Southwest Jewish History Volume 2, Number 4, Summer 1994 Solomonville: A Jewish Town on the Frontier in Arizona Territory: The Memoirs of Isador Elkan Solomon I was born at Ynowratzlow, Posen. I was born on May 23, 1841. My father's name was Solomon Elkan. My grandfather was named Elkan Solomon. I came into the United States from Germany when I was eighteen years old, and took a position in the house of my uncle, M.E. Solomon, at fifty dollars a year and board. The second year, my salary was raised to $100.00 a year and board, and the third year my uncle raised my salary to $150.00 a year and board. This was in Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. In the meantime, I had taken out my naturalization papers and had become an American citizen. I had the honor of voting for one of the best lawyers, and statesman and presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. I went to Germany to visit my parents and intended staying only two or three weeks, as I bought my return ticket to New York. I wrote my brother that I would leave in a week, then I wrote that I wanted to visit some of my aunts and stopped in a place where a girl, my wife now, ran a dry-goods store, to buy some dresses for my aunts and this girl waited on me. After I paid my bill for the dress goods, she asked me to call again, which I did on my return. We had some talk about different things. I asked her how she would like to go to America and she told me that she would like to, that she had two brothers in New Mexico. So then we were engaged and got married in the same place where she and I were born, which as in Hohensalza in Germany. The next day after our wedding, we started for the United States of America, God's country. We kept house and in the meantime two of our children, Charley and Rose, were born in Towanda, and Eva in Mnechung. Times had changed and our business did not pay enough for my partner and myself. I told my partner that he had better buy my interest and I would go to New mexico where my wife's brother, Phoebus Freudenthal was. I told my partner, that he could have my interest at 25% less than the inventory called for. He said, "That is a good proposition but I hate to see you leave here with those three little children and go to New Mexico." He told me that he would have to talk it over with his wife about the proposition. My partner Kingsbury came back from his home and the next day he told me that his wife said that she did not like to see me leave for New Mexico with those three little children but told hi to do as he liked about buying my interest. He asked me when I wanted my money and I told him, "You pay me one thousand dollars in cash, the balance you can pay me in one or two years." The next day he gave me the thousand dollars and the balance in notes. In about a week, we started for New Mexico when they were putting up the buildings in the city of Philadelphia for the World's Fair Exposition. We took the train to Las Animas, Colorado and the stage to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It took us three days and three nights to get to Santa Fe. We rested for a few days, and took the stage for Las Cruces, New Mexico where my wife's brothers, Phoebus and Morris Freudenthal, were living. It took us three days and nights to get there. It was a hard trip and I shall never forget it. I did not like Las Cruces nor New Mexico so I went to Clifton, Arizona, where my wife's uncle, Julius Freudenthal, and Henry and Charley Lesinsky, were operating the Longfellow Copper Mines. It took me three days to get to Clifton. I presented the letter to Henry Lesinsky. He told me he was sorry that he could not give me anything to do, as he didn't need any one in his office or store. I waited one day, and I went to the place where the men made the copper. I asked Mr. Lesinsky what he was paying a man doing this work. He told me, he was paying them $4.00 a day for ten hours. I told him that if he would give me a chance I would try and do the work the men were doing. Mr. L. told me "All right, you can go to work any time you wish." I went the next day into the store and bought me a pair of overalls, and a work shirt, and went to work making copper. I told Mr. L. that if he would give me a contract, I would deliver him coal at Clifton. He gave me a contract for charcoal. I rented a place there for my family and kept a little store to supply my working men. There were three or four buildings when I first came to Pueblo Viejo. Harlow and Hamon had a store there. I rented from them for $20 a month; later I bought the building from them for $75. When we first went to the Gila Valley, there was no post office nearer than six miles. We only got our mail once a week as it was carried on horseback. We finally got a post office at our place and I was made postmaster. At the time we went to the Gila Valley, it belonged to Pima County, and Tucson was the county seat. In about two years, we were cut off from Pima County and got a county of our own, Graham County, and the county seat was Safford, but the county seat did not remain very long in Safford. They moved the county seat to my place and built a court house and I was treasurer of the county of four year. I kept that county seat for thirty-five years, until they cut up that county and took the richest part to Clifton and made the county of Greenlee. What was left they took back to Safford where the county seat is now. I sold out my business to the Solomon Commercial Company and started the Gila Valley Bank, which is now called the Valley Bank. My son Charley, my brother-in-law, Phoebus Freudenthal, and myself sold out our interest in that bank and bought a large interest in the Arizona National Bank of Tucson, Arizona. We also bought an interest in the First National Bank of Globe, Gila County, and we sold out our interest in the First National Bank of Globe, and bought a half interest in the National Bank of Arizona at Phoenix, Arizona and the Bank of Safford, Safford, Arizona. I would like to mention the experience I have had with the Indians while I was in the Gila Valley. I had some good luck, also bad luck. About the first part of the eighties, I lost my sheep herder and ten of his men who were killed by the Indians. In about two years, my brother Adolph was living with me. He was sick and so he had to go East to see a doctor. I started him off with two men, with one mule team and one horse team, with two good wagons, $800 in cash and two guns. About twenty-eight miles from home, he felt bad and so would not make the trip. So he took the stage which ran that time from Silver City, New Mexico to Clifton, and the two men went with the teams. They were killed and the Indians got away with my mules and the horses and money and burned up my two wagons. At one time, my father-in-law came over from Europe and we wanted to see him. We started with out two little children and camped out about eighteen miles from home. During the night our little boy was taken sick and the next morning I sent my wife and children back home and I went to Fort Bowie to telegraph my brother-in-law Freudenthal that we would be at his place one day later than we had intended to. This saved our live. If the boy had been well, we would have gone on. The Indians took the stage, two teams with eight men and killed the men and we would have been killed, too, as we had to in the same direction. I had some business at Prescott, Arizona with the quartermaster. While there, the quartermaster paid me two checks, one for $1000 and one for $985 for transportation that the government owed me. I was short of money to go home, so I went into a store in Prescott to have one of the quartermaster's checks cashed. The bookkeeper counted me out $5 and a few $10 bills, as I asked the bookkeeper whether he could not give me larger bills. He told me he had no larger bills, so I asked him whether he would cash my check for $25. He told me at once, "I would cash your check than give you this money." I started for my home the same day in company with a captain of the U.S. Army and the driver of the stage. The captain told me, "Solomon, if you have any money, you had better put it in your boots." I told the Captain that what money I had was not much. We went on. In about an hour, the stage stopped and we were ordered to get out by two men. They took my pocket book, got about $45.00 and my watch and did the same thing to the captain and the driver--took their money and watches. At the same time the stage going to Prescott with seven men was stopped by the same men. I think that one of the robbers knew me. I asked him if he knew me, and told him I would like to have him give me back my watch as it was not worth over $5 or $10 dollars, but to me it was worth a great deal as same was given to me by a good old friend. He examined all the watches, seven or eight, and mine was the smallest. I took mine and thanked him. At the same time the captain gave the men a good talk and he got his watch back also. I paid $60 in gold for my watch. In the stage where there were seven men, one was a United States deputy marshal. he told the robbers that he would leave $100 anywhere in Arizona if they would give him back his watch as it was given him by a mining company in Tombstone, Arizona. It was some little time before the marshal got back his watch too. I told one of the robbers that I would like enough money to buy some drinks and supper for my friend and myself. In the stage where the captain and the driver were, one of the robbers handed me some silver, perhaps eight or nine dollars, and told me to kept all that money, and I thanked the men for same. The captain, the driver and I got into the stage and drove to the station, and we had a good supper, then left for our homes. [Isador Elkan Solomon died in Los Angeles December 4, 1930.]