Teresita Sandoval

Teresita Sandoval was one of the daring souls who arrived at the Pueblo settlement in 1841. Leaving her traditional life as the wife of Manuel Suazo, she followed Mathew Kinkead to the Arkansas River, where her extended family sought to establish life at El Pueblo Trading Post in 1842. Described as “pretty as a peach,” she also captivated the Englishman Alexander Barclay, who wrote of “TS” in his journals. His diary offers a glimpse of their grand undertakings and of her role and contributions. Her life shows that women moved between cultures, strengthened family and trade alliances, exercised rights under Mexican Law, and ventured north for the freedom promised by the frontier.

Pueblo, Colorado · United States