March General Meeting & Presentation
Getting Bent With the Bents
Presented by John Steinle, Historian, Author
Learn about the unique genealogical challenges of the Bent family who played a huge part in early Colorado and New Mexico history. They knew practically all the famed characters of the old Southwest frontier and were relatives of Kit Carson. But the Bent family story offers problems that frustrate anyone trying to study their history.
William Bent ran Bent’s Old Fort and Bent’s New Fort trading posts in southeastern Colorado. His brother Charles Bent served as the first U. S. Governor of New Mexico. Prominent descendants of the Bents continue to influence today’s world in many ways.
John Steinle is a native of Hamilton, Ohio, who received a master's degree in museum and archival management from Wright State University. He worked as a curator and archivist at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Cincinnati Historical Society and served as a director at several Ohio museums before moving to Colorado in 1992.
In 1994, John became the administrator of the Hiwan Homestead Museum in Evergreen, Colorado, working for Jefferson County Open Space. He was later promoted to history education supervisor and region supervisor for the Bear Creek Region. He retired in 2016.
He is the author of five books. The latest one is Colorado in the Civil War.
Guests are always welcome at FhGS activities. There is ample parking and an accessible entrance at Applewood Valley United Methodist Church, 2035 Ellis St., Golden, CO, 80401. To attend or receive the ZOOM link, register at https://foothillsgenealogy.org where individual and family memberships are available and donations are welcome.
Foothills Genealogical Society has supported genealogical research for 45 years with educational programs, classes and field trips and by preserving and publishing historical records from Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties in Colorado.