Francis Marion Stahl (Frank), was one of 8 children, born 23 May 1841 to Michael and Susan Moore Stahl, in Darke County, Ohio. Stahl came by himself to Kansas as a teenager in 1857, settling near present-day Auburn, Shawnee County. Stahl spent the next few years traveling across Kansas and Colorado, spending time in Denver. He also worked cattle drives along the Santa Fe Trail. In August 1862, Stahl enlisted with Company I, 2nd Kansas Cavalry and served until 1865, when he mustered out as a sergeant. In 1867 he re-enlisted, joining Company B of the 18th Kansas Cavalry and serving in the Indian campaigns in western Kansas as a 2nd lieutenant. In 1869 Stahl married Jennie T. Dickson, and they had 8 children. He settled on his claim in Auburn, and he held numerous local political offices, including county treasurer and chief of police for Topeka. He was also a state legislator, and he helped organize the Grand Army of the Republic in Kansas. A republican and a member of the temperance movement, Stahl died in 1937. [Connelly, William Elsey, "Frank M. Stahl," in Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1918ks/bios/stahlfm.html (accessed 17 December 2010).]
From the description of Francis Marion Stahl collection, 1865 - 1885. (Kansas State Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 694081767
