Shames Family Rose Hill Cemetery Certificates

Collection

Identifier: B285

Staff Only

Michael (Michel) Shames, the son of Rifka and Isaac Leib Milstein Shames, was a colonist at the failed agricultural colony at Cotopaxi, Colorado (1882-1884). He married Frieda Raizel, and they had three children: Esther, Sarah, and Jacob (Yankel, 1885-1950). Rose Hill Cemetery was created as a burial place for the Orthodox Jews of Denver in 1891. It was organized by the United Hebrew Cemetery Association and was located in Commerce City, Colorado, when burials were stopped in the older Hebrew Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. The collection contains two certificates, one granted to Michael (Michel Shames in 1900 and the other granted to Jacob Shames in 1939.

Dates

1900-1939

Creator

United Hebrew Cemetery Association (Organization)

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (1 flat box, 18.5x15x1.5 inches)

Additional Description

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of two certificates indicating entitlement to a burial plot in Rose Hill Cemetery. One is dated 1900 and granted to Michael Shames; the other is dated 1939 and granted to his son Jacob Shames. The 1900 certificate has a picture of how the cemetery appeared in the 1890s.

Biographical / Historical

Michael (Michel) Shames, the son of Rifka and Isaac Leib Milstein Shames, was a colonist at the failed agricultural colony at Cotopaxi, Colorado (1882-1884). Many of the former Cotopaxi colonists moved to the west side of Denver in 1884. Michael Shames married Frieda Raizel, and they had three children: Esther, Sarah, and Jacob (Yankel, 1885-1950). Jacob Shames married Shana Rochel Gardenschwarz, and they had nine children, one of whom was Israel (Ray) Shames.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one series: 1. Cemetery Certificates, 1900-1939.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Evan Makovsky, February 2008.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Related Materials

The Shames family tree may be found in the following collection in this depository: Milstein and Shames Cotopaxi Families Papers (B205). ||Additional records related to Rose Hill Cemetery may be found in the following collection in this depository: Rose Hill Cemetery Records (B232).