Julius Muller [1]
Born: March 20, 1875 (Germany)
Died: Unknown
Married to: Rose (Dreyer) Muller
In Leadville: 1897- 1916

Rose (sometimes Rosa) (Dreyer) Muller [2]
Born: 1878 (New Jersey)
Died: Unknown
Married to: Julius Muller
In Leadville: 1899-1916

Mildred Muller
Born: September 15, 1905 (Leadville)
Died: Unknown
Married to: Unknown
In Leadville: 1905- 1916

Julius Muller was first documented as a resident of Leadville in the 1898 city directory. [3] Based on data from the 1900 United States census, Julius was about 23 years old when he arrived in the Carbonate City. The years before his arrival in Leadville are not well documented. Census records reveal he arrived in the United States from Germany during 1889 at the age of 14. His 1941 social security application reveals he was born in “Altonkunstad, Federal Republic of Germany”. Due to the commonness of his family name, and the absence of the 1890 United States census, his exact whereabouts in the United States are unknown before his arrival in Leadville.

The year he arrived in Leadville, Julius was hired as a clerk at a men’s clothing store located at 420 Harrison Avenue, operated by fellow Jewish merchant Henry Angerman. [4] In October of 1898, Julius was naturalized as a United States citizen in Leadville and Henry [5] acted as his witness. [6] Julius was likely related to Henry; his Social Security application from 1941 lists his mother’s name as Lois Angerman. [7] In 1898, he lived at 208 West 7th Street.

During 1899, Julius changed his residence and employment. He became a clerk for another Jewish clothing business operated by the Freedhiem Brothers [8] at 321 Harrison Avenue. That year, he also moved into an apartment in the Quincy Block. [9] According to the census of 1900, Julius resided in room 16 of the Quincy Block. One of his roommates was yet another Jewish merchant; Harry Mamlock. [10] As Julius was still in his middle 20s, his home and professional life were dynamic. By the end of 1900, Julius again changed his employer. According to the 1900 city directory he became a clerk for the Baer Brothers Mercantile; a cigar and liquor dealer. Unsurprisingly, the Baer store was another German-Jewish run business on Harrison Avenue. [11]

Between 1900 and 1910, Julius consistently worked for the Baer Brothers. He was listed as a clerk until 1904, when he became a bookkeeper. Julius continued to keep books for the Baer Brothers until leaving the company in 1909. [12] During these years, Julius was active as a musician. In June 1900, he was listed as a “B Flat Clarinet” player during a concert event hosted by Leadville’s Elks Club. [13] That December, he was listed as a committee member for the local Woodsmen of the World, who planned to host a ball by the end of the month. [14] He moved from the Quincy Block in 1901 and lived at the rear of 612 Harrison Avenue in 1902. [15]

Sometime between 1902 and 1904, Julius married Rose Dreyer. Rose first appeared in Leadville in 1899 as a servant in the Block residence. The Blocks were another Jewish merchant family and had connections to both the Pelta family of Colorado Springs and Dreyer family. [16] Rose moved to Leadville from Buena Vista in 1899, where the Dreyer family initially settled in Colorado after they moved from New Jersey. [17] Rose was socially active in Leadville as early as 1899, and was listed as a participant in a Masque Ball hosted by the Block family in September. Other Jewish attendees at the ball included members of the Cohn, Pelta (a Colorado Springs family, cousins of the Blocks), and Silverman family. [18] Rose hosted a women’s party in October of 1899 and was listed as an attendee of several other women’s events throughout 1900. [19] A 1910 reference to the wedding of Rose’s sister Bertie to Sydney Janowitz revealed Rose’s maiden name of Dreyer. [20]

Rose was first referred to as Julius’ wife in a social notice during the middle summer 1904. “Mrs. Julius Muller” attended that year’s Buena Vista high school graduation, where her sister attended. [21] In the 1900 Census Rose lived in the Block household at on the 200 block of East 9th Street. [22] In 1903, Julius moved into a house at 123 East 9th Street, which could also be an indication of his marital status; single men often lived in “rooms” in buildings such as the Quincy Block or 612 Harrison Avenue and moved to houses when they married. Later in 1904, Julius was paid $10.00 by the City of Leadville [23] a document which was described as, “a beautifully engrossed copy of the resolutions passed by the council in honor of the memory of the later Alderman Thomas F. Owen…” Engrossing was the process of formally copying a rough draft of a document onto parchment paper. Given his involvement with this project, Julius was probably a talented scribe and draftsman. He was hired that same year to keep the books of the Baer Brothers store and would later work as a draftsman in Wyoming.

Julius worked for the Baer Brothers at this location for nearly 10 years before he opened his own business here as a successor in 1910.
Courtesy Denver Public Library Western History Collection.

1895 Sanborn map of the store location.

In September of 1905, a daughter was born to Rosa and Julius; later census documents reveal her name was Mildred. [24] Julius, Rosa, and Mildred were not documented in Leadville social columns for the next several years. In 1907, Julius traveled on a Midland train to Aspen to conduct business for the Baer brothers [25] and moved his family to a residence at 100 West 9th Street the same year. [26] Julius made several other trips to Aspen during the summer of 1907 for business and on a mid-July trip he was registered as a guest at the Hotel Jerome. [27] In December, a complaint was made against Julius and a man named Springhetti, which claimed the pair had “salted” a mine they owned. Salting was a nefarious practice in which ore from a more productive mine was placed in an otherwise unproductive mine to make it appear richer for investors. The trial did not return to newspapers until 1909. [28]

In January of 1908, Julius loaned a litter of eight Irish Setter pups he had bred for a hardware store window display on Harrison Avenue. The pups were said to be of perfect breed quality and much admired by shoppers. [29] During the summer of 1908, Julius testified at the trial of the Court Exchange Restaurant owner H. J. Hensley. The restaurateur was accused of assaulting Oscar Tittman and a friend named Crowe after they brought a small dog into the restaurant. Julius was in the Court Exchange at the time and claimed in court that he saw Hensley hit both men with a stove poker. [30] Oscar was also a member of Leadville’s Jewish community. [31]

Julius was again hired to make an engrossed copy of resolutions passed by another late City Council member; this time he was paid $20 for the work. [32] In the mid-summer of 1909, the mine salting incident again appeared in local newspapers. On June 10, Julius and Springetti were convicted of the charges and paid over $5000 in conjunction with the terms of the lawsuit filed by a man named Hahewald. [33]

Later in the summer, Rose, Julius, and young Mildred joined celebrations of the local Turnverein Athletic club at Turquoise Lake. There were athletic contests, German language songs, picnic food, cigars, and specially brewed beer from Leadville’s Columbine Brewery. Other Jewish families were present including Sandusky, Mankus and Janowitz. [34] In September, a Yom Kippur service at Temple Israel included vocal music by Jake and Ethel Sandusky as well as a violin solo by Julius. [35] The following month, Julius hosted a venison dinner at his house on the 200 block of East 9th Street. The decorations mimicked a campsite, with trees, grass, and the meat Julius had hunted himself cooked over an outdoor fire. [36] At the end of October, Julius and Rose went to Colorado Spring to attend the funeral of Mrs. Pelta, a family friend. [37]

The 1910 Census mistakenly used the family name “Mueller”. Julius was listed as 35 years of age, Rose 32, and Matilda 4. In addition, Rose’s 19-year-old sister Carrie lived with the family. Their residence was 222 East 9th Street, [38] a match with the 1910 Leadville City Directory. In 1910, Julius was no longer listed as an employee of the Baer mercantile but inherited the liquor distribution business as a successor. He called the new business Muller Co.; and it was still located at 503 Harrison Avenue. [39] Julius distributed beer from two breweries; St. Louis based Lemp Brewery and Pueblo based Walter Brewery, as well as wholesale cigars. [40]

In addition to his newfound success in business and family matters, Julius began to participate in Leadville’s “Gentleman’s Driving Club”. He competed in a “Matinee Race” on a warm summer day in August 1910. According to a notice in the Herald Democrat, his vehicle was nick-named “Old Crow”. It is not clear what sort of vehicle Old Crow was- automobiles were beginning to be available- but was more likely horse drawn. [41] A month later, another race notice announced Julius came in first in a timed heat with a vehicle or horse nick-named “Sleepy Dick”. Julius was also listed as a judge in the event. [42] In December, Julius competed in a rifle shoot, in which he tied for third but came in fifth after a tie-breaker. [43] Starting in 1911, Rose began to appear regularly in newspaper society columns as a participant in various women’s organizations. In January, Rose was mentioned as an attendee of a Women’s Club meeting on the subject of “The Future of Spain”; she was also listed as a host for the next meeting the following week. [44] Rose also hosted a Women’s Club meeting on the subject of “Swedish Women Artists” in March. The next month, Rose also hosted a women’s musical gathering in the Muller household on 9th Street. [46]

Julius’s liquor business was not without difficulties. In May 1911, a “gang” broke into the Muller Company’s warehouse. Suspicion began at 1:30 am on a Sunday morning when two constables on a beat of the lower east side of Leadville noticed four men considered vagrants huddled under a street light at the corner of Pine and 2nd Streets. They were struggling to hide bottles of beer in their pants. After a lengthy foot pursuit, all the vagrant men were arrested in the possession of up to eight bottles of beer. Officers assigned to investigate the matter discovered the padlocks of the Muller warehouse had been pried off. At 7 AM that morning, the Police Chief called Julius and, upon investigation of the warehouse, Julius found an open barrel inside the broken warehouse door with 15 bottles missing. A further four men were found but not arrested as suspected collaborators in the “West Side Gang”. [47]

Throughout the summer of 1911, Julius continued to participate at the racetrack, with varied success. Rose continued to host Women’s Society events during the summer as well. [48]

More business difficulties came in 1912. In February, Julius and his business partner were charged in an Eagle County court for distributing liquor in a dry county. Alcohol prohibition slowly began to spread throughout the United States by the early 1910s. Like more recent marijuana sales and cultivation laws in Colorado, counties often decided on alcohol prohibition before the state or nation. Eagle County had apparently made liquor illegal before Lake County and Julius’ company was caught distributing there. [49] A week later, Julius and his partner were charged for distributing liquor in Gypsum and fined $200 by the Eagle County Court. [50]

In May, two golden eagles were captured after roosting on a window seal of Julius’s store on Harrison Avenue. Leadville’s Eagle Club considered adopting one of the birds as a mascot. [51] Later in the summer, Julius experienced two mishaps with horses. In one incident his horse fell on him and he was injured to the extent that he could not walk for a day. Later that same day, a delivery wagon which belonged to his distribution company became frightened and bolted. The horses heavily damaged the wagon, and one horse was injured, although no bystanders were harmed. [52] The day after the horse incidents, Julius and Rose attended a going away party for Mr. and Mrs. Champney on West 4th Street. [53]

Julius began 1913 with a trip to Denver to serve on a Federal Grand jury for an unnamed trial. [54] A month later, Julius joined an athletic club called the Olympics and was initiated at an elaborate ceremony on February 25th. [55] The Muller’s social life continued to be busy in the spring. Mildred, Rose, and Julius attended an evening of card playing and dinner at the Janowitz residence in early April. [56] In attendance were several other Jewish families including Raabe, Grossmeyer, and Junita Pelta. [57] In May, the incident involving the salting of a mine in Big Evans Gulch again was raised in a local court. An injunction was placed against the prosecution’s law suit of the previous year. The article claimed that Julius handled the payment of the $5,000 law suit out of court and the injunction was to block his partner Springetti from the suit. [58] Ten days later, the injunction was dismissed, and the rest of the money in the suit was exchanged out of court. This ended the conflict which originated in 1907. [59]

As the summer of 1913 began, Julius again involved himself with the local Turnverein athletic club. In early June he appeared at a city council meeting to appeal for money to outfit a Turnverein “Turnfest” event in Denver, which would advertise for the Leadville contingent. The city council denied the money. [60] At the end of the month, Julius traveled to Denver for the “Turnfest” and was listed among the competitors of the “Business men’s class”. [61]

In the late Autumn of 1913, Julius and a partner named Dunn appealed to city council to re-open a saloon on the corner of 6th and Harrison Avenue. City council was suspicious of Dunn who had recently moved to Leadville. Alderman reported that many nearby saloon keepers where suspicious of “iterant” businessmen who had opened establishments for the holiday season, only to close them again in January. Dunn convinced the aldermen he intended to remain in Leadville, and they allowed Julius to pay the $50 liquor license fee in order to open the saloon. [62] A few weeks later, Julius was one of 28 musicians to play at a dinner dance at Armory Hall on 7th Street; Julius played the clarinet. [63] In February of 1914, Julius was again listed as a clarinet player for another dinner dance, this time at the Oddfellows hall. [64] That spring, I. W. Dougherty of Buena Vista drove to Leadville in a new Buick automobile. Julius and a man named Tefler joined in a bumpy drive up to the Jonny Mine (likely in the vicinity of Ibex, east of Leadville) as well as a “negotiation” of Tennessee Pass, which was yet to be improved at the time. [65] In July, Julius was a pall bearer at the funeral of an important member of Leadville’s Italian community, Catarina Martinelli. Julius’s was the only non-Italian name in the list of pall bearers. The service was conducted at St. Joseph’s Church. [66] In the late summer, Julius sprained his ankle when he jumped out of buggy and was confined to his house for several days. [67] A few days later, he could walk enough to play in an orchestra for a party hosted by Leadville’s Scottish Caledonian club. [68] Social activities continued until the end of the year for Julius. In December, he entered himself into a wager at a shooting gallery. Julius bet a fellow marksman “an oyster strew supper” that he could beat him in a shootout. Julius lost the bet by several points on the target and was compelled to host the oyster dinner sometime “…between Christmas and the New Year.” [69]

In April of 1915, Julius’s Muller Mercantile was turned over to the Lake County Sherriff for $1200 in unpaid debt to a Denver based brewery. [70] Later that year, it was discovered that a $14 check could have saved the Mercantile company from bankruptcy. In November, Julius filed a lawsuit against a Denver Austrian club for cancelling the $14 check and presented it to the district court. [71] Later that month, the Lemp Brewing company put several taxidermy items including 8 mountain sheep heads, deer heads with and without “horns”, a caribou head, and an elk head up for auction. These apparently had been in Julius’s store and were sold by the sheriff’s office as collateral for the debt incurred earlier in the year. Rose and her father Henry Dreyer were also brought into the suit, indicating some level of ownership between them. [72] Despite the legal and financial trouble, Julius continued to play the clarinet at concerts in Leadville. [73] He also continued to participate with more success in marksman events at a local shooting gallery. [74] In late December, Julius officially filed for bankruptcy. [75]

In March of 1916, the taxidermy animal heads again appeared in conjunction with Julius’s ongoing financial issues. Abraham Pelta of Buena Vista filed a lawsuit against the Lake County sheriff’s office to retain the animal heads which had been auctioned earlier in the year. He claimed ownership of the heads after he purchased the stock of the Muller company in an effort to alleviate the bankruptcy.

The financial trouble as well as looming prohibition laws ended Julius’s career in the liquor business. In April of 1916, the Muller family moved to Denver.[76] He occasionally returned over the course of 1916 and 1917 to settle remaining problems which still surrounded the bankruptcy as well as business and social accounts. [77] In November 1916, Julius and Rose came to Leadville to attend the funeral of Rose’s father. [78]

Rose, Julius, and Mildred spent several years following their departure from Leadville in Denver. By 1920, Julius was a civil engineer and draftsman in Casper, Wyoming where they remained until the 1930s. [79] The death locations and burial places of Rose, Julius and Mildred remain un-discovered by this researcher.

Julius Muller and his family experienced vivid social and economic life in Leadville’s late-Victorian and early Edwardian bridge era. While he established himself in the Carbonate City’s vital clothing industry during the late 19th century, he managed to set a niche for himself in the more risk prone and tumultuous business of liquor in the early 20th Century. While his success was sundry, he typified the energy and capitalistic enthusiasm of compatriot German-Jewish migrants. Rose was a successful woman of the early 20th Century. Her family origin as well as her participation in local and inter-county women’s groups and society helped to establish connections between the Jewish communities of Leadville, Buena Vista and Colorado Springs.