Baby Doe Tabor was born Elizabeth McCourt in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1854. She grew up in poverty, but her beauty and vivacious personality caught the eye of Horace Doe, a wealthy man who soon became her husband. They moved to Leadville, Colorado, where Harvey struck it rich in the silver mines.
Baby Doe reveled in her newfound wealth and status, spending lavishly on clothing and jewelry. She became the talk of the town, known for her extravagant parties and her penchant for wearing her wealth on her sleeve.
But tragedy struck when Horace died suddenly in 1893, leaving Baby Doe with two young daughters and a fortune that was rapidly dwindling. Undeterred, she invested what little she had left in a mine that many thought was played out.
As the years passed, Baby Doe's wealth continued to slip away. Her adult daughters had moved on with their lives, and she was left alone with only her memories and her dreams of striking it rich again. She lived in poverty in a small cabin near the mine, refusing to leave the place that had brought her so much fortune.
In 1935, Baby Doe was found dead in her cabin, frozen to death at the age of 81. She is buried next to Horace in Wheatridge, Colorado. Her beloved Matchless Mine, which had been abandoned for years, is still there today. But the legend of Baby Doe Tabor lives on, a testament to the boom and bust of the American West.
There is a picture of her smiling with a saucy head tilt-not in keeping with the time, but I think very telling of her personality
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