William Grandstaff: Moab Settler and Black Frontiersman
By Mary Langworthy, Nick Sheedy, Gerald Elias
William Grandstaff was born into slavery, served in the military during the Civil War, ran cattle in Moab, Utah, and then settled in Colorado where he held mining claims, bought and sold properties, and resided until his death in 1901. Grandstaff has long held a prominent place in Moab’s history: Numerous references to him appear in local records, where he is commonly referred to as "Negro Bill," or with a racial slur. Based on a survey of federal and state census records, city directories, newspapers, and other public records, an account of his life may be ascertained, providing greater detail into the history of one of the region's earliest non-Native residents.
Grandstaff's Life in Moab
William Grandstaff arrived in Utah around 1877, and according to later reports by subsequent settlers, briefly occupied the abandoned Elk Mountain Mission fort building along with a man nicknamed "Frenchie." The Elk Mountain Mission fort had been constructed in 1855 by a mission of 44 men sent from Salt Lake City by tThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The mission was short-lived: cConflict between the Mormons and local Ute people escalated violently and the fort was abandoned within months of its construction. The robust stone fort building, situated in the valley south of the Colorado River, served as temporary and seasonal shelter years later for Grandstaff and other later arrivals to the Moab Valley.
William Grandstaff was among the very first non-Native settlers of the area, and many local histories, oral history interviews, and newspaper articles make reference to his presence. At this time, the land was inhabited principally by Ute people, who lived seasonally between the La Sal Mountains and the lower elevations of the Moab Valley. At the time of Grandstaff’s arrival, a few Euro-American settlers had also begun running cattle or settling in the vicinity.
An early history published in the local newspaper stated that Grandstaff and “Frenchie” “lived separately —- each in half of the fort, and they each lay claim to a part of the valley.” This article also referenced a conflict between the two men, when visited for a meal in 1878 by Moab settler J.H. Shafer, who recalled intervening to help defend Grandstaff. Grandstaff ran cattle in a canyon upstream of Moab that now bears his name. This canyon, located approximately three miles upstream on the Colorado River from Moab, is one of the few places in the arid Moab area with year-round running water.
Grandstaff is also credited with building or occupying a small stone ice house on the property of the ranch later owned by the Taylor family. Lydia Taylor Skewes, (1885-1985), was a granddaughter of Moab settler Norman Taylor and also recounted in a 1974 oral history that Grandstaff lived in a log house on the property where the Taylor family later built their house. Today, the property, including the building attributed to Grandstaff, is on the National Register of Historic Places and operates as a guest ranch.
The late 1870s and the 1880s brought an influx of settlers to the area. The name Moab was designated, a post office and other municipal entities were established, and a variety of ranchers and settlers moved into the valley in the decade following Grandstaff’s arrival.
William Grandstaff appears in the 1880 US Census as “Wm. Grandtair,” Black, male, aged 38 (thus born about 1842), was listed as single, and his occupation was reported to be a farmer. His birthplace cited was Virginia, with both parents also specified as having been born in Virginia. He was the only Black person living in the county. This census was conducted for Emery County east of the Green River in the Utah Territory, as Grand County had not yet been established.
Grandstaff's time in Utah was brief: He left Moab in 1881, which was also when tensions between white settlers and local Native Americans escalated violently. As summarized in Faun McConkie’s “History of Moab” articles written in the 1930s, “It was at the time of this Indian trouble [1881] that [William Grandstaff] left the country. He was charged with selling whiskey to the Indians and knowing the seriousness of this offense, he feared drastic action on the part of the whites.” The truth of this rumor cannot be substantiated today, and no formal charges were made at the time. The sale of alcohol was legal and common in the fledgling town of Moab. Derogatory comments and racial slurs used to reference Grandstaff in the oral histories cited indicate that his presence was not welcomed by some of the subsequent settlers of the Valley.
Grandstaff in Colorado
After leaving Moab, and after a reported subsequent stint in Salida, Colorado, Grandstaff moved to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, where he lived until his death in 1901.
A Moab resident had reported seeing Grandstaff in Salida, Colorado, in about 1884, at which time he was reportedly shining shoes. This anecdotal claim is supported by the fact that a “W. Grandstaff” was enumerated on the 1885 Colorado State Census in District 2 of Chaffee County. While the enumerator recorded him as “white,” other identifying data support the idea that this man was the William Grandstaff that had recently left Moab. He was reportedly 40 (thus born about 1845), single, working as a cook, and was specified as having been born in Virginia. His father’s birthplace was not recorded, while his mother was born in Virginia. At this time, he lived with two other single men. While some details, most notably his race, are in conflict with other historical accounts, the other information aligns with the correct approximate age and the birthplace cited in multiple other census accounts.
Grandstaff relocated to Glenwood Springs shortly thereafter. He acquired 160 acres in Garfield County, from the U.S. General Land Office in Glenwood Springs, by patent dated November 8, 1890 (Ute Series Certificate No. 146). His land was located just west of Glenwood Springs, near where South Canyon Creek joins the Colorado River.
Land sales records and multiple newspaper articles chronicle his affairs in and around Glenwood Springs. The October 1891 edition of the local Avalanche Echo newspaper mentions that “W. J. Grandstaff, of the hot sulphur springs of South Canyon, has been in the city for the past few days arranging the sale of the springs.”
Grandstaff apparently worked on several mining claims: an 1898 article stated “William Grandstaff filed an affidavit showing that he has expended $100 in labor upon the Japhet and Redman lode mining claims.” He also owned a saloon in South Canyon, just west of Glenwood Springs, which was sold in 1887. He also potentially married a woman named Rebecca in Glenwood Springs (the marriage certificate has not been located but a “Rebecca Grandstaff” is listed as a co-owner of properties). Curiously, William Grandstaff was listed as a candidate for Constable in Leadville, Colorado, in 1889, nearly 90 miles away.
The 1900 US Census enumerated William Grandstaff alone on Garfield Avenue in Glenwood Springs, Garfield County, Colorado. He was recorded as Black, aged 60, born in January 1840, born in Alabama to parents who were born in Louisiana. He was working as a coal miner. This record also indicates he was widowed, potentially referring to the aforementioned Rebecca Grandstaff.
Grandstaff died in the summer of 1901, and accounts published in both the Avalanche Echo newspaper and the Glenwood Post provided details about his life and the circumstances of his passing. His obituary referred to Grandstaff as "Old Portugee," a nickname that may have indicated a mixed racial background. Multiple Census records record his race as "mulatto" or even, in the 1885 Colorado state census, as white. According to the Aug.ust 22, 1901 Avalanche Echo’s report, community members had noticed Grandstaff's absence in town for several weeks and sent someone to check on him at his cabin on Red Mountain. Grandstaff's body was found in his cabin, evidently having been dead for some weeks, with no sign of foul play.
"The old man lived a solitary life on the top of the mountain where he had several mining claims which he has been working on for the past six or seven years. He was accustomed to making regular trips to this town for the purpose of obtaining fresh provisions and visiting his friends, and when his absence became prolonged, they became alarmed,” the Avalanche Echo reported.
The Glenwood Post’s Aug.ust 24, 1901 reporting corroborated this portrait of Grandstaff’s life:
“The Colored prospector, who for several years has prospected the hills west of town and located a number of claims which he insisted contained fabulous riches, was found dead last Monday in his solitary cabin at the top of Red Mountain and in plain view of Glenwood Springs. The old fellow for several years has spent much of his time at his claims, coming to town occasionally and working long enough to secure another stock of provisions, when he would go back to the little cabin on the mountain top and there remain until the supplies were exhausted and necessity drove him back to town.”
The Glenwood Post also stated that “for the past few months, Grandstaff has been in poor health and his friends have advised him to go to the hospital, but this he declined to do.”
The Glenwood Post provided details about the burial, including that local Justice Hedden (representing Coroner Hotopp who was out of town) viewed the body as required by law. Grandstaff’s remains were buried “under a great pine tree just outside the cabin door” that was fashioned into the shape of a cross and the cabin was burned as a health precaution. The paper also described the burial with emotion that gives a window into Grandstaff’s status in his community:
“Deacon Jones, after assisting in digging the grave, quietly wandered away from the balance of the party, and just as Mr. [Reverend] Bullis was about to begin the burial service, Jones reappeared and in a very unobtrusive manner gently placed upon the coffin of his friend a bouquet of beautiful wildflowers. This little act of esteem was so in contrast to the other unfortunate conditions that it brought tears to the eyes of the onlookers, who mutely completed the burial and returned home impressed with the beauty of this touching evidence of brotherly affection."
William “Deacon” Jones was a prominent Black resident of Glenwood Springs. According to his obituary, Jones was born enslaved in 1840 in Virginia, and lived in Glenwood Springs for approximately thirty years - and was reportedly “the only colored man in town” for some time. He was credited in his obituary with helping start a Black church in Glenwood Springs and described as a “landmark” community member in his obituary.
Grandstaff's Birthplace
An analysis of US Census records can help suggest a possible birthplace for William Grandstaff. A review of census records from Grandstaff's later years in Utah and Colorado yield a patchwork of accounts about William Grandstaff’s origins, including inconsistent records of his birthplace and age. Such discrepancies, however, are not uncommon for Black Americans, both during the years of slavery and in the decades after. According to all available records, Grandstaff was born in the 1830s or 1840s in the South, and since his name is not found in the 1850 or prior US Censuses, he was presumed to have been born into slavery. The surname Grandstaff is presumed to have come from the family holding him in slavery.
Based on available records, it is unclear whether he escaped from slavery or was willfully released by his enslaver. While existing census records for Grandstaff report that he was born in Alabama or Virginia, three of five federal and state census documents naming Grandstaff indicate a Virginia birthplace.
A survey of slave holders found a large family with the surname Grandstaff in Virginia, but none in Alabama that held slaves. This evidence supports the conclusion that William Grandstaff was likely born enslaved in Virginia.
The slave schedules of the US Censuses typically listed slaves under the enslaver's name, by age and color (distinguishing “Black” and “Mulatto” people). Of nine slaveholders named Grandstaff (spelling variations considered), only two in Virginia and two in Tennessee held enslaved males who were the right age to be the William Grandstaff who lived in Moab and Glenwood Springs later in life. One of the Virginia slaveholders reported two Mulatto (mixed race) boys aged about 12 and 16, as well as a Black male aged 18, and based on Grandstaff having no known connection to Tennessee and also subsequent census listings identifying him as Mulatto (and one listing him as white), we can conclude that William Grandstaff was likely born into and held in slavery by George Grandstaff of Shenandoah County, Virginia - and thus was one of the three aforementioned enslaved boys enumerated on the 1850 Slave Schedule for George Grandstaff.
Furthermore, since several census records denote Grandstaff as being “Mulatto,” it can be concluded that Grandstaff was likely biracial. Grandstaff was born at a time of widespread sexual abuse of enslaved Black women by the white men in power. Thus, if Grandstaff was indeed biracial, the likely hypothesis would be that his mother was Black and his father was one of the white men who held his mother in slavery.
Cincinnati, Ohio
A variety of historical resources suggest that Grandstaff may have lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, and potentially briefly Omaha, Nebraska, prior to making his way to Utah. Based on available records, it appears that Grandstaff may have escaped slavery or was otherwise released from slavery sometime in the 1850s, as a man of the correct approximate profile appears in Cincinnati city records prior to Emancipation in 1863.
Based on available records, Grandstaff may have moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he married, had two daughters, and mustered in the Black Brigade. A variety of public records indicate the presence of a Black man of the right approximate age as the William Grandstaff who later moved to Moab and Glenwood Springs. A marriage record from Hamilton County, Ohio records the marriage of a William "Dranstaff" and Isabella Bond in 1857 in Hamilton County, Ohio. A William “Granstead” is listed in the 1860 US Census in Cincinnati, Ohio along with a 22-year-old Isabella and 8 month old daughter Clara with the same surname. All three of them were recorded as “Mulatto,” and they lived next door to Isabella’s parents.
The enslaver George Grandstaff in Virginia, meanwhile, no longer held enslaved men of the correct age to be William Grandstaff at the time of the 1860 Census. A survey of George Grandstaff’s immediate relatives in Virginia did not indicate enslaved individuals of the correct approximate age and gender, suggesting that George Grandstaff had not given or sold one of the 12, 16, or 18 year old boys recorded in 1850 to another family member. The sole free Black individual named William Grandstaff (of the correct approximate age) appearing on the US Census in 1860 is the William “Granstead” of Cincinnati.
William Grandstaff is listed among the 44 men mustered in Company A of Cincinnati's Black Brigade, a military unit of local Black men organized to defend Cincinnati from an anticipated Confederate attack in 1862. The men of Cincinnati’s Black Brigade were the first recognized African American volunteers in the Union Army during the Civil War.
By 1868, the William Grandstaff in Cincinnati no longer lived with his wife Isabella in Ohio. “Bell” Grandstaff is listed a “widow” in the Cincinnati city directories for 1868. The 1870 city directory indicates Bell Grandstaff was a seamstress, living at a different address as two years prior. The 1870 US Census for Ward 12 of Cincinnati records Isabelle Grandstaff (age 26) keeping house with daughters Clara Bell (age 11) and “Esphelia” (age 4) Grandstaff. The household included a man named William Scott (age 35) and his presumed son William Scott (age 8). All members of the household were black, and they lived next door to Isabelle’s brother, John Bond. Not long after the 1870 census was taken, Isabella Grandstaff married William Scott at the Zion German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cincinnati. The fact that Isabella remarried in 1870 would suggest that she had been widowed or was legally divorced from William Grandstaff. However, it was not uncommon for low-income couples to go their ways without formal divorce proceedings - meaning that one can infer that perhaps the William Grandstaff she had married in 1857 was not necessarily deceased.
William Grandstaff ceased to appear on Cincinnati city directories, and a search of the 1870 US Census found one possible candidate who may be the Grandstaff of Utah and Colorado: W. “Granstaaff” or “Gransdorff”, age 30 (born about 1840), Black, employed as house servant, born in Missouri (indicated via ditto marks referring to the birthplace of the person on the line above). It was specified that he could not read or write. He lived with other boarders (some white and some black) in a hotel operated by Philip Rumsy, in Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. Persons who lived in hotels often did not self-report their statistics directly to a Census enumerator, and so the information may be less reliable. Despite the birthplace discrepancy, this man is a viable (and the only) candidate to be the William Grandstaff who showed up in Utah within the decade and ended up in Colorado.
In summary, the only free, Black William Grandstaff located in Census or military records prior to 1870 is the William Grandstaff in Cincinnati, Ohio. The one Ohio census that recorded his age indicates he was a little older than was indicated in the records available for him in Utah and Colorado. (The 1860 Census indicates his birth year to be 1833, notably a bit older than the 1842 and 1845 birth years specified by the 1880 and 1885 census entries, respectively.) The William Grandstaff of Cincinnati may have died in the 1860s (in which case, there is no record of his death), or he may have left behind his wife and two daughters, in which case he could be the man in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1870 who continued west to Utah and then settled in Colorado.
Based on the available information, it is considered plausible and likely that the William Grandstaff of Moab, Utah and Glenwood Springs, Colorado was the same William Grandstaff who lived in Cincinnati and served in the Black Brigade, and then potentially moved to Omaha before heading westward in the 1870s. A survey of the Slave Schedules identifies Shenandoah County, Virginia as his likely birthplace based on available records.
Legacy
In both Moab and Glenwood Springs, Grandstaff’s life has been memorialized both in local lore and with local landmarks. In Moab, the canyon where Grandstaff ran cattle was referred to with a slur both colloquially and on official maps, then designated Negro Bill Canyon in the 1950s, and officially renamed to William Grandstaff Canyon in 2017. As of this writing, the canyon is administered by the Bureau of Land Management and features a popular hiking trail and canyoneering route.
In Glenwood Springs, a large cross on Red Mountain can be traced to Grandstaff. Grandstaff was buried under a tree fashioned into a cross, and after the tree fell down, a series of replacement iterations have been installed and maintained in the general area since. The Red Mountain Cross Preservation Association was formed to preserve and maintain it, and they trace its history to the cross originally installed to mark Grandstaff’s grave. A hiking and mountain biking trail called the Grandstaff trail also pays homage to his legacy in Glenwood Springs.
Taken in sum, William Grandstaff’s story is a reminder that Black Americans, though underrepresented in historical literature and popular narratives, have long been present in the American West and have indelibly shaped and been shaped by the cultural landscape of Utah. As an original settler of Moab, Grandstaff holds a prominent place in southeast Utah’s history, and a more thorough analysis of his life both before and after Moab illuminates a truly dynamic life spanning many states, jobs, relationships, residences, challenges, and opportunities.
Sources Cited:
1890 Mining Patent, Ute Series Certificate No. 146, General Land Office. Grandstaff, William J. Garfield County, Colorado. November 8, 1890.
Bill of Sale, February 12, 1887. Garfield County, Colorado, County Recorder entry No. 3686.
Burr, Thomas. “Utah’s Negro Bill Canyon renamed Grandstaff Canyon by federal board.” Salt Lake Tribune, (Salt Lake City, Utah), October 12, 2017.
Clark, Peter H. The Black Brigade of Cincinnati: Being a report of its labors and a muster-roll of its members; together with various orders, speeches, etc., relating to it. Boyd, J.B. 1864. Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Cincinnati Room.
“Courthouse Cullings.” The Glenwood Post, (Glenwood Springs, Colorado), August 13, 1898.
Daughters of Utah Pioneers. Grand Memories. (Salt Lake City: Utah Printing Company, 1972).
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Firmage, Richard A. A History of Grand County. Utah Centennial History Series. (Grand County: 1996)
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Grandstaff, Bell 1870 Cincinnati, Ohio, City Directory, Page 260.
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Grandstair, Wm, 1880 US Census, East of Green River, Emery County, Utah Territory, ED 17, Page 1, Line 12.
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“Local and Personal.” Avalanche Echo, (Glenwood Springs, Colorado), October 30, 1891.
McCourt, Tom and Allison, Wade. The Elk Mountain Mission: A History of Moab, Mormons, the Old Spanish Trail, and the Sheberetch Utes. (Southpaw Publications: 2017.)
Skewes, Lydia Taylor. “Lydia Ann Taylor Skewes Interview, April 29, 1974 (Transcript).” Utah State University Digital Collections. Accessed May 26, 2024.
Tanner, Faun McConkie. “A History of Moab,” Times Independent (Moab, Utah), May 17, 1934.
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“The Independent Ticket.” The Aspen Daily Times, (Aspen, Colorado), October 13, 1889. (Page 1)