Frederick Jones Bancroft

Dr. Frederick J. Bancroft (1834–1903), Denver physician and public health advocate Frederick J. Bancroft (May 25, 1834 – January 17, 1903) was a surgeon during the American Civil War before he settled in Colorado, His mother was a member of the Oliver Wolcott family and his father was a farmer. Bancroft descended from early New England settlers, the earliest arriving in 1660 to East Windsor, Connecticut. Bancroft funded his education by himself by teaching school in New York and Connecticut. in Blakely, Pennsylvania (then in Luzerne County) Bancroft, considered to be "one of the most prominent physicians" in Colorado by the obituary reported by the San Francisco Chronicle,

A key public health risk was the spread of syphilis. Bancroft estimated in 1872 that due to the prevalence of prostitution, "probably every third man who reaches the age of twenty-five has acquired ... syphilis" from the brothels in the city. Bancroft, with the Denver Medical Association, advocated licensing, stipulation of allowed services, and testing and examinations of the city's prostitutes. The proposed program was to be managed by physicians and police. The city decided instead to outlaw prostitution and fine prostitutes. In 1875, the Denver Medical Association's physicians decided that management of prostitutes was a solely a police matter. Bancroft continued to advocate a licensing system, as well as making abortion an attempted murder crime. Denver, though, was not ready to relinquish its "sex-drugs-and-gambling lifestyle" from the gold rush days. he cautioned the city council. Although there were earlier attempts, it was not until 1880 that Denver began construction of a sewer system.

In 1876, he was elected president of the Denver Medical Association. He was a member of the American Medical Association.

State Board of Health In 1876, he was the first president of Colorado's State Board of Health, (Other physicians from across the state who were members of the board were William H.) Williams, A.V. Small, Thomas G. Horn, William Edmondson, Russell J. Collins, Timothy M. Smith, and Thomas N. Metcalf. The secretary was Harrison A. Lemen. Lambert Dairy was located near the intersection of Morrison Road and Harlan Road. The sanitized milk that was produced at Lambert Dairy was supplied to St. Lukes Hospital, where many of his patients were victims of diphtheria and typhoid. Bancroft believed that there was a connection between their illness and the ingestion of unpasteurized milk. Herndon Davis made a painting of the farmhouse in 1941; it is displayed in the Western History section of the Denver Public Library.

Bancroft was a founder and president of Agricultural ditch beginning in 1875. It was an important irrigation canal for the Denver region.

Colorado Historical Society In 1879 he was co-founder and first president of the Colorado Historical Society, originally called the State Historical and National History Society of Colorado. He served as president for 17 years. Bancroft was a member of the American Historical Association and the Sons of the American Revolution. (George A. Jarvis had read an article in a Connecticut paper about Bancroft's view of the curative qualities of the Colorado climate.) Her granddaughter, Caroline Bancroft, tells that her grandmother was quite ill when she exited the train in Denver and "fell... into the arms" of her future husband. For one year she lived with Bishop Randall and his wife and was then married to Frederick. Mary Caroline, an Episcopalian, was involved in important works within the Denver community and played a leadership role in the St. John in the Wilderness church efforts. She authored the book A Retrospective Sketch of the Fortnightly Club, 1881–1888.

The Bancrofts had four children: Mary McLean (1872–1949), George Jarvis (1873–1945), Anna Chloe (1875–1878), and Frederick Wolcott (1880–1963). Frederick Wolcott Bancroft became a physician. Bancroft had two working ranches Charles Partridge Adams, who visited the ranch, made a painting in 1897 of the house and ranch for the family. A few years after he retired, Bancroft died of heart failure in San Diego, California on January 17, 1903. His remains were buried in Denver, Colorado.

Mount Bancroft Mount Bancroft, a peak in Grand and Clear Creek counties, is named for him.

It is located west of the town of Empire,