More on the Nudelman house

Back in February, I posted a blog about the Nudelman house - from the standpoint that several documents had been tossed into the trash and then found their way to the local History center.

I've been researching it ever since.  I'd like to verify the location of the house today - if it still exists.

First, that original document found in the trash:

Another document that was pulled from the trash is the sale of the other half of the house, the Chuteran property, the same day.  Interesting that this document was just one page.

 The typed version of the Chuteran document:

11232

Bill of Sale

Solomon Chuteran to

W. S. Hart

Filed for Record Aug 7, 1883 at 6 o’clock pm

Jno Wilson Recorder

This indenture made on this the Thirtieth day of April in the year Eighteen Hundred and Eighty three.

Witnesseth that I the undersigned Solomon Chuteran of Cotopaxi, in the County of Fremont, state of Colorado, do for and inconsideration of One Dollar, lawful money of the United States of America and other valuable consideration received hereby, sell, assign, transfer and set over to Eleazer S. Hart of Cotopaxi, same state and county aforesaid a certain frame house or dwelling situated in Cotopaxi as aforesaid, and heretofore occupied by myself and  my family as a dwelling which said dwelling was erected for my use and benefit and I delcare that I have the full right and authority to sell and transfer the said building, which is situated on grounds leased for the purpose near the track of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway on the northerly side of said railway track and distant about five hundred feet easterly, from the present site of the Cotopaxi Hotel and adjoining the House of Joseph Nudelman.  I do further hereby sell and transfer assign and set over to said Eleazer S. Hart the furniture in said dwelling house, consisting of one kitchen stove with appurtenances and utensils, one bed, one table, 3 chairs and other miscellaneous articles.

In witness whereof I hereby affix my hand and seal this the thirtieth day of April, in the year 1883.

S. Chuteran

Witness Joseph Bardine

State of Colorado

Fremont County ss

Personally appeared before me the subscriber and acknowledged this as his free act and deeds, and wishes it to be recorded as such.  Witness my ahdn and seal this the 30th day of April A. D. 1883.  G. H. Rummel seal, Justice of the Peace

For value received I hereby assign all of my right and title to the property acquired by this instrument except the goods as mentioned and conveyed to with the household goods to Mrs Susan A McCoy.

Witness my hand and seal this the sixteenth day of August A. D. 1883  E. S. Hart, seal, Witness G. H. Rummel.

Personally appeared before me the subscriber and acknowledged this as his free act and deeds and wishes it to be recorded as such.  Witness my hand and seal this 16th day of August A. D. 1883.  Z. T. Banta seal, Justice of the Peace.

Down the left side of the page:

For value received I hereby assign all my right and title to the property acquired by this instrument of writing to Mr Epptein. This assignment has not been accepted, has not been conveyed.  E. S. Hart, witness H. S. Tooling.

I have not been able to locate all of the documents that I am looking for but I do have some that refer to this as the "McCoy double house".  As soon as I have a complete "trail" I will come back and update this post.  But it appears that this was 2 families living under a common roof with a wall adjoining their residences...the houses were attached to each other.

It is also evident that the houses were built on land leased from E. H. Saltiel.

In my later documents, the land was sold by O. B. Carroll to A. A Sloan.  Then Sloan sold the double house and the land to W. A. Hendricks.  Hendricks sold it back to Sloan who sold it to Kate Gorman in 1895.  I do not have documentation yet as to how it got to Carroll from McCoy.....or who it went to after Gorman.

Couldn't I just to a title search?  No - that won't work for most of the houses in Cotopaxi.  For most of the houses, sometime between 1910 and 1950...the owners all went to court to prove their ownership.  And by doing such, they didn't have to go back and verify the earliest ownerships.  They would stand on the court house steps in Canon City and literally call out every possible owner's name.  No one showed up and the judge awarded the property to the current owner.

That or they simply had it re-declared under the Federal Land act.

And yes, this may be wasting my time, but I have to wonder.  With these 2 documents are "new" questions.  

1)  Were the Nudelmans and the Chuterans related?  People rarely lived this close together if they weren't.

2)  Did both of these families leave Cotopaxi in April, 1883, when the houses were sold?  Or had they built another house on the land they farmed that was south of Cotopaxi?

I have found no documents showing the sale of any of the plots south of Cotopaxi.

3)  In both documents, the property was "sold" to E. S. Hart who then "sold" them to Susan McCoy.  Was Hart acting as an early realtor in western Fremont county?

4)  It does not appear that the furniture was transferred to McCoy.

5)  This does tell us some of the furniture they had.

6)  The sale was for $1 and "other valuable considerations."    This is a common phrase used and could mean anything.  Did they just want to dump the property?  Was it worth nothing since they didn't own the land it was on.  What would a 49 year lease be worth?  How much would you give for a duplex that sat on a 49 year lease and you didn't know if the lease could be renewed or not?

7) Who did McCoy sell the place to?

Interesting questions!

One thing I do know is that neither Nudelman or Chuteran  were listed on the miner's lien.  It would be doubtful that Saltiel paid them and not the others.  Thus, most likely, they did not owe Hart any money at his store.  

These documents also show us that:

Joseph Bardine was a witness

G. H.. Rummel was the Justice of the Peace

Z. T. Banta was a justice of the Peace

and there was a Mr. Epptein

and a witness H. S. Tooling.

What were their relationships with the Colonists?  with Saltiel?  with Hart?

This is a prime example of how researching local documents can give you clues as to where to go next with your research, whether it is related to your family tree or not.

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The Grand Canyon of the Arkansas

That is the 1882 name for what is now known as the Royal Gorge.  Today, we took a train ride up through the canyon to get some photos as it hit me that people who are not from here might want to see what the Colonist saw when they left Canon City heading west to Cotopaxi.

Remember that the train stopped every 7 -10 miles to fill up with water and every 25 miles to add coal.  Since it's 35 miles to Cotopaxi it took awhile for them to get there.

I decided to take photos showing todays train so you could get an aspect as to size and distance.  This is what it looks like when you leave town.  These water diversion gates were not there in 1882....but the landscape was the same and the lack of trees probably the same.

As you round the first couple of corners, you start to see a few more peaks.

Then the river gets more narrow as the peaks get taller

This is the first glimpse of the suspension bridge at the top - you can barely see it, but you can get an idea as to how flat and sheer some of the cliffs in the canyon are.

I wonder what the Colonists thought?  They must have been overwhelmed at the depth of this canon. Of course, the bridge was not there.  And they would have been on a narrow gauge train.  A much different experience than today's ride.

These days, some of the river walls have been cemented in due to floods and erosion of the ground under the tracks.  On the left is a water pipeline that did not exist in 1882.

This photo shows the jaggedness of the peaks going through the canyon.

And this is pretty much the scenery anywhere there is land you could walk on.  Filled with cactus and small shrubs.  Hard to believe this is just a few feet from the river, yet absolutely nothing grows here.

The train stops at Parkdale and then you come back to Canon City.   From Parkdale, the highway follows the train the rest of the way to Cotopaxi.  But if you drive it today, you just will not see what they saw going through the Royal Gorge.

 I was able to get this shot of the water showing how shallow it is.  

Today, rafting is the main industry of this river.  But in the 1880s, logs were cut and then put in the river and floated downstream to Canon City and Pueblo.  This is at Parkdale where the early pioneers ran up to 5000 head of cattle and they crossed the Arkansas here.  That would have been something to see!

On the way back, I was able to get this closeup of the suspensions that support the train tracks through the narrowest part of the canyon.

They were told that they could farm the land and then they saw this.  I just think they had to have shook their heads in wonder!  I do and it's 2016!

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New article on Cotopaxi out today

click here

Released today in the Intermountain Jewish News in the L'Chaim magazine.

An interesting perspective - asking the public to be a jury.  Yet fairly accurate.

He misquoted the website:

cotopaxi-colony.com belongs to Nelson and you will not find the articles there.  You will find his research and his commentary, not mine.

cotopaxi-colony.blogspot.com is this blog where the articles are.  Just look at the home page, down the right side and you will see links to all of the articles I have posted thus far.  (taking a short break and will get back to this in a week or so).

I do not believe I said Saltiel was "guilty as sin" - perhaps "guilty as charged"?  I know I made it clear that I have not and never would call Saltiel a "villain".   And it is not my belief that we are allowed to judge another human.  But we can show the known facts about a situation.  I think the author is attempting to do that here.  Yet much has been omitted that I would definitely want to present to a jury!

I think the greater question is whether this is a "jury" issue?  I still contend that Saltiel simply wasn't in Cotopaxi very much.    And I think the peripheral story is what matters....the fact that Saltiel had just gotten a divorce, married another woman, had small children, was still traveling to NYC and other places, was in court, in jail, dealing with mine transactions and simply not present much when the Colonists were there.

And since the findings are not complete - the story cannot be complete!  Thus the jury cannot convene and the judgement cannot be made.

Ask yourself how you might read this differently if the writer has presented me, representing the Colonists as the defendant?  After all, I suppose my research is to defend the oral histories handed down by the Colonists families.  And that would make the "bounty" side the prosecution....attempting to prosecute the Colonist for their oral histories.  Now that could have been an equally interesting story!

I had to chuckle that I am being portrayed as the prosecution.  There has been no criminal charge made against Saltiel.  I am not attempting to prove anything about Saltiel.  And I do think that's made clear in the article - I'm working to prove the accuracy of oral histories and the facts of what happened.

Yet, overall, a rather interesting take on the story.  What did you think?

I know....you think I need to skip life, finish my research, and get this written down!  OK....next week!  Unless life gets in my way.  :)


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Technology and research

In the past few years, I have given presentations on genealogy, Cotopaxi, and other topics.  Sometimes, the venue doesn't have an overhead projector, so I use 2' x 3' posterboards that I have covered with diagrams.

When I share a family tree, I print out all the pages, trim them, tape them together and create a scroll.

Today, I purchased a small hand-held projector.

It will be perfect for displaying family trees in small settings, and to show the powerpoint presentation on Cotopaxi!  What's even more fascinating is that I can download anything to my iPad, connect that to the projector and use my iPhone as a remote to page through the slides.

The guy at the Apple store didn't know if I could get that to work....so I'm quite pleased with the end results!

Now, when I travel, I just take my iPad, iPhone and this projector with is about the size of 2 iPhones!!!

I can share any family tree in a format up to 100" wide on a white wall or sheet.   When I do craft presentations, teaching techniques,  I can use my iPad camera to zoom down on my hands and share with a crowd any craft technique that I'm doing.  And I can zoom in on a photo and trace it with great detail.

Bottom line....if you want the presentation on Cotopaxi to be given in your home or to a small group....I can now supply everything needed - all you have to provide is a white wall or white sheet!

Isn't technology grand???

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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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"My mind's made up - don't confuse me with the facts!!"

"My mind's made up - don't confuse me with the facts!"  That's how so many of us are.  But for some reason, my DNA is quite different.  I say - "Show me the facts so I can make up my mind!"

I wrote about Esther Young before, but I need to re-write this to make some clarifications, add images, and show us that if we look for the documents, and use genealogy, we are able to show that facts can change what we think we knew in our minds!

If you visit the cemetery in Cotopaxi, be sure to look to the hill to the north of it.  Yes, a completely separate hill with a small ravine between it and the cemetery, in fact, there's a road at the bottom.  On that hill (to the north east), there is another grave.  Nelson has it pretty well documented here:

Cotopaxi Cemetery - Ester L. Young

Why was she buried on a separate hill?

Her headstone:

Our Mother
Though out of sight to memory dear
Esther L. Young
born in Rutherford Co, Tenn
June 18, 1809
Died in Cotopaxi Colo
Dec 9 1898

Note it does spell her first name with an "h" - it is left out of some of the writings.

Local lore has it that she was a woman of color:

When I started my journey of creating family trees for the gentile families who were at Cotopaxi in the early days, I discovered who Esther L. Young really is!  She is a caucasian woman!  She was T. Witcher's grandmother-in-law.  But what was her relationship to Charlie McCoy?  And why would he make the above statement about her?

This is the family tree I was able to build from census records:

James B. Young, born 1800, married Esther Lamira Moore born 1809.

They had:

Alex Young b 1827

Sarah Young b 1834

Mary Young b 1842

Lamiar J Young b 1846

Sarah Young married Joseph Hardin and they had:

Mary Belle Hardin, b 1860

Willie Hardin b 1862

Mary Belle Hardin b 1860 married T Witcher b 1842 and they had

Otis W Witcher b 1881

going back to the first family of James B Young b 1800, married to Esther Lamire Moore born 1809, their daughter

Lamiar J Young b 1846 married Jeremiah D. Hylton b 1838 and they had

Thomas Hylton b 1868

Lucy Hylton b 1870

Mary Hylton b 1870

So, Esther L. Young, born 1809 was the grandmother-in-law to T. Witcher, the mother-in-law of J. D. Hylton, and the grandmother of Thomas Hylton.

We can then prove this with census records;

In the 1850 Census, Esther L. Young, widow, is living in Blue Township, Jackson County, MO.  Her mother, Sarah Moore, is living with her family.  Her children are Martha 20, Sarah 16, Mary 8, Lamira J. 4.

In the 1860 Census, Esther L. Young, widow,  is living in Blue Township, Jackson County, MO, born in TN.  Her children are Mary 18, Lamira 13

In the 1870 Census, Esther L. Young, widow,  is living in Lees Summit, Jackson County, MO with Sarah Hardin who is now widowed, age 36.  Sarah's children:  Mary is 10 and William is 8.

In the 1880 Census, Precinct 5 of Fremont County:  (Cotopaxi was Precinct 7 at that time)

Sarah Hardin, age 46

Lamira Young, age 70, (b 1810) mother 

T. Witcher, age 37, son-in-law

Belle Witcher, age 20, daughter

Willie Hardin, age 18, son

Therefore, Esther Lamire Young was now known as Lamira Young (her daughter Lamiar J. Young would have been known as Lamiar J. Hylton).  

T. Witcher was living with his mother-in-law AND his grandmother-in-law!!

Did they love here so much that they gave her a separate burial ground with a wood picket fence around it?  Go back and look at the headstone - "Our Mother  Though out of sight to memory dear" She lived with her children - they must have loved her!

Her obituary in the Canon City newspaper:

which I have transcribed for easier reading:

Mrs. Lamira Young died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. L. J. Hylton, Cotopaxi, last Friday morning in the ninetieth year of her age. Mrs. Young was the sister of Rev. B. Frank Moore of this city. She leaves three children: Mrs. Sarah Hardin, this city; Mrs. M. C. Gelknap, Hillside, Colo. and Mrs. L. J. Hylton. She was born in Bedford co., Tenn, June 19, 1809. In 1831 she married Mr. William Stokes, who died in 1833; shortly after this she and her family moved to Missouri, where she married in 1840, Mr. James Young, who died in 1846.Mrs. Young crossed the plains seven times, making her home finally in this county, and the last year of her life with her daughter, Mrs. Hylton. She became a christian at the age of 12 years, uniting with the Cumberland Presbyterian church and faithfully served God for 77 years of her life. She was a noble woman, always ready to respond to a case of need; a true friend, who in her long life did the good that came to hand, with kindly word and hand ministering to all. The fragrance of her memory is sweet and she still lives in the influence of her beautiful example. Our loss is her gain, for she hath now entered into the glorious rest of the children of God, where we shall again meet her.The funeral services were celebrated by the Rev. W. J. Fisher, Pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian church of Canon City, at Cotopaxi, Dec 10, 1898.

She was a good woman.  

So, how did Charlie McCoy come to make the statement that he did?  Was he also related to her?  Let's look at Charlie's family tree:

Charlie's sister, Minnie is married to Thomas Hylton.  If you go back up to the Hylton tree above, you will see that Thomas Hylton is the son of Lamire Young Hylton.

Thus Charlie McCoy's sister is the granddaughter-in-law of Esther L. Young.  And in such a tiny community, Charlie would have known her and known that this woman was caucasian!  Did he start a rumor because he didn't like her?  I'm not sure we will ever know, but it's something to keep researching.

Charley McCoy was born in 1860.  He was 38 in 1898 when Esther L. Young died.

A little logic and reasoning here.  If Esther L. Young was not caucasian, then her children and her grandchildren would not have been caucasian.  That means Thomas Hylton would have been a colored man because he was her grandson.  Yet he wasn't.  Neither was his mother, Lamar Young Hylton.

In this family tree, I have connected the Youngs, McCoys, Hiltons, Witchers, Mullins, Hendricks and Carrolls.  One big tree for sure!

And at this point - I believe we can change the oral histories to show that Esther L. Young was a caucasian woman - she was an honorable woman.  I would go one step farther and state that she was most likely buried on a separate hillside because her children loved her so much, they wanted her separated out.

But if your mind is made up after 100+ years of oral history, don't let me confuse you with the facts!


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Phil Helfrich tells the story of Cotopaxi on KHEN radio in Salida - now online for you to hear.

Phil Helfrich conducted an interview with myself and Nancy Oswald about the Cotopaxi Colony.  You can listen to it here:

Cotopaxi Story

He did his own research and he did a great job.  Not too many people get the story as accurate as Phil did!  Thanks!



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