Sam Musso kindly supplied me with an answer to my question about a "rope rider." Here it is in case any of you were also curious. Cathy ======================================= Hoist House - Steam powered, two drums working opposite to each other pulled two cables into the mine shaft and around a "Bull Wheel" at the far end of the shaft (the parting) where the mine cars were collected to be pulled out of the mine in trips of about twenty, each carrying about one ton of coal. The cars were coupled together and the hoist rope attached to the front and the tail rope to the back end of the string. The rope rider rode on the back car and signalled the hoist operator in the hoist house with a system of buzzers which were operated by shorting a pair of bare wires running on the roof above the tracks. These wires were also the telephone line from the hoist house to the "parting". Inside the mine the shaft ran up and down hills as on the surface as the shaft followed the curves of the coal seam so it was the hoist operators skill to know when to pull the cable and when to slack it off to keep the trip rolling steadily toward the entrance. The track was doubled between the hoist house and the tipple, a line of empty cars can be seen to the left of the hoist house. The loaded cars will come out on the other track, the cables detached from each end and hooked up to these cars and pulled back into the mine. Inside the mine the horses would move the cars around in the side shafts, moving empties in and loaded ones to the "parting" to make up the trip. At the tipple the cars were moved around using a single horse and the coal was dumped into the tipple.

Hi, I have been transcribing obituaries for the Tri-counties (Pueblo, Huerfano & Las Animas) and came across an obituary for a Lawrence Ward Shaw who died in 1935 in the Cameron Mine. The obituary describes him as a "rope rider." What is a rope rider? It seems that he was a "rope rider" during his rescue of other miners. But, was this an occupation used during normal mining hours or just for emergencies such as this one? Thanks, Cathy

Greg, Try St. Augustine Church in Antonito, Co. Elsie

Maybe there is someone with information on this family? * Jose Maria Trujillo (born 1837 Rio Arriba) married Maria de la Luz Vigil in 1857 at Nuestra Sonora de Los Dolores Catholic Church at Arroyo Hondo near Taos. * By 1860, the couple were living at Conejos. In 1864, their daughter, Leonarda T. Trujillo, was born near Walsenburg, Co. She is my gggrandmother. * I have been looking for Leonarda's baptism record. Anyone know what church I should being looking for? St. Mary's in Walsenburg was my first thought, but I noticed their parish register doesn't start until 1870 and Leonarda was born April 11, 1864. * By 1876, Maria de la Luz Vigil had passed away, and Jose moved his family to Oldham County, Texas. Thus, he was part of Los Pastores who had moved their families and flocks of sheep from N. New Mexico and S. Colorado to Eastern Texas. The pastores were sheepmen who settled along the Canadian River near Tascosa. By the mid 1880s, the Texas cattlemen with their large ranches had driven the pastores back to New Mexico, and many settled near Tucumcari, NM. Thank you, Greg Russell

Hi Ben, I was not able to find much. Juan & Josepha Archuleta are not listed in the Pueblo Marriage records. There is no listing for Josepha Archuleta in the newspaper obituary file for the Pueblo Chieftain. In the Pueblo City Directory I found entries from 1908 through 1914 for a Juan F. Archuleta who worked at the Smelter (connected with the steel mill) and lived in Salt Creek which is a small area just behind and below the steel mill where primarily Hispanic folks who were working at the steel mill lived.You said you found Juan living in Huerfano in 1910 so this may not be your guy. There were very few Archuletas listed in those days. Sorry I could not find anything concrete. I hope Karen with COHUERFA can help you. Happy Cinco De Mayo !! Billie

Karen and all, I, too, must agree with Janice. I had just found out that the man who I thought was my great-grandfather for over 30 years, was actually my step-great-grandfather, when I first found out about your work on the tombstone project. I did a search looking for the stranger's name I had been given and found a picture of the tombstone of my true great-grandfather that Karen had taken. I lived in Texas at the time, but within a few weeks I was already up at the cemetery searching for his grave marker, which I now had a picture of. It took two trips up from southern Texas to find it, but I couldn't have done it without Karen's hard work and her picture. Thank you Karen for all of your hard work to help people find their roots. Sincerely, Kelly Ashton

I hope this person gets back to you for his info. I appreciate you and your helpers more all the time. Every time I think I have dead ended on the Huerfano list for family something new pops up. I am so thankful for the Huerfano County website. Thanks to all who works for all of us on this website. Janice

Hi everyone, Someone wrote to me and asked for assistance last week. I had the resources they needed and I was so happy to help. I spent hours doing research and typing all of it up. When I sent the email it came back to me saying that my address was not accepted. This is the 3rd time this has happened to me, and it's real frustrating. Now I heard on our State list that this has happened to another CC also. Folks if you send me a request for help PLEASE make sure that my address will be accepted by your inbox. I don't mind helping out, in fact I love it, and feel that's one of my jobs here. But I can sure get frustrated when I drag out all the resources, spend hours compiling something, more hours typing it all up, just to have my reply rejected. I know the other CC's feel the same, so please add us to your accept list BEFORE you request help. Thanks for listening, and hugs to all. Karen

Hi everyone, On our Dante Alighieri page I only had a partial list of the founders. John contributed this data quite some time ago and when I opened the saved file, it had corrupted so the bottom was cut off, hence the partial list. I tried writing to John but he had changed email addresses and I couldn't contact him. Well just recently he sent me his new email address so we made contact again. I explained the problem to John and he sent me the completed list of the founders. THANK YOU JOHN!!! I just posted it to our website so make sure if you have Italian ancestors to check the page for your family names. http://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/dante.html Enjoy! Karen

Hello folks: I just had a question about obituaries that qualify for our database. Obituaries for any person who was born in, worked in, who lived in, OR passed away in Huerfano, Las Animas, or Pueblo County qualifies for our database. I've even included obituaries for persons whose ancestors helped to settle the area, making reference to that pioneer. I was born in California, but my obituary would qualify because I am a descendant of John William Gribble, who came to Colorado as part of the Georgia Colony. This is about Colorado history, and those who are a part of that history should be included. Hope this helps! Now, let the obituary contributions begin! ;-)) Louise Tri-County Obituary Coordinator

ok, i admit....today "flowerworld" (a wonderful nursery not too far from me) & well too many plants came home w/me....but i swear karen....tonight....it's back to the obit extractions....after all i've found it really weirds out our neighbors when i'm planting in the dark....better to work on the obits!!!! tee hee! hope all are well this spring!!!! taylor >From: "Karen Mitchell" <km1109@aculink.net> >To: COHUERFA-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [COHUERFA] 4-24-2005 >Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:56:30 -0600 > >Hi members, >Hoping all of you are well and warm. It's snowing here right now and pretty >cold. But we've had some beautiful weather the past week. > >Louise will be making her Obituary announcement pretty soon. Everytime I >post all the new Obits I appreciate Louise even more. I could never keep up >with all she does and still work on all the other projects I have going. >Louise I hope you never leave us, I would be lost without you! > >I added the Family Group Sheet of Andrew J. Steele, contributed by Lynn >DeBeal. THANK YOU Lynn! All you folks need to remember that if you are >having a problem on any branch of your family in the County, this is one >way >to make connections with others that may have data that will help you. So >be >sure to send your Family Group Sheet to me for posting. >http://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/groupsheets/fgslist.html > >The Lists are starting to slow down again as they usually do about this >time >of year. Guess everyone is out working in their yards. I know Taylor is, >huh >Taylor! Well so am I and it feels wonderful to be outside again after the >winter. > >We are getting closer to being done with the Obituary Extraction project. >As >soon as it's all done I will be updating the cemetery listings. > >Let me hear form you if you have any suggestions or if you find something >that needs correcting. I'll leave the light on for you (smile). >Hugs, >Karen > >

WOW!!!! thanks so much louise & all for sharing all the obits & louise & karen for all the amazing work that you both have done!!!! taylor

Hello Folks: Karen and I are pleased to announce that the Tri-County Obituary database has just been updated. Over 1,000 obituaries have been added and we have finally reached our goal of over 15,000 obituaries. Naturally, we do not intend to stop with that number, so when you acquire a new obituary please don't forget to help our database grow! I sincerely appreciate the dedicated contributors who have been making my job as Obituary Coordinator a pleasurable endeavor. Special thanks to Karen herself for tackling the reverse copies of obituaries that are so difficult to transcribe; and for tearing down and rebuilding this database with each update. She has my greatest admiration! The continued efforts of Southern Colorado researchers has made this database a valuable resource for those researching in Huerfano, Las Animas, and Pueblo Counties. The word is out, and I receive several inquiries a week regarding obituaries and how to go about acquiring one. Please tell others about our database, and ask if they might make a contribution themselves. There is no better way to honor your ancestor, preserve your family obituary, and make it available for other researchers. You may view the updated Tri-County Obituary Database at: http://www.kmitch.com/Pueblo/obits/obitindex.html Sincere appreciation, Louise Adams Tri-County Obituary Coordinator

Hi members, Hoping all of you are well and warm. It's snowing here right now and pretty cold. But we've had some beautiful weather the past week. Louise will be making her Obituary announcement pretty soon. Everytime I post all the new Obits I appreciate Louise even more. I could never keep up with all she does and still work on all the other projects I have going. Louise I hope you never leave us, I would be lost without you! I added the Family Group Sheet of Andrew J. Steele, contributed by Lynn DeBeal. THANK YOU Lynn! All you folks need to remember that if you are having a problem on any branch of your family in the County, this is one way to make connections with others that may have data that will help you. So be sure to send your Family Group Sheet to me for posting. http://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/groupsheets/fgslist.html The Lists are starting to slow down again as they usually do about this time of year. Guess everyone is out working in their yards. I know Taylor is, huh Taylor! Well so am I and it feels wonderful to be outside again after the winter. We are getting closer to being done with the Obituary Extraction project. As soon as it's all done I will be updating the cemetery listings. Let me hear form you if you have any suggestions or if you find something that needs correcting. I'll leave the light on for you (smile). Hugs, Karen

Thank you Dennis for a job well done. Only a true genealogist would work that hard at getting info. To think a ten mile hike!!!!!!!! Hope the blisters are all healed. Janice

Dennis, I spent a few minutes going through your pictures. You did a beautiful job! You should be very proud that you took the time to add a memorial to our history. I thank you. Linda

THANK YOU SO MUCH DENNIS!!!! can't wait to visit the site, don't know if any of my personal ancestors are buried there but the fact that you hiked so far & did so much is truly fabulous! it really goes to show what one person can accomplish w/a little chutzpuh (sp).... dennis, thanks so much & congrats! taylor ps. when do we get to hear about the snakes, bears, gopher holes!!!! hope your feet have recovered! >From: "Karen Mitchell" <km1109@aculink.net> >To: COHUERFA-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [COHUERFA] A new cemetery >Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 18:37:52 -0600 > >Hi everyone, >We have had the Evergreen Cemetery listing online for several years but I >had given up on ever getting the photos for it. First, I couldn't find it, >then when I did find it, I had to cross private property to get to it. Then >when I contacted the leaser of the property he wouldn't let me through. >Well >of course we all know that a property owner has to give ingress and egress, >but I was trying to do this without bringing out the big guns, so to speak. >Well, our wonderful volunteer, Dennis Reed, hiked 10 1/2 miles to get those >photos. I didn't know he was going to do that so I was quite surprised when >all the photos came into my inbox. >You can't imagine the happy dance I was doing. It's a wonder I didn't fall >off my chair, I was so excited. >So here folks, for your viewing pleasure are the Evergreen Cemetery photos. >Can we ever thank Dennis enough for doing this for us? He even had on new >boots and got blisters from the hike. >THANK YOU Dennis, we are so grateful for your work!!! Please folks, say >thanks to him here on the list. >http://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/evrgrncem.html > >Karen > >

Dennis: Way to go!!!! Your effort is greatly appreciated! Where there's a will there's a way! Not only have you captured the headstones on film, you have documented the condition of the Evergreen Cemetery. Your work is outstanding, and stands as a witness to the pioneering spirit of the early Colorado settlers. Your ten and a half mile hike will go a long way to preserve and document these headstones for the history of southern Colorado, and by sharing your work with all of us, we, too, can enjoy a little bit of that history. Sincere thanks, Louise

Hi everyone, We have had the Evergreen Cemetery listing online for several years but I had given up on ever getting the photos for it. First, I couldn't find it, then when I did find it, I had to cross private property to get to it. Then when I contacted the leaser of the property he wouldn't let me through. Well of course we all know that a property owner has to give ingress and egress, but I was trying to do this without bringing out the big guns, so to speak. Well, our wonderful volunteer, Dennis Reed, hiked 10 1/2 miles to get those photos. I didn't know he was going to do that so I was quite surprised when all the photos came into my inbox. You can't imagine the happy dance I was doing. It's a wonder I didn't fall off my chair, I was so excited. So here folks, for your viewing pleasure are the Evergreen Cemetery photos. Can we ever thank Dennis enough for doing this for us? He even had on new boots and got blisters from the hike. THANK YOU Dennis, we are so grateful for your work!!! Please folks, say thanks to him here on the list. http://www.kmitch.com/Huerfano/evrgrncem.html Karen

----- Original Message ----- From: BenSRod@aol.com To: km1109@aculink.net Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 8:37 PM Subject: Re: [COHUERFA] archuleta family of colorado,????? hi, if any one can help me with information on a pedro archuleta that lived in walsenburge colorado in 1941---- and he passed a way in 1944 colorado he was 76, looking for any family i think he was married more than two times he had a brother that his name was juan fransico archuleta ----or juan fernando archuleta and he passed a way in 1944 at the age of 76 in gardner colorado, if any one knows any information on this family of colorado---- and new mexico, ,,,,,, thank you ,,, ben s rodriguez 2004 lancey,dr,modesto,ca, 95355, bensrod@aol.com if any one can help me with the cencus on pedro archuleta ....or looking for a obit ,,,, on a soledad archuleta that was one of his wifes, and she passed a way in 1950, colorado born in 1853,???? any one that can help, thank you,