The Addy Homestead

Searching Bureau of Land Management files I have found the original Homestead Certificate for Albert Staeheli No. 9138 dated October 22, 1908.  It was "Lots three and four and the east half of the southwest quarter of Section thirty-one in Township thirty-four north of Range thirty-nine east of the Willamette Meridian, Washington, containing one hundred sixty-two and seventy-two-hundredths acres". 

Checking a USGS topographic map I have located the property northwest of Addy in the Marble Valley north of Swiss Valley at the base of Dunn Mountain.  It is accessable from the Swiss Valley Road and a dirt road runs through the property.  It can be seen clearly on Google Earth.  I will copy the files and maps to the website for documentation. 

I was able to order a death certificate for Albert Staeheli and will include it on the website.  I am working on information about Albert Junior who is believed to have died in Sedro Woolley.

A Stop in Cheney

Thursday, October 22, I left dad's in the morning to return to Kennewick.  I had decided to stop at the state historical archive in Cheney since it holds documents from Stevens County where the Staeheli's homesteaded.  Lee Pierce, Archives Assistant, met me and demonstrated how to access the Washington State data base for genealogy research.  He found a marriage certificate for Walda Staheli and Anton Nold who were married in Spokane on October 10, 1908.   He also found information for death certificates for Albert and Peter Staheli (Stahli).  Finally, he gave me a source to find information about the family homestead in Addy.

Complicating searches for family information is the use of different spellings of Staheli.  The umlaut "a" is used on Swiss documents and I have seen three variations used in America.  Staheli is used on marriage certificates and cemetery registers.  Stahli is also used in the Addy Cemetery register and shows up in the Washington State data base.  Staeheli came to be used consistently over time.  Lee advised me to make my searches as broad as possible to increase the likelihood of discovering documents.  I should start with Sta when seeking documents.

Meeting the Staeheli's

Wednesday, October 21, dad and I returned to Bob and Daphne's home to meet Pat, Therese, Burt and Ann.  I have spoken with Pat and Therese on the phone but met Burt, Bob's brother and Ann, Therese and Pat's mother, for the first time.  We began sharing family information and photos and enjoyed a Sunday style dinner served by Daphne.  After dinner until 5:30 PM we discussed family history while I recorded names and relationships for posting on my website.  I have a wealth of new information and will need several weeks to arrange and organize for publishing on the web.

I am extremely happy to have begun this project and to be meeting relatives I have not previously known.  Collecting stories, photos and other documentation is gratifying and publishing it to my website for the family to see is a special joy I can not explain but accept as what I need to do.

I am grateful to dad, Daphne, Bob, Burt, Ann, Pat and Therese for their support.  I did not record oral histories because we were enjoying great conversation.  I intend to see each of them again for the purpose of recording oral family histories which will more completely tell our family's story.        

Dad, Therese, Daphne, Pat, Burt, Bob and Ann

Trip to Addy and Seattle

One house my grandfather built in Spokane

Tuesday morning dad and I left drove into Spokane to take photos of the three homes his dad, Carl, had built.  Two of the homes are on 17th on the south hill near Manito Park.  The third house is across town and was built for Carl's sister, Rose.  Dad had lived in the two houses and delivered newspapers in the neighborhood.  I took photos of the houses and a fire station where Carl had worked.  We left Spokane at 9 AM driving north to Addy.  It was cold and wet with fog in places.  In Addy we drove through town several times hoping dad would spot familiar buildings but he recognized only a hill where he thought a family home once stood.  There was no sign of the dairy which the Staeheli's had operated in town. 

We drove out of town to the Addy Cemetery which is a pioneer cemetery which has not been well tended.  In recent years a group of volunteers has cleaned up the grounds and documented the burials there.  Listed among the burials is Albert Staheli and Peter Staheli.  Dad and I hoped to locate grave markers for these men.  Albert is my great grandfather who was unknown to dad until a few months ago.  There are no markers for Albert or Peter but we took photos of the cemetery to document the location. 

Dad at Addy Cemetery

Our trip to Seattle took us through beautiful fall scenery and I am determined to return to Addy and Colville on my motorcycle to enjoy the ride and countryside.  We arrived in Kenmore at the home of Bob and Daphne Dempsey at 6 PM.  Daphne served an excellent dinner and they shared documents and family photos.  The first document is a personal recollection of the time the Staeheli's lived in Wisconsin written by Theresa, Daphne's mother.  This will be the next item I publish on the website because the story tells firsthand of the family and their experiences as immigrants.  Daphne gave me permission to copy other handwritten documents which I will scan into my computer and publish on the website, too.  There are many excellent photos and I was especially pleased to have a photo of Mary, the Staeheli matriarch.

Spokane Visit with Dad

Monday, October 19, I drove to Spokane to visit dad.  We planned to take photos of family sites in the area and then drive to the Seattle area to meet other Staeheli's.  I arrived at his home about 3 PM and we drove to Pines Cemetery nearby to take photos of my mother's niche in the mausoleum, dad's half sister, Carol's,

headstone, his stepmother, Lola's headstone and the marker for my sister's son, Saul.  We then drove to Coeur D'Alene where we looked up gravesites of other relatives.  We located the headstone of Mary Staeheli and her daughter, Rose.  We also found the stone of Louis, the youngest of the Staeheli's, and his wife Verna.