Myth-busting in genealogy - the Cotopaxi Colony list of members.

Family histories are great.  But do you take them at face value?  Do you ever try to prove them?

Flora Satt wrote her 1950 Master's thesis about the Cotopaxi Colony.  Consider what a master's thesis is and who it is written for.  While she did a great job, her professors are not going to know if it is accurate or not.  They cannot prove her right or wrong!  They were looking for her research capabilities and with the limitations given in 1950 - she did an outstanding job!  Yet with the research capabilities we have available today to genealogists, I can prove her wrong time and again.

It has been said that she was a descendant of one of the Colonists.  Her mother was Ethel Milstein.  Her grandfather was Menash Milstein.  And her great grandfather was Saul Ber Milstein.  Saul Ber Milstein and his children were not Colonists as their ship did not arrive in America until December 1884.....after the colony had disbanded.  But Flora was closely related to the Colonists.

First myth busted.  Flora's ancestors were never at Cotopaxi.

Flora gave us many great references.  But I found out that when you go to find the references, they are nonexistent.  Family Bibles cannot be traced.  Old newspaper articles have been lost, never digitized.  Family letters are not available.  I am the kind of researcher who wants to read the entire article, not just a sentence or two out of the article.  As for my research on Cotopaxi - when I am done, you will be able to read anything and everything as I will donate it all to the Family History Center here in Canon City. (oh! lucky them!!!)

Flora's proof - a lot simply doesn't exist.

In her footnotes, she gives us a breakdown of who was living in Cotopaxi in 1882 - 1884:

35. The list of the twenty-two 'heads of family' who were eligible to file on 160 acres each includes the following:
1. Benjamin Zalman Milstein, 40, with his wife Hannah, and younger son Henry. His eldest son Jacob was married and thus the head of his own family.
2. Jacob Millstein, 19, with his wife Nettie, 20. (The spelling of the name was changed on the marriage license issued at Blackhawk, 1882).
3. Jacob Milstein, 18, eldest son of Saul Baer Milstein. He represented his father, the original
leader of the group.
4. Isaac Leib 'Shames' (Milstein), widower, with two young daughters, Hannah, Rachel, (Nettie,
 see 6)
5. Michael 'Shames' (Milstein), 23, eldest son of Isaac Shames, with his wife Frieda Raisie, and two young daughters, Esther Mary and Sarah Bessie.
6. Joseph Washer, 22, son-in-law of Isaac Shames, with his wife Nettie.
7. Charles Prezant, 24, cousin-in-law, having married Keile Milstein in Europe. They had at this
 time one son, Isaac, 3 years old.
8. Max Shuteran, 19, having married Keile's sister Hannah Milstein, was also a cousin by
 marriage to the seven families listed above.
9. Solomon Shuteran, 21, brother of Max, with his wife Rachel and baby girl who died in
Cotopaxi and was buried there.
10. David Korpitsky, 37, widower with three daughters and one baby son which died in
 Cotopaxi and was buried there.
11. Samuel Schneider, 48, with his wife Alta.
12. Abrahan Newman, son-in-law of Schneider, with his wife Nechama.
13. Berel Morris, son-in-law of Schneider, with his wife Sarah and daughter Helen.
14. Samuel Shradsky, 65, widower.
15. Sholem Shradsky, eldest son of #14, with his wife Mindel, two young daughters, Asna and Sarah.
16. Hyram Shradsky, 19, eldest son of Sholem.
17. Max Shradsky, 18, son of Sholem.
18. Herschel Toplitsky, 23, son-in-law of Sholem (#15), having married Riva, his eldest daughter.
19. Charles Moscowitz, with his wife and four young daughters.
20. Morris 'Zedek' Needleman, with his wife Rivka, four daughters.
21. Max Tobias, with his wife Bessie.
22. Ed Grimes, 18.

Flora doesn't tell us specifically where this list came from, but she does use Dorothy Roberts "The Jewish Colony at Cotopaxi" 1941 as a reference.

Never give up!

Yesterday was a great day for me!  As a genealogist, I can't say it enough - never give up!  Keep going back, doing the same research over and over.  Review what you think you know.  Check dates. And then start over again!

It is not easy. It is WORK!!!  And some days, I do feel like pulling my hair out!!!

In Flora Satt's thesis, she reverenced an article written by Dr. C. Spivak 

2. Denver Jewish News, April 6 - April 25, 1925.
Today this newspaper is known as the Intermountain Jewish News, but the issues cited were in a special Anniversary Edition and included a two-page spread on the Cotopaxi Colony. The April 25th issue contains a feature article on the Colony, newsworthy then as a result of a 'Reminiscence Dinner' given for the surviving members of the group. 

I didn't always keep great notes.   But I had a note from somewhere stating that the article was on Page 38 - 39.

I had another note where someone said the article had been torn out of the newspaper and was missing.

That made me give up.  I had been to the Denver Public Library, to Denver University's Beck Archives, and to the Colorado History center and looked at their digitized newspapers.  I found the Anniversary Edition....it only had 8 pages.   I read every single page.  Nothing about Cotopaxi.  It had to have been a special supplement for the anniversary edition that simply wasn't digitized, or was missing before that time.  So I stopped looking.

One day, not too long ago, I decided to spend time searching the online catalog from the Beck Archives at Denver University.  When you do a search like this, you need to take the time to open every file, and read the individual contents of the collection.  I spent an entire day and didn't begin to get through what they have.

I found this under the topic:  Jews   Publications   1897 - 1998

• Abstract

  
  

  Books - ''Made in Hungary''; Hebrew scriptures with wooden cover; ''Cookarama''; and Yehoash sheet music; Inter Mountain Jewish News 13th Anniversary Collection; Denver Jewish News 10th Jubilee Edition; the Jewish News and Hebrew Standard.

  And there was a call number.  I must give great credit to Thyria Wilson at the library who has helped me so much over the last few years!  I think she must get so exasperated with me as I just do not give up!!!  I had just been in to see her a couple of weeks ago and she had pulled box after box of files for me to sit and go through.  And here I am asking for more!!!

She had emailed me this note:     (department head's name removed) says she never found an article on Cotopaxi by Dr. Spivak. 

I was just so pleased that Thyria continued to help me out.  And together, we found the article!  In this box labeled Jews/Publications.   I didn't even have to fight traffic to get to their office - Thyria sent me these scans.  

The article by Dr. C. V. Spivak.  You should be able to click on the 2 pages and download them so you can read them better.  or email me (jlowe54@gmail.com) and I'll send them to you.

Dorothy Robert's article in 1941, p 124,  is a near duplicate, but this dates the information to 1925, which is great!!  And...there are a couple of new clues that I will begin searching - maybe the next time I need a reason to come to Denver!

Another good lesson learned this week.  Librarians are custodians.  The take great care of and preserve these documents and records for future generations.  It is not up to them to know the contents of what is in their libraries.  It is up to us to do the legwork, the research, and to be politely persistent in insisting on what we want to see.  As more and more archives become digitized, this will get even easier for future generations of researchers.

In the meantime.....never give up!!!

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