Access and Provenance Institutional Sketch Scope and Content Note Box and Folder Listing

A Finding Aid to the Trinidad, Colorado -- B'nai B'rith Records Manuscript Collection No. 373 1878-1960. 3.8 Linear ft.

        
The Records of TRINIDAD, COLORADO - B'NAI B'RITH,
TRINIDAD LODGE NO. 293 were donated to the American Jewish
Archives by Mrs. Gilbert H. Sanders, the Trinidad Lodge No. 293,
and Congregation Aaron, all of Trinidad, Colorado; and by Mr.
Leon Rubin of Raton, New Mexico.  The several shipments of
materials were received by the Archives during the period 1957-1991.

All property rights have been assigned to the American Jewish
Archives.  All literary rights to materials in the collection 
are held by the individual author or his/her heirs.  Questions
concerning rights should be addressed to the Director of the 
American Jewish Archives.

The collection is open to all users and available in the reading
room of the American Jewish Archives. 

INSTITUTIONAL SKETCH top

        
The first official meeting of Trinidad Lodge No. 293 of the
International Order of B'nai B'rith convened in the Odd Fellows
Hall in Trinidad, Colorado on March 3, 1878.  Louis Anfenger of
Denver Lodge No. 171 presided over the meeting until the
membership elected officers.  Samuel Jaffa, president of the
first board of trustees of the young city of Trinidad, was
elected first President of the Lodge and installed in his new
office by Mr. Anfenger.  Members present at the first meeting
included names that remained active in the Lodge well into the
20th century:  Jaffa, Levy, Gottlieb, Prager, Mansbach, Schwed.

Trinidad, Colorado was a young town (incorporated in 1876)
when the group of 29 young men formed the Trinidad Lodge.  Many
of the Jewish men in Trinidad in the late 1870s were immigrants
from Germany and had settled in town since 1872.  But not all the
members of Trinidad Lodge lived in Trinidad; about half traveled
to the bi-monthly meetings from other towns in Southeastern
Colorado or Northeastern New Mexico.  A railroad had been built
through Trinidad in late 1887, making it a commercial crossroads
of the area and allowing men in towns along connecting tracks
(such as Raton and Las Vegas, N.M., between Albuquerque and
Trinidad) easy access to Trinidad Lodge meetings.  

The Lodge grew as newcomers moved into the rapidly growing
area.  Simon Sanders arrived in 1879 and became an active member
of the Lodge and of Congregation Aaron.  His sons Gilbert,
Isidore, and Leopold continued the family tradition in both
organizations.  Rabbi Leopold Freudenthal was engaged by
Congregation Aaron in 1889.  He quickly became active in Trinidad
Lodge, serving as Lodge Secretary from 1890 until his death in
1916.  

From early in its existence, Trinidad Lodge was active in
benevolent work.  Donations were often sent to B'nai B'rith
supported institutions such as the Cleveland Jewish Orphan Home
(Bellefaire), Leo N. Levi Memorial Hospital Association, the
Educational League, and in nearby Denver, the National Jewish
Hospital for Consumptives.  Several of Secretary Isidore Sanders'
correspondents during the 1920s were tubercular patients or their
families seeking assistance from the Lodge and the Jewish
Hospital in Denver.

Many of Sanders' other correspondents were Ben B'riths in
office at the national or district level, including Boris D.
Bogen, Leonard Frieberg and Judge A.B. Frey, or from other Lodges
in Denver and Pueblo, Colorado, or other states.

Trinidad Lodge also supported local organizations such as
the Boy Scouts, and the Freudenthal Foundation.  The latter was
endowed by the two sons of Rabbi Leopold Freudenthal to support
charitable and educational projects for the people of Trinidad.


During the 1920s the Jewish population in Trinidad began to
fall with the decline of a major local industry, coal mining. 
Trinidad Lodge grew to almost 90 members in the early 1920s, but
membership decreased to less than 20 members by the 1950s.

Descendents of some of the earliest members of the
organization were active in Trinidad Lodge in the 1940s and
1950s, including the names Moses, Gottlieb, Prager, Rascower,
Freudenthal, and Sanders.

SCOPE AND CONTENT top

    
The Records of TRINIDAD, COLORADO - B'NAI B'RITH, TRINIDAD
LODGE NO. 293 describe the organizational activities of Trinidad
Lodge No. 293 of B'nai B'rith.  The collection includes
correspondence, minutes, annual and quarterly reports to the
District Grand Lodge of B'nai B'rith, cash books, dues books,
membership records, publications, cancelled checks and receipts. 
The span dates of the collection are 1878-1960 with the bulk of
the material dated in the 1890s, 1920s and 1950s.  The collection
is divided into four series:  

                A.  CORRESPONDENCE
                B.  CONSITIUTION, MINUTES, AND REPORTS
                C.  FINANCIAL AND MEMBERSHIP RECORDS
                D.  MISCELLANEOUS

SERIES A. CORRESPONDENCE consists of 1 3/4 boxes of
correspondence and some miscellaneous materials divided into
three sub-series by materials generated or collected by three
Lodge secretaries.  Sub-series 1.  Leopold Freundenthal consists
of one folder (less than one inch) of correspondence, notes,
financial reports, and miscellaneous materials generated or
collected by Leopold Freudenthal, Secretary of Trinidad Lodge
from 1890-1914.  The materials in Sub-series 1 are dated 1879-1911.
Sub-series 2.  Isidore Sanders consists of 1 1/2 boxes of
correspondence and some miscellaneous materials generated or
collected by Isidore Sanders, Secretary of Trinidad Lodge from
1919-1939.  The materials in Sub-series 2 are arranged in
alphabetical order by correspondent or organization and
thereunder in chronological order.  The bulk of the materials in
Sub-series 2 are dated in the 1920s, but span the years 1900-1931.
Sub-series 3.  Leon Rubin consists of 1/4 box of
correspondence and some miscellaneous materials generated or
collected by Leon Rubin, who held the offices of Secretary,
President, and Vice-President at various times during the 1950s. 
The materials in Sub-series 3 span the years 1953-1960.

SERIES B.  CONSTITUTION, MINUTES, AND REPORTS consists of 1
1/4 boxes of minutes and minute books, annual and quarterly
reports to the District Grand Lodge, by-laws and rules of order
of Trinidad Lodge, and constitution and ritual books of B'nai
B'rith.  The material in Series B spans the years 1878-1959.

SERIES C.  FINANCIAL AND MEMBERSHIP RECORDS consists of 2
1/2 hollinger boxes (and 1/2 of Box No. X-21) of financial
reports, cash books, dues books, membership applications and
membership lists.  The "Designation Book"  contains documents by
which members assigned their Endowment Benefits to specified
beneficiaries.  The "Sick Committee Ledger" contains lists of
officers and members with their attendance record for the years
1896-1919.  The material in Series C spans the years 1878-1950.
NOTE:  See also dues book, 1908-1921, and membership book,
1878-1913, in Box No. X-21.

SERIES D.  MISCELLANEOUS consists of 1 1/2 boxes of
miscellaneous materials, including a Lodge President's Kit,
speeches by Philip M. Klutznick (President of B'nai B'rith),
certificates honoring past-presidents of Trinidad Lodge, bank
statements, cancelled checks, bills and receipts.  The materials
in Series D span the years 1889-1959.

BOX AND FOLDER LIST top

Box  Folder    Contents

SERIES A.  CORRESPONDENCE

Sub-series 1.  Leopold Freudenthal

1     1   1879-1911


Sub-series 2.  Isidore Sanders, 1900-1931

      2   Achtenberg, Ben M., 1925-1928
      3   A-B, General, 1916-1927
          B'nai B'rith
      4        Executive Committee and publications (includes
                    minutes), 1913-1930
      5        Executive Committee "News Bulletin," Mr, 1924-
                    Ap 15, 1926
      6        Juniors, D, 1925
      7        Membership Bureau and Publicity, 1929-1930
      8   Bogen, Boris D., 1925-1928
      9   Bulavsky Brothers, 1923-1925
     10   Cleveland Jewish Orphan Home (Bellefaire), 1920-1930
     11   Cohen, Alfred M., 1922-1929
     12   C-D, General, 1920-1931
     13   Denver, Colo. - National Jewish Hospital for
               Consumptives, 1900-1928
     14   Denver Lodge No. 171, 1924-1930
     15   Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, 1923-
               1925
     16   Educational League, 1922-1931
     17   F, General, 1923-1928
     18   Freiberg, Leonard, 1920-1930
     19   Frey, A.B., 1923-1926
     20   Goldberg, William H., 1924
     21   G-J, General, 1923-1930
     22   Hausman, Nathan, 1922
     23   K, General, 1920-1931
     24   Kahn, David A. (consumptive), 1922-1925

2     1   L, General, 1920-1930
      2   Levi, Leo N., Memorial Hospital Association, 1922-
               1931
      3   Lewis, Leon L., 1922-1925
      4   M-P, General, 1923-1930
      5   Q-R, General, 1923-1930
      6   S, General, 1923-1929
      7   Sievers, Samuel I., 1927-1929
      8   Trinidad Lodge No. 293, 1923-1934
      9   T-Z, General, 1924-1928

Sub-series 3.  Leon Rubin

     10   1953-1960
     11   District Grand Lodge (DGL) No. 2 - Mailings to Lodge
               Secretaries, 1953-1960

SERIES B.  CONSTITUTION, MINUTES AND REPORTS

     12   Constitution (DGL No. 2), By-laws and Rules of Order (Trinidad
               Lodge), 1878; and B'nai B'rith ritual books, 1910s and n.d.
          Minute Books
     13        1878-1888
     14        1886, (Hebrew Relief Society)

3     1        1889-1897
      2        1897-1914
      3   Minutes (including Annual and Quarterly Reports), 1950-1956
      4   Annual and Quarterly Reports, 1920-1959


SERIES C.  FINANCIAL AND MEMBERSHIP RECORDS

      5   Financial Reports, 1922-1928
          Cash Books
      6        1884-1908

4     1        1908-1919
      2        1929-1949
          Dues Books
      3        1897-1908
      4        1901-1910

X-21           1908-1921

5     1        1910-1918
      2        1922-1934
      3        1935-1950

X-21      Membership Book (includes deaths and "Black" lists), 
               1878-1913

6     1   Membership Application Book, 1878-1949
      2   Membership Applications, 1889-1930
      3   Membership List, 1910-1920
      4   Designation Book, 1878-1884
      5   Sick Committee Ledger (absentee list), 1896-1916


SERIES D.  MISCELLANEOUS

      6   B'nai B'rith President's Kit, 1950s
      7   Speeches by Philip M. Klutznick, 1954, 1958
      8   Book, This is B'nai B'rith:  A Story of Service, 14th
                        edition (souvenir dedication issue), N, 1957; with cover
                        letter, F 25, 1958
      9   Lodge Past-President certificates, 1952-1959
     10   Bank statements and cancelled checks, 1915-1919
     11   Bills and receipts, 1889-1931

7         Receipt Books, 1904-1932

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