Gold Tom vs Saltiel

There are many interesting yet informative side stories to the Cotopaxi Colony.  As a historian, we need to review all of them.  As a genealogist, family relationships are critical to understanding history.

While I was in Israel this past spring I found several documents at the National Library.  One of them was a 39 page hand-written court document.  Keep in mind what I brought back was at the least a copy of a copy.  The first 22 pages have been transcribed below.  At page 23, the handwriting changed and I can only transcribe about every 3rd word at this point.  I need to see if I can find the original document which would now be archived in Denver....and in order to do that I must first research what "box" it might be stored in.  That will be a project for this summer when it is warmer and I can travel easier.

In the meantime, the first 22 pages do give us some interesting clues into the history of Saltiel's residence in Cotopaxi:

1)  It appears now that the "dwelling house" was built by Henry Thomas (Gold Tom)

I think everyone has always assumed that Saltiel built the house that we know of today as Vic Miller's place.  But this document shows us that he bought the house that was built by Henry Thomas.  That is definitely a historical change!

Note the term "dwelling house".  In England, in the mid to late 1800s, homes there were identified by using the term "dwelling house".  In all of the documents that I have found, the house that Saltiel (who grew up in London) lived in at Cotopaxi was identified as a "dwelling house".  It is marked as such on the earliest plot maps.

I had often wondered how Saltiel could have built this house so fast....yet taken so much time to have the homes for the Colonists built.  The explanation would be that he, Saltiel, did not build it.

2)  That this "dwelling house" was occupied by Saltiel and 2 young children as of Dec, 1881.

This makes sense. Saltiel had filed for divorce from  Elizabeth and sent her back to NYC.  The records tell us that was in Feb, 1881.  I had previously thought that only the oldest son remained in Cotopaxi.  Now I believe it might have been both of the sons and that she would have taken their daughter, the youngest, with her to NYC.

This still leaves the question as to who cared for these children.  My previous research shows that they were quite young....the 2 boys were ages 9 and 7 in the 1880 census.  Did they attend school?  Was there a school in Cotopaxi in 1880?  Did they travel with Saltiel when he went to NYC?  Did they stay in Cotopaxi and if so who kept watch over them?

3)  That Saltiel purchased it from Thomas on 11/24/1880.

I have this declaration of Saltiels's homestead dated 11/29/1881 and filed 7/17/1882.

4) That this lawsuit precludes this house and personal property in it.



5) The feud between Gold Tom and Saltiel began as early as 1878, which is the earliest we find Saltiel in Cotopaxi and this document gives further evidence to the fact that Gold Tom was already there, had already established mines in the area and was looking to sell them to Saltiel.


I will be posting more evidence of this ongoing battle between Gold Tom and Saltiel over this same $1500 issue that did not end until 2 weeks after Gold Tom was shot and killed in May, 1884.


In transcribing this document, if you see a row of dots......that means there are words or a word in there that I could not determine so I had to leave it out.

There may be misspelled words, but I transcribed it as it was written in 1881.

Because the original document is 39 pages, I am not including it here.

The court number might be 655.

 For this particular court case, there was a temporary injunction staying all proceedings  dated Dec 16, 1881.   But I'll give you a clue....the end result is that the courts found in favor of Gold Tom, awarded ALL of Saltiel's property to him in January 1884.  It's an interesting trail to follow and I'll be posting more in the days to come.

Here's the first 23 pages of this court case as I have transcribed it:

No 633. Term W 45Cotopaxi Placer Mining Co, et als.vsB. J. Shaffer…Henry HThomas et alt.1881 Dec 16 filed…..clerk
Filed in my office
July 28th 1882
JJattorney …
J….D Freeman sol.
State of Colorado
Fremont County
In District Court
6th District
Dec  1881
The bill of Complaint of the “Cotopaxi Placer Mining Company, E. H. Saltiel, Chas L Henchman, Walter Henchman and Wm Wagner
vs
B. F. Shaffer Sheriff Fremont County, Henry Thomas, A. Macon, J. S. Cox and Macon & Cox Attorneys at Law, all of Fremont County.
Complainants state that said Defendants or some of them have caused an execution at Law in favor of said Defendant Henry Thomas vs Complainant Saltiel on the following property not belonging to said Saltiel to wit, six Ballard Carbines, one Rifle, one Office writing desk, one dwelling house 36 by 32 feet situate in said County of Fremont at Cotopaxi.
That said levy and seizure of said property was made on the 22nd day of November AD 1881 by the Sheriff of Fremont County at the instance and request of Dependents or some of them, a copy of which levy was published as advertisement in the “Reporter”, a Newspaper published at Canon City, Colorado on the    day of    AD 1881, a copy of which advertisement is herewith filed and made part hereof as Exhibit No. 1 to this complaint.  The execu….described this advertisement is in case of Henry Thomas vs E. H. Saltiel…is on ….case of record.  That all the time of said levy and seizure all of said property belongs to and was the property of Complainant said “Cotopaxi Placer Mining Company” and still remains the property of said Mining Company except the dwelling house, which on the 24th day of November last in consideration of $1500 was sold to Complainant Saltiel as a homestead and occupied and claimed on that day by said Saltiel as a Homestead for himself and family of two minor children of said Saltiel as the head of a family and said sale of said dwelling house as a Homestead and the same as such Homestead was duly recorded on the book 13 page 386 of the books of the Recorder of said County at the Clerks Office in said County of Fremont and is by Law exempt from levy and sale by execution at Law as Complainants are informed velieve and so charge said dwelling is not worth more than the sum of nineteen hundred dollars - that the book case and dining or extension table levied on is the property of said Saltiel and are not worth to exceed one hundred dollars, and so exept from levy and sale under said execution.
Complainants further state said Saltiel has no interest in the Cotopaxi Mines levied on by said execution, but that the same belong entirely to other parties.  Seven Eights of said mines are owned by Chas B. Lamb and as ……for Wm J. Palmer, R. H. Lamborn, H. H. Dunforth and one eighths by Charles S. Henchman, Walter Henchman and Wm Wagner.
Complainant Saltiel further states that the pretended Execution under which said levy or seizure were made by said Defendants is fraudulent and void and of no force in Law or Equity because of the fraudulent procurement of the same as follows to wit
In the year 1878 Complainant Saltiel was a mine operator and dealer in mines in the State of Colorado and as such said Defendant Thomas corresponded with said Saltiel in reference to the sale of certain mines and mining property claimed by said as Cotopaxi in Fremont County, and offered said property for sale to said Saltiel by several letters written to said Saltiel by said Thomas two of which bear date at Texas Creek Fremont County Colorado.  Feb 1878 and another dated as above Feb 28th, 1879 and a third dated Jan 10th 1879, a fourth March 10th Post marked March 11th 1879, describing said property and offering  the same for sale at $2500 copies of which letters are herewith filed as Exhibits No 2, 3, 4, & 5 and made part of this Complaint.
On the 18th of March 1879 Complainant Saltiel being at St Louis Mo in the said representation of Defendant Thomas accepted the offer of said Thomas by letter of that date in reply to the said letters of said Thomas and especially to his said letter of Mar 10 1879 Postmarked Mar 11, 1879 saiyn, “I will give you the $2500 for the property if it is at all satisfactory”xxxxxx”You can rely on my purchasing your property if we can agree on date of purchase”.  Said letter is herewith filed as Exhibit No 6. hereto and made part hereof which offer of $2500 said Thomes by letter accepted on the 3rd of April 1879.  Said Defendant further replied:
“Dear Sir______I have just received yours of April 3rd.  I shall not let any one else have the property for less than $5000.  So you see I am waiting on you and will wait until the time named in yours”  which letter is filed marked Exhibit No 7.  On the      day of October 1879 Said Thomas again wrote Saltiel on the same subject saying “he was locating some good looking ground on the other side of the river and wanted to set Charlie (a messenger of said Saltiel) at work to finish an assessment hole in your interest to day, but he is leaving.  I have sunk it 4 feet and you would have to sink only 6 feet further” meaning said Thomas had to locate said property and sunk said assessment hole for Complainant Saltiel by reason of said contract for the sale of all the said interests of said Thomas, in and about Volcano Mountain and Cotopaxi to said last named letter is filed herewith as exhibit No 8.
ON teh 10th of April 1879 said Saltiel wrote said Thomas from St Louis Mo in further execution of said contract inclosing a deed of said property and describing the same to be executed by said Thomas to said Saltiel and also an agreement to be signed by said Thomas - said deed and said agreement to be deposited by said Thomas in a Bank at Pueblo and to be delivered to said Saltiel on the payment at the said Bank of said $2500 for account of said Thomas on or before the 10th day of May 1879.  Copies of said letter, deed and agreement are herewith filed marked Exhibit 9, 10, & 11.
Not receiving any reply to this letter, Complainant Saltiel left St Louis and went to Canon City Colorado when he wrote to said Thomas another letter on the 30th day of June 1879 authorizing said Thomas to draw on said Saltiel for $2000 payable at St Louis see Exhibit No 12, and not hearing from this letter again wrote on the 3rd day of July 1879.  Sending the same by a special messenger “Charley” and making another offer of $500 cash and $1500 to be paid out of any profits that may arise from sales of ores or the reduction or ores from the mines sold by the said Thomas to the said Saltiel, but all such profits shall be exactly in equal proportions to both parties - thus, if one thousand dollars only is made the first year, then said Thomas shall receive only the first year five hundred dollars, and so on in the same manner until such total fifteen hundred dollars is fully paid up.  In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand and seal this 30th day of July AD 1879.
Emanuel H. Saltiel
Which letter and proposed agreement are filed as Exhibit 13 & 14 and made part hereof.
Said proposal was a mere mode of paying the $2500 purchase money
……(line cut of by copy machine)…..
2nd payment of $1000 cash $1500 to be paid from the proceeds of the ores to be taken from the mines previously sold to Saltiel for $2500.  The receipt of these propositions was never acknowledged by said Thomas nor was the same ever accepted by him.  On the contrary he held to the original contract of $2500 and no consideration or credit ever passed from said Thomas to said Saltiel for said proposal 13 & 14 the said Thomas retaining the same as part of his correspondence with said Saltiel and for no other purpose or motive known to said Saltiel.
In the mean time said Saltiel was making preparation to pay the said purchase money agreed upon of $2500 and to erect works for the reduction of the ores of said mines and to that end obtained the cooperation of a Capitalist and Constructor of said works and machinery for smelting and reducing said ores to whom said Saltiel sold a half interest in said mines and thereupon in consideration of …..benefits….consideration of the sum of fifteen hundred dollars in cash and one thousand dollars to be subsequently paid or accounted for in other dealings with said Thomas the latter at the request of Saltiel on the 31st day of July 1879 made a deed of said property to said Saltiel & Harrison.
The nominal consideration for said deed was $10,000 but the real consideration was that of the original contract $2500 and of this fact said Thomas was fully informed at the time said deed was made.  Said deed is filed as Exhibit 15 hereto.
And thereupon thereafter other dealings occurring between said Thomas and said Saltiel and said Saltiel having expended and advanced a considerable sum of money for said Thomas at his request for a gun amunition supplies & implement on or about the 21st day of April 1881 said Thomas and said Saltiel met at the Ranch of said Thomas near said mine and accounted together of and concerning all of their said dealings about said mine and other properties, guns, implement supplies money advanced to said Thomas who was in want and obliged to borrow money of said Saltiel as admitted by him in his said letters to said Saltiel (ex 13 & 14) and thereupon it was agreed that said Thomas, in consideration of one thousand dollars should make to said Saltiel two deeds conveying to said Saltiel the properties, rights and interests therein described, real, personal and mixed and deliver up to said Saltiel all the……. of title to the same, location certificates of mines and proposed agreements not consumated, all of which were forever concluded by said deeds.  Said deeds were drawn and agreed upon by and between said parties at the Ranch of said Thomas in Fremont Co, and it was then further agreed that siad parties should take the Railroad nearby and go to Canon City before Orson G. Stanley, notary public, where the aid Thomas would acknowledge the execution of said deeds and deliver the same together with said other …..of title to said mines and mining properties and said pretended agreements to said Stanley for the use of said Saltiel and the said Saltiel agreed to delivery to said Stanley a sight draft on a Bank in Colorado Springs for $1000.00 payable to the order of said Thomas, all of which was done in Ex 16, 17, & 18.
Said Stanley delivered the sight draft for $1000.00 and said Thomas acknowledged and delivered said two deeds and delivered location certificates no Colo 7 but fraudulently failed to deliver said pretended agreement of Feb 30th 1879, and said Stanley not knowing that said pretended agreement was in existence and the same being fraudulently and falsely secreted and with-held from him, accepted the deeds and location certificates and paid the money by the draft of $1000.00, which was paid by the Bank to Thomas.
And there-upon said Thomas expressed to Stanley his entire satisfaction with said settlement saying he had been paid for all his mines and mining property so sold to said Saltiel, and intended to leave Colorado and prospect in New Mexico and else-where
Said Saltiel and said Thomas were met at their request by said Stanley at the depot of the D&RGRWCo and the said agreement of final settlement made known to said Stanley there, who acted for both parties in what he did in the premises and Saltiel continued his journey eastward on said Railroad in the full confidence that said Thomas would deliver all the said papers including said …….agreement, and said Saltiel never knew that said paper had been withheld nor that said Thomas had claimed any right or titles to the same as an obligation,  for value of said Saltiel until he was sued on the same in the county court of Fremont County by said defendants as hereafter stated.
Complainant Saltiel has recently been informed, believes and charges that said Thomas, after he had received said $1000 from said Stanley told said Stanley he still held said …….agreement for $1500 and offered to sell ……….Stanley refused to accept  That same thereafter said Thomas proposed to said Stanley as a lawyer to assign to said Stanley a half interst in said pretended claim if said Stanley would sue upon said claim and procure judgement theron, which said Stanley refused as said proposed contract was in violation of the laws of Colorado prohibiting maintenance and obtaining money under false pretenses, that after said corrupt offers of said defendant Thomas to said Stanley were made and rejected said Saltiel, while enroute on the rail road from Cotopaxi to New York was intersepted and served with a summons in a ……..to be a…..by said Henry Thomas ….said …..based …said …..claim, which in it face was without consideration.  ………….
which record of said suit in the County court of Fremont County is refered to as of record in said Court and made part hereof.
That at the time said summons in said case was served on said Saltiel, he was on his way by rail to the City of New York on mining business of great importance to himself an d others whose rights of property to a large amount he represented in commercial and financial circles in said City of New York and was compelled to be there, and could not remain to personaly superintend the defense of said action but afterwords retained said Orson G. Stanley, an attorney at Law at Canon City to attend to the same, and file his, Saltiel’s, answer thereto.  Supposing said Stanley from his knowledge of the aforesaid settlement between Thomas and Saltiel would be able to make the proper defense and further reposing confidence in said Thomas that he would not falsely testify that said pretended agreements such as was a bonafide agreement 
(another row cut off by copy machine)
unpaid.  The Stanley not understanding said agreement of settlement in all its particulars as heretofore stated filed an answer for said Saltiel to said suit on said pretended agreement not fully con…said Saltiels defence as by reference thereto will moe fully appear and when the trial of said case came on for hearing before said County Court said Saltiel was so severely ill in the City of New York that he could not leave nor return to said Canon City to attend said trial, and so was from such sickness compelled to rely on the contents of said deed of April 21st 1880 and the honesty of said Thomas to tell the truth about his fradulent possession and holding of said paper in all of which said Saltiel was deceived by said Thomas, the said Thomas appearing by agreement with Macon & Cox as a sole witness for himself and said defendants in said case and testified as Saltiel is in………..valuable consideration in Law and in fact and that the same remained due and unpaid and that said Saltiel had received $10,000 in the….sold said mines and ores refered to in said pretended agreement, and put it out if the power of said Thomas to enforce his pretended lien on the ores of said mines described in said agreement and also that said Thomas testified at the instance and request of said Macon and Cox to all other matters and things necessary to insure a recovery on said pretended agreement.  While said Macon & Cox on their part by said Macon made affidavit as of his own knowledge to the contents of their complaint and that said sum of $1500.00 claimed thereby was due and remained wholly due and unpaid and also made another affidavit of the same import for an attachment against the property of said Saltiel which the said defendants fraudulently obtained and levied on the property of said Saltiel…….were had by said defendents in said case that on the said false testimonies of said Thomas in the absence of said Saltiel a judgement was rendered by said County Court in said case against said Saltiel for $1500 and costs of the suit.
That thereupon said Counsel o f said Saltiel aided by John D. Freeman - additional counsel employed by said Saltiel at a cost of $250.00 moved the court for a new trial of said case which motion with the affidavits of said O. G. Stanley and said Freeman then filed on the reason of said motion and were all sufficient as said Saltiel is advised believes and charges to require of said Court the granting of said new trial.
Nevertheless the said motion by the procurement of said defendents Macon and Cox was overruled and a new trial erroneously refused and appealed from by said Saltiel as of which papers….and the record thereof are herby referred to as of the record therein and made part hereof.
That only   days were given to said Saltiel to file his appeal bond in said case - that within the time limited by the Court said Saltiel filed a good and sufficient bond in said case for said appeal but on the objection of said Macon & Cox said bond was refused and by agreement between said Macon & Cox and said Saltiel the latter was allowed additional tim to get another good name as surety for said bond, which said Saltiel procured and filed said bond in said Court on the    day of   1881 there being no special time agreed upon within which said additional security should be obtained & filed the said Macon & Cox professing that good security was all that they desired and so complainant charges that he obtained said additional security and filed said bond and that the same was filed within a reasonable time and that defendants were not injured by said delay.
In the meantime the said Macon & Cox not regarding their said agreement in reference to said additional security ordered out an Execution on said judgement so fraudulently obtained and had the same levied on the property of said Saltiel and the other complainants as herein before stated and said Macon & Cox also …..to be issued a writ of garnishment on said judgement - garnisheeing and attaching in the hands of one Chas. B. Lamborne a debt of about $22,00000 more due by said Lamborne to said Saltiel which garnishment was Executed on said Lamborn before said other property had been levied on by said defendants thus making an excessive levy of $20,000.00 or more and complainant Saltiel fur-states that since the making of said levy on said property. 
(cut of by copy machine)
came from his Ranch near Cotopaxi in Fremont Co where he resides & made corrupt proposals to one of more attorneys in said Canon City offering them one half of all that they could recover of said Saltiel by suit at Law on said pretended agreement with said Thomas to testify in the case so as to procure judgement on for said sum of $1500.00 and said attorney or attorneys to bring the suit and prosecute the same to find judgement and be responsible for costs in the same.
That one or more of said attorneys so applied to by said Thomas refused to accept a retainer on these terms but that said defendents Macon & Cox were lastly applied to by said Thomas proposing the same or similar terms to them which they accepted.  And thereupon a contract was entered into as complainant Saltiel is informed believes and charges whereby said Macon & Cox in their character at a firm of practicing attorneys at Law in consideration that said Thomas assigned to them a half interest in said pretended agreement and the proceeds of the same after judgement therein to be obtained by them they the said Macon & Cox as Attorneys at Law would institute suit on the same and prosecute said suit to judgement and Execution theron and the seizure and sale of the property of said Saltiel to satisfy the same and all costs thereon.  And that said Thomas on is par undertook to testify in the case in substance that said pretended agreement was entered into by and between said Thomas and said Saltiel for a valuable consideration and that the same was all due & unpaid and to testify to such other things as said Macon & Cox should require of him to obtain judgement said pretended agreement complainant states only the said ……of this agreement as he is 

This is the end of page 23 of 39 pages.  At this point it appears the handwriting has changed.  Significantly so that only about every 3rd word can be read at this point. 

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Where was it notarized?

I have been doing genealogy research for years.  I have never bothered to look at the location where a document was notarized!  I think I always assumed the notarization took place where the event occurred!

Sometimes - it can change a story!

For Cotopaxi, we know that Elizabeth Saltiel joined her husband there sometime before the 1880 census was taken.  Oral history claims that she had an affair with the local postmaster, Frank Wood.

Documents tell us that he was the postmaster from May 25, 1880 until July 29, 1880.  And as far as the recorded documents go, he was the first postmaster in Cotopaxi.

On May 10, 1880, Frank Wood sold the Iron Arrow Lode to Emanuel Saltiel.

On June 19, 1880, Emanuel Saltiel created the Colorado Coal & Iron Co - which included the Iron Arrow Lode.

Jan 10, 1881, Frank Wood files a surety bond that is witnessed by Emanual Saltiel and A. C. McCoy

Mar 5, 1881, Frank Wood filed an affidavit of labor on the Cotopaxi Placer Mining Co.

And thus ends the records of Frank Wood in Cotopaxi.

I was reading through some of the other documents and found one dated April 21, 1881 between Elizabeth Saltiel and Charles Lamborn.  It was notarized in New York City.

So now we have evidence that she had left Cotopaxi and was residing in NYC as early as April 1881.

I had always believed that she and her children were living in Cotopaxi in May 1882 when the Colonists arrived.....obviously that was not true.

Next, I went back through all the transactions I have with her name on it.  The most recent was Dec 6, 1880, and it was notarized in Fremont County.  So she relocated to NYC sometime between Dec 1880 and Apr 1881.

Interesting what you can learn by looking at where and when a document was notarized.

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The Saltiel/Hart connection - the religious family tree

Here's the Hart family tree:

The common ancestor was an "unknown" Hart.   We now know he was  an Ashkenazi Jew - a German Jew,  Judah Hart.   He had at least 6 children, Rachel, Eleazer, Michael, Aaron, Henry and Elizabeth.

Rachel had Jane, who married John Jacob (Alfred) Saltiell.  They had Emanuel Harris Saltiel.

Eleazar had Eleazer Samuel Hart.  He would be a 1st cousin to Rachel and a 1st cousin once removed to Emanuel.  But an Ashkenazi wouldn't name a child after a living parent.  Rachel's brother Michael, had Samuel, born 1832, who is a match to Eleazer Samuel Hart who was at Cotopaxi.  Again, a 1st cousin, once removed to E. H. Saltiel.

I need help from my Jewish pals!  When I reread the bigamy case....it clearly states that John Jacob was brought up in the Sephardic school.  Jane is a German Jew and therefore I would presume she is Ashkenazi.  She descends from Rachel Hart Harris above.  Jane was an Ashkenazi Jew and  she married a Sephardic Jew and thus E. H. Saltiel was Sephardic?  But by his DNA he was both Sephardic and Ashkenazi?  

Because the  Harts were Ashkenazi, this would then explain their kindness to the Colonists.  And it might explain some of the animosities between Saltiel and Hart - which I will show in future posts.  

(Both Saltiel and the Harts were British, never spoke Yiddish, and thus the problems communicating with the Russian Jews who immigrated to Cotopaxi.)

Emanuel and Eleazer's children who were at Cotopaxi would have been second cousins.

Emanuel was 38 years old when the Colonists arrived in Cotopaxi.  E. S. Hart was 50.  While I'm happy to have finally connected the family tree of the Harts and Saltiels, I'm now curious about the religious aspects of this tree.

Mom once took our family tree and entered into it all of the medical conditions for each person living, and each deceased person as far back as she could.  Wouldn't it be interesting to create a family tree that showed the religions for each branch?  And the sect or variance within each religion? 

Please note that this post was updated from it's original content/questions based on a later post where I made the Hart/Saltiel connection.

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Emanuel H. Saltiel's father, John Jacob (part 2) digging deeper - finding more

updated 2/12/17 - go to the bottom of this post for new information.


The article that I posted yesterday about John Jacob Saltiel's bigamy showed that his second wife was Harriet Bates Davison and it gave us their date of marriage as May 16, 1843.  I found their marriage index here:

This shows John's name as John Alfred de Saltiell.  And when I found his prison records, it gives us an "aka" of Alfred.

Once I started searching for Alfred Jacob Saltiel, I found his death record.

He died 27 Nov 1850 and is buried at St Dunstan and All Saints, Stepney, England.  He was born in 1822.   This lines up with John Jacob Saltiel.  And the fact that both his wife and ex-wife state in the 1851 census that they are widows.  He had 2 more children with Harriet (this is the 1851 census):

Now we know that  E. H. Saltiel had a half brother, Alfred and a half sister, Elizabeth!

Looking at their mom, Harriett, she married George Clark Aug 7, 1852:

And we find that Elizabeth and Alfred have changed their surname to Clark in the 1861 census.

I think the next question to ask is whether or not E. H. Saltiel even knew that he had a half brother and sister?  They changed their surname to Clark and in the census record above they are listed as daughter and son, so perhaps George Clark adopted them.

Here's a simple timeline for this story:

Emanuel H. Saltiel lived in Bath, Somerset, England from the time he was born through the 1851 census.

John and Harriett were married in Essex, Elizabeth was born in Bethnal Green, St John, England and Alfret was born in London.

John died in London.

Looking at a map,   Here's Bath  (on the west side of England)  and you can see London.  Essex is just northeast of London.  Bethnal Green is also in London.  

Emanuel H. Saltiel was age 6 when his father died.  His father had "remarried" before he was born.  It is probably safe to say the Emanuel never knew him.  Additionally, he probably never knew his half brother and sister.

Two things have not escaped me.  1)  Mary Moore Clarke was on the marriage record above and then Harriet married George Clark later on.  One has to wonder if they were related.  And 2) In the bigamy proceedings, Harriet (2nd wife) states that Jane (pregnant 1st wife) "was out from morning to night."  I believe that just means that she knew what was going on.   Jane was an Ashkenazi and married to a  Sephardic Jew, something that wasn't much accepted at that time.  Harriet claims to have married him as a "christian" in a church.  She did not believe Saltiel was Jewish.

Keep in mind that Jane's mother was Rachel Hart, a brother to Michael Hart, the father of Eleazer Samuel Hart (E. S. Hart) who was at Cotopaxi.  I have always assumed that if Hart and Saltiel were cousins, they were both Sephardic Jews.  However, now we know the Harts were Ashkenazi and Jane married into the Saltiel Sephardic Jews.  It might explain a little of the upcoming court cases between E. S. Hart and E. H. Saltiel.

Pay attention to the detail in writings.  It's fascinating!

All of this in my search to find out what happened to Emanuel H. Saltiel's father.  Now we know that he didn't "just disappear" as other writer's have said.  Genealogy - it's more than just a name in a family tree.


new information:

I was researching something else, and a newspaper article popped up.  This article gives perhaps a better explanation of why Saltiel's father committed bigamy.  It is interesting to note that he claimed his wife, Jane Harris Saltiel, was frail and would surely die soon.  She lived another 44 years and did not pass away until 1888.   You can click on the article to make it larger.

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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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Make your own story

Sometimes, I think that’s just what other people have done.  Just write anything!  Fill in the blanks however you want….and someone, somewhere is going to believe you!

Not me!!!  I either want facts….or I will leave it blank and let you write your own story!

Family history books are just that…..books that someone writes about their family history.  It is their story.  And I use them as hints and leads….but not as facts.

Moshe Shaltiel-Gracian published such a book in 2005 about the Shaltiel/Saltiel family.  It’s not a bad book, in fact - quite interesting.  He wrote this about Emanuel Saltiel’s wife:

Soon after her arrival in Cotopaxi, Elizabeth, 36-years-old and the mother of three small children aged two, four, and six, fell in love with Frank W. Woods, an employee, in his early twenties, at the Cotopaxi Post Office, which Emanuel owned.

Let’s stop there for a moment.  Census records and other documents, including birth certificates show us that the children were:

John Tammany Saltiel, born 1871, age 9 in 1880 (I have his actual birth certificate)

Henry Clarence Saltiel, born 1873, age 7 in 1880

Adelaide Rachel (Lucy) Saltiel, born 1877, age 3 in 1880

Elizabeth Wolfe Saltiel, born 1845, age 35 in 1880

Continuing on with Moshe’s writing:

While Emanuel was crisscrossing the country, negotiating deals to build expensive furnaces and a new railroad depot, the two began an affair, and exchanged rather simple-minded letters……The lovers did not consider that, since Emanuel owned the post office, it was inevitable that one of these letters would find its way to him. 
Elizabeth was quickly shipped back east; the children remained with Emanuel…..on the same day that she wrote her aunt (5/1/1881), she was hand-delivered, at her residence at 40 East 126th Street in New York City, a summons to divorce court.  The divorce did not take effect, for legal reasons, for a year…..Elizabeth remained in New York and made her living teaching music.

Later on in the book, Moshe writes:

A year after his divorce, on Valentine’s Day, 1883, in Pueblo, Colorado, he married a second time, to Fannie Shelveson, who managed his real estate……unfortunately, seven years later, in December 1890, Fannie followed in Elizabeth’s footsteps, and began an affair with Jerry B. McLene, who lived in the Broadway, a Denver hotel owned by Emanuel.  Once more, Emanuel filed for divorce and, like Elizabeth, Fannie did not appear in court.  Unlike Elizabeth, however, Fannie married her lover on 14 July 1891, three weeks after the divorce was granted.

We find Emanuel and Fannie living on Watsoon St in Denver in the 1885 census.  No children in the household.

Let’s look at this marriage/divorce timeline in relationship to the children’s ages.  

	1880 moved to Cotopaxi	1882 parents divorce	1883 father remarries Fannie Shelveson	1885 father moves to Denver	1891 father divorces Fannie
John	9	11	12	14	20
Henry	7	9	10	12	18
Adelaide	3	5	6	8	14

So even if Elizabeth left the children with Emanuel in 1881 when she left, they were not living with him in Denver in 1885.  I have not been able to locate Elizabeth in the 1885 census in NYC.

There is an Elizabeth M.  Saltiel living at 343 E 117th St in the 1886 New York City directory - doing “washing”.  She was not in the 1885 directory.  Directories do not list children.

Elizabeth and her son, Henry, were in the 1895 New Jersey Census.  Newark NJ.  This makes sense as her daughter, Adelaide, married Francis Henry Lovekin in 1895 in Newark NJ.

Did the court give custody to Emanuel in the divorce?  I don’t know as I haven’t located the divorce records.  But it is obvious that 3 short years later, they are not living with him.

I cannot locate Fannie in any city directory in Pueblo.  What brought her there?  

So why not put this perspective into a timeline looking at Saltiel and the arrival of the Colonists at Cotopaxi…..makes it even more interesting!

• 1879 - the earliest I can find Saltiel in Fremont County
• 1880 - his family arrives, a house has already been built
• 1881 - his wife has an affair and he sends her off to NYC.  One writer says the children (I believe they were ages 4, 8, & 10) stay in Cotopaxi
• 1881 - I have a document that shows Saltiel sold his house to Hart.  Where did he (and the children - if they were there) reside?
• 1882 - February, Saltiel gets a divorce
• 1882 - May, the Jewish colonists arrive
• 1883 - February, Saltiel remarries (when did he have time to court this woman?)
• 1883 - some of the colonists relocate away from Cotopaxi
• 1883 - lawsuits against Saltiel for not paying miners who worked for him
• 1884 - May, the colony disbands 
• 1884 - 1887 Saltiel involved in multiple lawsuits against his mining claims.  He lost all of his property in Fremount county as a result of these lawsuits
• 1884 - May 31, Gold Tom shot and killed
• 1885 - June, Saltiel and wife are in Denver in the 1885 census, children are not with them

Questions - 

1. did Fannie ever live in Cotopaxi?  I can find no evidence of that.
2. when did Emanuel move to Denver?  If he sold his residence in 1881, where did he stay when he was in Cotopaxi?
3. where were the 3 children after their mother was sent to NYC?
4. if the children were in Cotopaxi, where did they live and who cared for them?

Saltiel was a very busy man!  One of these days I will create a month-by-month timeline of Saltiel’s activities…..but in the meantime, I can tell you, he was so tied up in Arapahoe County courts, in Denver, in NYC, and now we find out how busy he was with his own personal life….I do not see him as a custodial parent and it would explain his often lengthy absences from the Colonists at Cotopaxi.  

No wonder it has been written that the colonists said they got no answers or support from him and they turned to the Denver Jewish community.

I do understand why many writers “fill in the blanks” with what they think happened.  I think my “job” is to ask the questions about the blanks.  As more and more records become digitized and/or available for public research, hopefully we may find more answers.  

In the meantime, be careful what you read about Cotopaxi.  Is it just someone’s conjecture?  Is it even probable?  Is it just a “story” that someone made up?  Makes you wonder!!!

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