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In Sims Ely's book, The Lost Dutchman Mine, he talks of interviews with Julia Thomas, Rhinehart Petrasch and others. T Glover has said now that Sims Ely did not write the Lost Dutchman book. The case may very well be, Ely never knew or talked with Julia and Rhiney and got his information about them 2nd or 3rd hand. Ely got Julia's name wrong and believed Rhiney was her adopted son although Rhiney was only abot 8 years younger than Julia. Other glaring discrepancies are found in his interviews with them.
Julia was reported to be at least 1/4 black, possibly more. In 1900-1920 Phoenix the black population of Phoenix was segregated and forcibly herded into and kept in a 4 block area between Madison and Jefferson and fifth and sixth streets, known as the 3rd ward or Block 41. This was also the area where city leaders kept the prostitution element in check. Sims Ely was one of the cities most outspoken critics of the black community. A reporter for the Arizona Republican, he became editor in 1909 and used that position to rail against the black community. In one editorial he railed against black business competition in Phoenix, especially John Lewis's hotel and barber shop at 7th street and Jefferson, calling Lewis and the black community a moral sink, a vehicle for debauchary, a lawless nigg_r element and a disgrace to the city.
Ely was on the Phoenix school board and in September 1910 fought violently to stop black children from attending a white school only a block away from where they lived. A black father, Samuel Bayless filed a lawsuit against the school board in the case known as, Bayless vs. Ely, Tolleson, Dameron et. al.
The case was overseen by Judge Edward Kent a member of the Phoenix Ku Klux Klan. The City attorney was George Bullard also a member. In that case racial discrimination was obvious as both judge and city attorney refered to Bayless and his children repeatedly as nigg_er's. Of course Ely and the school board prevailed. The Ku Klux Klan in Phoenix was present from it earliest days however did not become openly public until the years 1921 - 1930 when the Klan became a political party.
This was not the only racial attack Ely made as there were many. Even the Chinese community was attacked. In another editorial Ely attacked Ong Dick, the leader of the Chinese community stating the community was a yellow peril amid decent white citizens and railed against Chinese competition with white business in Phoenix. Ely fought successfully to keep the Chinese community confined to the 1st - 3rd street and Jefferson to Madison area.
Given Ely's sentiments and feeling for in his eyes, racially inferior persons, it is doubtful he ever had any direct contact with Julia.
Not until Wm. Crump, a black community leader and head of a large fruit and produce business in Phoenix, came along did the climate change for black business persons and people in Phoenix. Sims Ely eventually moved away from Phoenix and the Klan prospered for many years. It was Wm. Crump who paid for and had Julia buried in the Beth Israel cemetery on 19th avenue south of Henshaw (Buckeye road ) in Phoenix. Her grave there is unmarked although there was at one time a gravestone. Possibly it is still there buried beneath the ground or lost amid the landscaping. Many of the early burials in that cemetery ( 1900 - 1918 ) had no gravestones or they are missing today. It was from the Wm. Crump photo collection that the photo of Julia Thomas ( Julia Schafer Israel) originated as well as photos of many of Phoenix early black business people, clergymen and black civic leaders.
Did Sims Ely interview Julia ? I don't know, no one can say for certain. Given the glaring discrepancies and racial feeling Ely had for minorities, it would seem not. It is a something we may never know for certain. My opinion is no he did not,
but that is just my opinion based on what I have been able to learn and interpret from it.
Matthew Roberts[/QUOT
This just confirms my theory... Thanks for sharing this info...
Travis
m in the afternoon.
