Joann Michael Diethelm (1820 - 1897)

Born 15 Jan 1820 in Galgenen, Schwyz, Switzerland

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Catharina (Leurs) Diethelm — married 21 Jul 1885 in Chaska, Carver Co, MN

Died 17 Apr 1897 at age 77 in Chaska, Carver, Minnesota, USA

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Biography

Joann Michael (known as Michael) was baptised on 01/15/1820, (psbly born the day before?), in the village of Galgenen, Canton Schwyz (pronounced shweez), Switzerland. Son of Alois Diethelm and Maria Anna "Theresia" Market from Grabenegg Farm. Godparents were: Joann Michael Market, (represented by Joann Petrus Diethelm) and M. Anna Josepha Diethelm from Weggia Valley (psbly meaning from Wägithal). ^[1]

He and his brother Carl had read about the attractiveness of Minnesota in a book by Von Humboldt while still living in Switzerland. After his parents passed away in the 1840's he immigrated to America with his married brother Carl's family. They sailed from Le Havre, France aboard the ship "Rome" on Dec 8, 1853 and arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana on Jan 25, 1854. Click here to see the original ship manifest. Diethelms are on image pg 128, lines 146-150 (can pg fwd).^[2] There was no woman on board who might have been Michael's wife, leading me to believe that he was still single when he immigrated.

"Then followed a journey of two months by boat up the Mississippi to Dubuque, [Iowa] where they were obliged to stop and bury ten or twelve passengers who had died of the Cholera. At Dubuque Charles [Carl] Diethelm stopped a while, his money having given out, but his brother, Michael, went on to Saint Paul." This is an excerpt from his brother's biography written in 1915.^[3] According to a different account written by his grand-nephew, John A. Diethelm, they stopped in Cairo, Illinois, not Dubuque, Iowa. (Both are river towns). John Diethelm got his information from his dad, Mike, (who had made the journey as a toddler) and grand parents, Carl and Elisabeth Diethelm, but since he got other facts wrong, like the year of their immigration, he may have been mistaken about their stopping point too.^[4]

Excerpt from book by grand-nephew

"In St. Paul Michael arranged lodging for himself and his wife [When did he marry? She didn't come with him from Switzerland.] until he could find good land to homestead. It was here that he heard of the present Victoria area... Michael finally decided to explore the country to the west. Providing himself with a few weeks' rations and an axe, he proceeded on foot in a westerly direction, blazing trees as he entered the wilderness in order to find his way back through the dense forest. He probably traveled through present Bloomington, Eden Prairie and Chanhassen, and eventually came to the point...about 1500 feet northeast of the present St. Victoria Church.

The region around Victoria with its woods and meadows, its lakes and creeks, must have appealed to him. He stopped here, cut down a few trees to build a temporary shelter, and thereby established a prior claim to the land. He then returned to St. Paul and immediately notified his brother Carl in Cairo that he had found good land near St. Paul and advised him to follow as soon as possible.

After Michael returned to St. Paul from his successful search for a home, he remained there during the severe winter of 1851-1852 [1854] to earn a little money. St. Paul was a bustling small village, and he found steady employment until spring as a carpenter. When at last spring arrived, he used the money he had earned to buy a cheap rifle, some powder, caps, bullets, flour, salt, and a few other necessities, gathered up as many tools as he and his wife could carry, and began what was then a long journey of about 35 miles through the wilderness to the place where he had erected a temporary shelter in the late fall of the previous year.

After repairing the shelter and making it wind and rain-proof, Michael made several trips to St. Paul to get some more provisions, the rest of his tools, some seed, potatoes, beans, corn, and other vegetables. Because there was no trail or path as yet, travel was difficult and usually required from five to seven days to make the round trip. We can observe here that Michael's young wife must have been an amazingly courageous woman, with bands of Indians roaming the territory on their hunting expeditions; she remained at home alone while her husband would be gone for about a week in quest of provisions. At no time, we often heard her state, did the Indians molest her.

Michael's brother Carl with his wife and children arrived in St. Paul in the spring of 1852. [1854] He came up the river from Cairo. Immediately he arranged temporary lodging for his wife and children and then started out to meet his brother. After arriving, he selected and established his claim by cutting down a few trees about one-third of a mile to the southeast of his brother's claim. Here there was a small patch of ground, about three acres, which the Indians had used severals seasons previous. Most of the trees had been removed from it, and so it could easily be cleaned up for planting. The brothers then planted more beans, potatoes, and other vegetables. In later life Mrs. Carl Diethelm often remarked that the first crop was so abundant that it easily carried them through to the next season.

The brothers now commenced to build a permanent log house on the spot where Michael had staked his claim and completed it by midsummer. It was quite large, and both families moved in until a house for Carl was completed on his claim that fall. They now had homes for themselves and about three acres of land ready for the plow, more than they had had in Switzerland and of much better quality.

When Michael Diethelm came here late in the fall of 1851 [winter 1854], he did not encounter a single settler.

When the first settlers arrived, no surveys had been made to establish section and township lines. Therefore, all “sooners” who had squatted on the land before the lines were drawn were never certain that they had selected the proper building site for the land they wanted until the section lines had been established. However, even after the surveys were completed and a description was available, these early settlers waited from five to eight years before finally filing their claim. The reason was that by building a shack or house and clearing up some land and otherwise improving the property, they acquired a priority rating which apparently was respected by everybody, for there is not recorded a single case of claim-jumping in the entire area.

...It is almost incomprehensible to realize the fortitude and resoluteness, the steadfastness of purpose against overwhelming odds which they had to overcome in establishing their new homes in complete wilderness, 35 miles from any sign of civilization. The Indians still roamed about the area... In addition, the fact that must not be overlooked that these sturdy pioneers were handicapped and powerless to retreat. They came here with their wives and small children, they wanted land, they were several thousand miles from their homeland, and, in most cases, practically destitute. But with grim determination they tackled the job."^[5]

The oft-told tale of Michael being the first European settler in this part of Carver County is more legend than fact. Though he may not have encountered them, there were two other gentlemen who had settled in the area the previous spring.^[6]

In the early days, before a Catholic church had been built, wandering missionaries came through the area about once a year. Confessions were heard, mass was held and baptisms performed in the homes of Michael Diethelm, his brother Carl, and John Maier. From about 1856 to 1859, the majority of children born in the area were baptised in Michael and Thecla's house. The two of them witnessed many weddings too. The St. Victoria Parish congregation soon grew larger than people's homes could accomodate, but the building of a church was stalled when members couldn't agree on the best location to build it. After a few years of arguing, Michael and a man named Celestine Lenhard decided the issue for everyone by donating 30 acres of their land for the church.^[7]

"Catholic services were held by Father Bruno in 1856 in the home of Michael Deithelm, in section 13. They were conducted there about a year, when the congregation called St. Victoria was established and a log church was built in the same section."^[8]

Michael married:

• 1) Mary "Thecla" ?? of Bavaria, Germany. (b. betw 1813 to '16 - d. 10/1883) Maiden name unknown, when or where married unknown. Name also seen as "Clara" (on one census) and "Theresa" (as a witness on other people's marriage records). Some sources imply that she was married to Michael before he arrived in Minnesota, but she was from Germany, not Switzerland, and she didn't sail to America with the Diethelm brothers. She first appears on the 1860 US census and all sources agree that she was with Michael when he returned to his claim after his first winter spent in St. Paul (1854). It's possible that he met and married her in St. Paul during the winter of '54. They did not have any children.
• 2) Anna Catharina Leurs-Savelkoul (1823-1900) on 7/21/1885 in Chaska, Carver, MN. Dtr of Arnold Leurs and Maria Gertrudis Frencken (no relation to Dorothea Van Sloun-nee Frenken), widow of Henry Savelkoul. She had 2 children from her first marriage. She is buried in Guardian Angels Cemetery, Chaska.^[9]

09/01/1860 - Land Purchase of 160 acres by “Michael Detelle" Laketown Township, Carver County, Minnesota (present day Victoria). Twp 116N, Rng 024W, Section 13, Carver, Minnesota, Land office in Minneapolis. It had originally been a Military Bounty Land Warrant, awarded to a veteran of the War of 1812 from Ohio. (See Military Bounty Land Warrant section below.) Because the Homestead Act didn't exist before 1862, Michael would have been required to pay $1.25/acre, in full at time of filing.Click here to see the image of Land Patent. ^[10]

In 1865 Michael sold 40 acres to his brother, Carl. I don't know why he started selling out, but he and Thecla never had any children, a necessary source of free labor on a farm, so I imagine it may have been difficult to clear or work his 160 acres economically. Census records show he always had hired hands, both as farm laborers, and to help his wife in the house, which must have been a financial drain. In the coming years, he periodically sold other large parcels of his land to Carl.

In the 1870 census, his real estate was valued at $1900, and personal property at $850. The 1870 Agricultural Census details his farm production: He owned 30 improved and 30 unimproved wood-land acres; 2 mules & asses, 4 milch cows, 6 other cattle & 7 swine. Produced 267 bushels of spring wheat, 200 Indian corn, 111 oats, 57 barley, 50 Irish potatoes, 300 lbs butter, 20 tons hay, and valued animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter at $200. Estimated value of all farm production, including betterment and additions to stock, $620. ^[11]

In 1872 he sold the last of his farm to his brother and moved to 3rd St, Shakopee, Scott Co, MN. Third St. runs right through the middle of town, even though in 1880 he still calls himself a farmer and is too young to be retired, it's possible that he and Thecla bought a house in town and he leased fields to plant.

In Oct, 1883, Thecla passed away in Shakopee. He married his second wife in Chaska, Carver, Minnesota in Jul, 1885. Sometime afterward, they moved to Chaska.

WEEKLY VALLEY HERALD - 07/30/1885

“Mr. Diethelm of Shakopee, a Widower, was married to Mrs. Savelkoul a Widow, of this Village [Chaska] on Tuesday of last week. They are both well known in this County and their friends wish them many years of happiness." Link to paper.[3]

Michael passed away in Chaska in 1897 and is buried in Guardian Angels Cemetery in Chaska, MN.

Maps

This family came from Galgenen, Canton Schwyz, Switzerland (abbr SZ, CH).

Clickable map of Europe. First map shows where the country lies within Europe. Click Switzerland to see its Cantons. Click Canton "SZ" to see its towns. (Clicking the town shows its flag.) Maps and boundary data are copyrighted by <A HREF="www.flagspot.net/flags/g_ix.html">FOTW - Flags Of The World web site</a>

Minnesota Counties. He arrived in Minnesota by riverboat at St. Paul in Ramsey Co. and walked from there to Carver County. His 2nd home was in Scott Co.

Military Bounty Land Warrant

In this country's early years, up to 160 acres of land in the public domain were awarded by the government to veterans of various wars as partial compensation for their military service. These land grants were called "Military Bounty Land Warrants". Veterans went through a multi-step application process to receive their land warrants. The veteran was given either a warrant to receive land or scrip which could be exchanged for a warrant. Only a few soldiers actually received title to the bounty land or settled on it; most veterans later sold or exchanged their warrants. At the time Pvt. Robert Hughs of the Ohio Militia received his warrant after the War of 1812, Minnesota wasn't even a Territory yet. It was part of Wisconsin Territory. It was still inhabited by the Indians and not officially open to settlement. In the early 1850's various Indian bands in Minnesota Territory signed treaties with the US government, handing over much of their land, which the government put in the public domain. Once this new area opened up, the government now had land they could assign these old military warrants to. Since so few of the old veterans wanted the land they'd been granted, and the government was interested in populating this area with people who would tame the wilderness, they changed the law in the mid 1850's to allow Military Bounty Land Warrants to be sold, which enabled Michael to buy the land his farm occupied.

Links to more stuff

• Find a Grave memorial with biography & photo of headstone.
• Online book, "Germans in Minnesota (People of Minnesota Series) by Kathleen N. Conzen, Bill Holm. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 6/6/2003" Pages 17 & 18 retells the legend of the migration of the Diethelm brothers to Minnesota & how Michael hiked into the woods to find his land. (Search [Ctrl+F] "Diethelm" to find pages.-pq)
• Online book, "History of the Minnesota Valley, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota" Minneapolis: North Star Pub. Co., 1882. Page 378 begins the section on Laketown, with names of first settlers & mentions Michael as one of the "other early settlers". Pg 379 mentions that Catholic services were held in his home.
• City of Victoria website featuring Michael as first European settler. Has history of area, from Native Americans to town's early years.
• Image of 1870 Agricultural Census (pg 1 of 2 - can pg fwd).

Do you have information about Michael Diethelm? Please contribute to his biography. Everything on WikiTree is a collaborative work-in-progress.

Sources

1. ↑ Galgenen Parish Baptismal Record Book & personal knowledge of A. Fässler of Alpthal, Schwyz, Switzerland.
2. ↑ [1] : "Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945," index and images, FamilySearch, accessed 08 Sep 2013), 1820-1902 (NARA M259) > 039b - 18 Jan 1854 - 29 Apr 1854 > image 125 of 751.
3. ↑ "Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota". Edited by Maj. R.J. Holcombe and William H. Bingham. Published in Chicago by Henry Taylor & Company, 1915.
4. ↑ "The History of St. Victoria Parish 1857-1957" by John A. Diethelm, 1957
5. ↑ “The History of St. Victoria Parish, 1857-1957” by John A. Diethelm, Printed in 1957 by Sentinal Publishing Co. St. Cloud, Minnesota
6. ↑ "History of the Minnesota Valley, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota" Minneapolis: North Star Pub. Co., 1882, pq 378. Link to online book is above.
7. ↑ “The History of St. Victoria Parish, 1857-1957” by John A. Diethelm, Printed in 1957 by Sentinal Publishing Co. St. Cloud, Minnesota
8. ↑ "History of the Minnesota Valley, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota" Minneapolis: North Star Pub. Co., 1882, pq 379. Link above.
9. ↑ Parents names per: http://members.home.nl/savelkoul/ooijen/leonardus%20savelkoul-kunnen-frm2.htm
10. ↑ Bureau of Land Management. Warrant #50023.[2]
11. ↑ 1870 Agricultural Census (sub-section of Federal Census).

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Pat Quinn for starting this profile.