Joseph Baker Donavan

Joseph Baker Donavan (Joe Donavan) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1842. He was a pioneer trapper, pony express rider, and government scout; he also fought for the Union in the Civil War (9th Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry (92nd Volunteers); Company G - Pvt). He was best known as the first white man to visit the site of Denver, at which he arrived on August 2, 1858.

Early life

"Joe" Donavan was born to Captain William Trimble Donavan and Rosanna (Baker) Donavan, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He left home at just 12 years of age. He joined an uncle on a steamboat plying between Cairo, IL and New Orleans, LA, eventually ending in Kansas City in 1856. While there Donavan, scarcely 14 years old, was recruited and joined a John Brown raid on Olathe, KS. He was lightly wounded in the battle.

Trapping and Government Scout Years

In spring of 1857, Donavan caught a government train transporting prisoners across the plains from Omaha to Fort Laramie. The train was ambushed near Fort Kearney, with most of the STOCK taken by a band of Arapahoes. Joe Donavan and several others escaped, making it to Fort Kearney. There, the local officials had arrested Sioux Chief Sucoolulecoleka (also cited Sloanecka) for the ambush of the train, and subsequently sentenced him to hang. Donavan, believing Sloanecka innocent, liberated the chief during the night, before his sentence could be carried out. Donavan himself was imprisoned for the crime of releasing the chief, but was exonerated 5 days later, when the Sioux chief returned with the guilty band of Arapahoes and the stolen horses. Donavan spent the winter of 1857 with the Sioux learning their language, as well as those of the Pawnees and the Ogalallas.

Upon returning from the Sioux camp, Donavan became a Government Scout for the Colorado and Dakotas, beginning in the Spring of 1858 and continuing through 1859. He mapped much of that territory for the government, and was the first white man to camp at the crossing of Cherry Creek and the Platt River on August 2, 1858.

Pony Express and The Civil War

In 1860, Joe Donavan arrived at St. Louis and signed up to ride for the Pony Express. He went to St. Joseph to begin the ride, and continued as a Pony Express Rider until the start of the Civil War. Donavan was in Colorado when he heard of the firing on Fort Sumpter from a party crossing the country; he left Colorado, crossed the plains and enlisted for the Union at St. Louis. He fought for the 9th Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry (92nd Volunteers); Company G throughout the war, returning to battle after each of the four wounds he received during the conflict. Later in life, Donavan would publicly refuse a government pension for his service, stating "Every Donavan man for the last 200 years has answered when this country has called, and none have taken pensions for it."

Later life

Donavan returned to his parents' home in Lincoln, Nebraska after the war, and stayed there until 1871, when he settled in the new town of Colorado Springs. Though Donavan purchased the first [...] store in the city, his adventurous spirit did not leave him. He went prospecting in the San Juan country and later went to Leadville, but did not make a strike. In 1882, Donavan came to his home on Fountain Creek, a few miles from Colorado Springs, where he had a ranch. Donavan donated all of his pioneer relics to the State Museum in Denver shortly before his death. He died in Colorado Springs in June 1923, and was survived by his wife, Susan (Hurd) Donavan, and eight children.

Citations

1. Denver Post; Obituary Column, July 1, 1923;
2. Article "Denver Finds Her Finder"; Denver Post; The Daily News Section; February 15, 1910;
3. Article "Famous Old-Time Indian Fighter to Lead Carnival's Trappers"; The Denver Post; Want Ad Section; July 30, 1910