Elizabeth Hart Jarvis
| Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Elizabeth Hart Jarvis October 5, 1826 Saybrook, Connecticut, United States |
| Died | August 23, 1905 (aged 78) Newport, Rhode Island, United States |
| Occupation | Businesswoman, philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Samuel Colt |
| Children | Caldwell Hart Colt |
| Relatives | John C. Colt, Richard Jarvis |
Elizabeth Jarvis Colt (October 5, 1826 – August 23, 1905, born Elizabeth Hart Jarvis), was the widow and heir of firearms manufacturer Samuel Colt, founder of Colt's Manufacturing Company.
Elizabeth Hart Jarvis was born in Saybrook, Connecticut to Reverend William Jarvis, an Episcopal Minister, and Elizabeth Jarvis. She was the eldest of five children in an affluent and socially prominent family.
She met Samuel Colt in 1851 in Newport, Rhode Island, and the two were married in 1856. The couple resided at Armsmear.
The Colts had four children. Two died in infancy; a daughter, named Elizabeth, died at the age of three. Only one, Caldwell, survived to adulthood, but he drowned at sea at the age of 34.
In 1861, Samuel Colt died from complications associated with gout and left Elizabeth a pregnant widow. Seven months after his death, the baby was stillborn.
Following her husband's death in 1862, Mrs. Colt inherited a controlling interest in the manufacturing company (worth $3.5 million at the time and closer to $200 million in today's money), and played a key role in rebuilding the main armory following arson in 1864. Her brother, Richard Jarvis took over as president of the company in 1865, following the death of Elisha K. Root, and the two transitioned the company from the end of the American Civil War through the early 20th century, seeing the evolution from percussion revolvers to cartridge revolvers to semiautomatic pistols and machineguns.
Colt served for 22 years as the president of the Union for Home Work, an organization that provided daycare for the children of working mothers. She became the first President of the Hartford Soldiers Aid Society and, in 1869, organized the first Suffragette convention in Connecticut. For these actions, she was dubbed "The First Lady of Hartford".
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