Tuesday, February 23, 2010

More help from St. Gallen Staatsarchiv in Switzerland

Recently I have received several emails from Marcel Mueller, archivist at the St. Gallen Staatsarchiv.  Marcel and his associates have been researching the era of interest to me and have found records of considerable interest to the Staeheli's.  They have located meeting minutes of the SAK board of directors dated July 9, 1898 listing Albert Staheli as having been paid 28,000 Swiss Francs for his property in Guebsenmoos.  SAK is the power plant company which purchased the properties in Guebsenmoos and the nearby area to develop the reservoir.  On June 7, 1898 SAK representatives and evaluators visited Guebsenmoos and settled deals with the residents whose properties were being purchased.  Marcel sent a copy of the original handwrittern document.
Also, Marcel has located photographs of the Guebsenmoos area from before the reservoir construction.  It is my hope to find photos of the Staheli property showing the house and barn.  Kathy and I will see those photos during our visit to Switzerland this summer.  We are planning a day in St. Gallen to continue research at the Staatsarchiv with assistance from Marcel and Patric Schnitzer.
Marcel checked the Ellis Island website and noted that the hometown for all of the Staheli family members has been changed to Guebsenmoos.  I had initiated this change months ago and it has been done.  I must also check the Swiss Roots website to see if the change has been made there.  Progress comes in small steps but I am pleased to be helping to improve the records for those who value historical accuracy. 
My gratitude to Marcel and Patric for their continued support.