March 24, 2010

Ex-slave was an angel of charity in early Denver

By Pam Pedler

Blinded by a slave-owner around the age of 3, illiterate and often homeless near the end of her life, “One-Eyed Julia” left this earth on June 7, 1918, having enriched the lives of others.

The legacy left by this amazing black woman was one of selfless charity for the overlooked poor, especially weary mothers and their children. She traveled primarily on foot, nearly 20 miles every month to support the firemen in the estimated 13 fire stations of Denver, providing them with spiritual written materials.

 Called the “Colored Angel of Charity” this ex-slave didn’t even know her last name. Her parents were George and Cerilda. Under Missouri law, until after the Civil War, blacks were not permitted to marry. Some slaves assumed the surname of a former owner if he was liked, or someone famous, but according to a document from the State Historical Society of Missouri, there were no Greeleys listed in the 1850 U.S. Census of Hannibal, Mo.

“This U.S. slave schedule census does not give the first names of slaves—they simply are enumerated under the name of the owner as, ‘two black males age 27…’ etc.,” according to the document. It is believed Julia’s last name was just as likely to have come from newspaper editor-reformer Horace Greeley as from a former owner.

Julia’s travel to Denver would eventually intersect with William Gilpin who was sent out to Colorado by President Lincoln to be the territorial governor. He served one term from 1861-1862. Prior to that post, he was recovering in St. Louis from illness when he first met one lovely Julia Pratt. He proposed to her even though he was 20 years her senior, and was spurned. She went on to marry Capt. John H. Dickerson in 1861 and during their marriage she employed One-Eyed Julia.

The year of Julia’s freedom from slavery is unknown, but the year of the Emancipation Proclamation was 1863. John Dickerson died in March of 1872, leaving Mrs. Dickerson with four small children. William Gilpin again proposed to the widow, and they married two years into her widowhood, in St. Louis.

According to Thomas Karnes in “William Gilpin: Western Nationalist,” “The couple left for a honeymoon in Denver and California: they were accompanied by 9-year-old Louise Dickerson and a nurse, and ex-slave known as One-Eyed Julia Greeley.” The Gilpins moved to Denver and lived at 443 (later 1743) Champa St.

Later, when Julia Greeley supported Mrs. Gilpin during the couple’s marital discourse, she found herself looking for work on the streets of Denver. In spite of her own dire circumstances, she focused on helping the poor, and supporting the firemen.

In January 1893 she found employment caring for the two daughters of a newly widowed dairy farmer. During their first Christmas season without their mother, Julia took them to see the lights at the Denver Dry Goods Store. She told the girls to pick out anything they wanted there. She bought them a brush and comb set, a bucket and shovel and a doll’s trunk.

The number of poor multiplied during Denver’s depression after the Silver Crash of 1893. Julia spent nights watching over sick children so their working mothers could get some much needed rest. She recycled strollers and cribs anonymously to the needy poor, regardless of their race.

As time went on Julia organized picnics in the summers for children.  She gave nine or 10 children a nickel to spend as they rode the trolley to City Park. Julia provided all the food and spent the day frolicking with the children. She joked with the conductor that the kids were all hers.

During 1909, Julia, along with the growing population of Denver, witnessed the beginning of the era of new gasoline-powered fire engines. Julia’s close relationship with the firemen was evident when she competed in the Young Ladies Sodality Beauty Contest. The fundraiser required 10 cents a vote, according to Friar magazine.  In humility from a scarred face and with a keen sense of humor, she collected votes from her devoted firemen. Julia won the beauty contest, turning over more than $300 to her church organization!

Julia Greeley, though born into slavery gave freely of herself and her earnings to improve the lives of others. She rose above poverty, illiteracy and unemployment and broke all barriers of race, gender and social elitism to make Denver a better place. In simple ways Julia was a pioneer in charity for the frontier town.