Luella Shaw 1886
1 book in the catalogue, published 2008.
Luella Shaw is the author of True History of Some of the Pioneers of Colorado, a collection of pioneer narratives that she wrote down and that first appeared in 1909. We carry it as a 2008 reprint, and it is the only book under her name. She was born in Durango, Colorado, in 1886.
About Luella Shaw
A 1934 Denver Museum collection, The Real Pioneers of Colorado, records that John W. Shaw came to Colorado in 1859, brought his family from Iowa in 1863, settled in turn at Georgetown and Pueblo, and finally located in Durango, where he was buried in 1919. It adds that he was the grandfather of Miss Luella Shaw, born in Durango in 1886.
The Denver Public Library catalogue lists her as author of the 1909 book, published at Hotchkiss, Colorado, by the three men whose stories it holds. Her own description says she felt the stories should be recorded, and that her family ties to Colorado ran through both her mother's and father's sides. We found nothing else we could read about her life.
Books
What the books share
Her one book gathers first-person recollections from three Colorado pioneers: Watson S. Coburn, Alston Knox Shaw and John Patterson. The description says the narratives include Sand Creek, other pioneers, outlaws, Native Americans and hardship. The common thread is testimony, written down by someone who felt the older generation's stories deserved a record. Reading it today means weighing recollections from 1909 against what later historians have documented, especially about Sand Creek, which is now called a massacre.
The subjects this author is catalogued under. Open Library record.
Next steps for readers of this author
Tracing a Durango family
Her record ties her to Durango, so Durango archives are a sensible first call. Write to the Center of Southwest Studies with a surname and a decade, and ask what the collections hold before you travel.
Visiting the Sand Creek site
The site lies on dirt roads near Eads, so read the road and weather notes before leaving. Allow a full day, and consider reading the park's timeline beforehand.
Researching your own pioneer relatives
Use the library's genealogy databases to build a family timeline. Census entries and military records often point to the places where letters and photographs might survive.
Go deeper
Luella Shaw wrote down pioneer stories that include Sand Creek, and her family had roots in Durango. These sources give you a way to visit the places and records around her one book.
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, plan your visit
The National Park Service lists directions, things to do, weather and safety for the site near Eads, and notes that reaching it means driving on dirt roads.
Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College
The Durango archive explains how researchers can use its collections, either on site with advance notice or by requesting copies remotely.
Genealogy at Denver Public Library
The library's genealogy page lists census, military and family history databases that readers can use to trace a Colorado pioneer family.
Good to know
Where was Luella Shaw born?
Is the book a reprint?
Writers like this one are how the list was built
We have published Colorado and Western writers since 1996, and every submission is still read by a person. Send yours, finished or half written.