Tuesday, October 28, 2008


Baby Doe Tabor (Lizzie McCourt)'s wedding picture
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Up for auction in Denver came the last tawdry possessions of Elizabeth Bonduel McCourt ("Baby") Doe Tabor, who was frozen to death last year after 35 years of guarding the abandoned Matchless Silver Mine, once worth $1,000,000 to her husband, the late wealthy U. S. Senator Horace Austin Warner ("Haw") Tabor (TIME, March 18, 1935). To an eager crowd were offered a dozen silver nut picks, a pearl-encrusted fan, 50 silk handkerchiefs, a quart of rye whiskey, dozens of photographs, a gold safety pin which once secured the diapers of Baby Doe's daughter Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar Tabor. A silver dollar made into a locket containing Silver Dollar Tabor's picture drew the highest bid: $26. Finally, the auctioneer hoisted a pair of long red flannels which Baby Doe wore for years before she died. "Here is your opportunity, girls! Winter is coming!" he bawled. A Denver housewife bought them for $1.25.


~~ Time Magazine, 1936, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762308-2,00.html

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh My God! I would think these articles would bring a fortune today! Wonder where they are? Hopefully, some in museums. It's sad to think that the final belongings of a woman so important to the fabric and lore of Colorado history were auctioned off at pennies (or less) on dollar. And so soon after her death! Like vultures!

Cheryl Diane Kidder said...

The Colorado State Historical Society does have a few things on display. At the time of her death, Lizzie McCourt Tabor was apparently not considered much more than a curiosity. She'd spent the last 35 years of life dressed in rags, living in a cabin and was considered "crazy" by most folks.
Thanks for your comment and thanks for reading.