William Klopman
Occupation: Mine stockholder
Born: 22 June 1852
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana
Died: 14 August 1915
Mrs. William Klopman
Occupation:
Born:
Birthplace:
Died:
Leon Klopman
Occupation: Cotton and produce broker, mine and railroad stockholder
Born: 1846
Birthplace: Louisiana
Died: 22 April 1892
Leon and William Klopman were prominent stockholders who lived in Leadville from 1879 or 1880 to 1885. Despite only residing in town for a short time they obtained a significant amount of stock in Leadville mines.
The Klopman brothers were born to Leopold and Caroline Klopman in Louisiana. [1] Their parents were both immigrants: their father hailing from France and their mother from Germany. [2] They had three sisters and one brother; however, their siblings seemingly did not live in Leadville at any point, deciding instead to remain in Louisiana. [3] Leon was born sometime in 1846 and William was born on June 22, 1852. [4] Leon married a woman named Harriet, though it is unknown whether he did so before, during, or after his time in Leadville. [5] William married sometime prior to or during his residence in Leadville as evidenced by a notice in a Leadville newspaper regarding unclaimed mail for a “Klopman Mrs Wm 2” at a Leadville post office. [6]
It is unclear whether the brothers arrived in Leadville together or separately. Leon was first listed in the 1880 city directory as working for Harlan, Chapman & Co. and living at 216 Harrison Avenue. [7] William was listed in the 1881 city directory working as a mine broker at Texas House. [8] Newspaper notices and articles indicate, however, that they both arrived in Leadville by late 1879 or early 1880. [9]
Leon and William began to make their mark on Leadville soon after arriving with notices in local newspapers showing them purchasing shares in the Silver Star, Uncle Sam, Soda Card, Ella Divine, and Knickerbocker lodes over the course of 1880. [10] The purpose of the lodes, as was the case with most in Leadville at the time, was silver mining. [11] In the same year William also began participating in Leadville’s Jewish social scene. He joined the Standard Club which had high Jewish membership and attended a ball hosted by the local B’nai B’rith chapter at Turner Hall in November. [12]
Little of note happened to the Klopmans in Leadville over the following years leading up to their departure. William continued to obtain mine shares including an even greater portion of the Uncle Sam lode as well as acquiring shares of the Harland lode. [13] By 1882 Leon had opened a “cotton and stock” business in New York City. [14] William moved to New York City sometime before June 1884, though the 1885 city directory listed him as having a residence at 124 West 3rd Street. [15]
Leon and William remained in New York and New Jersey for the rest of their lives. Leon passed away on April 22, 1892 and was buried at the Jewish Mount Neboh Cemetery in New York. [16] William passed away on August 14, 1915 and was buried at the non-denominational Woodlawn Cemetery in New York. [17]
Advertisement for brokering cotton and produce represented by Leon Klopman.
Leadville Daily Herald. March 12, 1882. Page 4.
1 “Leopold Klopman,” Find a Grave, Hebrew Rest Cemetery id. 135489604 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135489604/leopold-klopman; “Caroline Beer Klopman,” Find a Grave, Hebrew Rest Cemetery id. 1354489649 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135489649/caroline-klopman.
2 “Leopold Klopman,” Find a Grave, Hebrew Rest Cemetery id. 135489604 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135489604/leopold-klopman; “Caroline Beer Klopman,” Find a Grave, Hebrew Rest Cemetery id. 1354489649 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135489649/caroline-klopman.
3 “Susanne Klopman Sterne,” Find a Grave, Hebrew Rest Cemetery id. 141344042 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141344042/susanne-sterne; “Pierre Klopman,” Find a Grave, Hebrew Rest Cemetery id. 135489686 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135489686/pierre-klopman; “Harriet Klopman Haas,” Find a Grave, Metairie Cemetery id. 134102083 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134102083/harriet-haas; “Julia M. Klopman Lebermuth,” Find a Grave, Metairie Cemetery id. 123052369 (New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123052369/julia-m_-lebermuth.
4 “Leon Klopman,” Find a Grave, Mount Neboh Cemetery id. 131731767 (Glendale, New York) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131731767/leon-klopman; “William Klopman,” Find a Grave, Woodlawn Cemetery id. 144749158 (Bronx, New York) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144749158/william-klopman; "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFDJ-HLW) Willie Kleppman in entry for Daniel Sayer, 1880; citing enumeration district ED 75, sheet 356A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d), roll 0091; FHL microfilm 1,254,091.
5 “Harriet Klopman,” Find a Grave, Mount Neboh Cemetery id. 155264904 (Glendale, New York) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155264904/harriet-klopman.
6 “List of Unclaimed Letters…,” Carbonate Chronicle (Leadville, CO) October 11, 1884: 5.
7 John H. Ballenger, Thomas B. Corbett, and W. C. Hoye, Corbett, Hoye & Co.’s First Annual Leadville City Directory of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, Etc. in the City of Leadville for 1880 (Leadville: Democrat Printing Company, 1880): pp. 218.
8 Thomas B. Corbett and John H. Ballenger, Corbett & Ballenger’s Second Annual Leadville City Directory Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, Etc. in the City of Leadville for 1881 (Leadville: Corbett & Ballenger, Publishers, 1881): pp. 181.
9 “The Mines,” Leadville Weekly Herald (Leadville, CO) January 17, 1880: 4; “The Mines,” Leadville Weekly Herald (Leadville, CO) April 24, 1880: 3.
10 “The Mines,” Leadville Weekly Herald (Leadville, CO) January 17, 1880: 4; “The Mines,” Leadville Weekly Herald (Leadville, CO) April 24, 1880: 3; “The Mines,” Leadville Weekly Herald (Leadville, CO) November 20, 1880: 1; “The Mines,” Leadville Daily Herald (Leadville, CO) December 2, 1880: 4.
11 “Mines and Mining,” Leadville Democrat (Leadville, CO) June 10, 1881: 6.
12 “The Social Circle,” Leadville Daily Herald (Leadville, CO) October 24, 1880: 4; “Social,” Leadville Daily Herald (Leadville, CO) November 14, 1880: 4.
13 “The Mines,” Leadville Weekly Herald (Leadville, CO) December 18, 1880: 3; “Mining Transfers,” Leadville Weekly Democrat (Leadville, CO) June 11, 1881: 3.
14 “Leadville Laconics,” Leadville Daily Herald (Leadville, CO) April 15, 1882: 4.
15 “Personalities,” Leadville Daily Herald (Leadville, CO) June 26, 1884: 4; Thomas B. Corbett and John H. Ballenger, Corbett & Ballenger’s Sixth Annual Leadville City Directory Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, Etc. in the City of Leadville for 1885 (Leadville: Corbett & Ballenger, Publishers, 1885): pp. 154.
16 “Leon Klopman,” Find a Grave, Mount Neboh Cemetery id. 131731767 (Glendale, New York) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131731767/leon-klopman.
17 “William Klopman,” Find a Grave, Woodlawn Cemetery id. 144749158 (Bronx, New York) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144749158/william-klopman.
Bibliography
Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Search criteria, “Klopman.” https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/ (accessed July 7, 2019).
Corbett, Thomas B. and W.C. Hoye, John H. Ballenger. Corbett, Hoye & Co.’s First Annual City Directory of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, Etc. in the City of Leadville for 1880. Democrat Printing Company, 1880. Via Lake County Public Library.
Corbett, Thomas B. and John H. Ballenger. Corbett & Ballenger’s Second Annual Leadville City Directory Containing a Complete List of the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business, Business Firms, Etc. in the City of Leadville for 1881. Leadville: Corbett & Ballenger, Publishers. Via Lake County Public Library.
Find a Grave. Accessed July 7, 2019. https://www.findagrave.com/.
United States Census, 1880. Via FamilySearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/.
To cite any of the information in this biography, please use the following reference.
AUTHOR: Quinn Whittington
EDITOR: William Korn
SOURCE: Jewish Surnames/Klopman
PUBLISHED BY: Temple Israel Foundation. Leadville, CO; USA. 2019
STABLE URL: http://www.jewishleadville.org/klopman.html
