Garry,
I now have little doubt that Waltz, the LA Waltz, is the Waltz of the “Dutch Jacob” legend. Dr. Blair and his publisher did an amazing job pulling it all together. So, it seems that Henry Youngblood’s find in the Bradshaw Mt. is the Lost Dutchman, and Jacob Waltz’s find in the Superstitions (if he had one) is the Dutch Jacob Mine. For me, it boils down to the Declaration Of Intention. If it is genuine, and I see no reason to doubt it, than Jacob Waltz and Higham’s Walzer, Jacob Walzer, who arrived in 1861 at New York’s Castle Garden, cannot be the same person. To confirm this, Higham himself claimed to have a photograph of Jacob Walzer taken in Jersey City, NJ in 1864. Jacob Waltz was already in Arizona by 1864. Garry, one thing that I would ask is that you look at the original 1848 document again. I think that it may be “five” years in the United States, not “nine” as suggested by Dr. Blair. That would place Waltz’s date of arrival in the U.S. around 1843, not 1839.
And what about Higham’s Jacob Walzer? I now see that it was all based on the mysterious Jacob Walz of Oberschwandorf. Blair agrees that Walz was likely the origional name, however now it is clear that Jacob Walzer and Jacob Waltz (Walz) are two unique people.
"In 1864, we find him in Prescott, Territorial Capital of Arizona. The United States census of that year list him as Jacob Waltzer (not Walz, Waltz or Waly)..." another reason to proof the original 1864 census. Is this Higham or Barnard??
I wonder why Waltz never filed on his claim in the Superstitions? Waltz was entitled to do so which makes be think that the discovery was something more than a typical mining claim.
Starman1, Klondike,
I don’t know what is in that box, but yes, I do think about it. I can only imagine that whatever it is, it confirms Blair’s possible doubt concerning the Waltz name. As I said, I can’t get to that box right now, however Dr. Blair’s wonderful wife is still with us and her recall is incredible. So, I have a little insight into Blair’s mind while writing with Fireman and his staff.
I also agree with you about Herman Petrasch and don’t doubt his belief in the Walzer name. But again, it cannot be the Walzer who arrived in 1861. That Jacob Walzer is a true mystery… I have not given up on him either, but you must agree that he is not the Dutch Jacob of the Superstitions. Your “gatekeeper” if indeed he was a “gatekeeper”, can be traced to Mississippi in 1848; actually 1847. Beyond that date it’s anyone’s guess. What is not clear is the connection to Charles Hauselt of New York. Was he Walzer’s or Waltz’s (Walz) cousin. Higham stated that he would never disclose Walzer's NY family name, but in my copy of Barnard’s book Hauslet (Hauselt) is named. I wonder if Higham’s first edition withholds the Hauselt name and if Barnard added it in later editions disclosing Higham's secret? Anyway, starman should be able to set the record straight if he is writing a book on the topic. I hope that he does.
I understand that starman’s goal is to promote the Tucson Artifacts and to perhaps tell (publish) the amazing story behind them, but if you are going to “spin me like a top”, you/he will first need to answer the Waltz, Walzer, Walz question.
At this point, I am still looking for Jacob Walzer who arrived at NY in 61. Why? Hope… that Higham was something more than a BS’er. There are still several people named Jacob Walzer that need to researched, including two in the U.S. Army (Missouri & PA), a shoemaker in Kentucky, a laborer in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the one that has my attention, Jacob Walzer, the miner living in Leadville, CO in 1894. I believe that there is another Lost Dutchman's mine in CO?
