Losli family (or Losle or Loosli or Losley)

From various sources the family's name has been spelled Losle, Loosli, Losli, and Losley. The last was a deliberate Americanization by some of the U.S. born children. The senior Losli/Losle's used variations of their first names as well, but were most commonly Daniel and Maria. Confusion is understandable because it seems to be common to recycle names, with children being named for one that passed away or a grandfather, uncle or cousin, etc...

An ornamental baptismal certificate for Daniel Losley (b.1895), all in German (or Swiss-German) -- Full parents names were listed as John von Heron David Losli and dessen Ehefran Maria der Ruch, The date is Nov. 1, 1896.

1988, May 31- Immigration records have a Daniel Laasli, 41, from Switzerland, arriving on the "Wieland" from Hamburg Germany, traveling steerage. No other family members are listed on the manifest. He's listed as a laborer. 

1900- Federal census lists main family as residing in the Beaverdam (now Beaverton) and Reedville (Hillsboro) districts. Maria and Daniel's marriage date was given as 1875, with country of origin Switzerland {but in his obituary in the Hillsboro Argus, the parent's marriage date is given as Nov. 20, 1880.} Daniel Sr.'s birthdate is listed as Aug. 22, 1847. Occupation: Farmer. Year emigrated: 1888. Both parents listed as literate but unable to speak English. Some of the children are listed as emigrating in xxxx.

Children in household , with birthdates:

John,  Sept. 1877

Jacob, April 1881

(Not at home, his twin Fred)

Lizzie, Aug. 1883

Rose, Apr. 1885

Godfreid, Apr 1887

Lyda, May 1890, first child born in US

Mary, Nov. 1891

Lillie, Sept. 1893

Daniel, May 1895

Clara, Aug. 1897

Martha, Mar 1900

The mother, Maria/Mary, had an age listed as 54 but this seems incorrect as in subsequent censuses she was listed as about six years younger than her husband. Plus, she had just had her 11th child. Course, 48 isn't that much better, considering the new baby and 11 kids. Family gossip says that at some point the children built Maria her own little house on the property, to keep her away from her husband (and more pregnancies).

Jacob's twin brother, Fred, was 'working out' that year. His status was 'boarder' in the Bertha, Multnomah precinct. His birthplace was incorrectly listed as Germany and it was a noted he was literate and able to speak English. Eight other boarders lived in the household, most in their 20s.

It's challenging to trace the twins, Jacob and Fred, over the years because they shared names with two other local men, I believe to be their uncles. Both are buried in the Union cemetery in Cedar Mill, as is their brother Daniel. 

Brand new school in Orenco, Oregon, 1910. Third row, Clara Losli second from left; Daniel Losli second from right. Back row, Lillian Losli far left.

1910 - Family is still in the Reedville precinct, outside the town of Orenco. Jake, Fred, Lillie, Daniel, Clara, and Martha are at home. Jake and Fred are 'working out' and Daniel Sr's occupation is listed as farmer, with both he and his wife still listed as unable to speak English.

Godfreid and John, ages 23 and 32, were listed as living separately from the rest of the family  although still in Reedville. Interestingly, Gotfreid was listed as head of household. Both are listed as single.

Mary, age 18, was working as a servant in the Dezendorf household in the Multnomah district. The other three girls, Lyda, Lizzie, and Rose were not found in the census.

Clara Losli, front row, second from right. Orenco School graduating class 1915. Photo appeared in the Hillboro Argus newspaper, in a story about one of the other graduates.

1920 - Parents Daniel and Mary/Marie are listed in the Cedar Mills district, with no occupation listed and no children at home. Judging by their neighbors, it was a farming area.

Lillian, Clara and Martha were living together in Portland and went by "Losley" as did Daniel. Lillian was a stenographer at the candy factory, Clara was a clerical worker at the electric company, and Martha was a typist at the fire insurance company. They were 23, 21, and 19.

Godfreid and Fred were 'hired men' at the Frutiger Dairy on Hoffman Road (now Vermont) in Mount Zion (Multnomah). They were listed as doing dairy work and truck driving and as single men.

John was living in a rented home in the Cedar Mills area with his wife, Jewell and two children. He was a laborer. It is unclear if this is the right John Losli because in 1910 census he was listed as single, but this John has a 13-year-old -- yet he was born and emigrated the correct years and month. The 1930 census lists John as married but living with his mother.

Jacob was in a rented home in Reedville with his wife May/Mamie and six children (in nine years!), listed as a farmer.

Daniel was living in Reedville, next door to his wife Everilde's parents on Quatama Road. He was a laborer in the railroad shop.

WWI military draft records:

Godfreid Losli, born April 3, 1887

Residence- Beaverton, occupation- farmer

Born Eriswil, Switzerland

Single, red hair, brown eyes

John Losli, born Sept. ??, 1877

Residence- Beaverton, occupation- farmer

Nearest relative- wife Jewel

Brown hair, blue eyes

Fred Losli, born April 2, 1881

Residence- Hillsboro

nearest relative - mother Mary, occupation- farmer

Brown hair and gray eyes

Jacob Losli, born April 2, 1881

Residence, Hillsboro; occupation-farmer

Nearest relative- wife Marmie Losli

Brown hair and eyes

Daniel Losli, born May 22, 1895

Residence- Beaverton; occupation- farmer

Single, brown hair & eyes

All the brothers are listed as self-employed except Fred, who was employed by John Lehman.

1930 census- Mary and son John are listed as living in Cedar Mills area, neither one working; Mary is listed as widow, John as married. Fred has no record in Oregon. Daniel and his family, wife Everilde and daughters Jeanne and Doris, were living  at 2821 Hoffman Road (Vermont St.) in Multnomah. He was working as a salesman in a plumbing supply company. Godfreid and his family, wife Hedwick and children Evelyn, William, and Vernie, were living on the family farm on Quatama Road in Orenco, he is still a farmer. The Head family (Daniel's wife) are not listed as living on the street any longer (they had retired to California). Jacob was in the State Hospital for the insane and his wife Mamie, age 38, and their six children are living on 798 Williams Avenue in the Albinia district. They have a 38-year-old "boarder" living with them and Mamie is working as a maid.

City Directories

1929: Jacob D Losli, 798 Kirby, sheeet metal worker; Wife Mamie

1915: Gottfried Losli, 204 Madison G; waiter. 

1913: Lillian Losle, Portland, maid

1913: Lyda Losle, 13 E 7th, seamstress

1912: Mary Losle, 713 E Burnside, maid

1955: Fred D Losli, 0 SW Columbia, sheet metal worker

1940 census- Daniel (using Losley) and his family, wife Everilde and daughters Jeanne and Doris, were living on 3125 Vermont St. in Multnomah (same home as 1930 but the street name/number had changed). He listed his occupation as a storekeeper at the Gas & Coke Co., working an average of 56 hours a week. The girls are still at home; neighbor's occupations are chauffeur, department store clerk, elevator operator and dock foreman. It lists both Daniel and Ev as finishing 8th grade.

Maria Losli and her son John are listed as living on Quatama Road in Orenco/Hillsboro, near Cornell Rd.; she is a widow, 85, and he is single, 62. She states on the census that both her parents were born in Switzerland. John is listed as laborer at the nursery, working an average of 62 hours a week with a yearly income of $200. According to the census they both finished 8th grade. The home they are in is listed as rented for $5 a month and not on a farm.
John's wife Jewel is living in Mapleton, working as a housekeeper for a 70-year-old man and his 45-year-old son. She lists herself as widowed.

Godfreid and his wife Hedwig are living on Quatama Road a few doors down from Maria and John, in a house valued at $2,000; presumably this is the family farm. He is 53, she 38; he works 84 hours a week but told the census taker his income was 0. He had only two years of school, she finished 8. Their children are Evelyn, 13; William, 12; Verna, 10; Esther, 9; Gladys, 7; David, 5; Annabelle, 2. According to cemetery records, Evelyn died two years later, in 1942. Their home is the last one listed on Quatama (next comes Cornell, then Reedville Rd.).

Jacob's wife Mamie (her last name is given as Losle)  is living with two grown daughters in SE Portland, she is listed as divorced and working as a chambermaid in a hotel. Jacob is lodging in apartments downtown, on Clay St. He is 59 years old and told the census taker he was married. He is working as a farm laborer, making $450 a year. He lists two years of schooling. All the other apartment dwellers are male and single or widowed. The landlord is Gustav Englers.

Death records:

Daniel Sr. (his last name is Losle on his gravestone) died March, 8, 1929. He was buried in the Union Cemetery in Cedar Mills, next to his wife. In his obituary a different date of marriage is given for him and his wife and her name is listed as Anna Maria Ruch.

Maria died in 1943, with no complete date for birth (1854) or death. She is buried at Union Cemetery; her tombstone lists her name as Marie.

Fred died May 1968, last residence Troutdale

His twin Jacob died January 1965

Godfreid died April 21, 1987, at 100. On his tombstone, his name is spelled Godfred Losli. He is buried at Union Cemetery, with his wife Hedwig.

Daniel died May 1980. He is buried with his wife Everilde in Crest Grove Cemetery outside Portland, near her parents.

John died May 7, 1961

Obit for Daniel Sr., printed in German-language church newsletter: Father Daniel Losli was born on August 22, 1847 in Griswold, Canton Bern, Switzerland, and died on March 8, 1929 in Cedar Mills, Oregon, after a short illness at the age of eighty-one years, six months and seventeen days. On November 20, 1880, he married Miss Anna Maria Ruch. In 1888, he came to America in search of a new home, and settled near Cedar Mills, Washington County, Oregon to which his wife with six children followed a year later. Father Losli purchased a piece of land in Quatama near Orenco where his family lived for many years.

The couple had an additional six children there resulting in seven daughters and five sons. In 1880, Father and Mother Losli were accepted as members of the Cedar Mills Congregational Church, and their energetic crowd of children loved to come to Sunday School in the small cozy church. Father Losli was an industrious worker, as well as a neighbor who was friendly and always ready to serve, and will be missed by many. He died with faith in his savior, through whose blood he was saved, and who he always sought to emulate. He leaves behind his mourning wife who was by his side for forty-nine years through the pilgrimage of life. Also, all twelve of his children are still living, a rare fact that in his family there has been no death.

Twenty-four grandchildren and one great grandchild as well as many relatives and friends gave the aged father their final goodbyes in the hope of reunifying in the land of peace, “the home of the soul, so lovely, so beautiful.” With a large attendance, the burial took place on March 10th led by Pastor P. B. Rich and an old friend of the family, the Rev W. Graf. Corpse text: Revelations, John 21:1-7. Portland, Oregon

Mentions in local papers:

July 30, 1925: "John Losli and Leo Midden were at Fargo & Aurora Sunday"
Morning Oregonian, April 21, 1924: "Marriage license issued to Marian Losley, 131 East Thir..[illegible} and Rudolph F Hanson, 2422 E. 43rd Street, Portland."
Morning Oregonian, June 2, 1924: "Help Wanted - I am in need of work, would like farm or dairy. Address John Losle, Orenco." {John was 47}
Hillsboro Argus, May 11, 1916: " Fred Losli and Susan Trachael have been granted a marriage license."
Sunday Oregonian, July 20, 1917: item is under the heading 'Many people seeking rest and pleasure at the seashore' -- "In a jolly party of young folks that arrived by automobile for a four-day stay at Cottage Delight were Carl Eggimann, Beaverton; Otto Schultz, Sammy Schultz, Anna Graf, Polly Graf of Bethany; Alda Rich of Orenco and Esther and Lillian Losli and Jimmie Eggimann of Beaverton."
Beaverton Times: "Lillian Losli went to Garden Home yesterday. From there she will go to Silverton to attend the wedding of her cousin, Miss Stadeli."
Hillsboro Argus, June 20, 1907: "Real estate transfer - Jacob Losli to Daniel Losli, 4 acres west of Wm Bennett donation. $220.
Hillsboro Argus, April 19, 1916: Headline reads 'Valuable percheron stallion is dead' and reads in part: "the horse was bought by Herman Glaski, Andrew Eggiman, Stalder brothers, Jacob Losli, Fred Lehman, Wm Randall, and Gottleib Zuercher, all prominent farmers near Cedar Mill and Bethany and it is said the horse cost the men $2,700."
Hillsboro Argus, Oct. 17, 1918: Headline reads '20 more men cited to entrain' and regarded new Army recruits. "The local war board has issued a call to 20 men to report at Hillsboro for the 5-day period beginning Oct. 21...these men are for heavy artillery and a number of them are volunteers. ...Fort Stevens list: Daniel Losli, Beaverton, Rt. 2..."
Hillsboro Argus, June 14, 192?: Real estate transfers - Daniel Losli to August Hulberg 12 acres Wm. Bennett donation land claim. $2,000."
Hillsboro Argus, June 14, 1910: real estate tranfer - "Jacob and Fred Losli to E Buell, 37.8 acres near Scotch church. $5,000." and  "E Buell to Jacob and Fred Losli, Lot 3 and 6 block 2 Thorne's addition, $4,000."

Dec. 1, 1976 Oregonian: "Rose Hansen, 91, who was a Portland area resident since 1889, died Monday in a local hospital. Mrs. Hansen, who lived at 2912 SE Hawthorne St., was born in Eriswil, Switzerland April 6, 1885. She had retired as a sewing machine operator for Kafoury Sportwear in 1958 and had been a member of Hinson Baptist Chuch for 58 years. She is survived by her daughter, Marjorie Luscher of Portland, a son Walter V. Hansen of Beaverton and six sisters: Elise Hansen, Lyda Turman, Marian Hansen and Claire Wright, all of Portland; and Rae Baxter and Martie Parker of San Jose California; and two brothers, Daniel Losley of Portland and Godfred Losli of Hillsboro." 

Could it be that four of the sisters married men in the same family? (see Hansen)