Nancy "Nannie" Blain Underhill [1862-1946]

Individual, Blain_Nannie

Lifetime

1862 – 1946

About

Grand Junction's first teacher.

Born in Illinois, Nannie was in Colorado - but not Grand Junction - by 1880. Her father entered the area in April 1882, not long after the valley was “opened to settlement” after the Utes were removed. 

Nancy, her mother, and her brother, George, arrived May 20th. The family settled a ranch East of town. 

She taught the summer term in Grand Junction’s first school in 1882, and also started a Sunday School. She was paid $50/month for teaching school, although her last month’s wages were to be paid as a lot on East Main Street. She boarded at the Randall Hotel.

The term ended September 2, and on the 10th, she married William Underhill, a prison guard she had become engaged to before leaving from Canon City, and they returned there.

In 1910, they returned to the area, living initially in Collbran. Sometime after William’s death in 1913, Nannie moved to the Redlands, where she lived for the rest of her life. 

Pioneer Interview

Ancestry Record

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