Joseph Stangl, Sr., 1892 Obituary

STANGL, MEISL

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 10/11/2004 at 01:09:08

I translated the following obituary from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. The obituary was originally published on Friday, 29 April 1892. I have not changed the name or place spellings, and have added some information in brackets and notes at the end. It reads as follows:

Templeton
. . . .
Death Notice

Joseph Stangl, Sr. died of nephritis and stroke following a two-day illness on 21 April 1892 at about 1:45 in the morning, at the advanced age of 70 years, 2 months and 8 days. He had lost consciousness right at the start of the illness. Stangl was born on 13 March 1822 in Zöll, in the Oberpfalz, near Regensburg, Bavaria. On 13 June 1845, he set out on a journey to America, and while on the trip, in Bremen, he made the acquaintance of Miss Anna Meisl, and they were soon married by Rev. Engele in Bremen. On that day, Rev. Engele performed 45 marriages. Thereafter, the newlywed couple continued on their journey and settled first in St. Louis, Missouri, where they remained only five months. They then moved to Delaware County, Iowa, where they carried on the farming life for 37 years. Weary of this, they retired to Dyersville, Iowa, for three years. In 1886, they came to Templeton. On 6 October 1889, when a mission [church service] was held there, they joined the Third Order of St. Francis. His dear wife predeceased him on 15 August 1890. He leaves behind six children. The burial took place from the Heart of Jesus Church at 10 o’clock at the Heart of Jesus cemetery here, amidst a large attendance. [The obituary closes with a short poem.]

NOTES: The article may refer to the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis, a charitable institution said to be started by a group a Franciscan Sisters driven out of Germany during a religious persecution in 1875. They took refuge in Iowa City, Iowa, and a few years later founded a religious order called the Third Order of Saint Francis. They founded orphanages and hospitals and still exist today.