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The latest information on the upcoming Kampa
and Related Families Reunion to be held in St. Cloud, Minnesota on July 1 is now posted. Please contact
Sharon Farrah for information and reservations by June 1. A fun
time should be had by all!
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Sally Berthiaume
(née Braun) has kindly shared photographs originally from her grandmother's album
which her mother Marie had inherited from
Grandma Stimler. As a result, there are now new photographs posted on
Junior's and Dick Stimler's biographies,
as well as photographs from Paul Stimler's first birthday party in Wayzata, Minnesota
on August 19, 1962, a party with the Stimler kids in Ottawa, Ontario circa
April 1963, and a visit from the Weingards in May 1968. We were inspired by
Sally's generosity to include two pages of photographs from Dick Qvale's
album of a visit to our grandparents' new home in Webster Groves, Missouri circa
August 1964. We are very grateful to Grandma Stimler for initially putting the album together,
Aunt Marie for taking such good care of it and Sally
for so generously sharing it with us all!
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Speaking of Grandma Stimler's
album, there were a number of photographs therein which we need help identifying so they can be forwarded to family
members. As a result, there are now 12 new additions to the Orphan Photographs
section of the site. Please take a minute to check out the new pictures and let us know if you see anyone you recognize.
We can then send these precious old photos to the right people.
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Marge Randall's research of last summer
on the
Franz Anton Stimmler family has yielded much information for biographies of
Tony Stimler's brother George Aloysius Stimmler
and aunts Francis Stimmler and
Theresa Franciska "Frances" Schaaf (née Stimmler)
in addition to Theresa's husband Joseph Schaaf. A tip of the hat to you, Marge!
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Paul and Mark Stimmler
have contributed information and a photograph for a biography of Nicholas "Nick" Stimmler,
brother of their grandfather Joseph, and biographies of their mother
Louise and father Leon. Paul
also collaborated with Joe Hall on Thoughts on the
Stimmler/Stimler Surname. In addition, Paul and Mark Stimmler's Uncle Melvin who was in espionage in Germany during WWII
(they called it something else at the time) had some first-hand observations of the Alsace/Elsace area which have been
added to the Stimmler/Stimler Family History. Thank you all for your wonderful
contributions!
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Thanks to information provided in Don Kampa's
book, Gram and Gramps, biographies have been added for Joan Kay Will (née Kampa)'s
husband Rod and sons Eric Jon,
Peter Kampa and Paul Rud Will. In addition,
Dick Kampa's article from the 4th Edition of the SKI News (Summer 2000) entitled,
A Pastime That Travels the Generations: Reading has been added to the site.
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A recent letter from Helen Hengel
(née Hamer) included some great photographs to share with the family group! There's a picture of Rube Stimler
in January 1979, along with photos of Helen and husband Virg
looking very small next to Minnesota's March snowdrifts! Also, there is a wonderful
photograph of Helen and Virg on Easter with two of their adorable grandchildren, Joshua Raschick and
Kayla Bauer. It was so nice to receive your letter with these great pictures, Helen -- thank you very much!
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This great old photograph of
Anna Maria Voerding (née Janning)with her daughter,
Catherine Mary Voerding has
travelled across the ocean and back to find its way to this site! First located by
Jim Balder, it was passed on to German relative
Martin Holz who was subsequently contacted by
Joe Hall in his research. Cousin Joe has passed it on to us.
Thank you Jim, Martin and Joe for sending this wonderful picture our way! In addition, information from Jim Balder
and Katie Brambrick Brown has been used to create a biography for Duelm pioneer
Henry Voerding, father of the lovely
Catherine Balder (née Voerding) pictured at left, for which
we are quite grateful.
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Due to Sharon A. Farrah's
excellent research, information about Thomas and
Johanna Kampa's first child, Franz, has been added to their biographies. She has also provided
information for bios of Richard and Elaine Balder (née Dziuk),
brother and sister-in-law of Clifford Balder. Many thanks to you, Sharon!
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Connie Balder Mickolajak has
called our attention to an informative post in the Polish Roots genealogy newsletter by
William F. "Fred" Hoffman regarding the
meaning of Polish farmer terms in 19th century Poland. The socio-economic background
surrounding the various terms is enlightening and of much interest. A tip of the hat to Connie for locating this article!
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Diane Thornston has contributed
biographies and obituaries for some of her uncles. As a result, there are now bios posted for brothers
Raymond R., Eugene "Gene" and
Lawrence Kampa. Thank you very much, Diane!
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It is with a very heavy heart that we inform you that
Clifford Balder, dear family member and beloved teacher extraordinare to hundreds
of grateful and admiring students, has passed away after a valiant battle with cancer. Cliff was held in the
greatest affection and respect by all who were honored to know him and he will be sorely missed by many. We are grateful
to Mary Joyce for sending a card with a remembrance of Cliff's life,
Diane Thornston and Jim Balder for providing
Cliff's obituaries from the local newspapers, and to Connie Balder Mickolajak
for her story of a recent visit with her mother and second cousin remembering growing up with Cliff on
adjacent farms. We send our most heartfelt condolences and love to Mary Joyce, son Conan and Cliff's family.
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For those family members who are so inclined, there is now a new
enhancement added to the site: the Family Forum. We hope you
enjoy this new chat feature and the opportunity to get to better know one another.
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Calling all Kampa family members!
The Kampa branches family reunion will be held July 1, 2001 at Riverside Park in
St. Cloud, Minnesota from 12 Noon to 6 PM. This reunion includes all Kampas and family who immigrated to
Benton County, Minnesota from Polska Nowa Wies, Poland during 1870 to 1885. Please contact Sharon Farrah
to make your reservations. A fun time should be had by all!
Sharon's research
into Polska Nowa Wies and Komprachcice microfilmed birth and marriage records has yielded three children of Catherina
(Martin Kampa's younger sister) and Johann Kusnierz
reflected near the bottom of the Kampa family relationships page. In the process she
discovered Hedwig, Martin, Paul, Josepha and Johanna Kampa, children who died in infancy of Martin and Frances Kampa
prior to their immigration to the United States. A particular gem is Martin Kampa's
baptismal certificate circa November 3, 1819. Well done! Sharon's excellent research ability is now available for
your genealogical conundrums; she has been added to the Resources page.
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Brothers Mark and
Paul Stimmler have contributed a cornucopia of information about and photographs
of their great-grandfather Johann "John" Stimmler, brother to
Franz Anton Stimmler. This includes a photograph
of Johann Stimmler and his daughters Kate and Mary taken in 1903, an excerpt regarding Johann from
The First One Hundred Years of St. John the Baptist Church (including
a picture of Johann Stimmler's farmhouse in Manayunk, Pennsylvania as it stands today), and photos of the gravestone
of Johann, Mary and their son, Johann V. Stimmler with a shot of great-grandson Paul T. J. Stimmler standing nearby.
There are also biographies for Johann's wife, Mary McAleman, their sons
Johann "John" V. and Joseph Stimmler
(with a photograph of Joseph and his brother Nicholas as children and one taken of him on his wedding day),
and Joseph's wife, Anna Stimmler (née Hennessy). Anna Stimmler's biography has a
wonderful photograph of her and her six sons taken in 1912. Mark and Paul have
generously passed along an excerpt from the St. John the Baptist Church book regarding
Franz Anton Stimmler and the other
Officers of Jackson's Rifles during the Civil War. There are now draft biographies online for Paul Stimmler
and his wife, Gale. Finally, giving new meaning to the concept of "Latest Additions," there is a
biography complete with photographs of Paul's newborn (as of February 8, 2001) grandson,
Paul Francis Murphy, great-great-great-grandson of Johann Stimmler
pictured at left! Welcome to the world, little one, and many, many thanks to Mark and Paul!
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More joyful news: a beautiful little baby girl has been born to
happy parents Joey and Renée Fortino! Her name is Jenna Alyson.
Congratulations all around and especially to delighted grandparents Peggy and
Joseph Fortino, and to proud great-grandfather
Gene Kampa!
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Joe Hall
has been collaborating with other family members in developing material for the family web site. He and Marge Randall
contributed updated information to William Paul Stimmler's biography which now includes
his wife, Bertha Goenner, and children Donald, Marion and John Henry. (Marge's research
also turned up additions to Sophia Maria Stimmler's biography as well.) Joe and
Mark Stimmler have discovered a couple of possible meanings
for the Stimmler/Stimler surname. Thank you all!
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Martha "Sis" Munson Hanson (née Kampa)
and her daughter Janet Deming (née Munson) have two wonderful photographs
to share! The first is a picture of Martha's uncle August B. Kampa
and his family in front of cigar factory no. 195 (scroll down for a second picture with a close-up view of the whole
family). They also contributed a very nice photograph of the J. L. Kampa family
in the mid-1930s. In addition, there are now biographies for Janet, her brother
Jack Munson and his wife Dorothy. Thank you so
much, Martha, Janet, Jack and Dorothy!
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Candice Hern is Jack and Dorothy Munson's
son Greg's significant other who is a published romance novel writer. Her sixth book, Miss Lacey's Last Fling,
is set in England's Regency period and is now available at through your favorite online bookseller. Come discover
the world of historical and Regency romances through the eyes of Candy at her
delightful and informative web site. There you can read an excerpt from her recent novel, view antique Regency fashion
prints and discover more about this fun family member -- not to mention you can place your book order in one click
from her site straight to Miss Lacey's order page on amazon.com!
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Connie Balder Mickolajak has
located a wonderful map of the area around Kanitz, Germany, homeland of our Balder ancestors.
The zoomed-in version has superb detail, right down to the buildings and trees. Thanks to Connie's directions, we have been
able to pinpoint Massel and Kloch Felder, villages where Carl and
Maria Balder attended church, as well as Peterwitz, where
they lived for a time. Thank you so much for sharing this fascinating map with us, Connie!
Connie has also made a connection with
Katie Brambrick Brown, a great-granddaughter of
Edward Balder and Catherine Mary Voerding,
who has so kindly provided information on their branch of the family. Welcome to the family group, Katie, and
thank you again, Connie!
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Diane Thornston has contributed
biographies and photographs of both her grandparents, Michael and
Josephine Kampa (née Stanek). Diane also sent an obituary for
Agnes Walburn (née Kampa), Michael's sister, so there
are now biographies for both Agnes and her husband, Carroll. Thank you very much, Diane!
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The third addition from Don Kampa's
book, Gram and Gramps, Chapter 3 High School Days has been added recently to the
site. In it Don remembers his high-school friends and hijinks, including his first airplane ride in a barnstormer. We are
indebted to Don's son, Dick for a copy of this wonderful book.
Dick and Bonnie Kampa
have also contributed a super picture of them taken at last June's Engle family reunion at a state park in Pennsylvania.
Thank you so much for sharing!
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In the Winter 2000 issue of the Stimler/Kampa Independent Newsletter
(5th Edition) Helen Lundblad (née Stimler)
told the heartwarming story behind the sterling silver shoe charms that each
grandchild of Viola Stimler has as a legacy of their grandmother's love.
This remembrance has been added to the family web site and we are very grateful to Helen
for providing it.
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We are deeply saddened to report that
Marie Braun (née Stimler), beloved mother of Dorothy,
Sally, Nancy, Ronald,
Susan, Daniel and Diane
passed away unexpectedly on January 13, 2001. Marie
was the baby sister of Spence Stimler, Osceola Winegard
and Helen Lundblad. Dana Stimler has shared a remembrance of a visit
with Uncle Joe and Aunt Marie, and Spence Stimler contributed a
photograph of the Braun and Lundblad families with Rupert Stimler taken in the
early 1970s. Our grief is shared by many and we extend our most profound sympathy to Marie's family.
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Mary Joyce Balder sent a nice photograph of her, Cliff,
and their son Conan taken Christmas 1993. There are now new biographies for Cliff's parents, George
and "Mamie" Balder, courtesy of information Cliff has provided on his family in the past.
Thank you to Mary Joyce and Cliff -- we send you and your family our love and support.
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Jan Peake has provided
information on some members of her family which is reflected in new biographies for her children
Frank Boone, Kelly Partelow and
Colleen Dresden. Thank you so much, Jan!
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Joe Hall's research
into Stimlers/Stimmlers currently living in the Pennsylvania area was wildly successful in that he made contact with
Mark and Paul Stimmler, cousins
from John Stimmler's branch of the family. John Stimmler was a brother of
Franz Anton Stimmler. There will be more information following as a result of
this connection. As if this weren't enough, Joe's research also
turned up a homestead deed for John W. Foley and information for new
biographies on John's brothers,
Michael H. Foley, Timothy Foley and
Thomas Foley, the other three members of the renowned Foley Brothers firm.
In addition, a link has been added to our Resources page to the two sites he recently used to locate our
Stimmler relatives in Pennsylvania. Well done, Joe!
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Sharon Farrah has
located a photograph of Helen "Alina," Charles T. and Walter Kampa circa 1908.
She has also put us in touch with Diane Thorsten, who is related to us
through Thomas Kampa and Johanna Ramolla's line.
(Their son Michael Kampa and Josephine Kampa née Stanek were parents to
Bertha Kampa, Diane's mother.) Diane has provided us with biographies of her
parents, Bertha and Ralph Barthelemy,
a wedding photograph of her uncle Michael Kampa and his wife Darlys,
and has much more to contribute as soon as we have the opportunity to post it. Welcome, Diane!
In addition to all this, Sharon has been conducting microfilm research into Polish Kampa baptismal and marriage records and
as a result new records and information surrounding the Kampas dating back to the 1700s will be posted on the site very
soon. We are all deeply indebted to Sharon for her extensive research and excellent connections -- thank you so very much!
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We have added more great Kampa family photographs contributed by
Gene Kampa! There are now pictures of
baby Gene with his mother and playing with puppies; Gene
in uniform both at home and at Camp Shelby, circa 1942; a certified copy of Gene's
birth certificate, dated April 7, 1922; Joe and Dorothy Kampa and
Lou Windhurst; Certificate of Death for
Joseph L. Kampa; Joe, Frances, Gene and Louise Kampa taken in
September, 1942; Frances and Don Kampa, and Don fishing outside Santa Cruz in 1998;
a "wolf Dad brought home as a cub"; Joan and Dick Kampa as
kids in front of their home; and George Kampa and the submarine he served on in the
1920's. These photos and documents are wonderful, Gene! Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
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Marge Randall has provided
quite a bit of research on the Stimmler side of the family accomplished during her July 2000 visit to Minnesota with
additional information and photographs courtesy of Audrey Orton, a Stimmler cousin. As a consequence,
Johann, Crescentia,
Anthony J. and Bertha Stimmler's biographies
all have been updated. During her visit Marge located and photographed the barn built by
Anthony J. Stimmler, Anthony and
Crescentia's home and Anthony's grave.
Also included is Audrey Orton's photograph of Johann Stimmler's gravestone.
There is still a lot more to be added from her contributions, so stay tuned and thank you so much, Marge!
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Sharon Farrah has
a new orphan photograph for your perusal. As a result of her efforts, Mae Cota recently was
identified as one of our orphans. We now have a new page for our successfully identified
orphan photographs. Even more exciting, her contact, Ed, has provided us with information on the parents and
grandparents of Martin Kampa and the parents of his wife,
Frances Kampa (née Jurek) as well! Now the Kampa line has been traced from
approximately 1754 to the present. Thank you, Sharon, for all your hard work and excellent contacts!
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Connie Mickolajak
discovered a great site that features a translation of German
words useful to genealogists. A link has been added to our Resources page under the heading "Tools." Thank you
so much, Connie!
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Helen and Virg Hengel's
children have been added to the list of biographies, as have Carolyn and
Joseph Fortino Jr., Gene Kampa's
grandkids. Joan Kay Will (née Kampa), Dick Kampa's
sister, and Isabel Kampa (née Morris), Edmund Kampa's
wife, also have biographies posted as well.
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Gene Kampa has
contributed some great pictures of Alvina's kids with Janet Munson and
Martha, Louise and Dorothy Kampa. Thank you for sharing, Gene!
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Chapter 1 Early Memories and
Chapter 2 Work from
Don Kampa's book, Gram and Gramps, has been recently added to the
site. In it are many interesting remembrances of the Kampa family's life as seen through the eyes of a boy growing
up in Claremont, Minnesota in the late teens and early 1920's. We are indebted to Don's son,
Dick for a copy of this wonderful book.
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