Saturday, April 30, 2016

Setting the record straight - Dissecting the Westwood article line by line

Westwood published an article about the Cotopaxi Colony this week.  There were a few mistakes and I am attempting to correct them line by line in this blog.


This article went to print with Nancy Oswald's name as Nancy Osborne.  The online version has been edited, but the printed version is incorrect. 

"They lie fenced off from the other 211 bodies buried in the cemetery" 
There would be no fence if it wasn't for  Nelson, and his family.  They did the work of cleaning up this abandoned part of the cemetery, got the funding to erect the fence, the marker, and the memorial headstone. A ton of hard, physical labor.

today serves as a center for the ranching families in the area. 
Most of the land has been taken over by developments and you need to go quite far away to discover any working ranches these days.  Locals will joke and say, "if you blink your eyes, you will miss it!"  Cotopaxi is not a "center".
These gravestones are the last vestige of an agricultural colony that was once here;
There were no gravestones in 1882.  The Youngs  have kept the cemetery records since the earliest days.  A funeral home placed a metal maker stating "Russian Jews Graves" on the ground. 

with May 31 the deadline for proof of Emanuel Saltiel’s innocence.
With the amount of evidence that already exists, Emanuel Saltiel was not innocent. 
a retired investment-bank director and securities analyst,. 
left out the credentials of others that were interviewed.  Why?
 Lowe, who’s lived in the Cotopaxi area for 42 years 
My father purchased the Cotopaxi Texaco gas station in 1973.   I first moved to Canon City in 1974 and yes, I have been going to Cotopaxi ever since.  I lived there for 3 short months in 1975 and I also lived in the mountains south east of Cotopaxi for 3 years in the 1980s.  But I also lived in San Diego for 9 years and the Denver metro area for 15 years.
Miles is a distant cousin. 
Of note, while Miles claimed to be a "distant cousin", he has a completely different DNA haplogroup from E. H. Saltiel's descendants.  In order to descend from the same biological grandparent, on would need to have identical DNA.  Miles allegations show that the closest possible relationship would be 3rd cousin 4 times removed.  But DNA disagrees with that allegation.  Even without DNA, we can prove that Miles does not descend from E. H. Saltiel who was in Cotopaxi.  
a state historical marker offers what had previously been the generally accepted version of what happened to the colony
This article shows ONE person who is questioning that history.  History that has been accepted for the last 134 years. 
who takes issue with it on his meticulously researched and ever-expanding website dedicated to unearthing a more balanced account
This website has assembled articles on Cotopaxi,   purged them of their original footnotes and bibliographies where they did exist and added personal thoughts to them.  This is not research.  It is the opinion of a single person.
discovered in research he commissioned, 
Flora Satt referenced these documents in her 1950 thesis.  By wiping out all of her footnotes and bibliography, he can now state that he is the person who discovered these in his research.   Flora Satt found all of these documents.   I have had all of them in my possession since the early 2000s.  Anyone can find them by visiting the Denver Public Library, the Colorado History Center, the Fremont County History center, or Beck Archives at Denver University. 
and even offers a speculative economic model of what happened. 
SPECULATIVE is defined as "based on conjecture rather than knowledge"
 irked both Jennifer Lowe and Miles Saltiel
I had explained to this writer that the article by Adam Rovner was filled with fallacies.  Adam started the article by calling Jacob and Nettie Milstein a "one-eyed farmer and his fallen bride."  This is not an accurate picture of Nettie Milstein.  I have never used the expression “irked."
Miles so much so that he was spurred to offer bounties for missing documents  
“Bounties" tends to conjure up the idea that you are in search of a criminal.
“I explained that I told the story based on the record I had. 
No research done for that article
That started our relationship.  
Is this a paid partnership?  Adam has been hired to review documents to be submitted to Miles.
he has nominated me as someone who is impartial, who is willing to be honest.
Yet he stated that my research is not professional.  That would make him partial.
historical debate and personality battle between him and Jen.  
I avoid Miles Saltiel to the extent I can.   I have never had a debate with him.  I simply state the facts when asked a question.
She blames [Emanuel Saltiel] for duping the poor Jews.  
I have never said that.  Do I question the motive of E. H. Saltiel for bringing the Jews to Cotopaxi - of course I do.   Do I blame Saltiel?  I have never said that.
Even though he’s biased, I very much applaud his search — it’s a real historian’s impulse.”
Adam Rovner clearly tells us that Miles Saltiel is biased.  Yet he applauds his research. He identifies him as a "real historian."  On what basis?
Sixty-three colonists, many from interrelated families, arrived at Cotopaxi on May 8, 1882.
Only 50 people arrived and it was on May 9, 1882. 
witnessed by the 200-odd residents of the railroad town at the time;  
The 1880 census for Cotopaxi shows us there were 77 people living in Cotopaxi.  I do not believe that it grew by another 133 people before the colonists arrived in 1882.   The 1882 city directory confirms this.
On their way to the colony site, the immigrants let their oxen loose to graze the first night and lost them — forcing them to pull their wagons themselves the next day
More likely they were stolen by the local cattle rustlers.  Common in that area at that time.
farming anything in the dry scrublands of Colorado at 6,280 feet above sea level 
Cotopaxi's altitude is 6380'.  The farms were located at 8000' or higher.
Only one of the colonists had farming experience.  
We know that there were at least 5 farmers in this group. The ships manifests show us that Max Shuteran, Solomon Shuteran, Joseph Nudelman and Isaac Schames were farmers.  We know that the Milsteins were farmers in Ekaterinoslav before arriving.  
(then again, he also turned out to be Schwarz’s uncle)
an allegation that has never been proven. 
And a makeshift synagogue in Cotopaxi was dedicated on June 23, 1883, as reported in the Jewish Messenger:
Nowhere does this article identify it as a "makeshift" synagogue.   It is a small synagogue.
Two marriages took place there
  I have 3 marriage certificates, all 3 signed by Rabbi Krupitsky.
a welcome change from the children’s deaths of the previous year. 
The 3 children's deaths and the 3 weddings all took place in 1882 - the same year.
Rio Grande. 
To be more accurate, it was the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
In a 2005 piece, Miles says his ancestor 
E. H. Saltiel is not an ancestor to Miles.  

Per above, we know that E. H. Saltiel is not an ancestor of Miles.
“planned an act of high-profile benefaction. It is far more in accordance with Jewish business conduct that a prosperous entrepreneur at the heart of a local Jewish community should seek prestige from public works than he should court public disdain by abusing his coreligionists.”
This is purely conjecture on the part of Miles.  E. H. Saltiel made the arrangements for them to come to Cotopaxi,  hired E. S. Hart to build their houses, and was off traveling across the country as had been his pattern in years before and after the Colony.
That a get-together thirty years after the failure of the colony would be termed something that grim is telling.
The get-together was in 1925 and the Colony disbanded in 1884, this was 41 years later, not 30 years!
“I’ve plucked all the low-hanging fruit, as it were.   
 meaning everything that's available online which had already been found by Flora Satt.
without any Emanuel Saltiel figure. 
 Nancy left him out of her book.  It’s the story about a little girl who was part of the Colony.  There was no need to reference Saltiel.    It is a fictional history book.  Does not require the facts.
Moore’s site, started in 2001, is notably hostile to both Emanuel and Miles. “No smooth talking is going to get in the way of history on this site,” it pronounces, referring to Miles Saltiel’s website as “last and least.” 
The "last and least" comment references additional information on the cotopaxi-colorado.com, a different site from cotopaxi-colony.com  Both of these sites are owned by Nelson.  Neither one of these sites reference or link to Miles' site.  This information was posted long before Miles created his near site.   Miles chose his identical site name in order to create confusion.Nelson states in many locations, "do not be upset with Saltiel."
“I thought, this just doesn’t hold water.”
This was said to discredit Nelson's research and work.    If you read everything on Nelson's website, you will find that it is well documented.  The information, including Flora Satt's thesis is preserved in it's original format.  Nothing has been taken out or edited.
“I don’t know of a truly legitimate historical researcher who would not reveal documents to other researchers for review. 
An attempt to discredit my research.  I have an MBA degree.  I have been doing genealogy research for at least 40 years.  I do not share my findings because I have not published them yet.
For her part, Lowe says she intends to share the new information when she presents on “Mayhem and Meshuganah for Jewish Settlers in Cotopaxi, Colorado” on August 10 at the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Seattle. 
I said that I was presenting the story of Cotopaxi at the conference in Seattle.  In a later discussion, I said that when I have published my findings, I will donate all of my documents to the History Center here in Canon City.
could be related by marriage to the colonists through his wife 
Miles knows we are not related to the colonists yet he still continues to raise the question.  
But Miles Saltiel has a backup explanation for why Lowe and Moore could be pursuing their research.  
There are many people who enjoy researching the history of an area that they live in or have ties to.  My family has lived in the Cotopaxi area for over 4 decades.  Nelson has always lived there.  I now live 35 miles away.  I wonder why this is an issue for Miles?
Miles continues: “I can’t stop people thinking what they want to think. If the descendants of the settlers wish to believe that Saltiel was a villain, I can’t stop them. 
Nor can anyone stop Miles from trying to make the Saltiel name as clean as possible. 
I just want to know what really happened 
We already know what really happened.  It has been well documented.
Mills: “You are a Jew, Mr. Saltiel.”
Saltiel: “Yes, sir. I am one of the only two ancient Jews in Denver.”
Mills: “Come now, Mr. Saltiel.”
Saltiel: “Yes, this is true, the others are mongrels.”
 E. H. Saltiel himself, is calling everyone else a mongrel.
one that makes no mention of Saltiel,  
The story of Cotopaxi is not about Saltiel.  He was one man.  There were 71 colonists.  This is the story about the Jewish immigrants, their struggle to farm in near impossible conditions.  Seventeen families who gave up everything to come to this country, to flea the terrorism they were enduring under the Russian pogroms at that time.  This is the story about their faith in God, their customs and traditions, their ernest desire to farm this land. It's about documenting their history to the point that is possible.

And now, a man who states he is a distant cousin,  who does not descend from Saltiel or any of the colonists, who lives in England,  who has no connection to Cotopaxi itself,  who is not a US citizen, is wanting to alter past American history.   History that has stood it's ground for the last 134 years.  One must surely question why.




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Friday, April 29, 2016

Setting the record straight - "When Jewish Colonists Prospected for Utopia in Cotopaxi"

I'm determined to set the record straight about Cotopaxi.  One of the ways to do that is to start dissecting every article written.  Not in any order - here's the first article.

"When the Jewish Colonists Prospected for Utopia in Cotopaxi"

Starting with the third sentence:
"Nearby, a one-eyed farmer and his fallen bride battle the rocky soil of their ramshackle homestead."
We know the one-eyed farmer was Jacob Muhlstein

"Fallen bride".  It means immoral.  degraded.  having lost her chastity.  conquered.

Nettie Muhlstein was anything but that!  She was honorable,  a pious woman, religious.  May her memory be a blessing!
"Half-starved Indians skulk in the town’s shadows."
There is no documentation on this - only conjecture (imagination).
"...winds its way by train and wagon through isolated valleys under watchful eyes."
During the train wars of 1880, there were guard posts along the railroad tracks.  These were called DeRemer Forts.  That ended 2 years before the Colonists arrived.

The 3rd paragraph is good and I give the author credit for writing about this.  Here we see that Emanuel H. Saltiel was a man who could reinvent himself.  He was accused of mutiny.
"Why not settle their fellow “Israelites” on the “rich phosphate soil” of southern Colorado? Saltiel knew the region well, having invested “nearly eighteen years of hard and generally successful work” there."
In 1866, Saltiel was drummed out of the Army at Ft Laramie WY and he showed up the next year in Denver as a clerk.

In 1866, he is residing in NYC (in November)
in 1867 he is listed as a publisher of the Denver Daily Times
in 1868 he published the "History & Business Directory of Cheyenne (in February)
in 1868 he started the "Western Hebrew" newspaper in Chicago
in 1870 -1874  he is residing in NYC, in publishing.
In 1874, he was in  Alabama, in publishing.
In 1876 he was in St Louis, in publishing.
In 1877, he was in Boulder CO in mining operations.

By 1881, he had 4 or 5 years experience in mining and only 3 years in Colorado. Unless you go back to 1866.  No matter how you look at it, he did not have 18 years of work in Colorado.
"After all, he owned a mining operation in Wet Mountain Valley and most of the land in the boomtown then emerging around the railroad depot he had humbly named “Saltiels.” 
The Wet Mountain Valley is south of Cotopaxi and there is no record of Saltiel owning a mining operation there.  I have checked the Custer County records and there is no listing of his name on any document in their records.  The only operation he owned was in Cotopaxi.

There is no record of the area at Cotopaxi ever being named "Saltiels."  There are numerous records that show the area was always identified as Twp 48 N, 12E, Section 31.  The first time it is identified as Cotopaxi is in 1879.

Henry Thomas, aka Gold Tom, is the first to use the word Cotopaxi when he located the Cotopaxi Lode which he sold to E. H. Saltiel.  Saltiel acknowledged that Gold Tom identified the mine.

E. H. Saltiel's house was listed as a boarding house in the 1880 census and lists 8 boarders residing there....it was called "Saltiel's".  That title referenced a boarding house, not the town.

There is no record of the railroad ever naming the place "Saltiels".  The first Post Office record calls it Cotopaxi.

E. H. Saltiel first staked his land in 1879.  He made a declaration at the Clerk & Recorders office and identified 160 acres and declared it as his.  He never filed a claim with the Federal Land Office.  He did not live on his land for 5 years, so he did not meet the requirement of the homestead act.  He then staked this same land under the mining claim act in 1881, leaving out 5 acres for his residence.
"The reunited lovers spent their first months together with Jacob’s newly immigrated parents in the gold rush town of Blackhawk, Colorado, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies."
Jacob's parents were Baruch Zalman Milstein and his wife, Annie.   Baruch filed his land declaration on June 20, 1882.  This was for land south of Cotopaxi.  He was not in Blackhawk.  Further, I have been to both the courts and the clerk's offices in Gilpin County and again, there is no record of any Milstein being there.  I checked the records from  1878 to 1890.
"Water would have to be brought by means of a three-mile-long channel the colonists were instructed to dig from a high mountain lake down to their fields."
All of the water rights had been dispersed prior to 1882 and you would need to purchase rights.  There would be no point in digging the channel until there were rights.  One newspaper article tells us that the estimated cost was $3000 - $4000 and this was presented to HEAS.  This irrigation ditch was never dug.
"Saltiel insisted that Schwarz had failed to fence the lands as he had been instructed."
Timelines are so critical.  The colonists arrived May 9, 1882.  The land was staked out later that month and surveyed in June. You cannot begin to fence the land until you know what is yours to fence!  Schwarz did not fail.  Saltiel failed to have the land surveyed prior to the colonists' arrival.
"But Schwarz was by this time already supplying Denver and New York with rumors of Saltiel’s misdeeds."
The records confirm that Schwarz supplied facts.

The rest of this article is accurate.  So I compliment the author on that aspect.

When you are researching a story for your family tree, be particularly cautious when it comes to recent newspaper stories about something that happened over 100 years ago.  Time tends to alter stories - it's one of the reasons that I prefer to use the oldest dated stories.  Where Cotopaxi is concerned, I don't give much credit to anything written after 1900, unless they are well documented.  Newspapers are so much different from well researched books and manuscripts.  Footnotes and bibliographies are critical to providing us authenticity.  Newspapers just don't do that.  But they are a very good source for leads and other information.

Even when it comes to stories written by people who were there.  Think about it - how accurate are your memories of things that happened 40 or 50 years ago in your own life?

On the other hand, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find a diary written by someone at the time the event occurred?  In genealogy - as in life - you can always hope!




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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Flora Satt's 1950 master's thesis

In 1950, Flora Satt, a descendant of  Saul Baruch Milstein was attending Colorado University in Boulder, CO.  She was about 25 years old.  Her mother was Ethel Milstein.  Her grandfather was Menash Milstein.  And her gr grandfather was Saul Baruch Milstein.

We now know that Saul Baruch Milstein and his family did not arrive on their ship until December 1884, after the Colony had disbanded.   So while Flora is not a descendant,  she would have been closely related to numerous people who were at Cotopaxi, or descended from the Colonists.

Her research was excellent for 1950.  Her thesis is well documented.  It has been titled "unpublished thesis" - but that would only apply to then - things change.

Prior to her death in 2014, Flora gave permission to my brother, Nelson Moore, to publish her thesis.  She did not give that permission to anyone else.  You can read it in it's entirety with footnotes and bibliography here:

The Flora Satt Thesis on Cotopaxi

she titled the bibliography "critical bibliography" ,  I would interpret the word "critical" to mean "absolutely necessary".

Nelson's website link is cotopaxi-colorado.com.    He has had this current website up since 2001.  He had other websites before that.  His web pages clearly state that they are copyright protected.  That's the first clue that you do not have permission to copy anything from that page....but you can certainly link to that page.  Why does anyone do this?  To "protect" what is written.  To keep someone else from altering it, using it, making money from it.

Within the past year, a Saltiel living in London has created a new website.  The exact same title as Nelson's website minus the hyphen.  Of all the possible names to pick from, why did he pick that name?  Most likely for the same reason people tried to create an eBay.net website!  To get readers to go to their site, to capitalize on the work already done.

I do not go to that website for one reason only:

The author(s) of that website copied Flora Satt's thesis.  They then inserted their own comments about her writing.  And then they published it on that website.

HUGE Copyright violation!!!

It makes no sense that someone would create a new website so unquestionably identical to a website already existing, then take work from the existing website and publish it on their website.  Their intent was outright theft of website content.   They use the excuse that they cannot contact Satt's heirs for permission.  That's not how copyright law works.  If you don't have permission, you do not post.

Flora's thesis has been such a blessing to me.  I think of how much research she had to do at such a young age.  With no internet.  No email.  The newspapers had not been digitized, so she would have sat and gone through each newspaper page by page, column by column.  I often come across little checkmarks beside an article about Cotopaxi - I wonder if it was her mark.  I like to think it might have been.

She gave us oral stories, family histories and I could not have started my research without her footnotes and her critical bibliography.  For that I am ever grateful.  May her memory be a blessing to those of us who follow the Cotopaxi story.



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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Cotopaxi had a synagogue, an Ark, a Torah, and a Rabbi!

I don't necessarily believe everything I read in the newspaper today.....but I tend to think they were a bit more factual back in the 1880s!

We know there was a rabbi - Rabbi David Grupitsky, who later changed his surname to Krupitsky.  His descendants have shortened it to Krup.  He signed all 3 marriage certificates.  Not only that, he is listed as the rabbi in the Julius Schwartz report dated October, 1882.

I found a newspaper article dated July 1882 and here are some quotes from it:
... and return to Cotopaxi, the place where the little but handsome synagogue stands.  
... The procession then entered the synagogue 
... opened the Ark, and after having chanted several hymns placed the Thora in its place,
...the first Thora in the Rocky Mountains, the first Synagogue under the snowtipped summits of Fremont County, Colorado
... Rev. Dr. Baar, who presented the colony with a fine and beautiful Scroll.  The Holy Law arrived in Cotopaxi on the 20th of June,
There have been those who have stated that the synagogue was the school.  This article would make it seem that it was a separate building.

There have been those who have stated that there was no Rabbi.  Yet there was!

And now we see that the synagogue had an Ark
The Holy Ark (Aron Kodesh), where the Torah Scrolls are kept, is situated in the front of the synagogue. The Ark is the holiest place in the Synagogue.In most synagogues the Holy Ark is on the Eastern wall, so that when we face the ark, we are facing the holy city of Jerusalem, where the Holy Temple once stood.The curtain that covers the ark is called the Parochet. It symbolizes the curtain that was in the Holy Temple. As it is written (Exodus 40:21), "He brought the ark into the Tabernacle and placed the screening dividing curtain so that it formed a protective covering before the Ark..."The ark is only opened during special prayers and when removing the Torah to read during prayer services.
If you don't know what a Thora/Torah is, click here - at a minimum it's the first 5 books of the Old Testament in the form of a scroll.

We do not know (yet) what happened to this Torah.  It could have been buried in the cemetery at Cotopaxi.  It could have followed the colonists to one of their destinations.  It could have been returned to it's origins in NYC.

As you read this original newspaper article about the procession the night they dedicated their Torah, imagine the beauty of the ceremony - that Cotopaxi was such a holy place - that these Jews were so dedicated to their beliefs......
The Holy Law arrived in Cotopaxi on the 20th of June, and the 23d, Friday, was chosen solemnly to dedicate the Sephar Thora .
Of course the Secretary of the colony, Mr. Schwarz, immediately extended the thanks of the colonists to the donor and ordered the colonists, who during the week are generally at work on their respective lands, to leave work and return to Cotopaxi, the place where the little but handsome synagogue stands.  Two hours before the entering of the Sabbath, all of the colonists were in the parlor of Mr. Hart, who assisted by his family, helped Mr. Schwarz in his endeavors to regulate the religious life of the colonists according to the laws and ordinances of the olden times.  At 5:30, the procession was formed as follows:   First marched the elders of the colonists, each with a candle in their hands, then came a Chuppa, the four poles carried by four single men of the colonists, and after that the women and children of the colonists.  The procession then entered the synagogue and several psalms were sung, and the Russians chanted those peculiar Jewish melodies which so deeply move the Jewish heart.  Then the untiring young Secretary—the first Thora in the Rocky Mountains, the first Snyagogue under the snowtipped summits of Fremont County, Colorado.  Mr. Schwarz delivered a prayer, in which he expressed his gratitude to Rev. Dr. Baar and implored God to help the poor refugees and all Israel.  En Kelohenu was sung, and the colonists convened in Mr. Hart’s dining room, where they partook of a beautiful luncheon.  Mrs. Hart and her daughter, Miss Hart, waited on the poor refugees, whose happy features showed that they never will forget this beautiful day.  After luncheon Mr. Hart said grace, and then the field overseer of the colony, Mr. Leon Tobias, arose and in appropriate words thanked Mr. and Mrs. Hart for their hospitality, Mr. Gershel for his kind endeavors to obtain the Sephar Thorah, Rev. Dr. Baar for his noble action, Mr. Saltiel and Mr. Schwarz and the N. Y. Committee for their zealous labors, and the Alliance Israelite Universelle in Paris for their generosity in taking care of the poor refugees. 
At 7:30, the people that filled the air with merry songs gathered in the synagogue, where Mr. Schwarz chanted the prayers to the delight of the whole attendance.  After diving service, the people took their supper and assembled on the porch, where they chanted several songs and expressed their gratitude for all that had been done to secure the success of the colony, make the poor colonists self-supporting, and keep up in them the holy fire of true religion.  Mr. Schwarz has strictly forebidden that any work shall be done on Sabbath and on holidays, and any violation of this order is liable to punishment.  They also danced in their peculiar Russian manner, and the silent moon threw its silvery rays upon dancing and singing Russians, while the proud mountains silently listened to the songs that proclaimed that there is One God who does not forsake His people.
The next morning, being Sabbath, service was held, Mr. Milchstein, one of the colonists, reading the Shacharit, and young Mr. Schwartz Mussaph.  Since human eyes have beheld the Rocky Mountains, it was the first time that the Jewish law was read in their shadow, and accompanied by the roar of teh swift Arkansas river.  After the law had been replaced, Mr. Schwarz delivered an impressive sermon, taking his text from the 35th chapter of Isaiah, verses 1, 4 and 10.
After the conclusion of the service the people dispersed to their apartments, and in the afternoon they changed psalms, and held service at 5 for Mincha and at 8 for Maarib.  Thus ended this beautiful and holy day, and all the colonists went cheerfully to work on Sunday, taking with them a light and happy heart, and the hope for a better future than the past has been for them.
I can only imagine the sheer beauty of this night.  This moment when a Torah was dedicated in Cotopaxi.  The quiet mountain air surrounding these Jews as they celebrated their joy and their hope - knowing that they were finally free from the terrorism in Russia.   I just pray that the things I write can draw you to love, admire, respect and honor the Jews who were at Cotopaxi.  That somehow, their memory becomes a blessing to you.  It certainly is to me.

Cotopaxi had an Ark, a Torah, and a Rabbi.  Pretty amazing for such a small place.




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Counting Cousins....drama! drama! drama!

As a genealogist, I find it interesting when someone wants to make themselves "family" and they are not.

These are Emanuel H. Saltiel's descendants:

His son, John, had 2 sons by his first marriage.  Neither of them had children.  John changed his surname to Taman and had a son, Osborn Taman.   That son was not named Saltiel.

His son, Henry, never had any children.

Thus, the only grandson's of E. H. Saltiel that had the surname "Saltiel" were Earl and Clarence Saltiel.  Both of these men are deceased.  There are no more male's named Saltiel that descend from this E. H. Saltiel.

Why is this an issue?  A few years back, Denver University prepared a DVD on Cotopaxi.  In it, a gentleman who lives in London with the surname "Saltiel" , said that he was a descendant of Emanuel Saltiel.  That video can be purchased online at Denver University.  When it was introduced at a meeting, it was said that this "London" Saltiel is a grandson of Emanuel Saltiel."  When I questioned that relationship I was told "well, we are all related!"

In numerous online articles he purports to be a descendant of E. H. Saltiel.

The closest possible relationship between  the "London" Saltiel and E. H. Saltiel would be 3rd cousin, 4 times removed.  That means that "London's" great, great, grandfather was a THIRD cousin to E. H. Saltiel.  So "London" would have to go back a total of 8 generations to find a common grandfather.  E. H. Saltiel (who was at Cotopaxi) was not his ancestor at all.

If you have ever wondered how to count cousins - here is an example of what is known as a "cousins" ladder":




While Abraham and David are 1st cousins, Abraham and Isaac would be 1st cousins once removed.   Abraham and Isaac's son Elias would be 1st cousins twice removed and so on.

The "London" Saltiel was never a descendant of the Emanuel Saltiel who lived in Cotopaxi.  However, if you look at the chart above, you will see that his biological grandfather's name is a  Emanuel Saltiel.  It's just a different Emanuel Saltiel, one born in 1880.  So when "London" Saltiel says that he descends from Emanuel Saltiel, he is telling the absolute truth.  It's just a completely different Emanuel Saltiel.

To compound matters farther....the line on the left, above,  is known as the Yomtov Line, and their DNA tracks as haplogroup R-m26.

The line on the right is known as the Amsterdam or North Sea Line and their DNA tracks as G-M201.   Two separate DNA lines. I will do a blogpost on DNA in the future, but you cannot descend from the same identical ancestor and have different DNA.  Simply not possible.

There are DNA websites that explain this....and there are websites showing these family trees I've posted above.  It's all in the public domain.

Still, to this very day,  the "London" Saltiel states that he is a descendant of Emanuel Saltiel in an attempt to make you think it was the Emanuel who was at Cotopaxi!!  .

Oh! The importance of genealogy!!!

Update:  Here is the link to the DNA blog where I show that these 2 lines would have to go back 500 to 1000 generations to find a common ancestor.  They are not  3rd cousins 4x removed at all.  There is no cousin relationship to speak of. Someone has "made up" the family tree connection above as DNA proves this is not a possible connection.

Yomtob Saltiel CANNOT be a brother to Ben Elias Isaac Saltiel.  If they were brothers, their male descendants with the Saltiel name would HAVE to have the same DNA....and they do not.  Again, this is proof that someone "decided" that they were brothers....and they are not.


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Sunday, April 24, 2016

Cowboys, Indians and Newspapers

Using newspapers is such a valuable resource if you want to know about your family.  But don't just look at local newspapers.....sometimes the stories traveled far and wide.

I happened to be searching in the New York State historical newspapers archives and found this article in the


Note the date - June 9, 1882....just one month after the Jews arrived in Cotopaxi.

Here's the article:



Life in the Southwest.  Pueblo Col., June 8 -- Southern Colorado Utes are preparing for war.  They have been incensed by the killing of some of their members.  Large numbers of warriors are assembled on the Denver & Rio Grande road in war-paint.  They threaten to resist removal from their reservation as provided in the last treaty.

This proves that Indians were still in the area when the Colonists arrived.  Not just "in the area" but with war-paint on!

Cowboys?  I don't think we need proof that there were cattle ranchers in Colorado in 1882.  That's a given.

Here are a couple of links that might help you with your newspaper research....and they are free.

 Fulton History - has numerous New York State and New York City newspapers.

Colorado Historic Newspapers

Unfortunately, the Colorado site does not include any of the Fremont County newspapers.  They have not been digitized, but are available at the Fremont History Center in Canon City on microfilm.

Many events that happened in Fremont County were picked up by other newspapers, so it's still a great resource.

My suggestions on how you do a newspaper search:

1)  Use just the last name.  You will have to weed through a ton of newspapers, but it will help you find everything - those who use a first initial or abbreviate the first name.
2)  Use the surname and an occupation such as Nudelman carpenter
3)  Do both the full name and the abbreviation such as "HEAS" and then "Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society".
4)  Try every possibility.  Emigrant. Emmigrant.  Imigrant. Immigrant.  You might be surprised at what you will find.
5)  Think outside the box when it comes to dates.  Emanuel Saltiel died in 1900.  When I opened up my search dates to 1950 - I found a lawsuit by his children filed years after he died.

Newspapers not only prove oral histories - they often expand on them.  Now that I know the Indians were in Pueblo....I can go to other newspapers and look for more articles on this date and place and see where this takes us.  For now, it's enough to know that this really was the "wild west" when the Jews arrived in Cotopaxi.




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Saturday, April 23, 2016

A letter from E. H. Saltiel

I have a copy of a letter he wrote dated October 27, 1882.  Saltiel wrote this letter in an attempt to rebut statements made by Morris Tuska.  What he probably didn't realize is the extent he provided us good facts about the Cotopaxi Colony.

A timeline he provides us in that letter:
I went to Colorado at my own expense and arranged for the building of a number of houses during the summer months, guarding as is usual, loss or delay to the Contractor from flood, fire or visitations of Providence.  On the eighth day of May this contract was verbally agreed to, between the Contractor and myself and a memoranda agreement in writing was drawn up, but not signed on that day, but a short time afterwards the signatures of both parties were attached, and the houses proceeded with.
So as of May 8, there had been no attempt to build houses.  This contract was made with Saltiel's cousin, E. S. Hart who owned the store in Cotopaxi.

Please note that Saltiel was not in Cotopaxi - he had to go there.
The Refugees arrived on May 9, 
The first statement that the land had not yet been surveyed:
on May 11th  I requested Mr. Schwartz to accompany a colored farmer, one Edward Jones, to Oak Grove Creek with a few of the colonists and stake out the bottom land under the farmer’s direction.  
On May 27th I went with Schwartz and another man into the Wet Mountain Valley, and selected a corner to start a survey line, and gave directions to run from that point as a centre and take up Two thousand acres of the best land.  I drove three stakes into the land and directed Schwartz to tell the colonists that ploughing must commence on the following day.
We have located 17 land declarations dated both June and November 1882.  I have not yet been able to locate any documentation on this 2000 acre survey.    Note - it was not done until AFTER the Colonists arrived!

After Tuska left on July 30, 1882, Saltiel writes:

After Mr. Tuska had left, ...  I talked with Mr. Hart and got him to turn over the building contract to me and such building material as he had on hand... and I personally assumed the responsibility of building the houses, and have since that time quietly proceeded with them with two carpenters. 
In Saltiel's own words.....

He did not start building the Colonists homes until May 8, 1882, one day before their arrival.
He did not start to survey the land for their farms until May 27, 1882.
Their homes were not finished by at least July 30, 1882.

We are successfully proving the oral histories of the Cotopaxi Colonists - one by one.




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Monday, April 18, 2016

Using maps to tell a story

I believe that genealogy, history and maps go hand in hand.  It's been a great "map week" for me with lots of interesting finds.....at BLM of all places.

This first one is an 1882 survey of Cotopaxi - the "original" survey which means there wasn't a government survey done prior to this date.  This is most of section 31.  Cotopaxi is in the north 1/2 of the north quarter (N1/2NW1/4) of section 31, Township 48 R 12E.  So the center of town (where the RR crosses the CR12)  today is just about the bottom of the number "6" in 34.64

I could probably do an entire class on reading township sections, quarters, sixteenths and so on.  Back east, townships have names and are well known.  Out west...no one ever uses a township, except when it comes to land descriptions.



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A couple of important things to note.

1)  The road north of the tracks is on the west side of the creek.  Today, it is on the east side.
2)  The tracks seem to be too close to the river to have 2 houses between them.  Were the original tracks closer to the Arkansas than they are today?  Is the map to scale?  I have a document that says, "the old rr tracks" and shows that line south of where the tracks are today.
3)  The creek on the north side goes farther west than it is today.  This is verified by many mine claims that state it was 1/2 mile between Bernard Creek and Oak Grove Creek.
4)  Neither the road to the north or the road to the south meet at Cotopaxi - both curve to the west.  This would confirm the oral history that there was a ford in the river about 1/2 mile west of Cotopaxi.
5)  The red printed area says "Cotopaxi Placer No 286"

so the next thing I did was try to find No 286.  I thought I was looking for a plat like above.  Ends up it was a placer mining claim and in it, there was an 1884 plot of Cotopaxi.


(Copyright protected***)


So 2 years later, the road is now east of Bernard Creek and crosses the Arkansas.  BUT....note that the road is to the west of both stores and the house, just to the east of the water tower.  Still NOT where the road is today.  

This map gives me a bit more information:

1)  It labels Cotopaxi Gulch (known as Miner's gulch today)
2)  Identifies Saltiel's house as the "dwelling house" and I have documents that use this in the description
3)  Shows me 2 stores and a hotel.....about where I thought they were
4)  Gives us a freight house, depot and section house for the railroad - which is what I thought was there.
5)  Gives me a location for a ditch that is shown in several documents
6)  Shows a "new" wagon road north of the tracks, south of Saltiel's place, going west and then north...up to the Cotopaxi mine.
7.  Shows a space from Hart's store and hotel going east to the "houses".

This open space has been identified as the "lower orchard" on a number of documents.  Then we have the attached Shuteran/Nudelman house.  These were Colonists.  I wonder if Saltiel had the Jew's homes built to the east of town, away from the gentiles.  It would make sense.  Supposedly there were 6 houses in town by the fall of 1882 according to Schwartz.  Guess I need to go do some more research to see what I can find.

Shuteran and Nudelman sold their attached house to Annie Hart and she then sold it to Susan McCoy.  It became known in the documents as the "McCoy double house".  I was able to track it to the current location today.  We think the original "double house" was torn down and another structure was put on this land.  But we do know it was located at the east end of town and this map would confirm that.

Using maps, land declarations, property transactions and now mining claims....I'm gradually building a story of how Cotopaxi was built from nothing to what it was in 1882 - 1884 when the Jewish Colonists resided there.....and then to today's current homes.  

The "dwelling house" on this map later became the Hylton Hotel.  The store & P. O. and the hotel to the east of it belonged to E. S. Hart who was Saltiel's cousin.  Making progress - one map at a time!


***Why do I say "Copyright protected"?  Because you do not have the right to take the research that I've done and use it on your website/book/story etc without my written permission.   Feel free to schedule some time with me and I'll gladly show you how to do the research yourself!!!




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