Mary Thecla (Unknown) Diethelm (abt. 1815 - abt. 1883)

Born about 1815 in Bavaria, Germany

Died about Oct 1883 at about age 68 in Shakopee, Scott, Minnesota, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Pat Quinn [send private message]

Biography

Mary Thecla (known as Thecla and possibly Theresa) was born in Bavaria between 1813 to 1816. (Ages on censuses aren't consistent.) Her maiden name is unknown.

Her first name is listed as Thecla in 1860 census, and Thekla in the 1880 cns. (Wives names not listed in 1865 cns.) In 1860 cns her (then) husband's name (Michael) was spelled as "Maikel" so "Thecla" may also be a misspelling.

She married Michael Diethelm of Canton Schwyz, Switzerland. Son of Alois Diethelm and Theresia Market. When or where married, unknown but it may have been in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, USA in 1854.

Her husband immigrated to America with his brother, Carl's family, arriving in New Orleans on Jan 25, 1854. He traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Paul, Minnesota and then about 35 miles into the wilderness west of St. Paul, to what was later known as Carver County. Thecla was not with him on the ship to America. (See Michael's biography for details.) After building a temporary shelter to stake his claim he returned to St. Paul where he stayed and worked during that winter. The next spring, when he returned to his claim, Thecla was with him. I suspect that they married during Michael's first winter in St. Paul (1854).

On 9/1/1860 Michael received a land patent on 160 acres in Laketown Township. 160 acres was twice the size of most other (later) farms in the area, and far too big for one couple to work. In farm families, especially on the frontier, children were a necessary source of free labor, but they had none and census records show that they always had to hire workers to help, both in the fields and in the house.

Before there was any Catholic church in the area, wandering missionaries would come to 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 baptized in Michael and Thecla's house. The two of them witnessed many weddings too. (It was in marriage records that I found Thecla's name listed as Theresa.) The St. Victoria Parish congregation soon grew larger than people's homes could accommodate, but the parish was split on the best location to build their church. After a few years of arguing, Michael and a man named Celesting Lenhard decided the issue for everyone by donating 30 acres of their land to the church. A log church was built on that site in 1858.^[1]

Over the years, Michael sold pieces of their land to Carl. After the last of their land was sold in 1872, they moved to 3rd St. in nearby Shakopee, Scott County. In the 1880 census, Michael is still farming, but it doesn't say whether they live in a house or on a farm. (It looks like a "city" address to me.)

Thecla first appears on the census in 1860 and disappears after 1880. In the 11/1/1883 issue of the (Chaska) Weekly Valley Herald, her funeral was reported, which had taken place a week earlier. Unfortunately, they mistakenly identified her as "Mrs. Chas Diethelm". (Mrs. Charles "Carl" Diethelm was her sister-in-law, who was alive and well.) It's doubly unfortunate that it was so brief and provides no personal information.

Newspaper Report of her Death

Weekly Valley Herald 11/01/1883 pg 4, col. 2

"We are informed that Mrs. Chas Diethelm, [should be Mrs. Michael D.] of Shakopee, was buried last week. Mr. Diethelm and wife were old settlers of this County and her death causes much regret to her large circle of friends."^[2]

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

Sources

1. ↑ The History of St. Victoria Parish 1857-1957 by John A. Diethelm, Printed 1957 by Sentinal Publishing, St. Cloud, Minnesota
2. ↑ 11/1/1883 Weekly Valley Herald found at Archive.org: http://archive.org/stream/feb9188222vall#page/n3/mode/1up

• MN & US Census records
• Husband's biography

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Pat Quinn for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Pat and others.