D.N. Canfield

Born Della Nora Holmes, D.N. Canfield is believed to be one of a few gender non-conforming individuals in Leadville. In the 1880s, D.N. was said to marry a man by the name of Silas G. Canfield, and together they owned and operated Canfield & Co., a drugstore in Leadville. D.N. is thought to be gender non-conforming due to an article published on July 18th, 1884, where D.N. is listed as Mr., and is referred to many times throughout the article as ‘he’. Though this could be a misprint, it occurs multiple times within the article and it is said that D.N. offered the journalist a cigar upon entering the shop, perhaps an offering to change how they were portrayed. Very little else is known about D.N., their husband soon remarried after their death and continued to keep the store until it went into debt and was eventually sold.