One of the few remaining headstones that predates the formal founding of Evergreen Cemetery is located in the far southeastern corner of the grounds, an area known as the Pioneer Section, often mistakenly referred to as Potter’s Field.
Today, we are featuring the headstone of Lorenda Ursula Judd, who was born on October 15, 1816, in New York and passed into eternity just one day shy of her birthday, on October 14, 1867. According to her entry on Find A Grave, her place of death is listed as Colorado City—referring to what is today known as Old Colorado City on the west side of present-day Colorado Springs.
As is so often the case with women of the frontier era, we know very little about Lorenda herself. Much of what we can piece together about her life comes through the records of her husband, Cyrus Truman Judd.
Lorenda was born to Ruben (also recorded as Ruel) Taylor and Alemena Wells in Potsdam, New York. She married Cyrus Truman Judd on November 13, 1835, at the age of 19; Cyrus was 22. Together, they faced the hardships of life on the primitive frontier. After following the Forty-Niners to California, Cyrus eventually returned to Illinois. It is unknown whether Lorenda accompanied him on that journey.
When news of the Colorado gold strike reached the East, Cyrus traveled west with his family, camping at the site of present-day Denver. The family later settled in Monument, where Cyrus built three sawmills. These mills, located along Little Fountain Creek, supplied building materials for both Denver and Pueblo. At this time, Colorado Springs had not yet been founded, and it is believed the family lived for a period in Colorado City.
legible from this early period and is notable for retaining its original footstone—an increasingly rare survivor of Colorado’s earliest settlement era.
We will explore more of Lorenda's story, in our next post.
