Appel Family and Clothing Store Papers

Simon Appel was born in Hungary in 1830 and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1848, becoming a successful tailor. He married Anna Greenwald in Philadelphia in 1851 and seven children were born to the couple. Anna Greenwald Appel died in Philadelphia in 1876. Simon Appel married Frieda Wolfe and they moved to Denver in 1878. Their son David Edward Appel, born in Philadelphia in 1853, went to Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1871 and moved to Denver that same year. David Appel had worked for his father to learn the tailoring trade and began "The Clothing House" when he moved to Denver. Simon and his eldest son Jacob came to Denver in 1873 and joined the business. In 1874, the name changed to "S. Appel and Sons," also called the Star Clothing House. In 1892, they built a building at 16th and Larimer, called the Appel Building, for their expanding business. The Appel clothing business had become one of the largest family-owned stores in Colorado. The family were active members of Temple Emanuel. Simon Appel died in Denver in 1912. Jacob Appel was born in Philadelphia in 1851. Five children were born to Jacob and his wife Bertha before she died in 1883. Jacob Appel then married Amelia Arkush in Denver and their son was born in 1886. Jacob Appel died in San Francisco in 1913. David Edward Appel married Chicago native Belle Foreman in 1877. Before moving to Denver, David worked for his father in the tailoring trade. In Denver, he was prominent in social and fraternal organizations, including the Masons, B’nai B’rith, and Sons of Colorado. David Appel died in Denver in1921. David and Belle Appel raised three children, including son Walter Michael Appel. Walter Appel was born in Denver on June 11, 1879 and died in Denver on January 28, 1961. He graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 1902, and in 1903, he and childhood friend Ira Rothgerber formed a law partnership that became a major law firm. Rothgerber and Appel (now Rothgerber, Johnson and Lyons) is Colorado's oldest continuously operating legal partnership and is among the state's largest law firms. Walter Appel married Rose Spiesberger on July 6, 1910, in Omaha, Nebraska. She was born in Keokuk, Iowa June 15, 1881, and died in Denver in 1943. Walter Michael Appel was a trustee and pro-bono attorney for National Jewish Hospital for 17 years.