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With great sadness we announce the death
of our beloved grandfather, Richard B. Qvale. Grandpa Butchie, or Dick
as he was known to his friends, was an incredibly positive influence in both his step-daughter
Diane's and granddaughter Rae's lives. Dick was much
loved throughout his long life by his many friends, colleagues and family. His quiet humor, great stories and gentle
guidance will be much missed. The world has lost someone very special.
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More of LoisMarie Okonek's
photographs from St. Marcus Parish Cemetery in Clear Lake, MN have been added to the site along with biographies for Imholte
patriarch and matriarch Anton and Mary Imholte (née Kemker),
their son Anton J. and his wife Mary E. Imholte (née Goenner),
son John, and son Henry and his wife
Annie Imholte (née Moeller). We greatly appreciate LoisMarie's photographic talents
and kind generosity.
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Joe Hall found a picture and
information regarding St. Lawrence Church being older than the St. Cloud Diocese
which Martin Holz has had translated into German
as Sankt Laurentius Kirche Duelm MN, älter als die Diözese St. Cloud
and enhanced with photographs of many of the church's religious luminaries. Thank you very much, Joe and Martin, for your
collaborative efforts!
Joe's research also has turned up detailed and interesting background on his
scalawag soldier ancestor, Nicholas Hall (circa 1791-1872). [There's an old saying, Joe,
that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!]
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Connie Balder Mickolajak has
done some fantastic sleuthing! She located matriarch Maria Balder's death record listing
her father and mother, and discovered that Maria's maiden name was not Peters but Ratter instead. In addition, Connie
contributed a photograph of the old part of St. Lawrence Parish Cemetery containing
Benton County pioneer graves. We are deeply indebted to Connie for her excellent research.
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Martin Holz has
generously contributed a wonderful photograph of
Catherine "Katie" Balder (née Voerding) and her children, identical twins
Elsie Kane (née Balder) and Ellsworth Edward Balder. What a stellar find,
Martin -- thank you so much!
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Joe Hall has discovered
some gems with his latest contributions. His recent photographs of Tony and Mary Stimler's
gravestones are a great improvement on the original photograph taken in the mid 1950's. In addition his research found
a wonderful article about and photograph of the parts department of the Stimler Ford
garage featuring head mechanic Rube Stimler, owner/operator
Tony Stimler and his daughter/bookkeeper Florence,
among others. Very impressive, Joe, and very kind of you to share these with us --
thank you so much!
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LoisMarie Okonek
has researched the 1900 census and found the entry for George
and Julia Stimmler (née Sakry), son Gilbert,
brother Daniel N. and father Anthony J. Stimmler, plus a lodger,
Mary Halfman, eldest daughter of Theodore and Julia Halfman (née Kampa),
all living together in Clearlake, Sherburne County. She also has provided census images for the George and
Julia Stimmler (née Sakry) family for the years 1910 and
1920. Many thanks to you, LoisMarie, for your consistently excellent research!
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Connie Balder Mickolajak's family
history journey to St. Paul, St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids, MN this summer yielded many Balder family gems. Among them
are photographs of her grandfather Louis, and his brothers Frank R.
and William J. Balder, Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine
Insurrection. Connie's research found an obituary for patriarch Carl Balder
and the obituary for his wife Maria. She also located obituaries
for William J. and Louis Balder. In addition, there is now a
biography for Louis' wife and Connie's grandmother, Anna Balder (née Delaney). As if all
that weren't enough, there's a fantastic old photograph of the St. Cloud Fire Department
circa early 1900's that features brothers Louis, William J.
and Frank R. Balder. Thank you so much, Connie, for your generous contributions
and outstanding research!
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Martin Holz's latest
contributions include his research on what happened in house No. 60 Churchyard
before Heinrich Voerding's family emigrated to America in 1851. There is a German translation available as
Was geschah im Haus Nr. 60 am Kirchplatz, bevor die Familie Heinrich Vördings
1851 nach Amerika auswanderte? He has also provided some etchings of
St. Fabian and Sebastian Church in Osterwick,
Germany, where Henry Voerding and Mary Ann Janning
were married in 1843. Great work, Martin -- thank you!
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Recent research at the National Archives and Sutro Library has
yielded some obscure treasures that add to the pieces of our family puzzle. The first is an interesting
historical sketch of Manayunk, PA, the original American home of our mutual Stimmler ancestors.
This is followed by an abstract showing the Stimler surname varients in the
Philadelphia City Directories for the years 1861 to 1881 with the Manayunk
addresses and occupations of patriarch Johann Stimmler and his sons
John and Anthony. Next is an amusing open letter to
prospective settlers in Minnesota dated June 21, 1851 from the St. Anthony Express entitled,
Who are wanted in Minnesota, followed by a few pages from History of the Minnesota
Valley (1888) regarding the foundation of Laketown in Carver County and the roles ancestors
Charles Kaufmann and Joseph Schaaf played in its
development. The last item in this series should be of interest to many families besides our own who grew up in Benton County --
ten consecutive pages from the 1885 Minnesota state census showing neighbors and family
relationships in St. George Township, Benton County.
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