Michael STAHL, son of John STAHL (1801-1849) and Elizabeth (HUFFMAN) STAHL (1799-1885), was born September 17, 1831, in Perry County, Ohio, and married November 10, 1853 to Mary B. TALLEY, the daughter of Adam G. TALLEY and Sarah TALLEY, who was born October 3, 1831, in Delaware. Later the TALLEY family settled in Perry County, Ohio.

After their marriage, Michael and Mary emigrated to Jasper County, Iowa, where Mr. STAHL had a brother. Then the TALLEY family left Ohio in May 7, 1856, and came by way of Jasper County, so that they might intercept the STAHL family and come with them to Ringgold County. They landed in the northern part of the county. Soon after the TALLEYS were settled on their land, Michael STAHL sent to the land office at Chariton, Iowa, for a plat showing the vacant land in the northwestern part of the county. This plat showed the north 1/2 of the SE1/4 of Section 1, Township 69, Range 31 was vacant. So he pre-empted this land. On August 31, 1857, he located on this land on a military land warrant, No. 24631, issued to William W. LOUDERVILKS, a soldier of the Florida War. This warrant was purchased of Judge James C. HAGANS of Mount Ayr, Iowa. The patent to this land was issued August 15, 1860, signed by President James BUCHANAN. Mr. STAHL still owned this land when he died. It was one and a half miles west of Diagonal.

Michael was a member of the first grand jury in Ringgold County, the first postmaster at Goshen, and had the post office in his home until the Kew Railroad was built.

During the Civil War, Michael tried to enlist in the Army but was rejected on account of a physical defect. On learning that, he determined to do his part by helping with the farm work and getting up fuel for the families of the soldiers who did go to war. He was a member of the vigilance committee which maintained law and order in the county. [Michael did serve in Company C of the 3rd Battalion of the Southern Iowa Border Brigade.] He was a member of the Methodist Church for seventy years, having been converted and joined the church in 1850 in his native state. Mr. and Mrs. STAHL were two of the fifteen founders of the Diagonal Church.

Mrs. STAHL was a great woman. One of her brothers said she had the most perfect home government he ever saw. Government without effort, obedience without command, and correction without chastisement are traits difficult to combine in one character, but Sister Mary had them in a marked degree.

Michael STAHL and Mary came to Ringgold County July 4, 1854, and was in time to help with the real organizing of the county through the organizing election was held and officers elected in May, 1855, much remained to be done. Michael was active in laying the foundation to the material, educational, and spiritual institutions of Ringgold County. He was a man of strict integrity, great force of character and strong convictions.

The church first organized was called Bethel Church. Then Goshen Church, and now [1937] Diagonal Church. It was organized in 1856 in Mr. and Mrs. Adam G. TALLEY'S home. Mr. STAHL was steward for thirty-six years and a trustee from the beginning, and for several years was superintendent of the Sunday school. Their devotion to the church and the great interest of their family, caused their home to be in their hospitality, one of the best in the county. It was a "preacher" home, a guest home, and a traveler's home, before hotels were common.

Mary B. (TALLEY) STAHL died at the age of 59 years on August 20, 1894. Michael STAHL died at the age of 89 years on March 18, 1921. They were interred at Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold County, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. STAHL were the parents of ten children, nine of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, all were members of the Methodist church.

1) Melissa Ellen STAHL, b. 11 Jan 1855; d. 11 Oct 1926, Diagonal IA
    married 16 Aug 1869 George Elvanis SHAFER, b. 08 Dec 1849, OH; d. 13 Jul 1933, Creston IA
    interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
    Children:
      1) Charles W. SHAFER, b. 02 Feb 1872, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 11 Apr 1872, Ringgold Co. IA
          interment Bethel Cemtery, Ringgold Co. IA
      2) Alonzo SHAFER, b. 03 Feb 1873, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 19 Sep 1893, Ringgold Co. IA
          interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
      3) Mary Estella SHAFER, b. 28 May 1875, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 27 Jan 1966, Mount Ayr IA, aged 90
          married 30 Mar 1898 George Alonzo BEYMER (1868-1939)
          interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
          Children:
            1) Paul Alonzo BEYMER, b. 24 Apr 1899, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 11 Sep 1982, MI
                married 16 May 1919 Vera Leota JESSUP (1899-1951)
                interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
                Daughter: Beth Maxine BEYMER, b. 05 Sep 1921, Diagonal IA; d. 25 Oct 1975
                            married 15 Aug 1940 Velmar D. STEPHENS (1919-1969)
            2) Mark Edwin BEYMER, b. 16 Aug 1900, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 30 Oct 1983, Bloomington IN
                married 29 Nov 1923 Marjorie Ollie JARRED (1905-1993)
            3) Olive Estella BEYMER, b. 22 Nov 1901, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 05 Aug 1950, IA
                married 10 Jan 1923 Cecil Neil JOHNSON (1901-1959)
            4) Esther Mary "Martha" BEYMER
                b. 05 Nov 1903, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 19 Sep 1988, Mount Ayr IA
                married 17 Dec 1926 William Orla JOHNSON (1904-1948)
                interment Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr IA
            5) Son BEYMER, b. 24 Sep 1904, Diagonal IA; d. 14 Oct 1904, Diagonal IA
                interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
            6) Daughter BEYMER, b. 16 Sep 1905, Diagonal IA; d. 11 Feb 1906, Diagonal IA
                interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
            7) Beth BEYMER, b. 10 Oct 1907, Diagonal IA; d. 05 Aug 2000
                married 1929 Paul Joseph EASON (1906-1978)
                interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
            8) Luther S. BEYMER, b. 17 Mar 1910, Diagonal IA; d. 11 Jan 1976, Mount Ayr IA
                interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
            9) Fern Leone BEYMER, b. 03 Feb 1917, Mount Ayr IA; d. 1993
                married 1st 03 Feb 1917 Charles Marion McPHERSON (1914-1949)
                married 2nd 1951 Warner H. SORENSEN (1914-1972)
                married 3rd 1977 James BADGER (19904-1993)
      4) Inez Catherine SHAFER, b. 25 Mar 1877, Diagonal IA; d. 12 Apr 1970, aged 93 years
          married 07 Aug 1906, Diagonal IA Willard Arthur HUGHES (1873-1958)
      5) Nora Lucinda SHAFER, b. 11 Apr 1879, Diagonal IA; d. 1974, aged 95 years
          married 12 Dec 1907, Diagonal IA Harry Alvin DINKEL (1872-1930)
          interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
          Child: Mary L. DINKEL, b. 24 Feb 1910; d. 24 Feb 1993
                   married Guy V. SHEPPARD (1905-2001)
                   interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
      6) Annabelle SHAFER, b. 01 Jan 1881, Diagonal IA; d. 01 Apr 1881, Diagonal IA
      7) Martha Grace SHAFER, b. 29 May 1882, Diagonal IA; d. 30 Jun 1943, aged 61 years
          married 20 Jun 1906, Diagonal IA Harry Albert BAKER (1885-?)
          Children:
            1) Ruth Marie BAKER, b. 05 Jul 1907, SD
                married 13 Jun 1919 Andrew Hanson SLUSHER
            2) Floy Luella BAKER, b. 13 Jul 1909, IA
                married 01 Jan 1934 Ralph Edwin JONES
      8) Laura E. SHAFER, b. 18 Jul 1884, Diagonal IA; d. 25 Apr 1885, Diagonal IA
      9) Chester Arthur SHAFER, b. 16 Jun 1886, Diagonal IA; d. 19 Nov 1968, aged 82 years
           married 20 Jun 1914, Gladys MAINE (188-?)
      10) Sarah Ruth "Sadie" SHAFER, b. 14 Nov 1889, Diagonal IA; d. 02 Jun 1982, aged 92 years
            married 02 Jun 1915, Diagonal IA Orville Leroy WALL (1891-1973)
            Child: Richard Thomas WALL, b. 10 Jan 1919; d. 11 Mar 1924
            interments Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
      11) Mable Luella SHAFER, b. 04 Apr 1893, Diagonal IA; d. 1993, CA, aged 100 years
            married 20 Feb 1916, Diagonal IA Donald Adam "Don" WALL (1895-1924)
            interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

2) Sarah Elizabeth STAHL, b. 25 Aug 1858, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 17 Oct 1894, Ringgold Co. IA
    interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

3) Catherine "Josephine" STAHL, b. 02 Dec 1860, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 08 Oct 1934, Des Moines IA
    missionary to India; interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

4) Martha A. STAHL, b. 11 Aug 1862, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 08 Jan 1934, Mount Ayr IA, aged 71 years
    married 25 Aug 1904 Randolph Sry BEALL, b. 13 Feb 1864, OH; d. 02 Jun 1946, Mount Ayr IA
    interment Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr, IA

5) Mary Jane STAHL, b. 22 Apr 1864, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 04 Nov 1951, Ringgold Co. IA
    married 31 Dec 1885, Diagonal IA Charles M. KING, b. 19 Nov 1866, Scott Co. IA; d. 09 Dec 1943
    interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
    Children:
      1) Nellie E. KING, b. 1886, IA; d. 1975, IA
          married Charles J. SWAN, b. 1875; d. 1951, IA
          interment Clearfield Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
      2) Helen Mary KING, b. 01 Nov 1890, IA; d. 1985
          Raymond Samuel CLOUGH, b. 26 Apr 1889, Afton IA; d. 1961
          interment Brethren Cemetery, Panora, Guthrie Co. IA
      3) Merrill Stahl KING, b. 18 May 1893, IA; d. 04 Jul 1969
          World War I Veteran, SGT Co. D 313 Engineers
          interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
      4) Florence M. KING, b. 11 Dec 1895, IA; d. 02 Sep 1911, Diagonal IA
          interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
      5) Birdice B. KING, b. 1898, IA; d. 1957, IA
          married John "Earl" HORNE, b. 03 May 1897; d. 07 May 1984
          interment Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr IA

6) Ulysses "Grant" STAHL, b. 09 Feb 1866, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 26 Aug 1929, Des Moines IA, aged 63
    married 27 Aug 1891, Ringgold Co. Nancy E. McCAHAN, b. 24 Oct 1865, Louisa Co. IA; d. 1939, IA
    interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA
    Child: Bessie Mae STAHL, b. 29 Jun 1892, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 21 Dec 1972, aged 80 years
             married 06 Aug 1924 IA Frank Clare McCALLON, b. 11 May 1885, KS; d. 27 Dec 1969
             interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

7) William Tecumseh Sherman STAHL
    b. 16 Jan 1868, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 02 Oct 1937, Chicago, Cook Co. IL, aged 69 years
    married 28 Dec 1899, Omaha NE Cora GOSNEY, b. 27 Feb 1873, Nebraska City NE
    interment Chicago IL

8) Luella Talley "Lou" STAHL, b. 17 Apr 1870, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 10 Apr 1893, Ringgold Co. IA
    interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

9) Edgar STAHL, b. 08 Jul 1872, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 25 Oct 1873, Ringgold Co. IA
    interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

10) Florence "Eva" STAHL, b. 14 Feb 1875, Ringgold Co. IA; d. 04 May 1964
      interment Bethel Cemetery, Ringgold Co. IA

Seven children survived their parents, Michael and Mary B. (TALLEY) STAHL:
Mrs. George E. SHAFER, Grant STAHL, Mrs. Randolph Sry BEALL, Mrs. Charles KING, William STAHL of Chicago, Eva STAHL who is an instructor at Simpson College in Indianola, Josephine who was superintendent of the Methodist girls school at Darjeeling, India.

Mrs. Randolph Sry [Martha A. STAHL] was a secretary of a missionary society for years and her health was borken and she died in 1934.

Two sisters, Sadie and Lou, both school teachers, died in early womanhood, and one son [Edgar] died in infancy.

Michael STAHL died March 18, 1921, at the home of Randolph Sry BEALL. He was the last survivor of a family of six brothers and one sister. At his death he had seven children living, twelve grandchildren, twenty-six great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

The next day after Michael's death, they received word from Josephine, a missionary at Darjeeling, India, that she had sailed for home three weeks before, and as she had not seen her father for four years, interment was postponed and the body of her father was placed in a receiving vault in Creston, Iowa, as she would be home within three weeks more.

Michael STAHL Biography

SOURCE:
LESAN, Mrs. B. M. Early History of Ringgold County: 1844 - 1937 p. 180. Blair Pub. House. Lamoni IA. 1937.

Transcription & notes by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2010