Alfred Freedheim
Born: Iowa, August 3, 1868
Died: Denver, April 13, 1958
Caroline Winifred “Carrie” Heitler Freedheim
Born: Denver, July 25, 1875
Died: Denver, February 13, 1955
Eugene Freedheim
Born: Leadville, Colorado, 1900
Died:
Evan Freedheim
Born: Illinois, 1867
Died:
Rose Weil Freedheim
Born: New York, 1874
Died:
Lester Freedheim
Born: Leadville, Colorado, 1899
Died:
Alfred Freedheim came to Leadville in 1895. He opened Freedhiem Bros. clothing in 1896 and shortly thereafter was joined there by his brother Evan. Evan was born in Illinois in 1867, [1] and Alfred, possibly the more industrious of the two, was born in Iowa on August 13, 1868. [2] Alfred and Evan came from a large German immigrant family which held close to the Jewish proclivity of finding opportunity in the merchant trades in western mining communities. Their father, Louis Freedheim, [3] was a successful clothing merchant and German immigrant who found success in Denver and other areas of Colorado. Their mother Frances was also a German immigrant and both came to the United States in the early 1860s. The couple married in Illinois in 1866. A younger brother named Hugo was listed as an attendee of a party and a few social events in 1897 but was never listed in city directories as a resident of Leadville. [4] It is not known how long the Freedheim family was in Colorado; they lived in Silver Cliff during 1885 and a younger brother, Hugo, is listed in that year’s Colorado State Census. [5] By 1890, all three brothers were living at the family home in Denver, Alfred and Evan following in Louis’ footsteps and working at their father’s store while brother Hugo was listed as an electrician. [6] The family may have been in Colorado as early as 1880. [7]
Alfred was first to come to Leadville; he is shown working for Herman Strauss’s [8] clothing concern at 318 Harrison Avenue during 1895. Alfred resided at 319 Harrison Avenue [9] with co-worker Sol Garrett, [10] and, as other Strauss staff lived at this location, it is likely that this was designated for employee housing. The Strauss family was connected to the Freedheim family by marriage although the details of that marital connection are unclear. [11]
Advertisements show that Alfred did open his own store, Freedheim Bros., at 321 Harrison Avenue in the spring of 1896. [12] It is unclear when brother Evan arrived in Leadville; in 1894 he lived at the family home in Denver at 2415 Champa Street. [13] Neither Evan nor Alfred was married at this time and both resided at 130 West Seventh Street in 1896. [14] The first advertisement for Freedheim Bros. appeared in a March 1896 issue of the Herald Democrat. [15] Among the items listed for sale were tan shoes, grey hats, cassimere, worsted or diagonal wool pants, silk and madras cloth shirts, and “Patent Tip Kangaroo Oxford shirts”. Interestingly, a purchase of between $25 and $35 would win a patron a “Beautiful portrait”. Presumably this portrait -perhaps photographic- was taken of the patron in their new clothes. The location of the store is advertised as “Manhattan Corner”- 321 Harrison Avenue. The Manhattan corner was formerly the location of another German-Jewish clothing business: the Monheimer Brothers. [16]
Throughout the spring, the brothers advertised their store prolifically, especially for their stock of “sheriff sale goods” from the Milwaukee purchase. [17] An interesting event occurred in April when a 12-year-old cash boy named Ernest Woods, employed at the Freedheim store, rescued an infant on his way to work who was found nearly drowned in the Starr ditch. [18]
Evan married Rosa Weil on October 30, 1895, at Denver. [19] There are no further details of this event, but it is likely that Evan and Rosa moved to Leadville together a short time afterward. They lived for at least one year with Alfred, but by 1898, he had moved to another apartment at 303 Harrison Avenue [20], likely in anticipation of Evan and Rosa’s firstborn, Lester, who came into the world during 1899. [21]
An early ad for Freedheim Brothers Clothing.
The Herald Democrat. April 5, 1896. Page 3.
This lithograph of Alfred and Carrie Freedheim appeared in the April 30, 1899 edition of the Herald Democrat newspaper.
Herald Democrat. Leadville. April 30,1899. P6.
This advertisement notes a “Quitting Sale” for the Freedheim Bros.’ clothing store at 4th and Harrison, January 26, 1902.
These Are Bargain. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. January 26, 1902). P12.
On April 26, 1899, Alfred married his sweetheart, Caroline Winifred Heitler [22] at Denver in a lavish ceremony conducted by Rabbi Freidman in the Grand Ballroom of the Brown Palace Hotel. [23] The following description of the event appeared in the April 30th edition of the Herald Democrat newspaper:
Mr. and Mrs. Freedheim have a host of friends both in Leadville and Denver where they are well and favorably known. The bride is truly a Colorado flower, having been born and raised in Denver. She is a graduate of the Denver High School and is a young woman of refined character and charming disposition. Her mother and several brothers and sisters still reside in Denver and are ranked among the old and respected residents of the Queen City. The groom has for years made Colorado his home and is one of Leadville’s leading businessmen and both he and his wife will be a welcome addition to Leadville society.
The wedding was attended by a large concourse of Denver friends, and also friends from Leadville, Pueblo, Georgetown, Telluride, and Chicago… The bridesmaids were Miss Bertha Kohn of Chicago, in a dainty white batiste; Miss Emma Heitler of Pueblo, in a pink organdie, and Miss Carrie Koch of Denver, in a pink silk with white organdie.
The little flower girls were Ruth Studinski in pink, and Helen Schwartz in white silk. The little tots of seven were the pictures of loveliness.
Master Herbert Straus, aged three years, was ring bearer, dressed in white. He looked like a little Cupid….
…The young couple are enjoying their honeymoon at Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City, after which they will return to Leadville, their future home, and take possession of their new residence recently purchased by the groom at 113 East 8th Street. [24]
The last advertisement for the Freedheim Bros. store appeared in the March 19, 1902, edition of the Herald Democrat [25] and this is the last mention of the Freedheims in Leadville with the exception of a few friendly visits with the Strauss family. [26]
Carrie and Eugene left for a new permanent residence in Denver on April 2, 1902, and the same notice claimed that Alfred would join them there shortly. [27] The 1902 Denver city directory shows Alfred’s new home to be located at 1311 Downing Street, and Evan and his family at 1360 Clayton Street. [28] Although it is not clear where Evan and Rosa ended their life journey, Alfred and Carrie remained in Denver for the balance of their days. Carrie passed on February 13, 1955, at the age of 79, [29] Alfred on April 13, 1958, a few months short of his 90th birthday. [30] The couple was interred, side-by-side, at Denver’s Congregation Emmanuel Cemetery.
1 Year: 1900; Census Place: Leadville, Lake, Colorado; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0048; FHL microfilm: 1240125
2 Year: 1900; Census Place: Leadville, Lake, Colorado; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0049; FHL microfilm: 1240125
3 “Advertisements”. (Silver Cliff, CO: Silver Cliff Rustler, January 13, 1887). P4.
4 Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920. (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices. 2015).
5 "Colorado State Census, 1885,” database with images, FamilySearch Alfred Friedheim in entry for L B Friedheim, 1885; citing NARA microfilm publication M158 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 498,505.
6 JH Ballenger and Richards. “Ballenger & Richard’s Eleventh Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Denver for 1890”. 2011. Brigham Young University Internet Archive. Provo, UT; USA. P424.
7 Advertisements. Silver Cliff, CO: Silver Cliff Rustler. January 13, 1887. P4.
8 For more information on Herman Strauss and his family, please see http://jewishleadville.org/strauss.html
9 JH Ballenger and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Sixteenth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1895. (Leadville, CO: Corbet and Ballenger and Richards Publishers. 1895.) P125.
10 For more information on Sol Garrett and his family, please visit: http://www.jewishleadville.org/garrett.html
11 Personal Mention. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat). June 18, 1900. P8.
12 We Said. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 21, 1896). P3.
13 TB Corbett and JH Ballenger. Corbet, and Ballenger’s Twenty-second Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City Of Denver for 1894. Denver, CO: Corbet and Ballenger Publishers. 1894. P393.
14 JH Ballenger and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Eighteenth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1897. (Leadville, CO: Corbet and Ballenger and Richards Publishers. 1897). P133.
15 We Said. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 21, 1896). P3
16 For more information on the Monheimer family, please visit: http://jewishleadville.org/monheimer.html
17 Bankrupt Sale. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat, April 28, 1897). P3
18 Saved the Child. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat, April 18, 1897). P5.
19 Denver Public Library. Colorado Marriages 1858-1939. (Denver, CO. USA: The Colorado Genealogical Society. 2004). P6926.
20 Ballenger and Richards. Leadville, CO; USA. 1898. P129.
21 "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKWB-K5Z :accessed 14 March 2019), Evan Freedheim, Denver Ward 10, Denver, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 123, sheet 3B, family 81, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 116; FHL microfilm 1,374,129.
22 Denver Public Library. 2004. P6906.
23 "Denver CO Hotels | The Brown Palace Hotel & History." The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa. 2018.
https://www.brownpalace.com/hotel/history
24 The World Of Society. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 30, 1899). P6.
25 Ten Days More. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 19, 1902). P8.
26 Personal Mention. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. January 24, 1904). P5
27 Personal Mention. (Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 2, 1902). P3.
28 JH Ballenger and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Thirtieth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Denver for 1902. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Internet Archive 2011. P1077.
29 "BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24Z-DLRN : 27 September 2016), Carrie Heitler Freedheim, died 13 Feb 1955; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Emanuel Cemetery, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States.
30 "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKY-SM7K : 13 December 2015), Alfred A. Freedheim, 1958; Burial, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America, Fairmount Cemetery; citing record ID 57456713, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
Bibliography
Advertisements. Silver Cliff, CO: Silver Cliff Rustler, January 13, 1887.
Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Ancestry.com. Colorado, County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Ancestry.com. Illinois, Marriage Index, 1860-1920. (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Springfield, IL: Illinois State Marriage Records. Online index. Illinois State Public Record Offices. 2015).
Bankrupt Sale. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat, April 28, 1897.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Twenty-First Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1900. Leadville, CO: Corbet and Ballenger and Richards Publishers. 1900.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Twenty-Second Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Leadville for 1901. Leadville, CO: Corbet and Ballenger and Richards Publishers.1901.
Ballenger, JH and Richards. Ballenger & Richard’s Thirtieth Annual City Directory: Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms etc. in The City of Denver for 1902. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Internet Archive 2011.
"BillionGraves Index," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24Z-DLRN : 27 September 2016), Carrie Heitler Freedheim, died 13 Feb 1955; citing BillionGraves (http://www.billiongraves.com : 2012), Burial at Emanuel Cemetery, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States.
Corbett, TB and Ballenger, JH. Corbet, and Ballenger’s Twenty-second Annual City Directory: Containing A Complete List Of The Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms Etc. In The City Of Denver For 1894. Denver, CO: Corbet and Ballenger Publishers.1894.
Clothing, Boots and Shoes, Hats. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 5, 1896.
"Denver CO Hotels | The Brown Palace Hotel & History." The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa. 2018. https://www.brownpalace.com/hotel/history
Denver Public Library. Colorado Marriages 1858-1939. Denver, CO. USA. The Colorado Genealogical Society. 2004.
"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKY-SM7K : 13 December 2015), Alfred A. Freedheim, 1958; Burial, Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States of America, Fairmount Cemetery; citing record ID 57456713, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
Grant, Jeffrey P. Garrett. Leadville, CO: Temple Israel Foundation. 2017.
Mark, Trevor. Monheimer. Leadville, CO: Temple Israel Foundation. 2019.
Mark, Trevor. Strauss. Leadville, CO: Temple Israel Foundation. 2018.
Personal Mention. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 2, 1902.
Personal Mention. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. January 24, 1904.
Saved the Child. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat, April 18, 1897.
Ten Days More. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 19, 1902.
The World Of Society. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. April 30, 1899.
These Are Bargain. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. January 26, 1902.
"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKWB-K5Z : accessed 14 March 2019), Evan Freedheim, Denver Ward 10, Denver, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 123, sheet 3B, family 81, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 116; FHL microfilm 1,374,129.
"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKWB-K5Z : accessed 14 March 2019), Evan Freedheim, Denver Ward 10, Denver, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 123, sheet 3B, family 81, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 116; FHL microfilm 1,374,129.
We Said. Leadville, CO: Herald Democrat. March 21, 1896.
To cite any of the information in this biography, please use the following reference.
AUTHOR: Trevor Mark & Jeffrey P. Grant
EDITOR: William Korn
SOURCE: Jewish Surnames/Freedheim
PUBLISHED BY: Temple Israel Foundation. Leadville, CO; USA. 2019.
STABLE URL: http://www.jewishledville.org/freedheim.html .
