Emily Lee was the wife of African-American mine owner Jeremiah Lee and a beloved caregiver in her adopted hometown of Central City, Colorado.
Emily was born around 1836 in Virginia, but other details are uncertain. She may have been from Martinsburg (now in West Virginia), where her husband was born. Jeremiah listed her maiden name as Thomas on his application for a military pension in 1901. Some modern news articles have given Emily's maiden name as Washington, and theorize that she may have been descended from people enslaved by George Washington or his wife Martha, but evidence to support this claim is lacking.
After she married Jeremiah in 1853, Emily gave birth to six children, two of whom died young. The older children were born in Weston, Missouri, and the neighboring city of Leavenworth, Kansas, before Jeremiah left for Colorado to prospect for gold and silver; the younger children were born in Central City, where Emily joined her husband in 1863. Later, when the couple were in their forties, they adopted another child, Andrew, who was just a toddler.
While Jeremiah worked the mines, Emily raised her children and a served as a caregiver not just in Central City and vicinity but also in Denver. One obituary stated that "no other woman in the mountains was ever held in such esteem. Mothers were happy in the thought and confident in the recovery of their dearest ones if only Mrs. Lee could come and take care and administer for them."
Emily died in 1907, and was buried beside her husband in Denver's Riverside Cemetery.
Emily was born around 1836 in Virginia, but other details are uncertain. She may have been from Martinsburg (now in West Virginia), where her husband was born. Jeremiah listed her maiden name as Thomas on his application for a military pension in 1901. Some modern news articles have given Emily's maiden name as Washington, and theorize that she may have been descended from people enslaved by George Washington or his wife Martha, but evidence to support this claim is lacking.
After she married Jeremiah in 1853, Emily gave birth to six children, two of whom died young. The older children were born in Weston, Missouri, and the neighboring city of Leavenworth, Kansas, before Jeremiah left for Colorado to prospect for gold and silver; the younger children were born in Central City, where Emily joined her husband in 1863. Later, when the couple were in their forties, they adopted another child, Andrew, who was just a toddler.
While Jeremiah worked the mines, Emily raised her children and a served as a caregiver not just in Central City and vicinity but also in Denver. One obituary stated that "no other woman in the mountains was ever held in such esteem. Mothers were happy in the thought and confident in the recovery of their dearest ones if only Mrs. Lee could come and take care and administer for them."
Emily died in 1907, and was buried beside her husband in Denver's Riverside Cemetery.
Emily Lee was the wife of African-American mine owner Jeremiah Lee and a beloved caregiver in her adopted hometown of Central City, Colorado.
Emily was born around 1836 in Virginia, but other details are uncertain. She may have been from Martinsburg (now in West Virginia), where her husband was born. Jeremiah listed her maiden name as Thomas on his application for a military pension in 1901. Some modern news articles have given Emily's maiden name as Washington, and theorize that she may have been descended from people enslaved by George Washington or his wife Martha, but evidence to support this claim is lacking.
After she married Jeremiah in 1853, Emily gave birth to six children, two of whom died young. The older children were born in Weston, Missouri, and the neighboring city of Leavenworth, Kansas, before Jeremiah left for Colorado to prospect for gold and silver; the younger children were born in Central City, where Emily joined her husband in 1863. Later, when the couple were in their forties, they adopted another child, Andrew, who was just a toddler.
While Jeremiah worked the mines, Emily raised her children and a served as a caregiver not just in Central City and vicinity but also in Denver. One obituary stated that "no other woman in the mountains was ever held in such esteem. Mothers were happy in the thought and confident in the recovery of their dearest ones if only Mrs. Lee could come and take care and administer for them."
Emily died in 1907, and was buried beside her husband in Denver's Riverside Cemetery.
Emily was born around 1836 in Virginia, but other details are uncertain. She may have been from Martinsburg (now in West Virginia), where her husband was born. Jeremiah listed her maiden name as Thomas on his application for a military pension in 1901. Some modern news articles have given Emily's maiden name as Washington, and theorize that she may have been descended from people enslaved by George Washington or his wife Martha, but evidence to support this claim is lacking.
After she married Jeremiah in 1853, Emily gave birth to six children, two of whom died young. The older children were born in Weston, Missouri, and the neighboring city of Leavenworth, Kansas, before Jeremiah left for Colorado to prospect for gold and silver; the younger children were born in Central City, where Emily joined her husband in 1863. Later, when the couple were in their forties, they adopted another child, Andrew, who was just a toddler.
While Jeremiah worked the mines, Emily raised her children and a served as a caregiver not just in Central City and vicinity but also in Denver. One obituary stated that "no other woman in the mountains was ever held in such esteem. Mothers were happy in the thought and confident in the recovery of their dearest ones if only Mrs. Lee could come and take care and administer for them."
Emily died in 1907, and was buried beside her husband in Denver's Riverside Cemetery.
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