Rosa Sullivan

Catherine Ferguson was a Black restaurateur (it is unknown whether she was the employee or owner), born in 1830, who lived in Leadville from at least as early as 1881 until at least 1913. She was one of several known Black Fergusons living in Leadville around the time, though it is unknown if they were all related. She was so well liked by the community that, in the early 1880s, the town threw a benefit festival in her honor. It is believed that her son, Charles, was involved with a liberal group called the Blaine and Logan Club, who supported James Blaine of Maine, who went on to receive the Republican nomination for President, but ultimately lost to Grover Cleveland. Blaine was the son of an Irish Catholic woman, which was unusual at the time for the distinctly anti-Catholic Republican Party, but he felt that his longtime opposition to the British government would resonate with Irish-Americans. Charles was chosen as a representative for the Club when it went to a conference in Buena Vista. Catherine lived with her son and his family until her death in November of 1914 at 85 years of age, having been preceded in death by her husband and son in years previous.