Sorry ladies..... Not that Captain Jack. Although the Captain Jack I am going to tell you about is probably no less exciting than the one of movie fame.
Captain Ellen Jack, was born Ellen Elliott on November 4 1842 in Nottingham England. A precocious child, Ellen was one always up for adventure. A story goes that a band of gypsy's had taken to camp on the family grounds and Ellen had befriended one of the children of the gypsies. No less than the Queen of the gypsy's herself proclaimed that Ellen's life would lead to adventure and treasure. Now whether or not this is true, no one can say for sure, but Ellen loved to spin a tale.
Ellen came to the US in 1859, after the end of a torrid affair with her Russian lover, who stabbed her in a jealous rage. Ellen married Charles E. Jack who was a Captain in the Union Army. They were blessed with four beautiful children, three of which died of scarlet fever. Captain Jack sustained a serious injury during the war leaving Ellen as the main breadwinner for the family. After his death in the 1870's she was persuaded to move to Colorado and take advantage of the booming state, and took on his name Captain Jack. She first settled in Gunnison and opened an eatery named Jack's Cabin. She stood toe to toe with Colorow has he and his band of renegades were about to burn the town, she sustaining a tomahawk injury to her forehead, a scar she carried for the rest of her life.
Eventually Capt. Jack made her way to Colorado Springs, perhaps drawn by the riches of the Cripple Creek Gold Rush. She decided to make her fortune off of the tourist trade and opened a guesthouse on the top of high drive. After visitors made the trek from Helen Hunt Falls up over the high drive road they could always stop and have refreshments or even spend the night in one of her cabins. Capt. Jack was a shrewd businesswoman and knew how to market herself. She published her own autobiography as well as sold postcards of herself in various mining wardrobes. It was evident she loved animals as pictures of her often were shared with donkeys, cats and even a pair of macaw parrots.
An interesting character indeed and she is only one of many characters who you will have a chance to meet when you attend the 2 nd Annual Murder Mystery Fund Raiser. This year the Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society will host MURDER TAKES A CRUISE. Join us on Saturday April 26 th at the Carnegie Room at Penrose Library, downtown. Set in 1912, the RMS Evergreen captures the same elegance of the Titanic. Guests will have the opportunity to become citizens of Colorado Springs of this time period. Each ticket will include a boarding pass with a short biography of a person from Colorado Springs in this time period allowing the guests to become that person and to solve a murder with other members of Colorado Springs history. Proceeds from this event will go toward restoration projects at Evergreen Cemetery.
HURRY RESERVATIONS ARE FILLING UP-DEADLINE IS APRIL 18 TH.