San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-27
Ex-Slsves Who Have Made and Lost For
tunes in the west-Denver's First Born
Pickaninny-A Negroes Who Was Wealthy
and Is Taking In Washing.

aSSlSUeU unem III Cnelr wars Win nOStiie tTioeS,
and finally he became great war chief among
the Crows.
On leaving the Crows Beckwourth came to
Denver, where he and his squaw resided for
some time. Here he had an alteration with
Bill Payne, the pioneer negro blacksmith
whom Ben Halliday had sent west to shoe the
horses for the old time pony express After
filling Bill Payne's body with buckshot, and
all acquittal in the courts, Beckwourth re-
turned to Wyoming, and later attended
great feast of the Crows, to which he and his
squaw and old Jim Baker, the famous scout,
still living, and his Shoshone squaw, were in
vited The Crow squaws put poison in his
food, and thus died Jim Beckwourth, the
negro scout aud adopted war chief of the Crow
Indians.
As Beckwourth refused to live with the
Crows they thought they could always have
his spirit with them if they poisoned him in
their tribe at this great feast.
CAREER OF TWO MEN.
Edward j. Sanderlin, Denver's wealthiest
colored barber, having amassed a fortune of
5000, 900, has rented his shop and retired
from business. He now dsvotes his time to
collecting rents and looking after his ranches
and mining interests. He was a pioneer in
California, and was among the first to follow
the rush to Colorado in the Pixies Peak ex-
element of 1859.
He is bright mulatto, and is the most
prominent of his race in the Rocky noun
Sains. He says his fathers name was Wilson
Sanderlin. 81 think he came from Eng
land" said Edward j. Sanderlin, referring
to his father, and settled in North Carolina.
lie moved from that state to Shelby and
Montgomery counties, Tennessee, where he
owned large plantations. He died leaving
an estate worth about million dollars.
There were two sets of children, one white,
and the other set by my mother, who was Of
mixed blood. There was a long contest in
the courts" continued Sanderlin, lover the
state, which finally resulted i'll my mothers
children receiving about $50, 900 each. did
not get my share until after | had made
fortune in California. | was born in New
Or cans in 1886, and was educated at Gill
nore's school, Cincinnati"
One of Denver's richest negroes is Lewis
Price, a real estate man, whose wealth is esti-
mated at from sl5000O to $4,000. He was
born slave in Clay county, No, in lS49.
Some of his people were owned by the Price
family, of Missouri, and hence he bears the
anne name as Sterling Price, the famous Con-
tolerate general vi That state. When hardly
more than a boy L4sis Price ran away from
his master, Stokey Williams, in Ray county,
No., in 1865, and going TO st. Louis enlisted
in the union army, but was refused, as he
was too young
SEVERAL WEALTHY NEGROES.
In August of that year he went with his
mother to Atchison, Kan. From 1865 till
1897 ba drOya Cy teams across tho country
Then for ten years be ran a laundry in Den
yer, Cheyenne and other points, saving sew
eral thousand dollars. He has made two
small fortunes prior to making his present
great wealth He lost all he had in 1850 in
The Denver Star, paper he started in Den
yer for the negro race He came out $1,000
in debt and quit journalism.
Some of the pioneer negroes are dead and
others are widely scattered throughout the
west James c. Stiles, vino was with Green
Russell and the Georgians who discovered
gold in Cheny creek in 1858, is said to be in
Montana. Jerry Dempsey, a Seer, would
have become Leadville millionaire had ne
not died before that great mining camp
reached the height of its prosperity. Demp-
sey is said to have given $500 to the first
negro baby born i'll Lsadville.
The richest negro in the Rocky mountains
was B. L. Ford. who came to Denver from
Chicago in 1860 He built the Interocean
hotels in Denver and Cheyenne, and at one
time was worth $3.50, 900, but lost it, Ford is
witty fellow, and is working up again. He
is now worth $4,000 Ford used to be bar
Der. Jerry Lee, of Central Colo, is pros
porous miner worth $4,000 or $4,000
SOME PIONEER YEGaEsSES.
The most famous as well as the first he
greSs in the Rocky mountains was Aunt
Clara Brown" She is said to have been born
a slave in Virginia about the year 1900. She
was owned by Ambrose Smith, of Virginia,
bet when a child she was taken to Kentucky
and later in life became the property of
George Brown, of Russellville, and on his
death was given her freedom by his heirs. In
1853 she went to Leavenworth, Kan, and in
1889, when nearly 60 years old, she followed
the golf hunters to the Rocky mountains.
William Randolph, a well known negro
miner of Leadville is said to have spent S20,-
0O0 on one trip to New York city. Mary
Randolph, a Seer, has had a varied ex
perience, and is now taking in Washing and
investing her spare earnings in the mines.
Mary Calvin, now a Mrs Houston, also 4
'59er, has about 5000 or $1,000 in property.
An old colored man named Wagonner, who
came west in 1860, is worth about $50, 900.
DR.. J. B. Young, the pioneer negro physician
in Denver, is now said to be in Montana.
Others OF negro pioneers are still living in
Colorado and throughout the west. Denver,
for her population, has but few negroes, yet
they have property estimated as worth 81
600, OOO.-Cor. Chicago News