Pueblo County Biographies

Pueblo County, Colorado
John and Margaret Thatcher

Contributed by Jean Griesan.

Margaret Thatcher, 1848 – 1922.

John (Thatcher) married Margaret A. Henry, the second daughter of Judge John W. Henry, on April 17, 1866, at the home of her parents on Chico Creek. Their modest wood structure home on Santa Fe Avenue consisted of five rooms. Mrs. Thatcher hired Irish servants to assist with her household duties, a practice she continued when the family moved to Rosemount. They became the parents of five children. Lenore (1867 – 1890) attended public school until the age of fifteen, when she went to Mountain Seminary in Birmingham, Pennsylvania. She also attended the Ogoutz School for Girls in Ogoutz, Pennsylvania. She died of spinal meningitis at her paternal grandmother's home in Pennsylvania. Lillian (1870 – 1948) was their second child. She also attended the Mountain Seminary after attending Centennial Grade School. Lillian completed her education at Mrs. Sutton's Home School for Girls in Philadelphia. She was twenty-three when she moved into Rosemount. In 1915, Lillian married Forest Rutherford, who was superintendent of the Copper Queen Smelter in Douglas, Arizona. Later she returned to Rosemount. A street merchant named Parliapiano recalled he had a small hand pushed cart that he sold vegetables from and slept underneath at night. At the end of the day, his last stop was Rosemount and he always hoped that Lillian would open the door. If he was lucky and (she) did, she would purchase what was left on the cart.

John Henry (1872 – 1928) attended public schools and at Shortlidge Military Academy in Media, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he went to work in the family bank. Within a short time, instead of banking, he took over the management of the family cattle ranch in Boone and was the president of the Colorado State Fair for many years. Albert R. (1874 – 1877) died as a baby. Raymond Calvin (1885 – 1968) also attended Centennial Grade School. From there, he went to St. Paul's Preparatory School in Concord, New Hampshire, and in 1909 he graduated from Yale University. When Raymond returned to Pueblo, he became involved in the family bank. Twelve days after his father's death, Raymond was elected to the bank's board of directors in 1913. In 1916, he was elected vice president and chairman of the bank's board. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1951. The Irish housekeeper (Maggie Burns) that he had known as a child continued in that capacity. Her handmade quilts were used on his bed.” “They All Came to Pueblo, A Social History” by Joanne West Dodds, published by The Donning Company/Publishers, Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1994

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