In 1863, at the age of twenty, Frances Wisebart Jacobs and her husband Abraham traveled by covered wagon from Cincinnati, OH to Central City in the Colorado Territory. In 1870, the two moved to Denver where Frances became known as the "Mother of Charities." Frances served as the president of the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society and helped to found the Denver Ladies' Relief Society where she served as the first Vice President.

Working with other philanthropist/activists like Reverend Myron Reed and Father William O'Ryan, Frances co-founded a federation of charitable organizations that became what we now know as the United Way.
In 1900, Frances' portrait was chosen to hang beside 15 others in the Colorado state capitol building. She was the only woman represented out of the group of founding pioneers. Nearly 2,000 people attended her funeral in 1892 to recognize her life of philanthropic work.

A more detailed biography can be found in JWA's comprehensive encyclopedia: http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jacobs-frances-wisebart

For more information on Frances Wisebart Jacobs and other Jewish women from Colorado, visit: http://www.du.edu/cjs/

Photo Courtesy of the Beck Archives, Special Collections, Penrose Library and CJS, University of Denver.