Meet A
Pioneer..........
Profile of Charles Ilfeld
Charles Ilfeld
was the seventh child born to Betty and Lester Ilfeld in the
town of Homburg Von der Hohe, Germany. At the age of 18, Charles
arrived in Santa Fe. He left behind a life of fear and political
insecurity to emerge as a new pioneer in the frontier territory
of New Mexico. His brother Herman had come to New Mexico first
and arranged for Charles to work in Taos as an agent for the
thriving business owned by two well-known traders in the Territory
of New Mexico, Elsberg and Amberg. Charlesí ambitious efforts
quickly returned excellent dividends. He built a formidable
mercantile emporium and became an exemplary member of New Mexico
society. His early experiences with Elsberg and Amberg taught
him the basics of the retail business. He parlayed that knowledge
into a business of significant success in the bustling town
of Las Vegas, New Mexico. There is evidence of the presence
of the Ilfeld family in Las Vegas today. From Las Vegas, the
Charles Ilfeld Company moved to Albuquerque, where it continued
operations well into the 1950s. Today, many descendants of the
Ilfeld family work hard to preserve the many treasured memories
of the Ilfeld legacy in New Mexico.
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 BOOK
REVIEW
Louis Felsenthal:
Citizen-Soldier
of Territorial
New Mexico
Author: Jacqueline Dorgan Meketa
University of New Mexico Press, 1982
Louis Felsenthal
was instrumental in forming The Historical Society of New Mexico.
Louis Felsenthal was in the Battle of Valverde, which was the
first major Civil War battle in the Territory of New Mexico.
Louis Felsenthal was Clerk of the House for the Ninth Territorial
Legislative Assembly. His role in New Mexico history includes
colorful adventures with Commander Kit Carson. His life as a
civil servant, mercantile trader and man about town showed that
he took very little time to adjust to life in turbulent New
Mexico. There is evidence of his friendship with the power brokers
of Santa Fe, and his story offers wonderful insights into life
in the Territory. Meketa verbally paints a fascinating canvas
of life in Territorial Santa Fe. With a gift for good research
and a conversational writing style, this book brings early Santa
Fe alive. Felsenthal is not one of the most popular names in
New Mexico history, but Meketaís fine book points to the significant
impact Louis Felsenthal had on his adopted home. There are too
few books like this one. If you have always wanted to know what
being a Jew on the frontier really involved, you will get a
clear picture from this valuable contribution to the literature
of New Mexico.
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