| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Registres Paroissiaux de Soultz-sous-Forêts, S. 1686-1728, image 24; Archives departementales du Bas-Rhin, http://etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr/adeloch/adeloch_flash/adeloch_flash.php
2. Per Price and Associates, Inc., (c) Research Report, prepared for Noel Stoker and used by his permission. Report dated 31 July 2015. File name: Staehli2015May/1333. A transcript of the report:
"PROJECT SUMMARY
OBJECTIVE
• Focus on finding the correct ancestry of Eva Staehli of Sulz.
RESULTS
• Identified the correct family of Johannes and Eva Stähle.
• Identified the second wife and family of Johannes Stähle.
• Developed two theories concerning the ancestry of Eva, wife of Johannes Stähle.
• Traced two additional generations for the probable ancestry of Eva.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Search death records of SoultzÂ-lesÂ-Forêts for information on the Wilhelm and Straub families.
• Continue searching earlier records of Schwabwiller for the Straub family.
• Contact city archives in SoultzÂ-lesÂ-Forêts to identify potential record sets that may help in identifying the origin of Johannes Stähle.
• Search for additional descendants of Johannes Stähle for further clues that may show up in the baptismal sponsors.
Introduction
Previous research indicated that Eva Stähle was born in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts, Bas Rhin, France in 1693, the daughter of Johannes Stähle and his wife Eva. A preliminary search in the parish records of SoultzÂ-lesÂ-Forêts revealed the presence of two HansÂEva Stähle couples having children at the same time. Research began with a focus on these two couples in order to learn if children of the families could be separated, and the identity of the correct ancestral couple could be ascertained.
Stähle family in SoultzÂ-sousÂ-Forêts
Eva Stähle was born and baptized in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts in November 1693, the daughter of Johannes Stähle and his wife Eva.1 Fortunately, the baptismal and marriage records of Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts have been indexed and were available for consultation.
Unfortunately, it was discovered that there were two Hans and Eva Stähle/Stelle families having children in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts at the same time. Spelling for the two families varied for each record, making it difficult to ascertain the two separate families on that basis alone. A closer study of the two families proved successful in identifying which children belonged to each Hans Stähle/Stelle. The ancestor, Johannes Stähle, was consistently referred to by his occupation, a salter. Furthermore, by tracing the families through the early 1700s and looking through the indexed records, it was ascertained that the descendants of each Hans went by slightly different spellings of the surname. The ancestral line was later known as Stähle, while the descendants of the ‘other' Hans later went by Stell.
Eva Stähle's father, Johannes Stähle, was a salter in the town of SoultzÂsous Forêts. He first appears in town in 1686, where he, as a bachelor, witnessed the baptism of Johann Schora on 25 August.2 The entry mentioning of him was written, "Johannes Stöll, of ___ [left blank], the single salter here." This indicates that Johannes Stähle did not originate in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts, as the priest left a space to later write his town of birth. The priest did not go back and fill in the entry. Johannes Stähle appears as a baptismal sponsor an additional five times between 1686 and 1688.
Johannes Stähle married Eva around 1688 or 1689, as indicated by Eva's 1699 death record.3 Unfortunately, the extant marriage records for Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts have a gap between 1681 and 1737. The couple had three daughters: Margaretha (1690), the ancestress Eva (1693), and Maria Barbara (1697). Johannes Stähle's wife, Eva, died 24 January 1699.4 Johannes Stähle remarried shortly after his wife's death, as he and his second wife Catharina have their first daughter, Magdalena Stähle, on 9 April 1700 in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts.5 By 1702, the Stähle family had moved to nearby Retschwiller, where Johannes continued his trade as a salter, but between 1706 and 1714, the family moved back to Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts. Johannes Stähle and his second wife had five children, including four sons, before his death on 28 December 1719.6 His age at death gave a calculated birth date of 7 March 1659; however, he was not born in SoultzÂsous Forêts. Godparents for the children initially seemed to point to the Rempen family as perhaps related, as members of this family showed up in several children's baptisms. A closer look at other baptismal records in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts shows that the Rempen family was particularly popular as sponsors for numerous families, indicating a social connection rather than a familial one.
The origins of Eva Stähle
The death record of Eva Stähle and the one following hers are rather interesting documents that potentially provide clues into her parentage. Eva, wife of Johannes Stähle, died 26 January 1699 in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts.7 The document is difficult to read and in parts is illegible; this is the best translation of the entry:
"the 26th January 1699, died Eva, a devout working quiet housewife: Hans Stelle, the local salter, his wife of ten years, after which she until the 9th day, when began pricks in her [illegible], after which she had endured extreme pain, finally, with faith in God her savior, and very beautiful patience, her soul having believed in Him, after the 24th, in the night, softly and with a [illegible] departed, and the day following was buried.
Let such a soul rest, and give this body a happy resurrection. Her age 32 years."
Following her entry is this entry, for the death of Barbara Straub, also difficult to read and in parts illegible, and translated thus:
"Here, amazingly, after which was received word, and amazingly [illegible] her faith, died, only 5 days after the previously mentioned soul had died [illegible], died on the 31st of the same month and in the night, the same's mother: named Barbara, age in her life was a wife of [?Gadelsf.] after [illegible] was 5 days of illness; Hans Georg Straub, citizen and miller from Keffenach, County of Zweibrücken, [illegible] a surviving widow, otherwise originally from Wirtzberger Land [i.e. Württemberg], in holy rites was buried."
From this translation, it seems that Barbara, the mother of Eva, was the widow of Hans Georg Straub of Keffenach at the time of her death. Keffenach at the time belonged to the parish of Birlenbach. A search of those records revealed some conflicting information. Hans Georg Straub of Keffenach and his wife Barbara were the parents of three children baptized in the parish: an unnamed daughter in 1674,8 a daughter Margaretha on 15 April 1683,9 and a son Jacob on 30 July 1684.10 The only Straub death record found in Birlenbach was for Hans Georg Straub, "the old miller," who died 25 May 1683 in Keffenach.11 This death for Hans Georg Straub, "the old miller" seems impossible to be the same person as the Hans Georg Straub who married Barbara and fathered a child born in July 1684. Additionally, by calling him "the old miller" this may indicate that there was a young miller, i.e. Hans Georg Straub who married Barbara. The death records of Birlenbach between 1683 and 1691 are missing; perhaps Hans Georg Straub, husband of Barbara, died in this time period.
It is very strange that there are no entries of baptism for the Straub family prior to the 1674 entry, even though other children's entries show up from Keffenach in the 1660s and 1670s. Nor is there a marriage in the records for Hans Georg Straub and Barbara. If Eva is the daughter of Hans Georg Straub and his wife Barbara, her baptismal record should be in the records of Birlenbach, but may show up in other places. According to her death record, Eva was born approximately 1666 or 1667. There are two theories for the parentage of Eva, wife of Johannes Stähle:
1. A search through the parish registers of Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts shows only one Eva baptized between 1665 and 1667 - Eva Wilhelm, daughter of Hans Wilhelm and his wife Barbara, baptized on 25 November 1666. Hans Wilhelm was a salter in Retschwiller, where he and his wife had four children between 1666 and May 1673. Several things make this a strong possibility - Hans Wilhelm has the same occupation as Johannes Stähle, the family lived in Retschwiller where Johannes Stähle later lived, the age of birth of this Eva would put her as age 32 years, 2 months at the time of death of Eva, wife of Johannes Stähle. There are some problems with this theory, however. For this relationship to work, Barbara, mother of Eva, would have to subsequently marry Hans Georg Straub of Kessenach, which would make him Eva's stepfather rather than her father. Hans Wilhelm would have had to die sometime in 1673 or 1674, after which Barbara marries Hans Georg Straub early enough to have a child with him in 1674 - or Hans Georg Straub had two wives named Barbara, the first of which had the child in 1674. Furthermore, there are no Wilhelms as baptismal witnesses in Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts between 1684 and 1689, indicating the family had died or moved by then.
2. Hans Georg Straub and his wife Barbara had three children baptized in Kessenach, the first of which was an unnamed daughter between August and December 1674.12 Based on the death record of Hans Georg Straub in 1683, and a subsequent baptism of a Straub child in 1684, it seems likely that there were two Hans Georg Straubs, probably father and son, both millers in Kessenach, living in Kessenach at the same time. The miller Hans Georg Straub of Keffenach (uncertain of which of the two) appears first in the parish as a baptismal witness on 20 October 1667.13 Barbara, wife of Hans Georg Straub, miller of Keffenach, shows up first as a baptismal sponsor on 21 December 1668.14 She witnesses two more baptisms, but does not appear as a witness between 1672 and 1683.15 Baptismal records in Birlenbach are spotty in the 1660s, with only one appearing in 1664, but seem fairly complete after August 1667. It is possible that Eva was born in Keffenach in 1666 or early 1667, during the gap, and that the family had difficulty having children, with one child born in 1673 and two in short succession in 1683 and 1684. It is also possible that Barbara, the witness of the three baptisms in 1668Â1672, was the wife of the earlier Hans Georg Straub. A search through the baptismal sponsors in Birlenbach through 1689 failed to show any Straubs, other than Hans Georg Straub the miller and Barbara, as witnesses. Nor was the marriage of Johannes Stähle and Eva found in the parish.
Conclusion
Through careful analysis of the records, the family of Eva Stähle was successfully identified in the parish of Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts. A second marriage was identified for her father, Johannes. Descendants were found to be living in the town through the 1790s but were not researched. Due to missing records, there is some question about the identity of Eva Stähle's mother, Eva. Both theories were evaluated, and it seems likelier that Eva was born Eva Straub, the daughter of Hans Georg and Barbara Straub of the town of Keffenach.
Recommendations
• Search death records of SoultzÂ-lesÂ-Forêts for information on the Wilhelm and Straub families.
• Continue searching earlier records of Schwabwiller for the Straub family.
• Contact city archives in SoultzÂ-lesÂ-Forêts to identify potential record sets that may help in identifying the origin of Johannes Stähle.
• Search for additional descendants of Johannes Stähle for further clues that may show up in the baptismal sponsors.
Footnotes:
1. Registres Paroissiaux de Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts, B. 1684Â1712, image 63; Archives departementales du Bas Rhin, http://etatÂcivil.basÂrhin.fr/adeloch/adeloch_flash/adeloch_flash.php <http://etat/>.
2. Ibid., image 19.
3 Registres Paroissiaux de Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts, S. 1686Â1728, image 24; Archives departementales du Bas Rhin, http://etatÂcivil.basÂrhin.fr/adeloch/adeloch_flash/adeloch_flash.php <http://etat/>.
4. Ibid.
5. Registres Paroissiaux de Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts, B. 1684Â1712, image 102.
6. Registres Paroissiaux de Soultz-Âsous-ÂForêts, S. 1687Â1728, image 61.
7. Ibid., image 24.
8. Evangelische Kirche Birlenbach, Taufen 1667Â1745, FHL Film 721154, item 1, page 83. No name given.
9. Ibid., page 93.
10. Ibid., page 97.
11. Registres Paroissiaux de Birlenbach, MS. 1614Â1706 image 55; Archives departementales du BasÂRhin, http://etatÂcivil.basÂrhin.fr/adeloch/adeloch_flash/adeloch_flash.php <http://etat/>.
12. Evangelische Kirche Birlenbach, Taufen 1667Â1745, FHL Film 721154, item 1, page 83.
13. Ibid., page 63.
14. Ibid., page 66.
15. Ibid., page 75, where she witnesses the baptism of Wendel Finck on 25 January 1672."
The same report was accompanied by a research calendar of sources searched arranged by Call Number and Source Description:
"1. FHL INTL Book 944.3835/S7 K29s; Soultz-sous-Forêts, printed parish registers - found several spellings of Stähle; two Hans and Eva Stähle families having children at the same time.
2. www.etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr <http://www.etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr>; Bas-Rhin Archives online; Evangelische Kirche Soultz-sous-Forêts. Found the following documents: Baptism of Eva Stähle (1693) Death of Eva [Straub] Stähle (1699) Death of Johannes Stähle (1719)
3. FHL Film 1761549 item 3; Evangelische Kirche Birlenbach, record indexes. Found entries for Straub family.
4. www.etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr <http://www.etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr>; Bas-Rhin Archives online; Evangelische Kirche Birlenbach. Found: Death of Hans Georg Straub (1683)
5. FHL Film 0721154; Evangelische Kirche Birlenbach, baptisms. No baptism for Eva Straub, but found other records; added to PAF.
6. www.etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr <http://www.etat-civil.bas-rhin.fr>; Evangelische Kirche Oberbetschdorf - looked through 1665-1681. No people with surname Straub."
3. Price and Associates, Inc., (c) Research Report, prepared for Noel Stoker and used by his permission. Report dated 19 Apr 2014. File name: Stocker2014Mar/1333. A transcript of the report:
"OBJECTIVES
• Continue from the previous project by researching the Stocker ancestry.
• Research the Staehli ancestry.
RESULTS
• Found the marriage for Friedrich Stocker and Anna Barbara [no maiden name known].
• Identified four siblings of Friedrich Stocker.
• Located the death entry of Christian Stocker, the oldest ancestor in this line at this point.
• Found the baptismal entry of Eva Staehli.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Determine whether pre-1639 records exist for Feldberg.
• Conduct an area search around Wörth for the first marriage between the ancestor Anna Barbara [no maiden name known] and Hans Heinrich Bartl.
• Continue research on the Staehli line for about 100 additional years back to 1595.
[BACKGROUND]
This research started where the previous project ended by following the Stocker line of Goersdorf, Alsace. This area was for a long time German territory, but since the end of World War II it has belonged to France. The ancestral Stockers spoke German, and the Lutheran parish books are recorded in German.
Several extractions were made in 1993. The family group sheets created based on the extractions were provided by the client.
Before the research started, a few questions from the client needed to be answered.
Question 1: Does the marriage record of Hanss Michael Stocker to Anna Margaretha Stephan on 30 Jan 1725 at Preuschdorf specifically list his age or his father/parents as Hans Michael Stocker and Maria Remp? If not, how do we know the correct parents of the Hans Michael who married in 1725?
Answer: The marriage record of Hanss Michael Stocker to Anna Margaretha Stephan lists the day of marriage, the names of groom and bride, and the parents of the bride and the father of the groom (being Hans Michael Stocker). It does not list the name of the mother.
Question 2: How do we know the Hanss Michael Stocker who married Maria Remp in 1692 at Mitschdorf was born in Oct 1669 at Mitschdorf? Did the 1692 marriage entry provide Hanss Michael's parents or his place of residence?
Answer: The 1692 marriage entry for Hanss Michael Stocker and Maria Remp states that the groom was the son of Jacob Stocker, [the father] residing in Goersdorf; and the father of the bride was listed as Jacob Remp, the mother as Maria Stephan, both of Mitschdorf. This record does not state whether the groom was born in Mitschdorf or Goersdorf or anywhere else. Since this was not a direct line, his information was not double verified during the previous project. The Preuschdorf parish entries were checked this time, which include Mitschdorf and Goersdorf. The birth entry for him was not found in these parish records. At this point, it is not sure where the birth in October 1669 came from. It definitely needs to be removed. His death entry states his age, but according to this he was born in 1667 (+/- 1 year). If all the Stocker families did move from Feldberg to Goersdorf and Mitschdorf, as suggested by the researcher who worked on these lines in 1993, the data found back then for him could be correct. The only conflicting information that would stay in that case is the given name of the mother. Her name was either Magretha or Magdalena. There is a chance that either the parish priest recorded it wrong or she had indeed two given names.
STOCKER LINE
The researcher who performed the research in 1993 came to the conclusion that the Stocker ancestry moved from the town Feldberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, to Goesdorf, Alsace, but did not deliver any solid proof for it. The distance between these two towns is between 110 and 120 miles in a straight line. For the late 1600s, this was quite a distance to move. On the other hand, between the 1650s (a few years after the end of the Thirty Years War) and the 1680s, many people moved wider distances because the black plague wiped out one-third of Europe; in some areas whole villages were left completely empty. Especially children that did not inherit the family farm took advantage of this and moved to other areas. Also the local nobility often made promises of a lower tax to new settlers.
There were two possible ways to perform the next research steps. One would be to conduct an area search in parishes nearby to find the marriage entry of the direct ancestor, Johann Friedrich Stocker, and Anna Barbara [no maiden name known]. The other possibility would be to verify the Feldberg parish records and retrace the steps performed in 1993. It was decided to analyze the research report from 1993 and the family group sheets based on this. The researcher found a marriage for Friedrich Stocker and Anna Barbara listed as 4 May 1680, married in Goersdorf. This marriage was not recorded in the Preuschdorf parish records (Goersdorf belonged to Preuschdorf). [Kirchenbuch Preuschdorf, Heiraten 1661-1715; FHL INTL Film 769168 item 4.] In fact, no marriages at all were recorded there between 1674 and November 1683. None of the other entries in these previously mentioned family group sheets gave any other clue than the connection to the town Feldberg. Therefore, the Feldberg marriages were checked. Even though many Stockers married there, the desired marriage entry was not found. [Kirchenbuch Preuschdorf, Heiraten 1639-1793; FHL INTL Film 1189398 item 5.]
If the wife, Anna Barbara, was not from Feldberg, the couple could have married somewhere near Goersdorf/Preuschdorf. Therefore, an area search was begun. The first place to check was the neighboring Lutheran parish of Lembach. The marriage entry was not found there. [Kirchenbuch Lembach, Heiraten 1651-1684; FHL INTL Film 717154, item 6; and Heiraten 1656-1689; FHL INTL Film 717154, item 7 (two different records with overlapping years).] Also the baptisms did not list a Johann Friedrich Stocker born in or about 1654 (calculated based on his death entry). [Kirchenbuch Lembach, Taufen 1649-1674; FHL INTL Film 717154, item 6.]
The neighboring Langensulzbach Parish was ignored since their marriage records do not begin until 1689; baptisms begin in 1674.
The third neighboring parish was in Wörth an der Sauer. Finally, the correct marriage was found. [Kirchenbuch Wörth (an der Sauer), Heiraten 1572-1635, 1641-1694; FHL INTL Film 1069776.] The date is the very same as found in 1993, just the town name was recorded wrong. The entry states Goersdorf on the left and could be an indicator to where the marriage might have been performed, but it could also be understood as an annotation to the place of residence of bride and groom. This was very likely where the mistake came in. Following is the record.
Marriage Register. Source: Lutheran Church Records of Wörth, Bas-Rhin Alsace, France:
- M. 4 May 1680: Friedrich Stocker, a carpenter, of Feldberg in der Oberman Grafschaft, married Anna Barbel of Görsdorf; parents of the groom: Deceased Christian Stocker of Feldberg; parents of the bride: [Parents not stated, but the following information was stated:] Widow of the deceased Hanss Friedrich Bartl, a former tailor in Goersdorf. Page 224, entry 4/1680. (Doc.1)
The first marriage between Hanss Friedrich Bartl and Anna Barbel (=Barbara) was sought in this parish, but not found. This record would provide her maiden name. Very likely she was again from another parish and the couple married there. Only an area search might produce this record.
The marriage entry above gives the town of origin as "Feldberg in der Oberman Grafschaft." A "Grafschaft" is a countship. In the 1600s and 1700s, Baden was a countship. It did not become a Grand Duchy until 1806. No reference was found in printed or online sources to the Oberman entry related to the Baden countship. There are at least five different Feldbergs in the former German Empire, but none of them relates to Oberman. The Feldberg in Baden is closest to Goersdorf in spite of its 110 to 120 miles linear distance. This is not absolute proof that the Stocker ancestry came from there, but the evidence pointing into this direction can't be denied.
While analyzing the early parish records of Wörth, it was realized that this parish must have been responsible for the people who belonged since 1660 to the parish Preuschdorf. Since the calculated birth year for Anna Barbel/Anna Barbara was known from her death entry, the baptisms were searched in spite of the possibility that she might have been from another parish. She was born in or about 1645. The baptisms produced three Anna Barbaras born in 1644, but none in 1645 or 1646. Any or none of them could have been the ancestor.
The children of (Johann) Friedrich Stocker and Anna Barbara were found during the last research project. Therefore, the research turned back to the Feldberg parish records. In 1993, the researcher found four children, with an additional one born 18 years before the rest. The four children previously found could be confirmed; the oldest one was not confirmed since his birth took place before Wörth Parish kept records. The direct ancestor (Johann/Hans) Friedrich Stocker was not among those found. If this is the correct ancestral line - and this is the only family where Christian Stocker was the father - then the direct ancestor must have been baptized in another parish or his baptism was not recorded. Following are the four children mentioned (note two sets of twins). [Kirchenbuch Feldberg, Taufen 1639-1793; FHL INTL Film 1189398, item 5.]
Birth Register. Source: Lutheran Church Records of Feldberg, Baden, Germany:
- Chr. 6 Jan 1650: Hans Stocker (twin); father: Christn. Stocker of Hennenbach; mother: Margretha [no maiden name]. No page #, entry 139. (Doc. 2)
- Chr. 6 Jan 1650, died 15 Apr 1725: Maria Stocker (twin); father: Christn. Stocker of Hennenbach; mother: Margretha [no maiden name]. No page #, entry 140. (Doc. 2)
- Chr. 6th of Trinitatis 1655 [= 22 Jul. 1655]: Adam Stocker (twin); father: Christian Stocker, a carpenter in Hennenbach; mother: Margaretha [no maiden name]. No page #, entry 12. (Doc. 3)
- Chr. 6th of Trinitatis 1655 [= 22 Jul. 1655]: Eva Stocker (twin); father: Christian Stocker, a carpenter in Hennenbach; mother: Margaretha [no maiden name]. No page #, entry 12. (Doc. 3)
The marriage entry of the parents, Christian Stocker and Margaretha, was not found in Feldberg. There is a chance that they married before 1639, the year the parish records start. Only a search in neighboring parishes would produce this document - if the neighboring parishes have such old records.
The researcher from 1993 also found the death entry of a Christian Stocker. It cannot be proven that this pertains to the direct ancestor, but the name and profession fit. Also this Christian Stocker died before 1680, which would be confirmed in the marriage entry of the son. If he was the correct ancestor, his wife Margaretha must have been his second wife, because she would not have had all her children in her mid- to late 40s and none in her 30s. Following is the death entry. [Kirchenbuch Feldberg, Tote 1639-1793; FHL INTL Film 1189398, item 5.]
Death Register. Source: Lutheran Church Records of Feldberg, Baden, Germany:
- D. 16 Apr. 1669: Christian Stokher [note different spelling], citizen and carpenter in Hennenbach; age 64 years; relationships [not stated]. No page #, entry 75. (Doc. 4)
An area search around Feldberg was not done. A first look at the records available revealed that only one of the parishes in the wider vicinity had older records, but these records are only a name index of adults living in this parish. Another church closer to Feldberg was already established 1620, but their baptisms do not start until 1639 - the same year as Feldberg's. Therefore, the chance to continue the Stocker line is very low.
STAEHLI LINE
Before wrapping up this research project, a quick look was made into the Lutheran Sulz parish records. According to the marriage entry between Hanss Michael Stocker and Eva Staehli in 1721 (found in a previous research project), she was from Sultz. There is a "Sulz unterm Wald" nearby, today called Soultz-sous-Forêts. The baptismal entries of this parish records were analyzed, and her entry was found. Since her date of birth could be calculated based on her entry in the death record, this was a quick task. [Kirchenbuch Sulz unterm Wald, Taufen 1684-1747; FHL INTL Film 796891.] Following is the entry.
Birth Register. Source: Lutheran Church Records of Sulz unterm Wald, Bas-Rhin Alsace, France:
- Chr. 12 Nov. 1693: Eva Steley; father: Johannes Steley; mother: Eva [no maiden name]. Page 89 a+b, no entry #. (Doc. 05)
The family name of the father is spelled Steley, but the signature under the record spells it Stehl. In another record where he and his wife are mentioned as godparents, his name is spelled Stelly.
No further research was done on this Staehli/Steley/Stehl line. The next project should seek the siblings and the marriage record of the parents.
The individuals who could be connected to the ancestral tree were entered into the client database. None of the other non-related family members were extracted at this time.
Conclusion
An area search produced the marriage of Friedrich Stocker and Anna Barbara [no maiden name known] and proved that the Stocker ancestry was indeed from Feldberg. Four siblings of Friedrich Stocker were found, but concrete proof that these were indeed his siblings could not be produced. A death entry of one of the ancestors (Christian Stoker) makes it possible to calculate the year of his birth, but this ancestor was born about a quarter century before record keeping began in this parish. The oldest parish nearby has only a few records back to 1620, but even that is several years after the calculated birth of Christian Stoker.
For the Staehli line, the baptismal entry of Eva Staehli (in her record spelled Steley) was found. No time was left to extract the rest of the family.
Recommendations
A gazetteer should be checked to see whether records are available for Feldberg prior to 1639. An older parish nearby that was responsible for Feldberg prior to that year might contain the early Stocker ancestry, but the chance to find such older records is rather small. An area search around Wörth might produce the first marriage between the ancestor Anna Barbara [no maiden name known] and Hans Heinrich Bartl.
Research in the Sulz Lutheran parish records for the Staehli line should continue. The Sulz parish records are available on microfilm at the Family History Library back to 1595 - a potential of almost 100 years of records.
It was a pleasure to research your ancestry, and we look forward to continuing, according to your instructions."
MARRIAGE:
1. Marriage is not found in the church records for Soultz-Sous-Forêts, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France.
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
Abt 1667 - 1699 (~ 32 years)