Wolfe Londoner
Born: New York, July 4, 1842
Died: Denver, November 15, 1912

Fannie Anthony Londoner
Born: New York, 1860
Died: Denver, 1932

Fannie Barbara Londoner Corning
Born: Denver, 1880
Died: Yarmouth, Maine, 1932

Herman Londoner
Born: Denver, April 11, 1881
Died: Miami, October 31, 1971

Ruth Londoner
Born: Denver, 1885

Dorothy Londoner
Born: Denver, 1893

Frances C Anthony – Mother in Law
Born: New York, 1828
Died: Denver, June 18, 1916

(There may be an Emma Londoner, relation unknown. She is listed with Wolfe in the 1870 census) [1]

Wolfe Londoner was one of Leadville’s earliest pioneers. According to different census records, Londoner was born in 1842 at New York. [2] Londoner’s parents were of Austrian or German origin. [3] Wolfe had three brothers, Julius, Moses, and Joseph. [4] Wolfe Londoner grew up in New York and moved out west to Colorado in 1860. Along the way in Kansas, Wolf attempted to steal a ride on a government “freighting train” but was promptly thrown off. He completed the rest of the journey on foot, “That walk changed him from a city stripling into a hardy, robust man, and he declares that it was the making of him.” [5]

Both Julius’s and Wolf’s first appearance in Colorado is at Denver in 1860, living at the home of Abraham Hanauer [6] while in the employ of Hanauer, Dold & Co. where Wolfe would move supplies between that city and the mines of California Gulch. [7] Hanauer, Dold & Co. was a Denver based grocery distributor, and both Wolfe and Julius had great impact on their success building the company’s first stone warehouse in Canon City, Colorado and their first California Gulch storefront. [8] Wolfe then settled in California Gulch and operated the firm’s grocery store that catered to the mining community. [9] In fact, the nature of Hanauer, Dold & Co.’s business model was quite similar to the future Londoner & Brother in that it was a large Denver retail and wholesale grocery distributor that supplied mining camps throughout the state. [10] During 1860, Wolfe became the first recorder for the massive, newly formed Lake County which at that time extended from the Leadville area to the Colorado/Utah territorial border. Wolfe would later remark that he grubstaked many miners in the region which on rare occasion paid off, but most of these men he admittedly never heard from again, further noting that “..nothing but my mercantile business has made me money.” [11] It is possible that the Londoners purchased or absorbed this firm in the mid 1860s; the firm passed to Abraham Hanauer and a new partner by the name of Erfort in 1862, with noted mountain community orders of $10,000 per day at that time. [12] Wolfe was then given control of the firm’s location at 15th Street and Arapahoe in Denver. [13] Before the end of that year newspaper advertisements for that firm disappear as mentions of the Londoner enterprise begin to emerge between 1863 and 1865. [14] An article that appeared in the October 27, 1865 edition of the Rocky Mountain News noted that Lake County Recorder Wolfe Londoner had arrived in Denver to retrieve his winter stock of goods for his Oro City (Leadville) operation. [15]

Wolfe Londoner

Source: Olden Times in Colorado by Carlyle Channing Davis

California Gulch was Leadville’s original mining settlement. The allure of the area was gold, but California Gulch never had a gold rush comparable to the silver boom that occurred the late 1870s. It was silver which brought Leadville, the “Silver City,” into existence. Londoner is unique among many of the Leadville pioneer Jews because he was there so early and most of his activity in the area occurred before the founding of the city of Leadville as a result of the Silver Boom. In the early 1860s, Wolfe Londoner was host to the first governor of the territory of Colorado, William Gilpin. “In 1861 or 1862, the election was unusually exciting for a small community, and Governor Gilpin, out of his usual custom, took an active interest in the campaign. One of his appointments was in California gulch, and at the time he presented himself at the store of Wolfe Londoner. Wolfe, though a republican, interested himself in getting up a good meeting for the governor, and sent a messenger up and down the gulch to announce that a meeting would be held at the hotel early in the evening…” [16] Londoner was installed as a delegate for Freemont County to the Colorado territorial legislature on August 5, 1862 [17] which likely gave him access to Governor Gilpin. In addition, Wolf likely had one of the more prosperous businesses in California Gulch for the Governor to have selected his establishment for this event.

The lack of Denver city directories prior to 1873 make following the family from the early 1860s to the late 1870s challenging, however, newspaper articles and census records reveal some information about the movement of Wolfe and Julius Londoner during this period. The earliest mention of the brothers and their grocery store chain by name, Londoner & Bro., comes from the October 9, 1867, edition of the Colorado Transcript newspaper, noting that their first location had recently opened in Denver and was already quite successful. [18]

By 1870, the Londoner grocery store was very well established and popular, the following article appeared in the October 19, 1870 edition of the Colorado Transcript newspaper:

-Among the many large houses doing business in Denver, we are pleased to learn that Londoner & Brother rank among the first. Their sales during the past year have increases rapidly, and to such an extent that they have been obliged to secure outside-warehouses for storage purposes. This is not surprising, as they are known as first-class business men, possessing that enterprise and go-a-head-itive-ness which is so necessary to ensure success. Their sales, always large, are largely increased over that of any other year. Integrity, courtesy and close attention to business always commands the respect and confidence of the people, and no business house in Denver surpasses them in these respects, and none are more worthy of the large and increasing patronage of which they are the recipients. [19]

It does appear, that the Londoner’s business rapidly expanded between 1869 and 1873, having gained regional recognition. Newspaper ads for the Londoner’s Denver store appeared in publications all over Colorado on a regular basis by 1869. A Central City, Colorado, notice in 1871 described that while on a supply run between that camp and Middle Park (modern day Granby, Colorado), Wolfe had lost his Masonic Keystone and was hoping it would be found and returned to him. [20]

This advertisement for Londoner & Brother appeared in the June 16, 1869 edition of the Boulder County Pioneer.

Londoner & Bro. The Boulder County Pioneer. June 16, 1869. Page 1.

Although the community in the California Gulch mining region went by many names in the early days, the area was officially incorporated as the city of Leadville in 1878 after the discovery of promising silver lodes nearby. In March, 1879, Wolfe gave an interview to the Leadville Daily Chronicle expounding his opinion on the future of the city:

[Interviewer]: What is your candid opinion of the camp?”

[Londoner]: It is the greatest one I ever saw. I went over that whole district in 1860, the time of the gold excitement there, but we never dreamed of carbonates then. I don’t think there will be less than a hundred thousand people in there before the next two months. The town is making permanent improvements, such as the introduction of water, gas, and many substantial buildings are taking the places of the cabins and huts. Business men are all doing well, and the one great feature about it is that no man who goes there can withstand the excitement. I think it is the greatest camp in the world. [21]

This right side of a stereoview card, produced by Roberts & Fellows (card #731 in the series) and dating to about 1879 or 1880, shows the view facing west on Main Street, which was later renamed as East 3rd Street. The photo shows Londoner’s store with the sign: “Wolfe Londoner Groceries & Mining Supplies”. The store was located at 214 East 3rd Street.

Londoner’s grocery store, Londoner & Eckles, an operation in partnership with R.A. Eccles, appears in Leadville’s very first city directory during 1879 and was located at the corner of Main Street and Upper Chestnut. [22] The following article from the Leadville Daily Herald describes how the site for the enterprise was chosen and how the Londoner business fared in its early years:

Three years ago, when the principal part of the business of Leadville was done on Chestnut street, the idea of any business being done on Stray Horse road, which was then a mere trail through the woods, was considered ridiculous; but when Wolfe Londoner came up from Leadville he noticed that every evening the miners, in coming to town to make their purchases, took the trail down the gulch to its junction with Harrison avenue. A grocery store must go for business to the place where the customers are, and, recognizing this fact, in the spring of 1879 two lots were purchased on Third street, then Main, and the erection of a substantial log building commenced at once. Many of the logs from which the building was constructed were out on the ground. The building comprised two store rooms and apartments in the second story. Although the location was then considered away out of the center of business, the extra store room and the apartments were rented as soon as the building was erected. One store room was occupied as the store, and a stock of fifty thousand dollars worth of goods was ordered as a starter. The store was opened early in May, and the sales commenced with a rush. It was impossible to open the goods fast enough to satisfy the demand. The store was never full of goods, and although a full stock of goods had been ordered it was nearly three months before everything necessary to satisfy the demands of customers was in stock. Joe Londoner, the resident partner was at work night and day, without a moment’s rest for six months, but at the end of that time he had built up a business second to none in the city. His future progress was equally rapid, and at the commencement of the present year the firm is warranted in claiming the first place in the grocery line of Leadville.

Early last year Wolfe Londoner retired from the firm, another brother, Julius, taking his place. The acquisition was an excellent one. The large experience of Julius and the energy and enterprise of Joe form a combination that insures success. The business of the past year warrants this statement, for notwithstanding all drawbacks it has steadily increased. Very soon after the establishment, was opened it was found necessary to erect a warehouse, and within the first year even this was found insufficient. Now a substantial brick extension covers the rear portion of the lot, making a continuous storeroom one hundred and twenty-feet in length, every part of which is filled with goods. The stock carried by this house averages more than sixty thousand dollars in value and there is not a month in which the sales do not reach from thirty-five to forty-five thousand dollars, the majority of which is cash over the counter. The remarkable success of the firm is typical of Leadville, and is a standing monument to the industry, enterprise and intelligent management of the younger member of the firm, by whom it was in the beginning built up and put in the way to attaining its present position in the lead of the grocery trade of Leadville. Such establishments would be a credit to any city, and there is no one who does not feel a pardonable pride in this model establishment. The sales during the past year have been over six hundred thousand dollars, a single month having reached as high as fifty-five thousand dollars. There is no other example of such wonderful success in the camp. [23]

Wolfe and Fannie Londoner, circa 1900

Find a Grave, Database and Images. Memorial Page for Frances Anthony Londoner (1860–1932). [Find a Grave Memorial no. 13593254]. (Citing Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Denver County, Colorado, USA) ; Maintained by Eric Crow (contributor 46623671) .

This advertisement for Wolfe’s grocery enterprise played on the tumultuous relationship between Leadville pioneers and hostile Ute Indian tribes in the region that degenerated into the Ute Indian War of 1879.

The Utes Must Go. Denver Tribune. Thursday, January 1, 1880. Page 20.

In 1879 Wolfe was married to Fannie Anthony, from New York. [24] The following year the store moved to 214 East 3rd Street. That year his brother, Joseph, worked for Wolfe as a clerk in the grocery store. [25] During this year Wolfe left Leadville and moved to Denver where he opened another branch of the Londoner operation and began to concentrate on an expanded career in politics. [26]

In Denver Wolfe and Fannie had several children: Fannie B., Herman, Ruth, and Dorothy. The 1900 census reveals that Londoner’s mother in law, Frances C. Anthony, also lived with the family. [27] In Denver, Londoner’s political career experienced questionable success. Already serving as the chairman for the Republican State Central Committee, [28] Wolfe announced his aspirations to become the next Governor of Colorado on August 27, 1888:

Snippet article in the Leadville Evening Chronicle about Wolfe Londoner clarifying that he is running for Colorado governor on the Republican ticket.

Wolfe Declares Himself. Leadville Evening Chronicle. Tuesday, August 28, 1888. Page 1.

Wolfe Londoner

Find a Grave, [Database and Images]. Memorial Page for Wolfe Londoner (4 Jul 1842–23 Nov 1912), Find a Grave Memorial no. 11127377, citing Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Denver County, Colorado, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

Though the succession of events is unclear, by election day in November, Wolfe appeared on the ballot as a candidate for Denver’s mayoral race. Wolfe was elected mayor of Denver in 1888, however, immediately after his election there were questions regarding the authenticity of the results. His opponents quickly filed charges and an investigation soon took place. A court subsequently found Londoner guilty of voter fraud and decided he should step down. Londoner refused and promptly appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court. Apparently, Londoner was not initially deterred by this setback and decided to run for governor in 1890, a foray which was ultimately unsuccessful. [29] The Colorado Supreme Court refused his appeal and he was forced to step down as mayor in February of 1891. [30]

After his foray into politics Londoner continued to live in Denver while managing his grocery store. His brothers, Moses and Joseph continued to operate the Leadville branch of the Londoner chain. On November 15, 1912, [31] Wolfe passed away due to an apoplectic stroke. Papers in Leadville mourned his passing as one of the city’s first pioneers. [32] Fannie would follow in 1932 and rests by his side at Denver’s Fairmount Cemetery. [33] Wolfe’s funeral was with the full honors of a public official and on November 29, 1912; his body laid in state at the capitol building in Denver for one hour. [34] Daughter Fannie Corning died at Yarmouth, Maine, the same year. [35] Herman Londoner moved on to Brookline, Massachusetts shortly after 1900, where he met and married Gertrude Pierson on his twenty-first birthday in 1902. [36] He died at Miami, Florida, on Halloween, 1971. [37]

Official studio portrait of Wolfe Londoner, Mayor of Denver, from 1889 to 1891.

Wolfe Londoner, 1889-91. [Image File: ZZR711004976]. (Denver, CO: Denver Public Library Special Collections). 2021.

Julius Londoner
Born: New York City, 1828
Died: Chicago, October 30, 1915

Sophia Fleisher Londoner
Born: Bohemia, 1848
Died: Denver, March 31, 1910

Harry Londoner
Born: Denver, February 3, 1869
Died: San Francisco, March 15, 1940

Rosetta Londoner (Gottberg, 1887-1896, Cohn, 1896-1946)
Born: Denver, 1871
Died: Chicago, June 17, 1946

Nathan J. “Joel” Londoner
Born: Denver, 1874
Died: Denver, May 28, 1911

Charles Fredrick Londoner
Born: Denver, April 23, 1879
Died: August, 1967, Bronx, New York City, New York

George “Georgie”. Londoner
Born: May 26, 1882
Died: Denver, December 11, 1885

Julius Londoner was born in New York City during 1828. [38] He was the son of Herman Londoner from Germany (Herman Londoner, would eventually move to Denver [39] to be with the rest of his family, however, he was not involved in Leadville). [40] Julius was also the brother of Wolfe, Moses, and Joseph Londoner. Julius attended public and private schools in New York City. He had fond memories growing up in 1830s and 40s New York with his brother Wolfe. In the late 1840s the family first began to venture out west, traveling to San Francisco crossing the Panama Isthmus. Julius spent a few years in San Francisco before returning to New York in 1850. He revisited San Francisco in 1854, this time via Nicaragua. After returning east, Julius set out on an arduous journey to Colorado. [41] Both Julius’ and Wolf’s first appearance in Colorado is at Denver in 1860, living at the home of Abraham Hanauer [42] and in the employ of Hanauer, Dold & Co., a grocery distributor that supplied mining communities around the state. [43]

Julius likely arrived in California Gulch during the autumn of 1861 from Canon City, Colorado, where he operated a large satellite store for the Denver firm of Hanauer, Dold & Bro. [44] and served as the local agent for the Daily Colorado Republican and Rocky Mountain Herald newspapers. [45] Julius, as with his brother Wolfe, was one of Leadville’s earliest Jewish pioneers. Julius was industrious and according to Nichelle Stephanie Frank in her 2020 dissertation for the University of Oregon, he was praised in 1862 for having one of the earliest permanent structures in the Leadville area:

...Some reports noted that even as early as 1860, some people were building “good and substantial houses for the purpose of staying here this winter.” By July 31, 1862, there was even a structure nice enough for a newspaper correspondent to praise the establishment’s owner, Julius Londoner and his “attractive wife” for the “neat” Madison House they had built in Oro City at California Gulch. For the correspondent, one of the notable characteristics of the Madison House was not just that it was an established structure, but a “neat” one. In the midst of the muddy roads and structures made of tree boughs, a “neat” structure would have been noticeable indeed and, like the “substantial houses” of 1860, signaled the locals’ desire to create a permanent as well as aesthetically pleasing place to live. Whether or not they were successful is difficult to track, but images from the mid- to late-1870s show a city very much in messy transition with very little “neatness” (Figure 2.1). These structures contributed to a simplified story about the town’s quick shift from the early days of bough and rough-hewn log structures to wood-frame structures with cleaner lines and stylish elements. [46]

Julius is shown to have been appointed the United States Postmaster for Oro City (Leadville) on September 25, 1863, [47] and has a property tax assessment recorded in Lake County during 1866. [48] He then moved briefly to Nevada where he lived until 1867. Afterwards he returned to Colorado. [49] The 1870 United States census record reveals that Julius was married to Sophia Fleisher from Bohemia (date unknown), they had their first child in Denver, Harry, in 1869. [50] Daughter Rose would be welcomed into the family there in 1871. Records indicate that Julius was in Denver prior to 1861, Canon City, Colorado, from late 1861 until summer of 1862, and Leadville from 1862 until late 1866. After 1867, he returned to Denver. The absence of a Denver City Directory prior to 1873 leaves a bit of mystery about his life during this period, but records indicate the birth of children at Denver in 1869 and 1871 and both Julius and Wolfe appear in the 1873 Denver city directory partnered in the Londoner & Bro. grocery store at 148 F Street between Blake and Wazee Streets, the current location of the Coors Field baseball park, while maintaining separate Denver residences. [51] Son Charles Fredrick Londoner was born to the couple at Denver on April 23, 1879. For unknown reasons, Charles often lived in the care of other families, [52] but was definitely in Leadville under his parents’ care when the following incident was reported in the Leadville Daily Herald on February 26, 1882:

A four-year-old child of Julius Londoner, while playing on a back roof over the store on East third street, yesterday afternoon missed his footing and fell to the ground. The injuries sustained are not considered dangerous, although the little sufferer’s head was badly cut and swollen. [53]

Julius appears in the 1881 and 1882 Leadville city directories. In 1881, he is listed working with his brother Joseph, at 214 E. 3rd Street. [54] The name of their store was Londoner Bro., specializing in wholesale and retail grocery distribution. In 1882, Julius worked with his other brother, Moses, at the same address. [55] Son Georgie was born to the couple in Denver, on May 26, 1882. [56] His life cut short, he passed at the age of three years old at Denver on December 11, 1885. [57] Julius no longer appears in Leadville directories after these dates, but he does materialize in several newspaper articles over the following years. In 1883, it is revealed that the “…firm of Londoner & Bro.” was dissolved. [58]

Julius Londoner was fairly involved in Leadville society. He appears in articles attending parties and improving the town. During November, 1880, Julius was on a town committee to improve the neighborhood around his grocery store. [59] During January, 1883, Julius and Sophie attended a New Year’s Party at the home [60] of Sam Mayer. [61] Other prominent Leadville Jewish families such as the Monheimers, [62] Schlosses, [63] Kahns, [64] Baers, [65] Cohns, [66] and Loebs [67] were in attendance. Julius also attended the celebratory dinner dedicated to the conclusion of the Palace of Fashion [68] trial in March, 1883. [69] Julius removed to Denver in 1883 and remained in the employ of Wolfe [70] until 1889 when he partnered with son-in-law Julius Gottberg, who married Julius’ daughter, Rosetta, on August 3rd 1887, [71] in their own grocery concern, Londoner & Gottberg, located at 1001 and 1003 15th Street. [72] Julius remained in Denver where he continued to pursue his business interests for the next two decades. [73]

Harry Londoner, son of Julius, came to Leadville in 1885 to work as a clerk for his uncle, Moses, at his Londoner & Co. grocery store at 214 East 3rd Street, where he also would reside. [74] He likely remained with the enterprise through 1886. He reemerged in Denver in 1887 [75] and is found managing Julius’ store there by 1890. [76]

Rose Londoner likely divorced from Julius Gottberg prior to 1896 and Rose remarried to Harry Cohn on August 2, 1896 at Milwaukee. [77] Soon after the couple moved the 100 miles south to Chicago. Rose and Julius had one child, Fannie Gottberg Porges (1889-1974). Julius would die from his own hand; a gunshot wound to the heart at Pocatello, Idaho on January 1, 1933. [78] During 1910, at the age of 80, Julius finally retired from business in Denver and decided to go and live with his daughter Rose in Chicago. [79] The Herald Democrat, interviewed Julius on this occasion where he offered a colorful depiction of his experiences in the West:

After fifty years of residence in Colorado Julius Londoner, brother of Wolfe Londoner and the first postmaster of California Gulch in the days before Leadville was “struck,” is about to retire from active life and will make his future home with a married daughter [Rose Cohn] in Chicago.

Mr. Londoner is nearly 80 years of age. He was born in New York City, November 17, 1830. Mr. Londoner’s memory of old New York is really wonderful. “We lived near the Mechanics’ school,” said he, while reminiscing, just previous to his departure, “Wolfe and I attended the school but before that we [went] to public school No. 1, on William street, near Duane, the first public school established in New York city.”

This was the starter of Mr. Londoner’s long and interesting and yet most modest account of himself, his life and the often thrilling vicissitudes of his long career. In brief, he told of having learned the mercantile business, of his having started for California with his father and brother in 1850, of the ocean voyage to Chagres, on the Isthmus of Panama which is where Colón now is, of his walk across the isthmus, of his arrival, of his stay in the Golden Gate city until his return to New York, his second trip to California by way of Nicaragua. Then his vivid description of the cleaning out of the San Francisco thugs and grafters by the vigilance committee, his return to New York and later return west, this time to St. Louis.

He then related his first experience in Colorado, which he reached in stage coach in 1860, his life in California gulch, where he was the first postmaster, under appointment of Abraham Lincoln, of his residence in Nevada, where he became acquainted with a rising young reporter on the Virginia City Chronicle, by name, Mark Twain, and at length of his coming back to Denver and entering into business in partnership with his other at the old store, Fifteenth and Wake streets. This was in 1867 and Mr. Londoner has continued to reside here practically ever since.

During their career in California Gulch the Londoner brothers were engaged in the mercantile business and were among the best known residents of the community. Those were the days of placer operations in the gulch and all that between the present day Leadville and Oro was occupied by a turbulent mass of humanity.

The Londoners continued in business here until the boom burst. They retired from the local field with an ample fortune between them. Since they have been in business in Denver they have continued on their successful career.

Wolfe Londoner occasionally visits Leadville. He was here at the time of the Seventy – Niners’ – reunion last year. Julius, however, has not been here for many years. [80]

Julius had a long and eventful history in the West. He experienced a great deal of change in society during his life, witnessing the change from California Gulch to bustling Leadville and the growth of metropolitan Denver. Sophie died at Denver of unknown causes on March 31, 1910. [81] Five years after retiring and moving to Chicago, Julius passed away in 1915 after a long life. [82] His son, Charles Londoner, transported the body back to Denver [83] where he is now buried in Congregation Emanuel Cemetery. [84] Charles would eventually move on to Brooklyn, New York, sometime after 1915. There he married Gertrude Perry on January 4, 1918. [85] The couple had two sons, Julius in 1924, and Seymore in 1925. [86] Charles registered for selection in the World War I and World War II drafts, although it is unclear if he deployed in either conflict. His age of 39 when he registered in 1918, [87] and 63 in 1942, [88] gave him very low priority numbers. Joel (Nathan) Londoner moved on to Butte, Montana, where he studied medicine at Montana State University and became a surgeon. He was killed there in an automobile accident on May 28, 1911, and now rests beside his parents in Denver. [89] Harry Londoner died of unknown causes at San Francisco in 1940. [90] Rose Londoner Cohn died of unknown causes while still operating the family grocery business at Chicago on June 17, 1946. [91] Charles Londoner died of unknown causes at the Bronx, New York in August of 1967. [92]

Moses Londoner
Born: New York, 1848
Died: Denver, December 21, 1906

Rebeccah Keller Londoner
Born: Pennsylvania, 1852
Died: Denver, 1912.

Amy/Annie Londoner
Born: Missouri, 1875
Died: Denver, 1951

Blanche Londoner (Cruse)
Born: 1878
Died:

Moses Londoner was born in New York in 1848. He was the brother of Wolfe, Julius, and Joseph. Prior to moving out west in the 1870s, [93] Moses met and married Rebeccah Keller at Lafeyette, Missouri, on July 22, 1873. [94] Rebeccah was born in 1852, [95] her parents were immigrants from Germany. During the 1870s, the Londoners welcomed two daughters while in Missouri: Amy/Anne in 1875 and Blanche in 1878. [96]

Moses and his family moved to Leadville in 1879. [97] From 1880 to 1881, [98] Moses partnered with Richard Eckles at Londoner & Eckles, a wholesale and grocery store owned by his brother Wolfe and Richard Eckles. In 1882, Moses began working with Julius at Londoner & Bro.., another of the family’s grocery concerns. [99] During 1883 and 1884, Moses ran his own grocery store at 214 – 216 East 3rd Street. [100] In 1885, Moses is listed in the city directory under two business partnerships; Londoner & Kern (grain, flour, and wholesale), in addition to Londoner & M J Walsh (grocers). The same year, Harry Londoner is listed as one of Moses’ clerks. Harry likely remained with the store for little more than a year and resurfaced in Denver during 1887. [101] From 1886 to 1892 Moses continued his partnership with M J Walsh at 214 – 216 East 3rd Street. [102]

This image from the Carbonate Weekly Chronicle shows the Londoner & Eckles Groceries & Liquors store located on Oak Street, originally named Upper Chestnut Street. This business was owned by Moses Londoner, Wolfe Londoner, and Richard A. Eckles.

Carbonate Weekly Chronicle. Saturday, January 3, 1880. Page 9.

In addition to his business activities, Moses was involved in Leadville’s social sector. In 1882, Moses attended the Williamson–O’Brian wedding at the St. George Episcopal Church (across the street from where the Temple Israel Synagogue was built in 1884). Moses’ daughter, Amy, was one of the ushers, and Moses gifted a walnut writing desk to the newlyweds. [103] In 1886, Moses was the secretary of the Argenta Reading Club. [104]

The following article appeared in the April 23, 1888, edition of the Leadville Daily Evening Chronicle:

Upset By A Runaway.

On Sunday afternoon about 5 o’clock, while Mr. M. Londoner was driving along Spruce street, with his wife, the horse attached to their buggy took fright at what some say was a bicycle rider and others declare was a passing hand car on the Midland road. With a sudden spring the animal turned abruptly into Third street, upsetting the vehicle and throwing the occupants out. In falling Mr. Londoner struck the ground first, and then his wife who fell upon him. The spectators who were present hurried to their assistance, but before reaching the place both victims of the accident had arisen. They repaired to the house of Dr. Heron near by, when it was found that beyond a few scratched on the face, Mrs. Londoner had sustained no serious injury, and her husband escaped with some slight scratches and bruises about the limbs.

The horse, after running a few feet, dashed into a pile of logs that were lying near the store-house of C. Boethcher, on Third street near the Colorado Midland tracks, and was captured without having sustained any serious injury, but the vehicle was so badly twisted and broken that considerable repairing will have to be done to place it in order again. [105]

This advertisement for Londoner & Eckles was in the Leadville Daily Herald, November 2, 1880.

Londoner & Eckles. Carbonate Chronicle. Tuesday, November 2, 1880. Page 1.

During February of 1888, the Londoner’s held a farewell party for their daughter Amy, who was heading off to art school in Los Angeles. [106] Moses’ youngest daughter, Blanche, married Andrew Cruse at Denver on June 26, 1900. [107] Shortly thereafter the couple moved on to Los Angeles to support Amy in her studies. [108] During 1893, Moses served on the planning committee for Leadville’s Fourth of July celebration. [109]

In 1893 the silver market crashed as a result of the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. [110] Subsequently, according to secondary sources, Moses soon after suffered a financial and mental breakdown from which he never fully recovered. [111] He briefly moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a commissioned broker while living with Amy and Blanche and then returned to Denver where he appeared in the 1900 census with his family. [112] On August 3, 1899, the following article appeared in the Los Angeles Herald:

VALUABLE CERTIFICATES

Mrs. Londoner Obtains $18,000 in the Hands of Her Husband's Guardian

Mrs. Rebecca Londoner commenced suit yesterday against her husband, Moses who was recently declared incompetent, and against Joseph F. Londoner, his brother, who was appointed guardian of his estate, at her request, to have two certificates of deposit of $18,000 upon the Denver National bank, made payable to Moses Londoner, declared her own property, and for an order of the superior court directing the guardian to turn the certificates over to her.

Moses Londoner, who is a member of the firm of Bartell & Co., commission merchants of this city, became insane while residing with his family at the Rosslyn, and was committed by Judge Trask to the care and custody of his daughter Amy, on July 13th, after having been examined by the lunacy commission composed of Drs. Ainsworth and Wills.

Mr. Londoner's principal delusions consist of believing himself a millionaire with ten million pounds sterling in the Bank of Kingland. He lately acquired the habit of purchasing costly objects that were of no particular use or benefit to him, for which he paid with checks on a local bank. He signed promissory notes without due consideration being received by him and gave valuable articles away to perfect strangers. Among one of his useless purchases was a $1500 diamond necklace. The physicians who examined his condition ascribed his mental aberration to business reverses from which he suffered in 1893, to excessive smoking and to insomnia. Londoner was aware that his mind was not in good reasoning order, and admitted it to the board of medical examiners, yet he insisted that he had a life insurance for £5,000,000 in favor of his wife and daughters. Guardian Joseph E. Londoner waived service of summons and made answer to Mrs. Rebecca Londoner's complaint yesterday, alleging that he had found the certificates of deposit in Moses' safety deposit box at the Los Angeles National bank last Monday. They were endorsed by his brother, but the guardian believed Moses was insane when he wrote his name on the back of them. He asked the superior court to determine the merits of the case and was willing to abide by its decision. Judge Allen rendered judgment during the day that the title in the certificates was vested in plaintiff and they were restored to her. [113]

Moses passed away on December 21, 1906, [114] while living in Denver. [115] His obituary noted that he suffered from an “…illness for nine years.” [116] Rebecca followed in 1912. [117] Moses was originally laid to rest in Denver’s Hebrew cemetery at Capital Hill but was later moved to Congregation Emmanuel Cemetery and now rests by her side. [118] Amy Londoner never married and passed in 1951, she is interred alongside her parents. [119]

Joseph Londoner
Born: New York City, September 25, 1854
Died: New York City, November, 1955

Joseph Londoner was born in New York City on September 25, 1854 [120] and was a brother of Wolfe, Julius, and Moses. [121] Joe is shown living with Moses and the Londoner parents in St. Louis during 1860. [122] He first arrived in Colorado during 1875, working as a clerk in Denver for Londoner & Brother while living with Wolfe at 209 15th Street. [123]

Joe first appears in Leadville during 1880, working for his brother Wolfe at Wolfe Londoner & Bros., a grocery store located at 214 East 3rd Street while residing at 2nd Street and Harrison Avenue. [124] In 1881, Joseph continued to work for Londoner Bros.; he and Julius took over the business when Wolfe moved away. [125] The following year Joe started his own grocery, J.E. Londoner & Co., at 401 Harrison avenue at the corner of 4th Street where he was partnered with D. J. Swinney. [126] Joe operated his grocery business alone from 1883 to 1884 before disappearing from the city directories. [127]

In Leadville, Joe frequently appeared in the city newspapers for various events. The first of which was his arrival to Leadville in May, 1879, “…The youngest and handsomest of the illustrious house of Londoner, … Joe, came in on last night’s coach, and is already imbued with the genuine Leadville enthusiasm. He will soon open one of the largest grocery houses in the West, here. Joe is a ‘daisy,’ and will soon rank among our most popular merchants.” [128] In addition to his business prowess, Joe was an avid billiard player. He appears in a few articles in connections with the game. The Carbonate Chronicle newspaper reported on one of Joe’s billiard adventures in a match with Sam Maltby in August, 1883:

…Since the amateur contests between Schaefer and Sexton closed, no event in sporting circles has created such intense interest as the friendly match between Joe Londoner and Sam Maltby, which took place at the Clarendon last evening. In accordance with custom, the principals, at 8 p. m. shook hands and took a drink. Sam Leonard acted as referee, and Sam Chapin as marker. The science displayed by the contestants in chalking their cues challenged the administration of the spectators, and elicited several invitations to drink, all of which were accepted.

The bar-keeper announced that the tables would be charged for whether used or not; so the game was called promptly, interrupted only by short stops at water stations… [129]

Joe may have indulged too much in billiards and in September, 1883, he swore off the game for good. [130] Unfortunately, Joe experienced a calamity later that year in November when his store burnt down. Prior to the fire, Joe had restocked his store for the holidays, “[estimating] his entire stock as being worth $12,500, while his total insurance to only $7,500.” [131] The fire may have been the reason his address moved to 130 West 8th Street in 1884. [132] After the fire, Joe remained in Leadville one more year.

Joe returned to Denver in 1890 to manage Wolfe’s grocery concern. His address is listed as “33 Londoner Block” [133] suggesting that at least one of the brothers owned this building. Joe remained at this position until at least 1899. Joe frequently missed enumeration as an adult in United States Census counts, however, his 1904 passport application at Chicago lists a wife, Flora, and daughter, Ruth. [134] This is somewhat curious as his next census appearance is in 1930 at Chicago, where he is not living with family and purports to be “single”, not widowed or divorced. [135]

This photo possibly by J. Friedman & Company is of the Londoner Brothers grocery store located on East 3rd Street. The small sign shows “Londoner Bros. Groceries & Mining Supplies”. Dated as 1888, Joseph Londoner would have then managed the store. (Note the circular broom holder on the boardwalk.)

J. Friedman & Co. Londoner Brothers, Leadville. [88.291.1]. Denver, CO: Photoswest: Western History Imaging Project, Denver Public Library. 1997.

Interior view of Wolfe Londoner’s Grocery Store located at 16th Street and Arapahoe Street in Denver, Colorado. (Note a similar circular broom holder as with the Leadville storefront.)

Interior, Wolfe Londoner’s store. [Image File: ZZR710018887]. (Denver, CO: Denver Public Library Special Collections). 2021.

The exterior of the Londoner Block building as it appeared in 1967, located in Denver on Arapahoe Street between 16th and 17th Streets.

Myron Tanenbaum. Londoner Building. [Image File: ZZR710024878]. (Denver, CO: Denver Public Library Special Collections). 2020.

A gravesite for Joe cannot be located, however, he surfaced in Queens, New York City in 1955 the age of 103 (101 according to his 1904 U.S. Passport application):

103-Year-Old Flushing Man In Hospital

A man reported to be 103 years old was in Queens General Hospital today in critical condition.

He is Joseph Londoner, who lives with friends, Mr and Mrs Eugene Engelman at 144-04 37th Ave Flushing.

Ill in bed for the last week, he was taken yesterday to the hospital. Police reports listed the case as “emaciation.”

Mrs Engelman said Londoner would admit only to being 86 years old and was very “vain” about his age. But her husband, a friend for many years, knew him to be 103, she said.

She said she knew little about the elderly man’s background, except that “he came from out West,” was at one time “a very wealthy man” and was wiped out in the stock market crash of 1929. She said he came from Chicago to live with them after the crash.

A hospital spokesman said Londoner “had not been eating well recently” and was suffering from emaciation. His age was also listed on hospital records as 103. [136]

Joseph appears to have passed a few days later.