Pictures of the Stoltman Family

Courtesy of Maribeth Linder Boyle

Joseph (1834-1921) and Anna Stoltman (1840-1924) came to America from Poland.  They were the grandparents of Walter Stoltman.

Courtesy of Maribeth Linder Boyle

This is the family of Peter and Francis Stoltman who were Walter's parents. Walter is the center in the top row.

Front row: Peter Jr (1913-1926), Peter (1871-1952), twins, Frances (1917-1983) and Dorothy (1917-2002), Frances (Born in Poland, 1874-1955), Victor (1911-1998).
Back row: Rose (1889-1973), John (1896-1976), Walter (1907-1974), Adam (1894-1973) and Viola (1902-1980).

Courtesy of Maribeth Linder Boyle

The house that Walter grew up in and that his father Peter built, eventually became his brother Victor's. It got taken out by a terrible tornado.

Courtesy of Maribeth Linder Boyle

Courtesy of Maribeth Linder Boyle

Peter and Frances' (sitting) 50th wedding anniversary.  Once again, Walter is in the back center in the photo, just like the photo from his childhood.  Peter and Frances were married at Saint Stanislaus church in Warsaw, North Dakota, on July 19th, 1892.  Their 50th anniversary took place at the same church, on the same date, in 1942.

Courtesy of Maribeth Linder Boyle

Although we don't have any correspondence from Walter, we do have the start of this interesting letter from Walter's mother Frances to his sister Viola.  Viola escaped farm life and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  This typical rural, Upper Midwestern letter is mostly about the weather and the tasks that need to get done on the farm.  The last couple paragraphs (not shown) have to do with concern for her daughter so far from home.  Much of it could be almost verbatim the letters wrote to me by my Upper Midwestern farmer grandparents.