Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region

By Heather Jordan

The word philanthropy is described as the “love of mankind” and the women and men in Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region represent that idea. While by no means a comprehensive publication of every benefactor of our region, what we attempt to do with this volume is provide a small sampling of the generous citizens who have impacted our community.

Our book begins with Colorado Springs’ most prominent bigwigs, the Palmer family. In a letter, Henry James describes spending a Christmas with the Palmers in England, and Susan Fletcher recalls the lives of General William and Queen Palmer’s daughters, Elsie, Dorothy, and Marjory, including their important involvement in the wellness of our local citizens.

Author Joyce B. Lohse discusses Spencer Penrose’s contributions to the Pikes Peak region, his relationship with Julie Penrose (who graces our book’s cover), and his partnership with another of our city’s significant benefactors, Charles L. Tutt.

Winfield Scott Stratton, whose contributions include the local post office, city hall, court house, and the Myron Stratton Home, is discussed in Eugene Parson’s chapter. And readers can learn about Philip Washburn’s involvement with the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in a chapter by George V. Fagan.

David D. Finley covers the fascinating life of Edmond C. van Diest, including his time as an engineer and director of Glen Eyrie and Monument Valley Park. And one of the region’s more controversial, though indisputably influential men, Irving Howbert, is covered in a chapter by William G. Thomas.

Not everyone in this book was a wealthy or well-known citizen. The significant contributions of the Beth-El nurses are discussed by Joanne F. Ruth; we learn about the impact American Indians has on tourism in a chapter by Erinn Barnes; the Strouds, an accomplished African American family, are covered by John S. Holley; and Fred Barr, a man who left a lasting impact on the area’s recreational activities, is discussed by Eric Swab.

By following the examples of those set before us it is easy to see how we, too, can be “Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pikes Peak Library District
• Release date: May 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781567353464

Heather Jordan

The Pikes Peak Library District's Regional History Series chronicles the unique and often undocumented history of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West. The subjects of the books are based on the annual Pikes Peak Regional History Symposia. The books are edited by PPLD staff members and by local historians.

Book preview

Bigwigs & Benefactors

of the Pikes Peak Region

Edited by

Heather Jordan, Tim Blevins, Dennis Daily,

Sydne Dean, Chris Nicholl, & Michael L. Olsen

Published by

Pikes Peak Library District

Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region

© 2017 Pikes Peak Library District.

All rights reserved. Smashwords edition.

This publication was made possible by private funds. Interpretation of events and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD), PPLD Board of Trustees, or PPLD employees and editors.

ISBN 978-1-56735-346-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017936259

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Name: Jordan, Heather, editor | Blevins, Tim, editor | Daily, Dennis, editor | Dean, Sydne, editor | Nicholl, Chris, editor | Olsen, Michael L., editor.

Title: Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region / Edited by Heather Jordan, Tim Blevins, Dennis Daily, Sydne Dean, Chris Nicholl, Michael L. Olsen.

Description: First edition. | Colorado Springs, Colorado: Pikes Peak Library District, 2017 | Series: Regional History Series| Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN: 2017936259 | ISBN: 9781567353396

Subjects: LCSH: Philanthropists—Colorado—Colorado Springs.| Benefactors—Colorado – Colorado Springs. | Nursing—Colorado—History. | Palmer, William Jackson, -- 1836–1909. | Stratton, Winfield Scott, -- 1848-1902. | Penrose, Spencer, -- 1865-1939. | Howbert, Irving, -- 1846–1934.

Classification: LCC: CT226 B5 2017 |DDC: 920.097885—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017936259

Regional History Series

The Colorado Labor Wars: Cripple Creek 1903–1904,

A Centennial Commemoration

To Spare No Pains: Zebulon Montgomery Pike

& His 1806–1807 Southwest Expedition

Doctor at Timberline: True Tales, Travails,

& Triumphs of a Pioneer Colorado Physician

Legends, Labors & Loves:

William Jackson Palmer, 1836–1909

Extraordinary Women of the Rocky Mountain West

Lightning in His Hand:

The Life Story of Nikola Tesla

Enterprise & Innovation in the Pikes Peak Region

The Pioneer Photographer:

Rocky Mountain Adventures with a Camera

A City Beautiful Dream: The 1912 Vision for Colorado Springs

Film & Photography on the Front Range

Doctors, Disease, & Dying in the Pikes Peak Region

Rush to the Rockies! The 1859 Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush

Candy Makers’ Manual for the Household

Massacre, Murder, & Mayhem in the Rocky Mountain West

Disasters of the Pikes Peak Region

The Pikes Peak Library District’s Regional History Series chronicles the unique and often undocumented history of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.

For purchasing information, contact:

Clausen Books

622 Custer Ave.

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

tel: [phone], toll free: (888)-412-7717

http://www.antiquarianbooks.biz

Foreword

Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region, the 16th book in the Regional History Series, is a collection of biographical narratives about people who have impacted the Pikes Peak region’s history and development. Many of these chapters are based on presentations given at our 11th annual Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium, also named Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region.

This book is by no means a comprehensive publication of every benefactor of our region. It would be impossible to include all of the generous women and men who have impacted our community. What we attempt to do with this volume is provide a small sampling of those who have.

Currently defined as a powerful and important person, the term bigwig originated in the 17th century, when European nobility wore large wigs to show their high status. Our book begins with Colorado Springs’ biggest bigwigs, the Palmer family. In a letter, Henry James describes spending a Christmas with the Palmers in England, and Susan Fletcher recalls the fascinating lives of General William and Queen Palmer’s daughters, Elsie, Dorothy, and Marjory, including their important involvement in the wellness of our local citizens.

A book about bigwigs would not be complete without a chapter about Spencer Penrose. Author Joyce B. Lohse discusses his contributions to the region, his relationship with Julie Penrose, who graces our book’s cover, and his partnership with another of our city’s benefactors, Charles Leaming Tutt.

One of Colorado’s wealthiest and most generous contributors to our area is discussed in Eugene Parsons’ chapter on Winfield Scott Stratton, whose contributions include the local post office, city hall, court house, and the Myron Stratton Home. Readers can also learn about Philip Washburn and his involvement with the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in a chapter by George V. Fagan.

The interesting life of Edmond C. van Diest, a regional businessman and prominent Colorado Springs community leader who served as an engineer and director for Glen Eyrie and Monument Valley Park, is covered in David D. Finley’s chapter. And Irving Howbert, one of the region’s more controversial, though indisputably influential men, is explored in William G. Thomas’ Howbert, Waite, & the Ladies: The Colorado Gubernatorial Election of 1894.

Not everyone in this book was a wealthy or well-known citizen, but they still left a legacy. Vital contributions to the health of the Pikes Peak region are discussed in Joanne F. Ruth’s chapter on the history of the tireless Beth-El nurses; we learn about the impact American Indians had on tourism in Erinn Barnes’ chapter; an accomplished African American family, the Strouds, are covered in a chapter by John S. Holley; and a man who left a lasting impact on the area’s recreational activities, Fred Barr, is discussed by Eric Swab.

The word philanthropy is described as the love of mankind, and the women and men in this book represent that idea. Their actions were not driven by profit-based motives alone—or sometimes, at all—but for humanitarian ones. By following the examples of those set before us it is easy to see how we, too, can be Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region.

John Spears, Executive Director

Pikes Peak Library District

Heather Jordan, Archivist

Pikes Peak Library District

Acknowledgments

Bigwigs & Benefactors of the Pikes Peak Region is the result of many individuals’ efforts and talents.

Our thanks go to Erinn Barnes, David D. Finley, Susan Fletcher, Joyce B. Lohse, Eric Swab, and William G. Thomas for writing chapters for this book based on their outstanding presentations given at the 2014 Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium. Thanks also go to Joanne F. Ruth, whose chapter is based on her presentation at the 2008 Regional History Symposium, Doctors, Disease, & Dying in the Pikes Peak Region.

Michael L. Olsen, a co-editor for this publication, deserves our gratitude for his wonderful editorial skills. The Regional History Series books are always better thanks to his expertise.

Proofreading is a vital part of publishing these volumes and we are thankful for our fantastic proofreaders who read each page of this book to ensure it was as polished and error free as possible. Thanks go to Emily Anderson, Sandy Fledderjohann, Mariah Hudson, Toni Miller, Tim Morris, Chris Nicholl, and Marta Norton for their hard work.

Special thanks go to William Bill Thomas for his beautiful cover design and to Nina Kuberski for her scanning talents, providing high-quality photographs for our publications. We also appreciate the work of Takiyah Jemison for creating the Catalog in Publication record.

We are indebted to the Helen & James McCaffery Fund for Regional History, the Friends of the Pikes Peak Library District, the Pikes Peak Library District Foundation, and the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum for their sponsorship and support.

There are numerous Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) staff members who assist with Special Collections programs to make sure they run smoothly. The Community Engagement and Outreach Office is comprised of many of these people. For their tireless assistance with filming and promoting our events, we thank Sean Anglum, Roland Clements, Susan Clifton, Dave Franklyn, Jamey Hastings, David Kelley, James Krebs, Colleen Lark, Nana Lee, Danny Walter, and Jeremiah Walter.

Thanks are also due to Colorado College Special Collections, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, Denver Public Library, La Plata County Historical Society, and the Pearson family for contributing photographs for this publication.

Finally we thank all of you, the readers, for your continued interest and passion for learning about the history of the Pikes Peak region.

The Editorial Committee

Cover photograph: Julie Penrose, undated. Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District (001–5277).

About Pikes Peak Library District

Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is the second largest library district in the State of Colorado and regularly places in the top tier of national library rankings. It serves more than 623,000 residents in El Paso County providing nearly 900 hours of library service a week throughout the 2,000 square miles of its service area. PPLD’s 14 facilities, online resources, and mobile library service provide access to materials, technology, spaces, and programs that are critical to the public, making it a vital force for individual and community transformation.

PPLD is recognized for its commitment to diversity and community collaboration, its quality programming, and its excellent customer service. It is committed to providing 21st Century library service focusing on civic collaboration, virtual access, and the creation of content. Statistically speaking:

• Almost 300,000 individuals attended PPLD programs in 2016. Public meeting and study rooms were used nearly 39,000 times by the community. Patrons booked over 1.1 million computer sessions and asked half a million reference questions.

• With an annual circulation of over 7.5 million, PPLD ranks among the highest circulating systems in the country.

• The number of individuals who walk into our libraries over the course of a year exceeds 3,400,000, an average of over 9,300 per day.

Board of Trustees 2017

Cathy Grossman, President

Keith Clayton II, Vice President

Molly Dippold, Secretary/Treasurer

Kenneth Beach

Kathleen Owings

Katherine Spicer

Wayne A. Vanderschuere

Executive Director

John Spears

Regional History Series

Editorial Committee

Tim Blevins

Sydne Dean

Heather Jordan

Tim Morris

Chris Nicholl

Principal Series Consultant

Calvin P. Otto

Cover Design

William G. Thomas

Table of Contents

Front Matter

General William Jackson & Queen Palmer: In the Words of Henry James

The Palmer Daughters & Their Impact On Colorado Springs

Winfield Scott Stratton

Edmond C. van Diest: A Great Man for Colorado,Colorado Springs, & Colorado College

Philip Washburn: A Thorough Colorado Man

The Legend & History of Fred Barr

The Penrose Legacy: Ventures, Vogue, & Vagary

Unwitting Benefactors: American Indians & Tourism in the Pikes Peak Region, 1890–1930

Howbert, Waite, & the Ladies: The Colorado Gubernatorial Election of 1894

The Strouds: A Most Remarkable Family

Nurse . . . Nurse . . . Do We Have a Nurse?

Selected Bibliography

INDEX

Queen Palmer and Gen. William Jackson Palmer, Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District (001–367 & 001–376)

General William Jackson & Queen Palmer:

In the Words of Henry James

Henry James

NOTE: This chapter is reprinted with only minor format and spelling revisions to the original version. Henry James to Grace Norton, Boston, January 4, 1888, in Henry James Letters, 1883–1895, ed. Leon Edel (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1980), 3:216–217.

I have an idea that I meant to say something about a queerly, uncomfortable yet entertaining visit (of two days, my limit), which I paid at Christmas to a wonderful old mated house, six miles from Sevenoaks, in Kent, Ightham Mote by name, which is celebrated far and wide for its picturesqueness and actually tenanted by some Colorado Americans, one General Palmer, a Mexican-railway-man, and his wife and children. I didn’t know them much, but they nevertheless secured me, and the episode was the drollest amalgam of American and Western characteristics (there were also several English people there), in the rarest old English setting—which would have been rarer still, however, if the house, owned by an ancient race (the Selby-Biggs) which is so impoverished that they haven’t a penny to spend on chair legs or window fastenings, were not in a state of almost perilous decrepitude. Its swift blue moat flows around it, its central court is an untouched piece of the fourteenth century, and its old garden and pleasaunce must be altogether adorable in summer. I slept in a room with a ghost and an oubliette; but fortunately the former remained in the latter. The good General Palmer arrived from Mexico, with the mud of his railway-making still on his boots, only two days before, to find his spontaneous, loquacious and really charming wife, installed in a moated grange and giving a Christmas feast to seventy rustics, tenants of the Selby-Bigg’s, to whom she was under no obligation beyond what was suggested by her native and, I should suppose, characteristically Coloradoish, generosity. The landlords have so long been poor and parsimonious, that they (the lean tenants) hadn’t, for generations, assisted á pareille fête, and the episode was very entertaining and successful. Seventy people were accommodated in the great high-roofed dining hall, and with our backs to the Yule log, we carved dozens of roast beefs, turkeys and plum puddings. There was a band in the court, a Christmas tree afterward, and a dance, in costume, by the children of the house, and those of the guests (I mean of course those staying ones, who had brought their infants), and tea and speeches in the housekeeper’s room. The affair was organized, perfectly, by the village inn-keeper, in that competent, immediate way in which you can get everything of that kind done in England—but the lady’s butler was an Italian boatman from the Lake of Como and her major-domo a helpless German-American governess from the Rocky Mountains. It was all a curious little example of modern cosmopolitanism; but the bewildering heterogeneousness and incoherency of such rapprochements weary my conservative sense.

Henry James (1843–1916) was an American-born British novelist and literary critic. His works include Daisy Miller (1878), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Turn of the Screw (1898), and The Wings of the Dove (1902).

.

Gen. William Jackson Palmer was a Civil War soldier, philanthropist, railroad tycoon, and founder of Colorado Springs. He married Mary Lincoln (Queen) Mellen in 1870. Palmer donated land for many Colorado Springs institutions including Cragmor Sanitarium, Colorado College, and the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District (005–375).

Palmer Girls, ca. 1882. Elsie Palmer, age nine and a half, holds six-month-old Marjory in her lap as Dorothy, age one and a half, stands nearby. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum (S993.060.14).

The Palmer Daughters & Their Impact

On Colorado Springs

Susan Fletcher

When Marjory Palmer Watt died in England in 1925, the Colorado Springs Gazette remarked that the Pikes Peak region had lost its foremost patroness and most generous benefactress, whose philanthropies have been second only to those of her father in contributing to the development of Colorado Springs.¹ Marjory and her older sisters Elsie and Dorothy Palmer are often overshadowed by the powerful legacy of their father, Gen. William Jackson Palmer, but the daughters were vitally important figures in Colorado Springs in several respects. Their relationship with their parents humanizes an otherwise legendary family, the girls served as benevolent celebrities in Colorado Springs, and they contributed generously to the well-being of the city in far-reaching ways.

The story of the Palmer girls informs our understanding of both William and Queen Palmer, and allows the humanity of the city founders to shine through the veil of myth. In his family correspondence, William, a man who tends to come off as an epic figure, suddenly seems a little bit more like a real person when he is caring about what time his daughters are going to bed and scolding them for spending too much money. The tender relationship that the girls had with Queen also does much to deepen our understanding of her own character and the values of kindness and philanthropy that she was transmitting to her children.

The daughters’ stories also inform our understanding of the extent of the family’s social connections on an international scale. In addition to their local significance, the Palmers trod on a global stage. Throughout their lifetimes, all members of the family interacted with renowned bigwigs and influential figures in the arts, industry, and politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Elsie’s journal entries talk about her time observing John Singer Sargent while he was painting her portrait, about her father’s friend Andrew Carnegie, and her own friends in the British arts and literary scene.

Finally, the girls were significant as philanthropists in their own right. As young women they served as their father’s representatives in Colorado Springs and helped him oversee his many philanthropic ventures. As adults they contributed much towards the health and well-being of marginalized children and tubercular patients in Colorado Springs. After growing up observing their father’s philanthropic activity and concern for the people of Colorado Springs, the adult Palmer daughters carried out their own legacy of kindness and giving to others in need.

Just 15 months after the first stake for the Fountain Colony was driven, William and Queen had Elsie, their first baby, on October 30, 1872. Tiny Elsie’s infancy paralleled the early years of Colorado Springs. She grew up hearing stories about her father’s exploits during the Civil War and his surveys throughout Mexico and the West. She enjoyed rambles through the countryside with him. She later recalled,

Of these very early days perhaps the pleasantest of all my recollections is one of him and me going off alone together on a lovely summer day for a long walk. We spent hours lying in the soft grasses among the rocks of north Glen Eyrie, where the flowers were growing thick—harebells, red penstemon, kinnikinnick, and painter’s brush. Our mood was a very happy one; we sang, we made up rhymes about the stealing of the hours that should have been spent in town.²

Elsie inherited her father’s fascination with nature, and loved the wild and rugged lands surrounding Glen Eyrie. She was also an imaginative child who carefully observed the world around her. In 1883, when she was 11 years old, she wrote Two Stories. One was a tale about traveling back home to Glen Eyrie from England, and the second was about two children who find a magic wand and visit an undersea kingdom. This volume is bound into a slim book, indicating that William and Queen encouraged her writing and creativity to the point of carefully binding her stories for posterity.³

While Elsie enjoyed a carefree childhood her sisters had very different experiences. The younger daughters were born under the shadow of Queen’s heart disease. Dorothy and Marjory never knew a day in their young lives when their mother was healthy and well—her illness shaped family dynamics for the majority of their childhood and early teenage years.

In 1880, Queen and her friend Alma Strettel made their way up to Leadville on the carriage roads. Queen was in her early 30s and pregnant at the time. On their way home, Queen suffered a heart attack.⁴ Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to Dorothy, on October 29, 1880. Queen’s health continued to decline and after another year at Glen Eyrie her doctors advised her to relocate to a more suitable climate. She followed William to England while he was there on business and gave birth to her third daughter Marjory in November 1881.

In November 1871, Mary Lincoln Queen Mellen Palmer opened and operated the first school in Colorado Springs, teaching in a three-room house on the northeast corner of Cascade Avenue and Bijou Street. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum (A89–78–2).

Trying to find a geographical location that would be conducive to her recovery, Queen moved with her three young daughters to New York in 1884, where they stayed for two winters with no beneficial effects. Eventually they settled in England for its moderate climate, where Queen found a circle of literary and artistic friends to cheer her up while General Palmer remained in the United States, attending to his railroad business.

By 1886, Queen’s health had deteriorated to the point where she thought death was imminent. In July of that year, she wrote a heartbreaking farewell letter to her daughters, giving them guidance on how she wanted them to live:

My precious three girls, Mother wants to be very sure that you have some words from her—for God speed —in case she should be called away suddenly on a long journey—without time to speak them to you before she goes . . . First of all—be true my darlings—search always inquiringly for that truth which will come to you in the very earnestness of your search . . . All falsehood finally be painful to you. Be kind—be kind—be kind- as you do not know how such a kind word or act may do for one who may need it. Mother thinks that kindness is more beautiful than any virtue you may have. Be gentle —and brave with a hand always outstretched to any soul who may be helped by it. And as you freely give be generous to receive—doubtful that the privilege (great indeed though it may be and is!) of giving belongs to you exclusively.⁵

At the end of the letter, Queen reminds Elsie that they have often talked of her being a little mother to her younger sisters. Queen closes her letter by encouraging them to throw their energies into doing the good at hand.⁶

The sentiments that she conveyed in the text reflect Queen’s own deeply held values of charity towards those in need, kindness towards all, and leaving the world a better place. Queen breathed into them a spirit of gentleness and generosity.

In addition to inheriting their parents’ propensities towards kindness, Elsie, Dorothy, and Marjory also benefited from their international connections. Both General Palmer and Queen enjoyed the company of larger-than-life figures on both sides of the Atlantic. Queen and the girls were close friends with the writer/artist Comyns Carr family. Dorothy Palmer, whose nickname was Dos, became best friends with their daughter Dorothy Comyns Carr, an artist who would eventually travel back to America with her friends after Queen’s death. Queen maintained a correspondence with George Meredith and Henry James. They also rented a house from British jurist and author Frederic Harrison.

Queen and William became friends with portrait artist John Singer Sargent. In the summer of 1890, the couple hired him to paint Elsie’s portrait. Seventeen-year-old Elsie recorded this process in her journals. The first time she met him she remarked, Mr. Sargent came, and of him there is much to say, though one hardly knows how to begin . . . all I will say is that one feels great trust in him, and sure of sympathy in trouble.⁷ That fall, Elsie sat for her portrait over the course of several days while Queen read Charles Steward Parnell’s speeches on Irish home rule aloud to keep the party entertained.⁸ After finishing the portrait in December, Sargent remained part of the Palmer girls’ lives. He included Elsie in his painting A Game of Bowls. The following November, he attended the play Crusadero with Elsie, Queen, and Fred Jameson.⁹ Elsie also recorded a darkly humorous story about Sargent in 1892:

Day before yesterday after having wandered through the new Gallery and Academy . . . he went into some café to refresh himself with beef and cheese and bread-butter. He was quietly enjoying himself when suddenly he felt a sting—and then flares shot out from his pocket, and he discovered that his matchbox had caught fire. People looked at him suspiciously as they would at an anarchist until at last the waiter had pity and put the fire out.¹⁰

Sargent’s hands were burned in the fire, which hampered his ability to paint.

The Palmer girls may have been heavily influenced by their mother’s English friends during this period, but their father remained a very important part of their lives as well. William Palmer regularly visited his family for weeks at a time and maintained a lively correspondence with his wife and daughters. When we think about General Palmer, there is a tendency to consider him an almost mythical figure; he campaigned against slavery, he was the second youngest general in the Civil War, and he was a captain of industry and a builder of the new American West. His letters to his daughters, however, reveal a much more human and tender side of the general. This man who had such grand, nation-building escapades also cared about how much exercise his daughters were getting, the kinds of plays and entertainments they were attending and how much money they were spending. The letters between Palmer and his girls reveal a charming portrait of him as a 19th century dad who dealt with family issues just like any other father. His personal life, family life, and business life were intimately linked.

Although it is unclear if the Palmer women truly did find themselves short on cash while they were in England or if 19-year-old Elsie could spend money as freely and carelessly as some modern-day teenagers might do, Elsie’s lack of finances was a common theme in letters to and from her father.¹¹ In February 1891, answering her request for more money, General Palmer responded that if he was going to make the sacrifice to earn more money for the express purpose of sending it to her, she should be willing to make sacrifices to earn it as well. He outlined his conditions for their financial contract:

The present requirements are no tea or coffee or stimulants. To be out and take a 10 minute walk at 10 minutes before 8. To take a walk or ride in the afternoon —before lunch and after breakfast. Ditto—between lunch and dinner. The two together should not be less than 3 miles of walk every day unless weather should absolutely prohibit (which means an American [storm], not the usual sluggish storm). Off to bed at 10 or earlier— without fail. Except when theaters, concerts, or parties are on hand.¹²

Elsie attempted to negotiate these conditions:

I am determined to try, but before installment I want to have a month, say, to April 8th, to see how it works. You say, "Walk or ride in the forenoon; and then you say not less than three miles of walk every day." But if I took the ride, I would not need to take as much walk, would I? Then, I am not quite sure whether I could get up as early in the morning when I had gone to bed later than ten, for instance, for concerts, theaters, or parties. Could you make a little change in that?¹³

Elsie Palmer, along with her husband Leo Myers, socialized with members of the Bloomsbury Set, including Virginia Woolfe and George Orwell. Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum (A72-98).

As it turns out, General Palmer was not, in fact, flush with cash to send Elsie during this period, no matter how closely she followed his orders. While he may have been joking about the sacrifices that he had to make in order to send Elsie her monthly allowance in 1891, within a few years the family finances would become a major problem for everyone. Over time, Queen and the girls moved from house to house in search of affordable living conditions. They settled into Ightham Mote in Kent in 1886, which was the setting for Sargent’s portrait of Elsie. After leaving the Mote, they rented Frederic Harrison’s Blackdown Cottage for a few months in 1890, and then went on to Oak Cottage in Sussex. By the end of 1891, the family was on the lookout for another home. Elsie, weary of the last seven years of uprootedness, was relieved when Losely Park in Surrey came up as a possibility: Great news! On the point of having a home, and a very perfect, ideal one in the shape of Losely Park. Will it turn out alright? Will it? The third time must succeed!¹⁴ Unfortunately for Elsie, the 1893 global banking panic devastated General Palmer’s investments. He traveled to England to help Queen and the girls find less expensive quarters. Palmer helped them move back into Oak Cottage, which would be Queen’s last earthly home.

Queen continued to struggle with her health and with the knowledge that she would not likely live to see her daughters grow up. In