%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Elizabeth Byers http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elizabeth-byers <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Elizabeth Byers</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3242--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3242.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/elizabeth-byers"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Elizabeth-Byers-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=uB6BKvRF" width="600" height="973" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/elizabeth-byers" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Elizabeth Byers</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>After coming to Denver in 1859, Elizabeth Byers spent her life building the safety net and institutions that helped turn the city from a rough mining-supply town to a flourishing state capital.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3244--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3244.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/byers-evans-house-0"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Elizabeth-Byers-Media-2_0.jpg?itok=yqPG6wNC" width="900" height="712" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/byers-evans-house-0" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Byers-Evans House</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In the 1880s, Byers and her husband, William, lived in a house they built at West Thirteenth Avenue and Bannock Street. They called it "Victoria," but it is now known as the Byers-Evans House for the two families who lived there.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3245--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3245.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/byers-family-south-denver"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Elizabeth-Byers-Media-3_0.jpg?itok=1HIHRIb1" width="900" height="697" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/byers-family-south-denver" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Byers Family in South Denver</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Elizabeth Byers (far left) and William Byers (center) spent the last years of their lives at their estate in South Denver, in the neighborhood now known as Speer. Here they sit on their steps with their son Frank (center right) and his wife (center left), along with son-in-law William Robinson (far right).</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-04-10T15:37:07-06:00" title="Friday, April 10, 2020 - 15:37" class="datetime">Fri, 04/10/2020 - 15:37</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elizabeth-byers" data-a2a-title="Elizabeth Byers"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Felizabeth-byers&amp;title=Elizabeth%20Byers"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Elizabeth “Libby” Minerva Sumner Byers (1834–1920) was a Colorado social reformer who arrived in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> in the summer of 1859 and spent the next six decades establishing and supporting the city’s early charitable organizations, schools, and churches. Her focus on the poor led her to found orphanages for both girls and boys, an <strong>Old Ladies’ Home</strong>, and the <strong>Ladies’ United Aid Society</strong>, which later led to the founding of <strong>United Way</strong>. While her husband <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-n-byers"><strong>William Byers</strong></a> used his newspaper, the<strong><em> Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>, to bring people into what became <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a>, Elizabeth Byers built the safety net and institutions that allowed people to stay, transforming Denver from a mining town to a capital city.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Born on August 31, 1834, in Chillicothe, Ohio, Elizabeth Minerva Sumner was the third of Horatio and Minerva Sumner’s nine children. Her maternal grandfather, Robert Lucas, was governor of Ohio at the time. After Lucas was appointed first territorial governor of Iowa in 1838, the Sumner family followed him west, settling in Muscatine, Iowa.</p> <p>On November 16, 1854, Elizabeth married William Byers. Like Elizabeth, William was from Ohio; his family had moved to Muscatine in 1850. A civil engineer and surveyor, William worked for US surveying parties and had visited the California gold fields. In spring 1854, when Congress created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, William was appointed the first deputy surveyor for Nebraska Territory. He returned to Iowa to wed Elizabeth in the fall, and then she joined him in Omaha. Throughout their marriage, Elizabeth was William’s business partner, first keeping the books for the surveying business in Nebraska and later making real estate purchases in her own name in Colorado. Of the couple’s four children, only the two oldest, both born in Omaha, survived to adulthood. Their son Frank was born in 1856 and daughter Mary Eva (Molly) in 1858.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>The Panic of 1857 devastated William’s surveying company, and the Byers family decided to leave Omaha after hearing news of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>gold strikes along the Front Range in 1858–59</strong></a>. Using money from Elizabeth’s father to buy printing presses, William published a guide to the new goldfields without ever having seen them. In April 1859, William and four of Elizabeth’s brothers took the presses via oxcart to what is now Denver, where they published the first issue of the<em> Rocky Mountain News </em>on April 23. It was the first newspaper published in what is now Colorado.</p> <p>In July 1859, the family hired a man with a team of horses to move Elizabeth and toddlers Frank and Molly to Denver. When the team reached Fort Kearney (present-day Kearney, Nebraska), William and Elizabeth dismissed the man who was bringing them to Colorado and instead traveled with the new Overland Stage Company. The company had horses placed every ten miles, but the coaches had not yet arrived. Instead, there was a two-seat buckboard. “When we arrived,” Elizabeth later reflected, “I think I was about the eighth white woman in Denver, and when I climbed out of that little buck board with my two babies, I felt that I was the advance guard of civilization at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.” (Records show she may have actually been the ninth white woman in Denver.)</p> <p>At the time, the settlements in what is now Denver were divided by the bed of the largely dry <strong>Cherry Creek</strong>. <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/auraria-west-denver"><strong>Auraria</strong></a> was on the west side, while Denver City lay to the east. In August 1860, in an effort to attract advertisers and subscribers from both towns, William Byers moved the<em> Rocky Mountain News</em> to a building on stilts in the middle of the creek bed. Around midnight on May 19, 1864, the creek flooded. Residents lucky enough to wake in time heard a noise like a tornado. Employees of the <em>News</em>, who had been asleep in the building, jumped out of the windows in time to save themselves, but the building and printing presses were lost in the torrent. At the time, the Byers family lived near the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte River</strong></a> just south of Denver. The river cut a new path through their land, leaving them stranded by the rising waters. Soldiers under <strong>John Chivington</strong>, a Methodist minister and Union Army colonel, rescued them by quickly converting a military wagon into a makeshift boat.</p> <h2>Civic and Charitable Work</h2> <p>Not quite twenty-five years old when she arrived in Denver, Elizabeth Byers dedicated most of the next sixty years to building institutions that would soften the city’s “rough edges” and support people in need. Already in January 1860, she hosted a meeting that led to the creation of the Ladies’ Union Aid Society, the first charitable institution in what is now Colorado. As president, she led the society’s members in making underwear, nightshirts, and bandages for Union soldiers in the Civil War. She also proved to be an adept fundraiser, collecting more than $500 in one day for relief efforts during the harsh winter of 1862. In her early years in Denver, Byers also helped found the city’s first school, library, and Methodist church. Meanwhile, she assisted her friends <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/john-evans"><strong>John</strong></a> and <strong>Margaret Evans</strong> in founding the Colorado Seminary, which in 1880 became the <strong>University of Denver</strong>. Byers served on its board.</p> <p>In 1872 Byers worked with Margaret Evans and <strong>Frances Wisebart Jacobs</strong> to reorganize the Ladies’ United Aid Society into the nonsectarian Ladies’ Relief Society. By the end of the 1880s, the Ladies’ Relief Society had founded a nursery and kindergarten, and it regularly provided free supplies, food, and medicine to the needy. The Ladies’ Relief Society’s work had long-lasting effects. In 1875 the society established the Old Ladies’ Home, which remains in operation today as the Argyle, an independent and assisted-living center. In 1876, through the Ladies’ Relief Society, Byers supported Evans in the foundation of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-orphans%E2%80%99-home"><strong>Denver Orphans’ Home</strong></a>. By 1889 more than 1,000 children had found shelter at the home, which is now called the Denver Children’s Home and still serves children who suffer from neglect, abuse, or mental illness. Meanwhile, in 1887, Ladies’ Relief society cofounder Frances Jacobs expanded the group’s model to create the Charity Organization Society, the forerunner of the United Way.</p> <p>Life was not easy for Byers. Two of her children died young, and her eighteen-year-old brother died after the doctor told her to give the wrong medicine. One of her houses burned, and another was flooded. William was reckless both financially and domestically; his affair with a woman named Hattie Sancomb ruined his chances of becoming the first governor after Colorado attained statehood in 1876.</p> <p>Dauntless, Byers used her fundraising, organizational, and artistic skills to continue to help a wide variety of organizations throughout the 1880s and 1890s. In 1885 she established the Home of the Good Shepherd for Homeless Girls, followed in 1893 by the E. M. Byers Home for Boys. In 1887 she helped found the <strong>Woman’s Home Club</strong>, which later became the YWCA. She was a member of the Woman’s Club of Denver, the <strong>Pioneer Ladies’ Aid Society</strong>, and the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-woman%E2%80%99s-press-club"><strong>Denver Woman’s Press Club</strong></a>. Elizabeth and William Byers supported <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/womens-suffrage-movement"><strong>women’s right to vote</strong></a> and provided space in the<em> Rocky Mountain News</em> for prosuffrage columns.</p> <h2>Later Years</h2> <p>In June 1883, Elizabeth and William Byers moved into a new house they had built at the corner of West Thirteenth Avenue and Bannock Street, near their daughter Molly’s family. The Byerses lived at “<strong>Victoria</strong>,” as they called the house, for six years before building a new mansion in South Denver (later demolished for the Byers School) and selling the Bannock Street house to family friends <strong>William</strong> and Cornelia Evans.</p> <p>In the late 1890s, Byers was credited with the decision to have the <strong>State Capitol</strong> dome covered in gold. Inside the capitol, sixteen stained-glass windows honor people who made significant contributions to Colorado’s early history, including William Byers. The Pioneer Ladies Aid Society nominated Elizabeth as well, but only as the wife of William, not for her own contributions. She did not want such a window for herself. “While I gladly accord my husband every honor he is entitled to, and rejoice that he is so honored and appreciated by his fellow-citizens,” she noted, “I remember that he and I stood shoulder to shoulder through all the trials and hardships of pioneer life, and I feel that I ought not to stand wholly in the light of reflected glory.” A window went to Byers’s friend and coworker Frances Jacobs instead.</p> <p>William Byers died in 1903 and was buried in Denver’s <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>. Elizabeth continued to remain active in charities and women’s clubs. She died on January 6, 1920, and is buried beside her husband.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/wroble-susan" hreflang="und">Wroble, Susan</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elizabeth-byers" hreflang="en">elizabeth byers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/william-byers" hreflang="en">william byers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/byers-evans-house" hreflang="en">Byers-Evans House</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/old-ladies-home" hreflang="en">Old Ladies&#039; Home</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ladies-relief-society" hreflang="en">Ladies&#039; Relief Society</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ladies-union-aid-society" hreflang="en">Ladies&#039; Union Aid Society</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-orphans-home" hreflang="en">Denver Orphans&#039; Home</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/womans-home-club" hreflang="en">Woman&#039;s Home Club</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>J.v.L. Bell, <em>Elizabeth Byers: Denver Pioneer </em>(Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2019).</p> <p>Elizabeth Byers, “The Experiences of One Pioneer Woman” (undated manuscript, 1900–1920), series 2, box 3, William N. Byers and Family Papers, WH55, Western History Collection, Denver Public Library.</p> <p>Elizabeth Byers, “Mrs. W. N. Byer’s Disclaimer,” <em>Daily News </em>(Denver), December 5, 1899.</p> <p>Anne F. Hyde, “Sam Brannan and Elizabeth Byers: Mormons and Miners at Midcentury,” in <em>Western Lives: A Biographical History of the American West</em>, ed. Richard W. Etulain (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004).</p> <p>Maria Davies McGrath, <a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/sites/history/files/RealPioneersColorado.pdf"><em>The Real Pioneers of Colorado</em>, vol. 1</a> (Denver: Denver Museum, 1934).</p> <p>Wilbur Fiske Stone, <a href="https://archive.org/details/historyofcolorad03ston"><em>History of Colorado</em>, vol. 3</a> (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1918).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Gail M. Beaton, <em>Colorado Women: A History</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p> <p>David Fridtjof Halaas, “The House in the Heart of a City: The Byers and Evans Families of Denver,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> 4 (1989).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-teacher-resources--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-teacher-resources.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-teacher-resources.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-teacher-resources field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-teacher-resources"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS5.%20Elizabeth%20Byers%20Duncan.docx">Elizabeth Byers Teacher Resource Set (Word)</a></p> <p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS5.%20Elizabeth%20Byers%20Duncan.pdf">Elizabeth Byers Teacher Resource Set (PDF)</a></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Elizabeth “Libby” Minerva Sumner Byers (1834–1920) created and supported some of Denver’s early charities, schools, churches and children’s homes.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth Sumner was born on August 31, 1834 in Ohio. Elizabeth married William Byers on November 16, 1854. They moved to Nebraska.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>In April 1859, William and Elizabeth moved to Denver in April 1859. He published the first newspaper in Colorado, The Rocky Mountain News.</p> <h2>Civic and Charitable Work</h2> <p>Elizabeth Byers spent the next sixty years building charities that would help people in need. Byers helped start the city’s first school, library, and Methodist church. In 1872 Byers worked with her friends to organize the Ladies’ Relief Society. The society began a nursery, a kindergarten and an assisted-living center.</p> <p>In 1885 she built a home for girls and 1893 she built another home for boys. In 1887 she helped found the the YWCA.</p> <h2>Later Years</h2> <p>Byers was credited with the decision to have the State Capitol dome covered in gold.</p> <p>William Byers died in 1903. Elizabeth died on January 6, 1920, and is buried beside her husband.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Elizabeth “Libby” Minerva Sumner Byers (1834–1920) created and supported Denver’s early charity organizations, schools, and churches. She created orphanages for both girls and boys and an assisted-living center for elderly women.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth Sumner was born on August 31, 1834, in Ohio. She married William Byers on November 16, 1854. William worked for US surveying parties in the Nebraska Territory. Elizabeth helped William with the surveying business and made real estate purchases in Colorado. Their son Frank was born in 1856 and daughter Mary Eva (Molly) in 1858.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>William bought printing presses with money from Elizabeth’s father in April 1859. He moved them moved them to what is now Denver. There he published the first issue of the Rocky Mountain News.</p> <h2>Civic and Charitable Work</h2> <p>Elizabeth Byers devoted most of the next sixty years to building charities. Byers helped start the city’s first school, library, and Methodist church. She assisted in founding the Colorado Seminary, later known as the University of Denver.</p> <p>In 1872 Byers worked with Margaret Evans and Frances Wisebart Jacobs to organize the Ladies’ Relief Society. The society created a nursery and kindergarten. In 1875 the society formed an independent and assisted-living center. In 1876 Byers supported the founding of the Denver Orphans’ Home.</p> <p>She started the Home of the Good Shepherd for Homeless Girls in 1885. In 1893 the E. M. Byers Home for Boys was begun. In 1887 she helped found the YWCA. Elizabeth and William Byers supported women’s right to vote. The Rocky Mountain News provided space for prosuffrage columns.</p> <h2>Later Years</h2> <p>Byers is credited with the decision to have the State Capitol dome covered in gold.</p> <p>William Byers died in 1903 and was buried in Denver’s Fairmount Cemetery. She died on January 6, 1920, and is buried beside her husband.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Elizabeth “Libby” Minerva Sumner Byers (1834–1920) created and supported Denver’s early charity organizations, schools, and churches. Her focus on the poor led her to create orphanages for both girls and boys and an assisted-living center for elderly women.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth Minerva Sumner was born on August 31, 1834, in Chillicothe, Ohio. She was the third of Horatio and Minerva Sumner’s nine children.</p> <p>Elizabeth married William Byers on November 16, 1854. William worked for US surveying parties in the Nebraska Territory. Elizabeth helped William with the surveying business in Nebraska and made real estate purchases in Colorado. Their son Frank was born in 1856 and daughter Mary Eva (Molly) in 1858.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>The Byers family decided to leave Nebraska after hearing news of gold strikes along the Front Range in 1858-59. William bought printing presses with money from Elizabeth’s father. In April 1859, William moved the presses to what is now Denver. He published the first issue of the Rocky Mountain News on April 23. It was the first newspaper published in Colorado.</p> <h2>Civic and Charitable Work</h2> <p>After arriving in Denver, Elizabeth Byers dedicated most of the next sixty years to building charities. Byers helped found the city’s first school, library, and Methodist church. She assisted in founding the Colorado Seminary, which in 1880 became the University of Denver.</p> <p>In 1872 Byers worked with Margaret Evans and Frances Wisebart Jacobs to organize the Ladies’ Relief Society. The society founded a nursery and kindergarten. It regularly provided free supplies, food, and medicine to the needy. In 1875 the society created an independent and assisted-living center, which is still in operation today. In 1876 Byers supported the founding of the Denver Orphans’ Home. It is now called the Denver Children’s Home and is still open today.</p> <p>She started the Home of the Good Shepherd for Homeless Girls in 1885. In 1893 she founded the E. M. Byers Home for Boys. In 1887 she helped create the Woman’s Home Club, later known as the YWCA. Elizabeth and William Byers supported women’s right to vote. Space was provided in the Rocky Mountain News for prosuffrage columns.</p> <h2>Later Years</h2> <p>Elizabeth and William Byers moved into a new house they had built in June 1883. They lived in this house for six years before building a new mansion in South Denver.</p> <p>In the late 1890s, Byers was credited with the decision to have the State Capitol dome covered in gold. Inside the capitol, sixteen stained-glass windows honor people who made significant contributions to Colorado’s early history, including William Byers.</p> <p>William Byers died in 1903 and was buried in Denver’s Fairmount Cemetery. She died on January 6, 1920, and is buried beside her husband.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:37:07 +0000 yongli 3219 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org