Richens Lacy (or Lacey) Wootton (c. 1816 - 1893), often referred to as "Uncle Dick" Wootton, was an American frontiersman born in Virginia, but lived most of his life in what is now Colorado, much of it before the formation of Colorado.
Richens Lacey Wootton | |
|---|---|
 Richens Lacey Wootton | |
| Born | c. 1816 Virginia |
| Died | 1893 (aged 76–77) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Frontiersman |
In his early life Wootton was a mountain man and trapper, then a hunter at Bent's Fort. In 1866, he hired a tribe of Utes under Chief Conniache to build a toll road through Raton Pass. He later sold the road to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad[1] and the railroad named one of their locomotives after him.[2]
He appears as a character in Flashman and the Redskins when Flashman employs him as a guide. Flashman and his caravan are forced to abandon him when he catches cholera.
He is referenced in Michener's "Centennial ".
References
edit- ^ "Richens Lacy "Uncle Dick" Wootton". www.sangres.com.
- ^ "Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society : Resources". old.atsfrr.org.
- Richens Lacy "Uncle Dick" Wooton, http://www.sangres.com/history/uncledick.htm online biography of Wootton
External links
edit
Media related to Richens Lacey Wootton at Wikimedia Commons