Leadville, Part II: Searching for Family Roots in an Old Mining Town

 

A panorama as we ascended the Rockies from Manitou Springs (6358 ft) to Leadville (10,151 ft).
The "alpine" scenery was quite breathtaking.  Photos struggle to capture it.

Outside the library in Leadville.

Not everyone seeks out Leadville on a family vacation. One has to sort of go “off the beaten path” to find it. We came because Laurie has a connection to Leadville’s mining past. Laurie’s maternal-grandmother was born in Leadville and lived  here for a short time. Laurie visited here when her family drove across the country when she was a child and she wanted to come back as part of our own cross-country trip. According to her mother, Laurie’s maternal great-grandfather was a Mason, whom it appears bought his family west from Maine during the Silver Boom. Her grandmother had always told them that her father met his untimely end when he “fell down a mineshaft”. Laurie had assumed this tragedy happened in Leadville and, in keeping with her Sabbath theme of reconnecting and rediscovering her roots, she wanted to see if she could find out where her great-grandfather was buried. She did an investigation at the local library, but she could not find any information about the whereabouts of his grave—and records for the miners buried in cemeteries in Leadville are pretty thorough. Since he was a Mason, the librarian wondered if he might he be buried in a Mason's Cemetery somewhere other than Leadville?  

Inside the library.

Upon following up with her mom after her initial visit to the library, Laurie was reminded that her great-grandfather was not just a rank-and-file miner, he actually owned a mine—not in Leadville, but in the nearby town of Dillon. So, she went back to the library again for some more research. In short, she has concluded that her great-grandfather is most likely not buried in Leadville. She has found some more leads to follow up on in Dillon. She also found a couple references to him in some newspapers from that time. She didn’t have time on this trip to visit Dillon but the search continues…

Leadville, Part I: A Quiet Town With a Rich History

This summer my wife had Sabbath leave, and as part of that, she received a clergy-renewal grant that enabled us to go on a cross-country trip.  People will inevitably ask me what my favorite part was.  There were so many things we saw that it is hard to focus on just one thing: Pikes Peak, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon.  Every place had something unique.  I feel like "saw God" in many ways on our journey—mostly outside the doors of a church building.

But having said that, there was one place that stood out that you might not guess.  It's probably not on the typical vacation itinerary when one travels west.  We visited to the small town of Leadville, Colorado   It has the distinction of being the highest-elevation incorporated town in the U.S.  It also has an rich and colorful history connected to mining—and its aftermath.  We actually went there because the story of my wife's maternal ancestry has links to Leadville's mining past.  We only stayed for one night but the town seems to have made an impression on me.

Today, Leadville is a pleasant town tucked away high in the Rocky Mountains. Although less known than other ski resorts nearby, such as Vail and Aspen, it is a popular destination for running and cycling enthusiasts. In fact, there was a race of some sort the morning we were there. The starting line was right outside the hotel and many runners had stayed there the same night we did.

A trail outside Leadville near the
headframe for one of the old mines.

Like many towns out west, however, Leadville owes its existence to the mineral deposits located nearby. It began with the Pikes Peak Gold Rush in 1859 and the discovery of gold in nearby California and Iowa Gulches.  This to led the establishment of a settlement called Oro City, which peaked at about 10,000 people. Placer mining operations had always been hampered by heavy brown sand.  Miners determined the sand contained cerussite (lead carbonate) and silver.  They traced the source of the silver to the area that would eventually become Leadville.  In 1877, lead was discovered in California Gulch and the town of Leadville was established soon after.

There was a brief Silver Boom in the late 1880s and early 1890s.  During that time, Leadville's population surged, earning the nickname “Silver Queen". As Leadville grew rapidly, Oro City sharply declined; the 1890 census reported a population of 222. The Silver Boom would be short-lived, however, in large part because America switched to the Gold Standard in 1893, and silver prices dropped almost overnight.

Driving down toward Harrison Ave,
which is the main road through town.

While lead was the metal that literally put this town’s name on the map, other minerals such as zinc, copper, and even hard-to-pronounce molybdenum, have also been mined.  All these resources were used to fuel America’s "engine" of progress in the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th century.  There was a new boom of activity during and after World War II, when molybdenum in particular was in demand to fortify the steel used in our weapons and armaments.  At one point, Leadville's Climax mine produced 75% of the world's supply of molybdenum.  New mining tunnels were made; new waste piles created.  The miners did what they were paid to do.  The work was dirty—and dangerous.  Their children played on the piles of waste and had great fun doing so.  They had no idea then that those piles would become a source of much environmental consternation and controversy in years to come. 

Pentecost: Spreading Spirit Seed

Laurie and I recently purchased a bird feeder.  It was advertised as “squirrel-proof”.  It wasn’t…

The Kingdom of God is like a bird feeder
overflowing with seed...

The feeder was supposed to close under the squirrel’s weight thus allowing only birds to feed.  Well, the squirrels wouldn’t be deterred.  They figured a way past the barriers to get to the tasty food within.  In fact, the little varmints were so tenacious they even broke the plastic rendering the barriers pretty much useless. Sigh. Back to the drawing board…

Mark’s Gospel records a scene where some people bought their sick friend to see Jesus.  When they got to the house where he was, they found a “barrier” between them and Jesus—a crowd of onlookers prevented them from reaching him.  But like the squirrels at our feeder, these men weren’t deterred.  They stopped at nothing to get to Jesus, literally digging through the roof and lowering their stricken friend into the house so he could be close to Jesus—Mark 2:1-4.

The Message of Jesus is even more tenacious than a squirrel at a bird feeder; it will do its best to break down every human barrier we try to impose to bring all people closer to God.

That’s sort of what happens as the Church was born and begins to spread, which we celebrate each year on Pentecost Sunday.  This is the story that Luke tells in the Book of Acts; it’s volume two of Luke’s saga, the first being his Gospel account of the life of Jesus.  Christianity begins as a sect of the Jewish faith and Luke tells the tale of its rapid expansion throughout Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth—Acts 1:8—knocking down barriers every step of the way.

Luke begins Acts where the Gospel left off—see Luke 24:45-53.  The last “scene” of Volume 1 is “replayed” to open Volume 2—kind of like a TV cliffhanger.  The believers have gathered for the Ascension of Jesus. His last words to his disciples is that they should return to Jerusalem and wait…  He assures them they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes—Acts 1:1-11.

Come Holy Spirit, Come... (Acts 2:1-12)

Ten days after Jesus ascends, if you will, the “bird feeder” overflows with Spirit seed in Jerusalem.  Luke describes how the Holy Spirit floods the space where the believers are gathered on the day of Pentecost, a long-standing Jewish festival celebrating first fruits—Acts 2.  The Jewish believers “eat their fill” of the seed and then go forth from that place to spread it.  The Message of Jesus is proclaimed throughout Jerusalem.  More and more people become followers of The Way.  The rulers and authorities of the city are threatened by the growth of “the Church” and begin to persecute the believers. 

Maybe we could view the persecution as “squirrels” and the disciples as “birds” forced to leave the “feeder”. Luke tells us that, following the stoning of Stephen—Acts 7:54-60—the believers began to face “severe persecution”—Acts 8:1.  Many of the disciples flee Jerusalem, but as they go, they carry Spirit seed with them and scatter it as they go throughout Judea and Samaria. 

According to Luke’s story, Spirit seed radiate out further and further from the mother Church in Jerusalem.  The first seeds reach “Samaria” via Philip, who began preaching and baptizing there.  Peter and John hear the news and come to investigate.  The believers receive the Holy Spirit and we have the so-called Samaritan Pentecost—Acts 8:14-17. 

A while later, Saul, the same man who stood and watched approvingly as Stephen was stoned—Acts 8:1, and who had been the most zealous persecutor of the early Church, has a transformative experience on the “Road to Damascus”—Acts 9:1-19—after which he becomes Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles. Immediately, says Luke, he begins spreading Spirit seed in Damascus—Acts 9:20.

A believer named Barnabas takes Paul under his wing and brings him to Jerusalem to meet Peter and the other Apostles.  In order to vouch for Paul, Barnabas must cross “barriers”.  He steps out in faith and trusts this man who not long ago wanted to kill him—and all his friends.  This must have been an awkward meeting, the former persecutor standing before the leaders of the fledgling Church.  (Oh, to have been a fly on the wall for Paul and Peter’s first meeting.)

Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10:44-48)

In Acts 10, the Spirit prompts a Roman Centurion from Caesarea named Cornelius—i.e., a Gentile believer—to send men find Peter in Joppa. Almost simultaneously Peter experiences an intense vision, after which the men arrive at where he is staying.  Peter invites the men to lodge with him, which would violate “boundaries” for a proper Jew—Acts 10:23.  Later, when Peter goes to Caesarea to visit Cornelius, he presumably stays at Cornelius’ home—Acts 10:33. As Peter is speaking to Cornelius and his friends about his vision Luke says that the Holy Spirit fell upon them—Acts 10:44-48.  This Gentile Pentecost experience has a profound impact on Peter. He begins to realize that “God shows no partiality” and that “even the Gentiles” are included in God’s Kingdom.  I also have to wonder if God used this experience to help convince Peter of the legitimacy of Paul’s calling to be Apostle to the Gentiles.  (Peter seems to struggle with consistency in living this out, which brought him in to conflict with Paul—Galatians 2:11-14.)

At my church, we are currently doing a sermon series on the life of Paul based on Adam Hamilton's book: The Call.   The story of this "long distance" Apostle to the Gentiles is fascinating to study—and to look for connections between Paul's story and our stories.  Paul would go on three (possibly four) missionary journeys visiting numerous cities throughout the Roman Empire spreading Spirit seed everywhere he went.  Communities of Christ followers were established at most of the places he travelled.  Paul returned to some of these places several times in the course of a few years.  Eventually, Paul made it to Rome, where a community of Christ followers began.  (He may have travelled even further to the east toward Spain, though there is some debate about that.)  Either way, it is believed that both Peter and Paul reached the end of their earthly sojourns in Rome, but not before the Gospel reached “the ends of the Earth”, by which Luke probably meant the city of Rome.  The symbolism of the Kingdom of God gaining a foothold in the capital city of Caesar’s Empire would not have been missed by his first century audience.

Of course Rome, or even Spain, really wasn’t “the ends of the Earth” was it?  No, it was really just the beginning of the journey for the Way of Jesus.  In a sense, Pentecost has never stopped happening.  What Jesus began, and Peter, Paul, and the other Apostles continued, has carried on for over 2000 years.  Every time the gospel was proclaimed in a new place, seed kept spreading propelled by the wind of the Spirit, until eventually the seed literally circled the globe.  

Whether we grew up in Church, or came to faith just yesterday, or even don’t know if we believe yet, every one of us are here today because someone spread Spirit seed to us.  Our calling as followers of Jesus is to, in a sense, write the "next chapter" of Acts, spreading Spirit seed wherever we go.