FIRST GENERATION

1. Franz Joseph STOPPEL ⁽¹⁾ was born on 14 Jul 1811 in Oberlangnau, Parish Hiltensweiler, Hiltensweiler, Germany.⁽²⁾ Birth and Baptismal Certificate (Translated from German into English)

"In the year one thousand eight hundred eleven, on the fourteenth of July 1811, was at Oberlangnau, Parish Hiltensweiler, born in Hiltensweiler. Baptized: Franz Joseph; parents: Mr. George Stopped smith in Oberlangnau, and Juliana Eisenbach von Doppretsweilen. The validity of this abstract from the local State Registry is hereby attended, Hiltensweiler, 5 July, 1846. Signed by R. Cath. Priesthood, Father Janz; sealed by Katholische Pfarramt Hiltensweiler." He served in the military in 1832 in Germany. Served six years under the Kaiser and was honorably discharged on 1 Apr 1838. He immigrated on 5 Jul 1845 to New York City, Cincinnati. He died on 26 Jun 1898. He was buried on 29 Jun 1898 in Oakwood Cemetery, Rochester, MN, Sec 3 Lot 113. He has reference number 1.1. He was baptized. THE FRANCIS JOSEPH STOPPEL FAMILY

Francis Joseph Stoppel (7-14-1811 to 6-26-1898)

George and Margaretha (Spath) Stoppel of Hiltenzweiler Parish, Wurtenburg, Germany, (now Wuerttemberg, West Germany) were the parents of five children. (One source has Julianna Eisenbach von Doporetseillen as the wife of George Stoppel. Another source translates the baptimal certificate as saying that she was only a witness to the baptism). Katharina (11 Mar 1806); Elisabetha (5 Oct 1807) and Xavier (4 Jul 1809) remained in Germany while Franz Joseph (14 Jul 1811) and George Jr., (11 Nov 1813) came to the United States.

Joseph, as a young man, learned the bricklaying and stone masonry trade he then served in the German Army for six years. His honorary discharge to recorded as April 1st, 1838. (Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Stoppel have his discharge papers and his baptismal certificate.) The George Stoppel, Sr., family were members of a Catholic Churoh In Wurttemburg.

In 1845 Joseph came to the United States, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848. There he pursued his trade and did some farming. He married Maria E. Schwab on February 6. 1846. She was the daughter of Han Jacob Schwab and Elizabeth Pflugshaupt from Kallnach, Switzerland. She was the thrid child of 10 children in that family. Four of Joseph's & Marie's nine children were born In Cincinnati.

In 1856 Joseph and his younger brother, George, Jr., took their families by oxcart to Rochester, Minnesota, They shared an oxcart between them. everyone walked except the two wives and the youngest children. The two families staked their claims on a long, low hill about three miles southwest of the settlement. After setting up a temporary house the two sons walked to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to file their status at the land office. Each paid $200.00 for his one hundred sixty acre farm. Francis took the west half of the hill and George took the east. The round trip from LaCrosse took three days.

Joseph dug a cave in the side of the hill where the two families lived for the first winter. Joesph's fifth son, Charles, was born in the cave on March 16, 1857. In the Summer of 1857 a log cabin was constructed by each man. Joseph and his family began to farm some of their land and began to build a stone house.

Joseph built the first kiln in Olmsted County. The limestone was quarried from an adjacent hill. This fire in the blast furnace was kept going day and night. This meant that someone had to get up each night to add more fuel to the fire. The limestone was used in many buildings and residences. Coles Mill, the Commercial Hotel, and possibly Fugels Mill all used limestone that was from the Stoppel kiln. Eventually the kiln was abandoned and fell into ruin.

The stone for the house was quarried out of an adjacent hill. The house was not completed until 1859. The limestone was quarried and then refined in a kiln that the family had built. The house is now the oldest permanent residence in the county and is the current home of the Olmsted County Historical Society.


For some time the house was also used as a school. The first teacher was the daughter of Judge Buckley. As a result, the house also became a social center. Many tines neighbors and friends would appear at the house unexpectedly. Dances, card games,, quilting bees,, and other forms of recreation were hold frequently.

Frank, Joseph's youngest surviving child, later wrote that on infrequent occasions Indians would stop at the house to trade trinkets for sugar and salt. In 1867 a diphtheria epidemic swept through southeastern Minnesota. Many people were stricken and died, including two of Joseph's children.

George, Jr., also lost two children. The dead were buried at night in unmarked graves on the property lines between the two homesteads. They were buried without coffins. The exact location of the graves is unknown.

Joseph divided his land between his sons. In return the sons were to support their parents until they died. At the time of the division he held over five hundred acres of farm land. This practice was common in Germany and was followed to some extent in the US. George Jr., also made a similar division and this caused a legal problem and an eventual lawsuit.

On Sunday, June 26, 1898 Joseph died. He had gone for a walk to see his son Charles before going to church. When he returned he complained of feeling weak. A doctor was sent for and arrieved at 9:00 am. At 9:20 Joseph died. The cause of death was recorded as apoplexy. Rev. Ward Bringham officiated at the funeral. Joseph was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Rochester.

On March 7, 1910, Marie, his widow, died. She was buried next to her husband. Marie was 87 years old. Rev. W.W. Bunge officiated at her funeral. Death was attributed to old age. The couple were parents of nine children

He was married to Maria Elizabeth SCHWAB (daughter of Hans Jakob SCHWAB and Elizabeth PFLUGSHAUPT) on 6 Feb 1846 in Cincinnati, OH.⁽³⁾ Handwritten on the front of the document: "Marriage of Franz and Maria: 1851, Sixth of February married; and the two children, Johannes, b. June 4, 1849, and Karolina who was born August 6, 1851. "
Maria Elizabeth SCHWAB was born on 15 Feb 1823 in Kallnach, Bern, SWITZ. She was buried on 10 Jan 1910 in Oakwood Cemetery, Rochester, MN. She died on 3 Mar 1910 in Rochester, MN. Parish records, Kallnach, BE Switz. Christening Record: Vol II page
214
The parents of Marie E. Schwab were Hans Jacob Schwab (2 Feb 1794) and
Elizabeth Pflugshaupt (6 Nov 1796). Marie was the third child of 10
in that family.

Anna (7 Feb 1820), Elisabeth (3 Oct 1821), Maria (15 Feb 1823),
Catharina (27 Jan 1825), Anna Barbara (19 Jan 1827), Johannnes (17 Feb
1829), Magdalena (10 Jun 1831), Bendicht (27 Oct 1832) all born in
Kallnach Switz., while Jacob (24 Mar 1837) and Rosina (15 Oct 1835)
were born in Wholen Bern Switzerland.

Oakwood Cemetery records has her name as Marry C. Stoppel. Franz Joseph STOPPEL and Maria Elizabeth SCHWAB had the following children:

+2 i. Johannes Robert STOPPEL.
+3 ii. Karoline STOPPEL.
+4 iii. Josephine STOPPEL.
+5 iv. Henry (Heinrich) STOPPEL.
+6 v. Charles (Karl) STOPPEL.
+7 vi. William (Wilhelm) STOPPEL.
+8 vii. Frank STOPPEL.
9 viii. Mary (Maria) STOPPEL was born on 15 Nov 1862 in Olmsted Co. MN. She died on 19 Jan 1867 in Olmsted Co. MN. Died on this date at 5 PM of the Black Diptheria Epidemic, buried on the Stoppel property at night. She has reference number 1.1.8. Maria (born November 15, 1862) was 5 years old and Emil (born February 19, 1866) was 11 months old when they died of black diptheria on January 19 and January 20, 1867, respectively. Maria, Emil, and one of George's children who also died, were wrapped in blankets and buried on the hillside.
10 ix. Emil STOPPEL was born on 19 Feb 1866 in Olmsted Co, MN. He died on 20 Jan 1867 in Olmsted Co., MN. Died this date at 5 AM of Black Diphtheria Epidemic, buried on Stoppel property at night. He has reference number 1.1.9.