Den Dempsey Comes to Town

I first met Den Dempsey at the memorial service for his uncle, Bob Dempsey (see blog post of April 17, 2011 titled Bob Dempsey's Passing).  Den and I have stayed in contact and have considered getting together for some activity. 

Den and his friend, Kem, arrived in Kennewick during the morning of Wednesday, April 17, and after arranging for their two dogs to be comfortable at my home, we drove to the trail head for a hike up Badger Mountain. 

Badger Mountain is a local landmark which offers exceptional views of the Tri-Cities from the top.  At the top only a little walking is necessary to get 360 degree views of the area.  This day was clear with no clouds or wind and a pleasant temperature cool enough for hiking. 

Up and down the mountain took several hours which enabled us to engage in conversation about many topics from family to politics.  We drove back to my house where my wife, Kathy, prepared dinner for the four of us and we sampled several beverages we have not had before. 

Kem's Weener dog, Lula, and our Weener dog, Ruby, got along well in the house and back yard while Den's German Shepard, Zeta, stayed in the back of their vehicle where she was most comfortable.  Zeta is old and has joint problems. 

Den provided a copy of his memorial tribute to his father, Burt, which I will publish soon.  Den reminded me that I have a copy of his tribute to his uncle Bob, who had died in 2011.

Now that I have created memory for more documents on the original Staeheli Family of Guebsenmoos website I am publishing that memorial on the page dedicated to Franziska and her descendants. 

Den and I will be getting together more frequently as we identify activities we will enjoy together.
      

News from Stacy Pettitt

Stacy Pettitt emailed me saying that her mother, Claudia Staeheli Scott, has an OLD family photo album found at Stacy's grandmother's house. 

Claudia is the daughter of Lester and Gladys Staeheli and Lester was a son of  Robert Hermann Staeheli who operated a dairy in Colville, Washington. 

Claudia is reviewing the photos in the album with her mother, Gladys, who is marking the photos and documenting family stories. 

I welcome the information being documented and will publish it when available.

Contacts from Australia

We Staeheli's have relatives in Australia who are descendants of Theresa Staeheli who married Frank Jaeger in Victoria, British Columbia before emigrating to Tasmania, Australia about 1913.

Recently I have been contacted by Greg Jaeger and Ian Jaeger who have learned of my websites through Peg Staeheli and Daphne Dempsey. 

Ian provided additional information about Theresa which I am posting on the website.

Greg and Ian will assist the work to fill in details about our Australian relatives.
 

Responses to My Inquiry About Caspar Albert, the son

After receiving emails and phone calls from several Staeheli's who had no information about the burial location for Caspar Albert Staeheli, the son, I heard from Daphne Dempsey. 

Daphne recently returned from a trip to Australia to visit relatives and reported she truly enjoyed her three weeks there.

Daphne recalls that her mother, Theresa, related that the son was in a military hospital in Sedro Woolley when he died and it might be possible that he was buried in the vicinity of Steilacoom, Washington.  This provides a new direction for my search which I will follow in the hope of finding an answer.


 

Solving a Puzzle - Where is Caspar Albert Staeheli the Son?

For several years I have researched where Caspar Albert Staeheli, the son, born April 24, 1879 is buried.  The most reliable story of his passing is that he died in a Sedro Woolley hospital from Typhoid Fever. 

My access to Washington State Digital Archives has provided no information and contact with Alison Costanza at the Northwest Regional Branch of Washington State Archives at WWU in Bellingham has also failed to find a death record for Caspar Albert. 

While reviewing documents I got from Paul Staeheli (see Paul's Treasure Trove, April 17, 2011) I read a document listing Albert's death date as October 11, 1901 in a hospital in Sedro, Washington.  The source is Joseph Staeheli's record book.  It is also noted he was called "Albert" by the family.

A page from the Staeheli family journal signed by the Father, Caspar Albert Staeheli, reinforces this information.

A statement by the author of The Staeheli Family - an unattributed history states he is buried in Sedro Woolley.  With this information I will continue work to find a record of his date of death and location of burial so I can document his final resting place. 

However, a document from Pauline Staeheli Hagan listing the 16 Staeheli children has pencil notes stating that Caspar Albert, the son, was buried in Stylacoom.  I read this to be Steilacoom, WA which is near Tacoma.

After checking cemetery records at the Union Cemetery in Sedro Woolley and the Western State Hospital Memorial Cemetery near Steilacoom I have found no listing for Albert Staeheli. 

I spoke by telephone with a librarian at the Sedro Woolley library where genealogical records of Skagit County are kept.  A local genealogical society has recorded deaths in the county from funeral home records.  From the 1880's until 1908 the state did not require or maintain death records.  Counties were responsible for those records.  There is no record for Caspar Albert. 

This is a mystery to me.  Family records are very clear about this information but I have found no supporting county or state documents.  And I have not yet found his burial place. 

I will contact several Staeheli contributors to determine if someone has specific information about Albert's place of burial.

Because Albert arrived in America a year before the entire family and is credited with encouraging the Staeheli's to follow I believe he was a significant influence establishing our families here. 


 

Website Changes

Several articles have been moved from the original website to the new website.  This was necessary because the original site had reached its memory capacity so no more information could be added. 

I also changed the home page to minimize redundancy.

The new site has sufficient memory for much more information and I have added new articles from documents provided by Paul Staeheli which he had obtained from Pauline Staeheli’s estate.

July Date for Laying the Grave Marker

Tienne Staeheli will be visiting the US in July and wants to participate in laying the stone memorial for Caspar Albert Staeheli.  A date of July 9, 10 or 11 is planned for placing the memorial at the Addy Cemetery. 

My wife, Kathy and I along with Tom Staly Sr., Jerry Staeheli and Tienne will place the granite marker.  We invite any other Staeheli/Staly family members to join us for that event.  I will note on this blog the date and time when we have finalized our plans.