Dianna Berens Beaudoin - Salem Township

The matriarch in this five-generation photograph is Catherine (Strickfaden) Drier (sitting), Shown from left to right are her daughter Rosina Paffhouse Sebright, her granddaughter Katherine Homrich, her great-granddaughter Eleanor McLanchan, and great-great-grandson Harold Faye Orcutt (in her lap). Catherine lived to be 93 years old and is buried in the Salem Township Cemetery. She came to Salem in the 1850s with her father, Charles. (Courtesy of Dorothy Paffhouse.)

The Stickley family poses here for a photographer. Adam Stickleys parents came to Salem about 1855 and purchased land in sections 18 and 19. He was born in 1853 in Ohio and died on May 30, 1891, in Salem Township. He married Mary Rummelt, daughter of Charles and Maria Schwander. To them were born five children, three of whom lived to adulthood. From left to right are Adam, Dora, William, Mary, and baby Philip (front). (Courtesy of Dianna Beaudoin.)

Adam and Louisa Esterly Raab pose with their family in this early 1900s photograph. They settled in Salem Township in 1855 on section eight. Adams son John claimed the distinction of being the first child born in Salem. Shown from left to right are (first row) Adam, John, Charles, Christina, and Louise; (second row) Isabel, Henry, Catherine, Matilda, Sarah, and Louisa. (Courtesy of Lorne and Vivian Buhler.)

This photograph is of the John and Catherine (Stickley) Claus family. Shown from left to right are (first row) John and George; (second row) son John and Catherine. John and Catherine were married on May 19, 1867, in Salem Township by J. Schladenaude, the pastor of St. Pauls Lutheran Church. They lived on section 19 and later moved to section 16. (Courtesy of Dianna Beaudoin.)

This photograph is of the John and Catherine (Strickfaden) Drier family. Shown from left to right are (first row) Ida, Catherine, John, and Charles; (second row) Margaret, Joseph, Caroline, John, Rose, William, Wilhemina, and Sophia. John and Catherine were married in her fathers home in 1861 in Salem Township and lived across the road from him on section eight. (Courtesy of Dianna Beaudoin.)

This is a formal portrait of the Gerrit and Gertie Brower family. Their farm was located on Thirty-fourth Street in the early 1900s. Although they lived on Thirty-fourth Street, all their children were born in Drenthe. Gertie passed away in 1925. Shown from left to right are (first row) Ann, mother Gertie, father Gerrit, Helen, and Ralph; (second row) Harry, Dick, Nick, Herm, Tony, and Ben. (Courtesy of Lyle and Betty Brower.)

The George and Loretta (Green) Smith family pose for this family photograph. Shown from left to right are (first row) George, with grandson Ralph Cole (Lelas son) on his lap, and Loretta; (second row) Lela, George Elmer, and Frank. George Sr.s father, Elial, and his mother, Catherine, came to Salem Township in 1854 from Findley, Ohio, and settled on section 15. When Georges parents died, he took over the farm, and his family still resides on this land in 2009. (Courtesy of Dene and Colleen Smith.)

Annie Smith sits spinning yarn out of sheeps wool. She lived on this farm for more than 75 years. She was born in Austria in 1869 and came to America on a ship with her mother and three older siblings when she was eight. Her father had preceded the family by six months to establish their home. She met her future husband, Frank J. Smith, on the ship and married him when she was 15 years old. (Courtesy of Margaret Weber and Marian Streb-Albers.)

Charles Strickfaden was born October 4, 1820, in Germany to Michael and Cresentia (Bechler) Strickfaden. At age 11 in 1832, he came to the United States with his father. Charles married Margaretha Goodman on January 6, 1841, in Ohio and came to Salem in 1853. Their family consisted of 14 children, 12 whom lived to adulthood. Charles died on February 12, 1904, and rests in St. Marys Cemetery. (Courtesy of Dianna Beaudoin.)

Christian and Mary Sutter were married on May 5, 1853, in Buffalo, New York. They came to Salem Township in September 1856 and settled on section two. To them, four children were born: Charles, Adam, Christian Jr., and Frederick. Christian served in the Civil War and held several offices in Salem. He and Mary are both buried in the old section of the Salem Cemetery. (Courtesy of Art Oldenbeck.)