Theodora DeWolf Colt (1820-1901) was born in the mansion her father, George DeWolf, built in 1810. Following severe financial setbacks, George and his family, including 5-year-old Theodora, fled Bristol on a snowy night in December to avoid creditors and angry townspeople. Miss DeWolf was determined to return to Bristol and her ancestral home someday, which she did after marrying into the wealthy Colt family of Hartford, Connecticut at age 17. This marriage revived the failing family fortunes and with money and power behind her, Theodora became the grande dame of Bristol.
Theodora Colt was Linden Place’s first preservationist, bringing the DeWolf house, as Linden Place was known then, back to its former glory. Beginning in 1865, she renovated her childhood home, removing additions and outbuildings from its days as a boarding house, restoring the wrought iron fence, and laying a new front walkway. Theodora planted Linden trees across the front of the property and renamed the family home Linden Place.
Theodora was a lover of the arts. She wrote and self-published books of poetry to give to friends and hosted “theatricals” at Linden Place on Friday evenings. Theodora hosted two of the four presidents that were entertained at Linden Place during her occupancy. In 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant visited Linden Place, followed by President Chester A. Arthur in 1883. In October 1900, an 80th birthday party was held for Madame Colt at Linden Place and she received friends in the room where she was born on October 12, 1820.
On her deathbed, Theodora reportedly listed the emperors of Rome to prove that she was still in her right mind. When she died, her son Samuel Colt built the magnificent marble school next door to her ancestral home, in Theodora’s memory.
Biography and image provided by Susan Battle, Linden Place Mansion and Museum
Built with Shorthand