Elizabeth Jane Lewis Christison is my great-great-grandmother. She is also the great-grandaughter of Hannah Boone (Daniel Boone's sister) and John Stewart (who was killed by Indians in 1770 during an expedition with Daniel Boone).
Elizabeth was born to Daniel Pennington Lewis and Polly Paine Lewis on November 10, 1828 in Platte City, Missouri. She married Wilburn Christison September 24, 1848 in Platte City. The family moved to Leavenworth County, Kansas in 1855. In 1861, Wilburn, Elizabeth and their six children crossed the plains with a covered wagon pulled by oxen to the mining camp of Cash Creek in the Colorado mountains near Twin Lakes. The youngest child, Mary Alwilda, may have been born during the journey.
While Wilburn ran an Indian trading post and practiced law, Elizabeth raise their children and bore three more babies. The family suffered a tragedy on August 17, 1864 when Arthur Boone "Boone" was struck by lightning and died at the age of 11.
The family moved south to where Buena Vista is today and then moved to Adobe Park (before Salida was there). In 1872, Wilburn was elected Park County Judge and the family moved to Fairplay. Wilburn died of pneumonia on February 7, 1882 in Fairplay. Wilburn Christison Obituary
Elizabeth moved to Brown's Park near Salida with her two youngest sons. And, by 1890, lived in Howard, Colorado, where her son, Virgil Ernest Christison, and family lived.
Her life wasn't easy after Wilburn died. Virgil Ernest spent 2 years in the State Penitentiary for Grand Larceny (cattle theft) from 1884-1886. Her middle son, John, committed suicide in 1890 in Aspen, Colorado. And her youngest son, Charlie, fell ill while working in Creede and died at her home in Howard in 1892.
Elizabeth Jane Christison died on May 10, 1898 in Howard, Colorado.
Additional Blog Posts Relating to Elizabeth Jane Christison:
Searching for Elizabeth Jane Christison's Grave
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