Reinhold Rosendorf
Born: 1848
Prussia, Germany
Died: December 19, 1898 (50 Years)
Leadville, Colorado; United States
Leadville Hebrew Cemetery: BC, P15, G4
Immigration to U.S.: June 10, 1867
No Known U.S. Relatives
Barber/Mine Speculation
Reinhold Rosendorf immigrated to the United States from Hamburg, Germany, docking in New York on June 10, 1867. [1] He arrived in Leadville in 1879, set up residence and a barbershop at the Windsor Hotel [2] before moving to 108 E. Chestnut Street. In 1881, for unknown reasons, Joseph Kuhlmeyer assumed proprietorship of the shop, and although Rosendorf continued to reside at the 108 Chestnut address, he opened another shop at 106 S. Harrison Avenue. [3] Sometime in 1882, Rosendorf moved his barbershop to the basement of the Lake County Court House. [4] In addition to his career as a coiffeur, Rosendorf dabbled in mining speculation, owning partial stake in the Naperville Load, [5] Edna Peach, and New Klondike mine claims. [6]
Reinhold Rosendorf and his roommate at the time, Morris Zippert, [7] were both defendants in the Palace of Fashion fire [8] that occurred on May 19, 1882. Subsequently, Rosendorf, Zippert, and three other suspects were charged with arson as a result. Both Rosendorf and Zippert were cleared of any wrongdoing and dismissed early from the trial when the prosecution rested its case on March 19, 1883. [9]
On May 19, 1883, Reinhold’s court house barbershop was the scene of another crime, one which The Carbonate Chronicle described as a “brutal murder”. The reporter goes into great detail telling the story of a mother who savagely attacked and killed her newborn daughter with her teeth. Reinhold came across the crime scene, and found the victim laying in a pool of her own blood. It is not until the final sentence of the article when it is revealed that the murderer was Rosendorf’s English Terrier, the victim one of her puppies. [10] A grand example of nineteenth century journalistic embellishment.
Rosendorf was extremely active on the Leadville social circuit and was frequently mentioned at various functions, particularly the annual Purim Bal Masques, [11] as well as the more secular functions of the Leadville community including the first ball of the Joint Track Assembly of The Nights Of Labor on April 10, 1885. [12]
Reinhold was an orthodox member of Temple Israel who split off with other like-minded practitioners to form their own congregation in 1892. Reinhold was active in the organization of the Kneseth Israel synagogue which opened their own, newly purchased building at 119 West Fifth street in 1893 in a former Presbyterian church that had been converted into a barracks for the Salvation Army. Reinhold was active in fundraising for the project, serving as the director in a stage presentation of “Early Vows” at the Tabor Opera House. [13] He remained active in both congregations, participating in many Jewish functions sanctioned by the two congregations.
The last mention of Reinhold Rosendorf in the Leadville social columns was his attendance at the Purim Bal Masque on March 13, 1895. Reinhold never married and had no known decedents. He remained in Leadville until his death in 1898, and is buried in the local Hebrew cemetery.
Article reporting “a cruel act” in Rosendorf’s barber shop.
A Cruel Act. Carbonate Chronicle. Saturday, May 19, 1883. Page 1.
1 "United States Germans to America Index, 1850-1897".
2 Clark, WM, Root WA and Anderson, HC. “Clark, Root and Co.’s First Annual City Directory Of Leadville And Business Directory Of Carbonateville, Kokomo And Malta For 1879”.
3 Corbett, TB and Ballanger, JH. “Corbet, and Ballenger’s Third 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 1882
4 Corbett, TB and Ballanger, JH. “Corbet, and Ballenger’s Fourth 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 1883”
5 “Notice Of Forfeiture.” Leadville Daily Herald. April 16, 1881. P3.
6 “Around The City”. Herald Democrat. CC Davis And Co. Leadville, CO; USA. March 15, 1905. P6.
7 For more information, see: http://www.jewishleadville.org/zippert.html
8 For more information, see: http://www.jewishleadville.org/palaceoffashionfire.html . Don L. And Jean Harvey Griswold. “History Of Leadville And Lake County, CO”. Denver, Co. 1996. Pp. 965-969.
9 “The Summing Up”. The Carbonate Chronicle. Leadville, CO; USA. March 24, 1883. P3.
10 “A Cruel Act”. The Carbonate Chronicle. Leadville, CO; USA. May 19, 1883. P1.
11 “Bal Masque: A Delightful Affair By The Leadville Dancing Club”. Leadville Daily Herald. February 11, 1882. P4.
12 “Dancing Knights”. The Carbonate Chronicle. Leadville, CO; USA. April 11, 1885. P4.
13 “Home Talent”. Herald Democrat. December 11, 1882. P7.
Bibliography
“A Cruel Act”. The Carbonate Chronicle. Leadville, CO; USA. May 19, 1883.
“Around The City”. Herald Democrat. CC Davis And Co. Leadville, CO; USA. March 15, 1905
“Bal Masque: A Delightful Affair By The Leadville Dancing Club”. Leadville Daily Herald. February 11, 1882.
Clark, WM, Root WA and Anderson, HC. “Clark, Root and Co.’s First Annual City Directory Of Leadville And Business Directory Of Carbonateville, Kokomo And Malta For 1879”. Daily Times Steam Printing House And Book Manufactory; Denver, CO: USA. 1879.
Corbett, TB, Hoye, WC and Ballaneger, JH. “Corbet, Hoye and Co.’s 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 1880”. Democrat Printing Company; Leadville, CO: USA. 1880.
Corbett, TB and Ballanger, JH “Corbet, and Ballenger’s 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 1881”. Corbet and Ballenger Publishers. 1881.
Corbett, TB and Ballanger, JH. “Corbet, and Ballenger’s Third 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 1882”. Corbet and Ballenger Publishers. 1882.
Corbett, TB and Ballanger, JH. “Corbet, and Ballenger’s Fourth 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 1883”. Corbet and Ballenger Publishers. 1883.
“Dancing Knights”. The Carbonate Chronicle. Leadville, CO; USA. April 11, 1885.
Griswold, Don L., and Jean Harvey Griswold. History of Leadville and Lake County, Colorado: from mountain solitude to metropolis. Vol. 1. Denver, CO: Colorado Historical Society, 1996.
“Home Talent”. Herald Democrat. CC Davis And Co. Leadville, CO; USA. December 11, 1882.
“Notice Of Forfeiture.” Leadville Daily Herald. Leadville, CO; USA. April 16, 1882.
“The Summing Up”. The Carbonate Chronicle. Leadville, CO; USA. March 24, 1883.
"United States Germans to America Index, 1850-1897," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KD7V-YYX : 27 December 2014), Reinh. Rosendorf, 10 Jun 1867; citing Germans to America Passenger Data file, 1850-1897, Ship Allemannia, departed from Hamburg, arrived in New York, New York, New York, United States, NAID identifier 1746067, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
To cite any of the information in this biography, please use the following reference.
AUTHOR: Jeffrey P. Grant
EDITOR: William Korn
SOURCE: Jewish Surnames/Rosendorf
PUBLISHED BY: Temple Israel Foundation. Leadville, CO; USA. 2017.
STABLE URL: http://www.jewishledville.org/rosendorf.html
