Edward Voegele, (1849-1930)

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 20 November 1849, Berlin, Germany

Death: 15 February 1930, Seattle, King County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Barbara Voegele née Mueller

American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None.

Disclaimer: These lines have not been officially proven by NSDAR standard

Edward Voegele was born on November 20, 1849, in Berlin, Germany, the son of Robert Voegele; his mother’s name is unknown. In 1873, at the age of twenty-three, he left Germany for the United States, joining the wave of immigrants seeking opportunity and land in a growing nation.

After arriving in America, Edward made his way to Sherwood, Michigan, where he met fellow German immigrant Barbara Mueller, born December 4, 1847, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Simon Mueller. Barbara had also immigrated in 1873. Their shared heritage and recent arrival in a new country likely formed a strong bond between them. On September 11, 1875, they were married in Union City, Branch County, Michigan.

Edward’s early married life was marked by movement as he sought work and stability for his family. In 1881, while living in Wausau, Wisconsin, he and Barbara welcomed their son, Emil Henry. By 1887, the family was in Columbus, Ohio, where their daughter, Emma Hilda, was born.

Around 1889, Edward brought his family west to Washington Territory, purchasing a 160-acre homestead in the hills above Seabeck. There, he established a farm and worked the land while raising his children. Like many pioneers of the Puget Sound region, Edward’s life required hard physical labor, resourcefulness, and a willingness to face the uncertainties of frontier life.

In 1902, Edward moved his family to Seattle in search of new opportunities. He first worked as a cook and later as a carman, making deliveries around the city with a horse and wagon. After several years in Seattle, however, he returned to farming; by 1907, Edward and Barbara were again living on their Seabeck homestead.

A story preserved by longtime Seabeck residents illustrates Edward’s rugged character and the hazards he sometimes faced. While hunting bear, he reportedly wore coveralls and carried a small toy poodle tucked into the bib as he walked with his double-barreled shotgun. On one occasion, he shot at a bear just as it leapt over a large log. Believing the animal dead when the dog failed to bark, Edward jumped the log—only to land directly on the wounded bear. The animal tore off his clothing before he managed to scramble back over the log to safety. Remarkably, he escaped without serious injury.

Edward’s life changed dramatically on January 23, 1916, when Barbara died suddenly in Seabeck at the age of sixty-eight. Her death certificate cited cerebral hemorrhage and interstitial nephritis, though her obituary described heart disease as the cause. She had shared his pioneering journey to Puget Sound in 1889 and remained by his side on the homestead for most of her life.

After Barbara’s death, Edward gradually sold portions of his land. By 1926, he retained only twenty acres of the original 160-acre claim. Eventually, he moved to Seattle to live with his son Emil and worked intermittently as a laborer in his later years.

Edward died in Seattle on February 15, 1930, at the age of eighty, from pleurisy and “old age.” He was buried beside Barbara in Seabeck Cemetery. Today, their weathered and nearly illegible headstones stand together, marking the resting place of a German immigrant who carved out a life on the American frontier and helped shape the early community of Seabeck.