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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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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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.

Finding Little Lena - how to read a census

Little Lena Snyder was only 7 years old when she arrived in Cotopaxi.  Until now, I had not located her in any records after the resolution of the Colony.  I found her this week!  In order to make this rather difficult research a little easier, I'm going to start with the results, then share how I got there.

The Snyder family:

Abraham Snyder, born 1827.  
Married to Alta Greenspan.  She was also known as Zeesy or Zisel.  Born 1824, died 1910.

their children were:

Sarah 1857 - 1890.  Sarah came to America as a widow and I believe her first husband's surname was Friedman.  Then she married Morris Menkowsky at Cotopaxi.  And then she died before 1890 and is buried in Denver.

Sarah had a daughter, Lena Friedman, by her first marriage.  Lena was age 7 at Cotopaxi.  She married JJ Barnett and their son, Kallman S. Barnett married Helen Gumbiner.  At some point, Lena was "adopted" by Abraham and Alta (her grandparents) and was living with them as their adopted daughter.

Fanny 1865 - 1953 married to Max Shuteran.  They had Sarah and Solomon (Sam).  They quickly divorced and Fanny remarried Sam Friedman who adopted Sarah and Solomon.  They had 3 more children.  Fanny was also known as Hannah.

Reina.  She was married to Samuel Newman before coming to America.  The surname was also spelled Nieman and Namen.  

Samuel 1867 - 1929.  He married Hattie Frieden about 1895.   Their children were Libbie, Reina, Arthur, Sara Reeve and Cecilia. 

When I started, I did not know this!  So now, let's go back to the beginning and I'll share my research hints on finding Leah.

Flora Satt wrote in her thesis in a footnote 

Samuel Schneider, 48, with his wife Alta. 
Abrahan Newman, son-in-law of Schneider, with his wife Nechama.   
Berel Morris, son-in-law of Schneider, with his wife Sarah and daughter Helen. 

Elizabeth Roberts wrote this about the family (which came from the 1925 Spivak Interview):

Schneider, a tailor, his wife, Alta, and his two daughters,Nechama, age 20, and Sarah, age 30. The latter was a widow and had a daughter, Helen, who is the wife of K. S. Barnett, residing in Denver.Newman, son-in-law to Schneider, and his wife.A brother-in-law of Newman and his wife. Morris, a son-in-law to Schneider. 

Neither Satt or Roberts had access to the ships manifest which I was able to locate.  The Snyders arrived on the Assryian Monarch on Apr 10, 1882.

Abraham Snyders age 50
Zisel Snyders, age 50
Solomon Snyders, age 14
Sarah Snyders, age 25
Leah Snyders, age 7
Hannah Snyders, age 17
Solomon Nyman, age 24
Reina Nyman, age 20

a few passengers later I found: 

Moses Mankonsky, age 28

Do you see the differences in the lists?  Sarah's daughter is Lena, not Helen.  But there is a problem with all of this - Sarah was a widow, so her surname probably wasn't "Snyder".

Next, I found a marriage certificate  showing Sarah Snyder married Moses Menkowsky at Cotopaxi.  That totally confused me.  But it clarified that Abraham Snyders daughter, Reina (Nechema) was married to Solomon Nyman....which later became Newman and then Namen.

I found Sarah married to Bendal Morris, living in Chicago with their children

A couple of notes on this.  There is no daughter "Helen" and Lena is not listed.  Yet we know she is Sarah's daughter.

I contacted the descendants of this family (above image) and they can prove to me that this Sarah was not Sarah Snyder, but rather Sarah Epstein.  So I removed this family from my Snyder tree.

I knew that Abraham and Alta lived in Omaha NE.  I had found them in the 1900 census with no children.  So I hunted for them in the 1885 state census.  I found this:

I think you can read this just fine.  F. Lukeman - could that be Fanny Shuteran.  Look at the handwriting...it could well be Luterman.

When I teach genealogy, I explain to my students that you have to think how it might have been in 1882.  Probably a white, Western European, English speaking gentleman came to the door to take a census.  He would arrive at the house of a Jewish immigrant who came here from Russia, and perhaps was born in Germany.  The immigrant spoke German and Yiddish....and probably broken or heavily accented English.  I can easily see that Lukeman could easily have been Shuteran.  So I would transcribe this list as:

Abram Sneyder, age 54

Zesel Sneyder, age 54

Fanny Shuteran, age 22, daughter

Sarah Shuteran, age 1/3, granddaughter

Solomon Shuteran, age 2, grandson

Lena Friedman, age 11, adopted

all living in the same household.

Lena’s age lines up that she is the 7 year old daughter  Sarah Snyder (see ship's manifest above.)  

Where Flora has said “Helen” - I’m certain this is incorrect.  

Next, I decided to see who "Helen" married to K. S. Barnett was.  I found their marriage certificate and an announcement in the newspaper.  She was Helen Ruth Gumbiner.  Which left me even more puzzled.  How was this Helen related to Sarah?

My next step was to find the parents of K. S. Barnett.  Not too difficult with Jewish burial records, census records, etc.  His parents were J. J. Barnett and Lena.

Once I found that, it all fell into place.  Lena Friedman, Sarah's daughter, married J. J. Barnett and their son, K. S. Barnett was married to Helen.  

So now we know that those meeting in 1925 had this wrong.  But I can't blame them.  That meeting was 40+ years after the colony and I certainly can't remember the names and relationships of my neighbors 40 years ago!

I wonder if Sarah’s first husband was related to Sam Friedman.  Richard Friedman wrote a family history book in which he tells us that Sam Friedman was brought over from Russia to marry Fanny as she was single with 2 young children.  It makes sense that he was perhaps a brother or other relative of Sarah's first husband since the family knew him.

Additionally,  Lena Friedman Barnett’s death record says her mother was Snyder and her father was Friedman.

My software puts the person in each time they are married, so here is a view of what the tree looks like - color coded for each generation.  I've only used the first 3 generations so Helen and Kallman Barnett do not show up in this particular view.  So far, I have 121 people in this tree.  I'm sure there are more and I will continue to add them as I find them.

My lesson is to check those mid-decade census records.  A lot of states had them.  Check death records.  SSA records now list parents surnames.  Jewish burial records often give us the father's name.  Think about how the census taker might have spelled the name as he heard it.  Snyders, Snyder, Sneyder, Schneider - I've found their surname spelled like this so far.  

I was reading last night in some of the 1882/83 newspaper articles from Denver and found an article that states by Feb, 1883, Abraham Snyder had gone to Denver to find work as a tailor and took his daughter, Fanny Shuteran with him.  This tends then to corroborate my thoughts that the Snyders went to Denver for a few months before moving to the Council Bluffs/Omaha area.  My theory then is that Sarah and Morris Menkowsky also went to Denver where Sarah must have passed away.

I emailed my research friend, Terry Lasky, to see if he had information on a possible burial and here's what he sent back:

Sarah Menkowsky died before Fairmount Cemetery was formed (which was about 1890) and was buried in the Hebrew Cemetery Association (which was the Capitol Hill Cemetery that was later disbanded).  She was moved to Fairmount with the other Jewish burials when they closed Capitol Hill which was in 1923.  Problem is there was no gravestone for her so there is no record. 

Sarah's daughter, Lena, was adopted by her parents by 1885. So it would stand to reason that Sarah died sometime after early 1883 and before 1885.  Lena moved with her grandparents to Nebraska.  I do not know what happened to Morris Menkowsky.

I am also thinking that many Jewish men were called "Baer" or had that added to their names.  Could Morris Menkowsky have been known as Baer Morris.....and this then became Berel Morris?

Finally, let's take a moment to see what we know about Little Lena.  Her father died.  She and her mother come to America and are sent to Cotopaxi when she is but 7 years old.  Her mom remarries at Cotopaxi.  Her grandfather, Abraham, and Aunt Fanny leave a few months later and move to Denver.  She and her mom, Sarah, and new step-father Morris follow them.  Her mom dies.  Her grandparents adopt her and they all move to Nebraska sometime in 1883 where we find Lena as an adopted child of her grandparents in the 1885 census.  Wow!  What a lot of changes by the time she was 10 years old!  

Lena married in 1888 and had a very stable life after that.  She had 3 sons and a daughter and stayed married until her death in 1946.  I can only imagine the hardships of the first 10 years of her life, but I'd like to think that it ended up being a good life after that.  It was definitely worth finding Little Lena!  We can now add her descendants as members of the Cotopaxi Colony!

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