The Backstory

The Stäheli Family of Gübsenmoos

Straubenzell

St. Gallen, Switzerland

How I began my research.

As a child I knew my grandfather Staly had come to America from Switzerland but it was only after my 64th birthday I was able to effectively research and better understand the story of my family.  In conversation with my father, Tom Staly Sr., he recommended I contact Daphne Dempsey and Therese Staeheli, relatives from Western Washington with some knowledge of Stäheli family history.  Daphne shared much information with me and Therese filled in some pieces of the story.  Family lore told that Albert and Maria Stäheli had left Switzerland with their children after selling their property to be flooded under a lake.  The historian in me wanted to know the details. 

After searching on Google I made contact with Wolf Seelentag, an amateur genealogist from St. Gallen, Switzerland.  Mr. Seelentag could find no record of Albert, Caspar, Maria or Charles Stäheli in St. Gallen and suggested I check in Thurgau canton which is where Stäheli’s are more likely to be found.  St. Gallen is significant, however, because that is listed as location of birth on my grandfather’s immigration card.  My dad advised me to look in records maintained by the Mormon Church so I did check their website and found the Stäheli’s listed.  For more information the Mormon site recommended looking at the Ellis Island immigration records.  The Ellis Island website confirmed that Caspar, Maria and twelve children had arrived in America on March 23, 1899 on the ship Kaiser Friedrich.

Another ship manifest confirmed that their son, Albert, had arrived a year earlier on March 14, 1898 on the ship La Normandie.  Mr. Seelentag told me that to find records of the family in Switzerland it would be necessary to know Albert’s or Carl’s towns of citizenship.  In those days in Switzerland every person had a town of citizenship with their birth records.  That town may or may not be where they had lived.  Ellis Island printed records listed the family home town as Dyplanmous, but Mr. Seelentag said that would be unlikely for a Stäheli.  Fortunately, the Ellis Island website also listed the original handwritten ship manifest as written by the clerk who processed the ship passengers.  Unfortunately, the writing style from 100 years ago was unfamiliar and I could make no reference to the listed hometown on a Google map of Switzerland.  I was certain, though, that it was not Dyplanmous.

Therese had provided the information about Albert Jr. coming to America a year before the rest of the family.  Daphne provided the next clue.  The lake created over the Stäheli property was called Gibsonsea.  Google Earth revealed “Gübsensee” very near St. Gallen.  I thought if property records existed from that time it would be possible to find the sale of property which could lead to birth records.  Based on a recommendation from Mr. Seelentag my plan was to visit the Staatsarchiv in St. Gallen during my summer trip to Switzerland.  On July 30 I called the Staatsarchiv and explained my purpose.  I spoke with Marcel Müller who assured me access to records and said he would prepare for my visit the following Monday.  Upon my arrival Mr. Müller had already checked about Stäheli’s in Switzerland and gave me copies of material he had.  We shared notes and he explained about records kept in the archive.  It was clear I could do no independent research since I do not read German and could not decipher the old writing style used in the documents.  A key to locating our family records was knowing the family hometown in Switzerland.  After checking, Marcel knew it was not St. Gallen.  So where?  When I showed him the handwritten ship manifest from Ellis Island he was very interested and studied it.  After a few minutes he said he believed the barely discernable town name was Gübsenmoos.  It was not spelled that way on the ship manifest but an English speaking person writing phonetically would write it as it was in the document.  We agreed his insight was correct.  Gübsenmoos had not shown on any map because it no longer exists.  Marcel showed me the swamp on a map from earlier times.  I made plans to return to the archive on Wednesday and Marcel told me his colleague, Patric Schnitzel would meet me after doing more research.

Wednesday, August 5, I returned to the St. Gallen Staatsarchiv to meet Patric.  Immediately he told me he had good news and produced the birth record of my grandfather, Carl Anton Stäheli.  Knowing the family hometown of Gübsenmoos and my grandfather’s birth year, Patric had been able to locate the book with Carl’s birth record.  Listed as Carl’s father was Caspar Albert Stäheli of Egnach and mother was Maria Riml of Tyrol, Austria.  Another book of fire insurance records led to three listings for Albert.  Two of those listings showed the sale of his house and barn to Kübel Electric Werk in 1899.  For the next 2 hours Patric located the birth record books and copied the birth records for the other twelve Stäheli children.  A map of Gübsensee and its surroundings from 1908 showed the locations of properties near the house and barn of Albert and Maria but did not show their house or barn.  This likely confirms their property was, in fact, submerged in the reservoir.  Patric said he will obtain copies of earlier insurance maps showing the Stäheli house and barn.  Photographic records are also available because Kübel Electric Werk documented the construction of Gübsensee so I expect to obtain copies of those photos.  I have seen a photo from the construction period showing several structures in Gübsenmoos at that time. 

My dad, Daphne and Therese were essential to moving this project in the right direction.  Marcel and Patric were heroic in their diligence to document the family story.  Wolf Seelentag gave helpful advice for locating information.  I want to trace our family back another generation and Patric said that Egnach is the key.  This is Albert’s town of citizenship where his birth is recorded.  Those records are currently stored at the Thurgau Archives in Frauenfeld.  My next objective is to make contact and pursue that link. 

After I met Patric on Wednesday, I took the train to Gübsensee where I walked the trail that follows the shoreline of the reservoir.  The reservoir was extremely muddy so I was not able to see the foundation of a home as Therese had during a trip in 1986.  The countryside is green and very beautiful with low rolling hills covered with some forest, farms and villages in the distance.  There are several homes and barns nearby.  It is evident why this area had appealed to the Stäheli’s looking for a suitable community to raise their family.   After living in Gübsenmoos for 13 years it must have been difficult for Albert and Maria to leave the home they had established.  Certainly, though, the money they received from the sale of their property enabled them to emigrate to America with the hope of a better future for themselves and their children.  

I invite any descendants of Caspar Albert and Maria Stäheli of Gübsenmoos to add their stories to this dialogue.  Over time we can come to appreciate the significance of their decision to come to America and the opportunities it has fostered for generations of Stäheli’s/ Staeheli's/ Staly's in the United States.