oct 1914 to Mayme Fishburn. Died 29 Dec , Cripple Creek, Teller County, Colorado. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Colorado Springs. This union produced 4 children—Francis, Lucille, Dorothy, and Earl (who was called Buddy). Buddy, died in a tragic death in the explosion while working on the Little Ike Tunnel on the highway to between Divide and Cripple Creek. Grandchildren and great grandchildren are living at present.
Mayme Fishburn: Born 1898. Died 1927, at 29 years of age in childbirth.
7. Hazel Dorothy Osborn: Born 14 Nov 1989. Married 9 Feb 1916 to Gustauf Pauli from Sweden. Died 12 Sep 1976. Buried in Rosemont Cemetery, Pueblo County, Pueblo, Colorado. This union produced 3 children—Mary, Giles, and Dansil. Dansil was an Oceanographic researcher with the famous Jock Cousteau. Grandchildren and great grandchildren are living at present.
Gustauf Adolph Pauli: Born 2 Apr 1891, Sweden. Died Nov 1974. Buried in Rosemont Cemetery, Pueblo Colorado. Hazel married the brother of her sister Anna’s husband. Gustauf Pauli had also been a potter in Sweden and later became a famous Bee Keeper known for compiling research data published in Bee Keeping Journals. Gus shipped honey out by the freight car loads.
THE PAST MATTERS. PASS IT ALONG.
The Next Generation Will Only Inherit What We Choose to Save and Make Accessible.
Please Share Your Memories and Family Connections to Victor & the World's Greatest Gold Camp by
Contacting Victor Heritage Society, PO Box 424, Victor, CO 80860 or e-mail [email protected].
The Next Generation Will Only Inherit What We Choose to Save and Make Accessible.
Please Share Your Memories and Family Connections to Victor & the World's Greatest Gold Camp by
Contacting Victor Heritage Society, PO Box 424, Victor, CO 80860 or e-mail [email protected].
VictorHeritageSociety.com
Copyright © 2023 Victor Heritage Society. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2023 Victor Heritage Society. All Rights Reserved.