| Notes |
- http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/STOECKEL.HTM
The Stoeckel family emigrated in 1858, from the area near Neustadt, just 25 kilometers north of Birkenhordt, which was the home village of the Ehrsteins. George Stoeckel came from Diedesfeld and his wife, Mary, came from Hambach. Both lie on the edge of the Haardt Mountains near Neustadt (49 25'N, 8 10'E) within the Royal Bavarian Rhine Country, or Palatinate as does Birkenhordt.
Diedesfeld, formerly Dudinsfeld, was mentioned in an 1201 document from the bishopric of Speyer. However, evidence shows that the Romans settled here and established vineyards. Today, vineyards still exist along the Haardt Mountains within sight of the Rhine River and the Oden Forest.
The population of Diedesfeld is almost entirely Roman Catholic. One "jewel" of the village is the Baroque Church of St. Remigius. It was built in 1751, and has a wealth of artworks from the Rococo Period. Also of interest are the old vineyard houses of the 16th and 17th Centuries with their high, round driveway gates. The "Little Castle" built in 1594 as the Episcopal collection place for tithes and the City Hall built in 1601 are important sites, too.
Diedesfeld, with its current population of 2,000, now belongs to the city of Neustad and the area known as the "Wine Street." Many old families still live in here including the Scharfenbergers and Stoeckels.
Hambach is a village neighboring Diedesfeld. Wine grapes are the main source of income for the inhabitants of Hambach -- one of the biggest wine producing areas of Germany. Hambach is best noted for its Riesling wines. Almonds, figs, apricots, peaches and sweet chestnuts, too, grow well in the mild climate of the area. Hambach has a famous castle called Maxburg or Kastenburg which was built in the 11th Century. It was destroyed on several occasions, but in 1982 it was restored for the 150th anniversary of the Hambacher Fest. Hambach was the seat of political activism during the middle of the 19th Century. The goal of these activities was a liberal, democratic government, and the unity of all European nations.
The first of our relatives to appear in the church records of Diedesfeld was Jois George Stoeckel who married Barbara Kyrchmeyerin on September 8, 1714. They produced a son named Johannes. Johannes Adam Stoeckel was born September 10, 1715 and he married Susanna Meinss on May 22, 1733. They produced a son, George Stoeckel who was born November 30, 1754.
George married Anna Barbara Obermann on November 24, 1782 in Diedesfeld. Anna Barbara was the daughter of Johann Obermann and M. Barbara Klein, and she was born June 3, 1758 in Diedesfeld. George and Anna had several children:
Johannes -- Born October 3, 1783
Nicolas -- Born September 17, 1785
Michael -- Born October 8, 1789
Anna Barbara Elisabetha -- Born September 25, 1791
Johannes Stoeckel, citizen of Diedesfeld married Agneta Holzammer before 1821 in an unknown location. They produced several children:
Marie Lucia -- Born March 6, 1821
Rosina -- Born May 2, 1822
Clara -- Born June 7, 1824
George -- Born August 7, 1828 and baptized on August 9, his godfather was his grandfather, George
According to the Evangelical and Reformed Church in Hambach, Germany, George Stoeckel and Mary Scharfenberger had an illegitimate son, Phillip, who was born December 17, 1855. Mary was not originally a Catholic and her birth records exist in the Evangelical Reformed Church. Mary died on March 2, 1894. Her death certificate exists at the St. Clair County Court House, but I do not have a copy. She was buried in Greenmount Cemetery/Cathedral Parish. Mary was born September 9, 1834 to Conrad Scharfenberger and Marie Ursula Metzger, who were married January 17, 1826.
"In the Year of Our Lord 1797 the twenty sixth day of February, I Johannes Gerber, Priest, baptized a son, whose given name was Conrad, born the day before of Johannes Scharfenberger, citizen, and Clara born Schmitt, legally wed. The godfather was Conrad Muller citizen of Maikammer: So I testify: Matthias Schellhorn, Johannes Gerber, Priest for the region of Hambach."
"In 1797, the seventh of March, I Johannes Gerber, Priest, baptized the infant which was born of Peter Metzger citizen and Clara, born Brechtel, legally wed, whose given name is Maria Ursula. Godmother will be Ursula Becker, legitimate spouse of Valentine Becker citizen here. So I testify: Matthias Schellhorn, Johannes Gerber, priest."
Mormon Church records show that George and Mary were married on January 19, 1858 in the Catholic Church in Hambach. That was exactly three years after Phillip's birth. George was twenty-nine years old when he was married, so his marriage took place late in life. Soon after the marriage, the family emigrated. George's parents would have been 75 years old at the time of his emigration, so they were most likely dead, although I have no proof of this. Do these facts suggest a motivation for emigrating to the United States? Were George's parents alive when Phillip was born? Did George not own land delaying his marriage? Or was Mary's religion a factor? Was the marriage conditional to emigration because of the illegitimate child born to a non-Catholic?
George Stoeckel was a farmer and a stock raiser who settled in St. Clair County, Illinois sometime in 1859. The 1860 U.S. Census shows that they lived in Township 1 North, Range 9 West -- very near the Ehrstein farm. George was naturalized in March of 1864, Record No. 2648. Another Stoeckel, Valentine, was also naturalized in St. Clair County, Illinois on October 1861, Record No. 2622. These records were lost when the Old St. Clair County Court House was torn down.
George died on October 28, 1904. The death certificate exists at the St. Clair County Court House, but I do not have a copy. He was buried from Cathedral Parish in Greenmount Cemetery. He willed equal shares of his estate to each of his children. Since the land could not easily be divided, he asked that it be sold and the proceeds divided equally.
George and Mary Stoeckel produced 10 children the first of which was born before they were married. Mary was their second child. She was born 11 months after her mother's conversion to Catholicism and her marriage to George in the Catholic Church. Their children were:
Phillip -- Born December 17, 1855 in Germany three years prior the marriage of his parents
Mary -- Born December 8, 1858 in Illinois according to her marriage certificate. This means that she was conceived in March, 1858 on the voyage to America. She married Michael Ehrstein.
Valentine -- Born in 1860 and died on September 13, 1886
Joseph -- Born in February of 1863. He owned the family farm in 1936
George -- Born in February of 1865
Elizabeth -- Born in 1867
Anna -- Born in January of 1870 and died in 1936. She married Joseph Ehrstein
Lewis -- Born in 1874
Amelia -- Born in 1876 and married a Lanter
Frank -- Born in 1876. Amelia and Frank were fraternal twins
Frank and Amelia Stoeckel are the first fraternal twins identified in this genealogy. Since the trait is passed through the female, Mary Stoeckel, nee Scharfenberger, her mother Marie Ursula Schrafenberger, nee Metzger, and her grandmother Clara Metzger, nee Brechtel are the likely source of this trait. The pattern of fraternal twins continues following the maternal line (Helen Beaumont, nee Plogmann; Janice, the daughter of Irma Huber, nee Plogmann; and Debra, the daughter of Priscilla (Babe) Audette, nee Plogmann each had a set of fraternal twins.)
The obituaries for George Stoeckel and Mary Stoeckel, nee Scharfenberger, reported that they entered the United States in 1858. In fact, they entered the port of New Orleans, March 22, 1858, on the Ship Johannisberg with 62 other passengers. By most standards, this was a small ship for the time. Many ships from Bremen, for instance, carried more than 300 passengers. The Captain of the Johannisberg was George Ulrick and he sailed from Le Havre, France nearly a month earlier (Microfilm 252, Roll 45). George and Mary were married on January 19, 1858 in Hambach. It seems they gathered their belongings and quickly emigrated to the United States
CENSUS:
1930:
Name: Anna E Ehrstein Age: 60 Estimated birth year: 1869 Relation to Head-of-house: Wife Home in 1930: Stookey, St Clair, Illinois Image Source: Year: 1930; Census Place: Stookey, St Clair, Illinois; Roll: T626_557; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 108; Image: 0990.
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1870 - 1936 (66 years)
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