Emil Stumpf ~ Index
Emil's father, Johannes Stumpf, was born November 1st, 1801. He married Elizabetha Fear (Fair) on July 19th, 1832. They lived in Switzerland and resided in the town of Himemhopen (Hemenhopn), Canton of Turgau (Turgal). Their first child, Ferdinard, was born October 18th, 1833. He died in 1854 at the age of twenty-one. A daughter, Amalia, was born a year after Ferdinard on October 24th, 1834. Two years later, on February 12th, 1836, Elizabeth gave birth to a set of twins– a boy and a girl. The boy died three days after birth. He was not given a name at the time of his birth and consequently the records in Switzerland state he was born dead. He was later given the name Keuchlum. The twin girl only lived thirteen days. She was given the name Alice before she passed away on February 21st. Emil was born July 26th, 1838 in Herrenhof, Canton of Turgau. On January 2nd, 1840 their last son, Traugott, was born in Buchakern, Switzerland.
His father, Johannes, was a very strict school teacher who deemed education with high esteem. His children probably had the privilege of being taught by him. Most children during this time in Switzerland received very little public schooling, if any at all. In 1855, Johannes passed away at the age of 54. After Johannes' death, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to the town of Buchakern (Boothacker) where the family was living. Emil, small in stature, was twenty-one years old at the time. Because of small size he was not required to spend four years in the Swiss Military Training Program like most of the other young men his age. However, he was expected to learn a trade. It was at this young age that Emil began listening to the missionaries. He would hurry home from work, change his clothes, and venture off to listen to the young Elders talk about the Gospel. His sister Amalia became annoyed at him when he would dress up for Sunday school and head off in his best clothes to hear about the strange religion. At the time, Amalia thought the missionaries were awful and she would hide her brother's clothes hoping it would persuade him not to attend the meetings.
Emil was not discouraged by her antics, and he continued to attend the meetings in his old work clothes. Amalia was distraught! She wrote her younger brother, Traugott Stumph, who was working out of town at the time. She added him to return home to help persuade Emil to not attend the meetings. However, when Traugott arrived home he decided to go with Emil to see what this strange religion was all about. After listening to the Elders, he too was convinced that their teachings were true. A short time later, they were both baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints in their homeland of Switzerland. After their baptism, Emil and Traugott started making plans to migrate to America and settle in the Salt Lake Valley. Approximately six years after the missionaries arrived in Buchakern, the two brothers began their long journey. In 1861, living mainly on old black coffee and stale biscuits, Emil and Traugott immigrated to America. After spend six weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean they ventured off to cross the plains to Utah.
Back in Switzerland, the Elders for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began visiting the Stumpf's home where Emil's mother and sister still lived. After learning more about the Gospel, they became interested in the church and were baptized as well. One of the Elders serving a mission in Switzerland fell in love with Amalia and plans were made for her to immigrate with her mother, Elizabetha, to Utah in 1863. Amaila and the young Elder were to be married when she arrived in Utah. However while crossing the plains, she was struck by a bolt of lighting and killed near Laramie, Wyoming.
Elizabetha settled in Big Cottonwood after her arrival in Utah. Her dear Amalia was gone, and her two boys, Emil and Traugott were living in Mendon herding sheep and cattle. Here in this strange country she was swallowed up with loneliness. She could neither speak nor understand English and there was no one in Cottonwood that knew her native language. She died in October 1863, not long after her arrival in Cottonwood, of what some folks call a broken heart…
After setting in Mendon, Emil surprisingly grew to be nearly six feet tall and was a well-built man. He married a dear, sweet young Swiss woman named Hannah Zuppinger (born January 24th or 2th, 1830) who could play the guitar. Her family and the local townspeople called her Aunt Annie. Emill and Hannah lived in a one room log cabin until he had time to build a three room log house which later was covered with rustic. The young folks in town enjoyed gathering at their home during evenings singing to the music of Aunt Annie's guitar.
Emil and Aunt Annie had only one son whom they named Emil Jr., after his father. In their home, they continued to converse in their native tongue and taught their young son their native language. Their son was a smart, gifted lad, who could sing, play the guitar or any kind of instrument. He was also a great mimic who loved to take part in the local dramatic plays. He and Alexander S. Baker built an open-air dance hall in the grove by Emil and Aunt Annie's house. This was where the community of Mendon celebrated the 4th and 24th of July for many years. These celebrations were a big event in the little town.
Emil and Aunt Annie were weavers, a trade probably learned in Switzerland. They wove linseed for men's shirts and flannel for sheets and dresses. Mrs. Amenzo Baker used to wind bobbins for them in return for some of the woven cloth. Emil and Aunt Annie were expert weavers and make most of the cloth for the Mendon townspeople and other other weavers arrived some years later.
Most of the settlers in Mendon had a swarm or two of bees. Emil would help them gather the honey. Honey was popular in cooking and as a spread for bread and biscuits. Emil would also work for other people by pruning and spraying their apples. He, also ground apples for cider and vinegar for the local people. He and Aunt Annie raised several kinds of berries and sold them to their neighbors. Emil and Aunt Annie were great lovers of flowers and had them growing all around their house. Even their windows were full of beautiful flowers.
On one occasion, a swarm of hornets built a big nest under the eves of their shed. Emil decided to get rid of them by setting fire to their nest. He not only burned the hornets and nest, but the shed was burned down as well.
Emil and Aunt Annie were always active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. Emil served as secretary of the Elders Quorum and secretary of the Young Men Improvement Association. Aunt Annie was secretary and treasurer of the Relief Society for many years.
Because of Emil's above average educational background, he was very skilled at writing. He was an excellent penman and was active in writing plays and skits for Mendon's local drama productions. He loved to write poetry. He even wrote a poem about the big hornet nest and shed that burned down. Many of these poems were read aloud and enjoyed by the local people in the community.
Aunt Annie's health was failing but that did not stop her from working. Just months before Aunt Annie died, she was picking fruit from their garden when her hands and feet started swelling. She was so ill that her son Emil Jr., and his father's second wife, Jane Hill, who had two children, stay with his sick mother. At this time, Mrs. Jane Hill was living in Mendon with Mr. and Mrs. Amenzo Baker. She eventually left to make her home in Preston, Idaho. After Mrs. Jane Hill moved to Preston, Aunt Hannah Buist and her sister Maggie stayed at night with Aunt Annie. After a long illness, Aunt Annie passed away on November 10th, 1892 at the age of sixty-four. She was buried in the Mendon cemetery.
Aunt Annie's son, Emil Jr., left home a few years after her death. Emil sold his home and all his land except for a lot on the northwest side of their property where he built a one-room house. For a few years after his wife's death, Emil went door to door selling spectacles and other trinkets. Just a short time before he passed away, he lost nearly every cent he owned to some city slickers that came to Mendon selling fraudulent oil well shares.
Emil became ill and was taken to a shoe shop built and owned by Joseph T. Wood. He was cared for in the shoe shop until died on November 20th, 1918. His death occurred near the end of World War I, and was one of many deaths that occurred during the great flu epidemic. His brother Traugott and wife Jane Buist Stumpf went to Logan to secure a casket and burial clothes. They were forced to wear masks over their mouths in an effort to avoid getting the germs of this awful "flu" from spreading. The funeral services were held in the Mendon cemetery where he was laid too rest by the side of his beloved wife, Hannah Zuppinger Stumpf.1