JOHANN GEORGE STAHELI 

By McKenna Martin, Riverside Elementary

I have chosen to do my essay on Johann George Staheli,  Johann is my fifth great grandfatherJohann was born on February 5, 1825.  Johann had nine children.  His first wife was Sophie Barbra Haberli.  The children’s names were: Wilhelmina, Elizabeth. Jacob, George Jr. Mary, John, Sophie, Sophie, and Barbra. In May of 1861 Johann’s family decided to come to Utah, as they had joined the Mormon church.  Unfortunately, only three days before arriving in America, Johann’s second to youngest daughter, Sophie, died because she was very ill.  Sophie’s mother said: “we will put her in her nicest dress and wrap her in a thick cloth.  Once the cloth was sewn we tied a weight to the cloth and threw her overboard”.  She said that it was the saddest thing that has ever happened in her life. 

When Johann and his family got to the Salt Lake Valley they were there for about 5 weeks.  He got a call from the saints to go to the Dixie country.  Johann was asked to stay and play music on his cornet.  Johann decided to with his parents to look after them.  The roads were very rough and his cornet was tied to the bow of his wagon.  The roads were so rough that his cornet fell off and his cornet got ran over by a lot of wagons.  It was a few years until he got another one.  Johann’s wife drove a cow all the way from Salt Lake to Santa Clara.  The cow got sick and died.  The family went weeks without milk. 

When they arrived in Santa Clara Johann helped settle Saint George and Santa Clara.  They pitched a tent because Johann’s wife was expecting a new baby so they had to have some sort of shelter.  The baby girl was born on December 25, 1861.  In the middle of January a terrible flood came.  Johann got mountain fever.  After six weeks of illness, Johann’s wife caught it.  She was sick for sixteen days.  She died on June third, 1862, leaving six children all to Johann.  Luckily, Johann had a neighbor who took care of the baby.  Later in December Johann married her. 

Johann went to work each morning to help build the St. George temple.  He would walk five miles each day, going without any breakfast, because his children were starving. He would have dinner every night before he left work.  Johann died on April 23, 1881.  He was a great man that endured many things during life with a good attitude.  I hope I can always try to have the best possible attitude during hard times just like Johann.