David Frey (Fry)
Born: April 13, 1829 (Duchy of Hesse)
Died: March 6, 1901
Married to: Rosa Frey (1860)
In Leadville: 1879- 1883

Rosa Frey (née Rosenthal)
Born: July 7, 1841 (Kingdom of Württemberg)
Died: February 13, 1929
Married to: David Frey (1860)
In Leadville: 1879- 1883

Amelia (Millie) Frey [1]
Born: June 1862 (Canada)
Died: May 1937
Married to: Leopold Lindauer (Leadville, 1880)
In Leadville: 1879- 1881

Julius Frey
Born: October 19, 1862 (Washington D.C.)
Died: May 14, 1910
Married to: Mattie Frey
In Leadville: 1879- 1883

The Freys were a German-Jewish family who lived in Leadville during the frenetic early years of the city’s birth. Census records reveal that daughter Amelia was born in Canada and son Julius was born in Washington D.C. during the early 1860s. Rosa was born in Wurtemberg and David in Hesse. According to the 1900 census, David and Rosa immigrated to the United States in 1846 and 1856 respectively. Further details of their early movements or the time frame between the birth of their children and their arrival in Leadville are unavailable due to commonness, misspellings, and multiple untraceable variants of the name Frey, Fry and Frye.

David Frey first appeared in Leadville during May of 1879 as the manager of the “New Opera House” on Chestnut Street. [2] In an advertisement for a Masquerade Ball on May 7th, at the Opera House on Chestnut street, David’s name is spelled “Frey”. However, this spelling is not consistent with his entry as the manager of the opera house in the 1879 city directory, in which he was listed with the family name “Fry”. The inconsistency can also be confirmed from several entries in the 1879 Leadville City directory which list him as “D. Fry”, Manager of an Opera House which was alternatively referred to as the “Shoenberg Opera House”, “Fry & Co.” and crucially to confirming his identity, the above referred “New Opera House”, located at 8 Chestnut. [3] Like many addresses listed in the 1879 City directory, the location of this building is difficult to determine due to an apparent re-numbering event which took place the following year; two-digit building numbers on the first block of major Leadville streets in 1879 were changed to three-digit numbers in 1880. This building was the location for several early Jewish events in the city. [4]

By early 1880, the Opera House was no longer in use for unknown reasons. A short article in mid-January of that year revealed that the building was purchased by Lake County for $7,000 but the deed had not been signed by “Mrs. Frey”. The referenced lady was Rosa Frey, David’s wife and co-owner of the Opera House with “Shoenberg and Robinson”. A reporter from the Leadville Democrat pointed out that the title to the building could have been imperfect without Mrs. Frey’s signature. The importance of this evidence to this study lies in the fact that it clarifies the ownership of the building and business alternatively referred to as “Fry & Co.”, “Shoenberg Opera House” and “New Opera House”. In reality, the businesses were the same- a difficult fact to distinguish in the 1879 Leadville directory and later newspaper articles. On November 15, 1879, the Freys celebrated the birthday of their daughter Millie (Amelia). In this notice they were erroneously given the surname “Fry”. Curiously, the birthday listed on Millie’s grave maker was “June 1862”, while the celebration was reported to be in mid-November; the reason for this difference in birthdays is unknown. Members of many of Leadville’s other prominent Jewish families attended, including those of Samuels, Kamak, Shoenberg, Herman, and Lindauer. Interestingly, this birthday notice appeared adjacent to a notice for the opening events of Tabor’s new Opera House on Harrison Avenue. [5]

By January 1880, the Freys had given up their interest in the Opera House on Chestnut Street. Later in the year they were listed in the city directory with a residence and grocery/saloon business several blocks away on the 300 block of West Chestnut. [6] In the 1880 United States census, the family were listed as residents of 331 Chestnut Street. The family included David, 46 years old, Rosa, 38, daughter Amelia, 19, and son Julius, 17. In addition, the household included Bertha Rosenthal of the larger Rosenthal [7] family- member of another German-Jewish family who made early Leadville their home- and a young man named Simon Zacharias. Bertha and Simon were identified as “sister-in-law” and “clerk” respectively, in reference to their relationship with David. [8] In April of 1880, Leopold Lindauer and Millie were married in Leadville according to a short notice in the American Israelite. Further evidence of this date for the marriage was not found by this researcher in contemporary Leadville newspapers. Documentation by Temple Israel Foundation for the Lindauer family found the date of their marriage almost one year later in March of 1881 and cited county marriage documents as the source. The couple later relocated to Gunnison. In November of 1880, David was listed as an attendee of the second annual ball given by Lodge 322 of B’nai B’rith as was Millie- listed as “Miss Millie Frey”- which suggests that she was not married to Leopold in March that year and instead was married in 1881. David was not listed as an attendee of the previous year’s inaugural B’nai B’rith event despite the evidence he was a Leadville resident at the time. In December, Rose sold “all interest” in the St. Mary lode for $1,000 to Simon Zacharias, the previously mentioned clerk who lived with the family at 331 Chestnut in 1880.

Sales advertisement of butter and other foodstuff by R. Frey.

Leadville Democrat. January 28, 1881. Page 2.

The Frey grocery/saloon was located at the corner of Leiter and West Chestnut Street in 1880. By 1883 when this Sanborn Fire insurance map was made, the store was identified as vacant, consistent with lack of advertisements in local newspapers after 1882.

Sanborn Fire insurance map, 1883

Beginning in late January of 1881, Rose began to run newspaper advertisements for the store at 333 Chestnut. [14] David was apparently not involved with the store; his profession in the directory that year was listed as “mining”. This fact was reinforced by his business transactions later that year. [15] Rose was listed separately from David in the 1881 directory as a grocer with 333 Chestnut listed as the address. In March of 1881, under the subheading “Leadville’s Leading Business Houses,” Rosa was listed under grocers and with the address 331 and 333 Chestnut. [16] That same month David was reported to be a member of a Democratic party committee for the 1st Ward in a local convention. [17] The following month, David was listed as one of 4 incorporators of the Sundown Mining consolidation company worth $500,000 in stock. [18] Later in 1881, advertisements for the store faded away while several lawsuits and court cases were reported with David as a participant. In September he was involved in a dispute with “Humphreys” which was dismissed on payment of costs; details of the case were not published. [19] In November, he was involved in another unknown dispute with Phoebe D. Flagg. [20] The Flagg case was continued in both January 1882 and July 1882 and details were not reported. [21] In 1882, Rosa was not listed separately in the city directory and David appeared again as a resident of 333 Chestnut; his profession was not listed however. [22] Aside from the directory listing and the two references to the Flagg vs. Frey case in court, the family did not appear in advertising columns or otherwise in local newspapers.

In early 1883, David and Rosa were listed as attendees of a “Hebrew Ladies Ball” at Germania Hall. [23] This hall was the German society hall also known as the West Turnverein, and later Knights of Labor Hall, which existed at the corner of 4th and Pine Streets across from Temple Israel and it functioned as a center of social actives of both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations. [24] The same day, David was listed as a Trustee of the Hebrew Benevolent Association which was the male equivalent of the ladies society of the same name. [25]

The above mentioned court case involving Phebe Flagg again returned to county court columns in early 1883; this time it was “Called peremptorily; no appearance and dismissed by the court for want of prosecution.” [26]

In March, an interesting note on the interests of David appeared in social columns. On March 10, the “Harmonie” society- a German singing club- met at his house at 333 Chestnut to sing and discuss business. The club decided to conduct a “Kraenzshen” at the Germania Hall later that month; probably a ceremony or festival which involved a wreath or “kränzchen”. [27] At the Harmonie event, fellow German Jews from the families of Hauser, Rosendorf, Mooney, and Bernhiemer were present; Irving Hauser sung a solo about Swiss folk-hero William Tell. [28] One week following the Harmonie event, Rosa was listed as part of the arrangements committee for that year’s Purim Ball. [29] Despite the active social life during 1883, the Freys decided to leave Leadville at the end of the year. On December 23, a social column explained, “Mr. and Mrs. R. Frey expect to leave next week for San Francisco, where they will reside permanently.” [30] David and Rosa spent the remainder of their lives in the Bay area. In 1900, David and Rosa were enumerated in the United States census as residents of Santa Clara, California; aged 71 and 58 respectively. Curiously, the census taker listed their name as “Fry,” but ages and place of origin are consistent with the subjects of this study. [31] David passed away one year after the census was taken in 1901 and Rosa passed away 1929. David and Rosa, as well as Millie and Julius, are buried together with their spouses at the Home of Peace Cemetery and Emanu-El Mausoleum in San Mateo County. [32]