Louis Dellar

Louis (Levi I.) indicated that he came to the United States in August 1882. However, he is probably the "Isaac" listed on the same ship's manifest with Solomon, as the age is right. (Levi Yitzak--Isaac--is a common combination.) He is listed among the second group of thirty pioneers to settle in Painted Woods, Dakota Territory, but in his homesteading documents he indicated he had spent time in St. Paul as a laborer before coming to the colony.

He met and married Molly Gertzman at Painted Woods. The colony suffered greatly from lack of knowledge of farming by the settlers, very severe winters and poor management. Levi had to go to Bismarck during Moliina's [Molly's] confinement because it was almost impossible to get a doctor to come to the "poor farmers" thirty miles from town. Himan Gertzman, Molly's father, was one of those who wrote to the Baron de Hirsch Foundation (the sponsor of the colony) about the difficult conditions and the manner in which they were mistreated by agents. Levi filed claim in 1889, then sold his farm, left for St. Paul with his family, and then on to Oregon.

He tried farming again outside of Oregon City for three years, and then went on to Portland where he went into business. By 1899 he was in Spokane, where he had a shoe store and a men's clothing store. Levi was in many businesses. He owned Dellar Beach at Twin Lakes, Idaho, where he had a hotel (which later burned down) and cottages. He was in coal mining and later sold coal in Spokane. He was badly hurt in a railroad accident which left him crippled, and in his later years he lived with Moe and Adele. Molly and the girls went to live in New York, where they prospered.

Reference: Dellar Family Reunion Booklet, by Dorothy Dellar Kohanski, 1984. Data from: Tape recording by Moe Dellar in the Washington State Jewish Archives, University of Washington; homesteading documents; obituary in the Spokane newspaper, personal memories of Dorothy Dellar Kohanski.