Adelaide Stefani was my Great Grandfather's older sister. She was born Adelaide Maria Anna Stefani on 29 Aug 1853 in Sporminore, Tyrol, Austria. Her parents were Giovanni Luigi Stefani and Elisabetta Maria Cattarina Wegher (generally known as Maria). She was the third child but her older sister had already pre-deceased her. By the time her youngest brother, Francesco, was born ten years later, her oldest brother and two younger sisters had all died. The one other brother between them in age died three years after Francesco was born. So, Adelaide and Francesco were pretty close as brother and sister. At some point in her childhood Adelaide had an accident that damaged her spine. She took quite awhile to recover and it left her with a bit of a hunchback. Her brother was quite solicitous of her and as a teenager and young man took great pains to provide for her and his mother. Their father died in 1881 and in 1884 their mother followed. Adelaide married Federico Friedle on 27 Aug 1887. At this point her brother, Francesco, seeing her settled, left for America, where he became Frank Stefani.
Federico Friedle came to Sporminore in 1885. He was born in Hoeselgehr according to Sulle Sponde Dello Sporeggio as an illegitimate child and raised in an orphanage in Trento. Federico learned "the shoemaker's art" in Tres and came to Sporminore to ply his trade.
He and Adelaide had 6 children but only 3 survived more than a year: Guido, Onorio Giuseppe or Dionigi, and Orazio Firmo Luigi. Orazio was born 24 Nov 1899. Adelaide died on 4 Mar 1900. She was only 46 years old. According to her death record she died of "nefrite cronica" or chronic nephritis. This is a kidney disease and perhaps was aggravated by the childbirth, at any rate she left Federico with three small children and he remarried by 1905.
This is all I know about Adelaide. However, her son, Guido, sent his Uncle Francesco a postcard in 1915 which I have, so Francesco (Frank) kept it. Adelaide must have told her son about her brother and perhaps Francesco corresponded with her as well. Recently, in preparation for a trip to visit Sporminore I wrote to the three Friedles listed in Trentino in the Italian White Pages. Vittorio Fridle responded to one of my letters. The name is no longer spelled with the first "e" by the family but one of the people who got my letter gave it to his sister and she gave it to
him. We were able to get together in Sporminore and, in fact, he got most of the Fridle family to welcome my sister and I. Adelaide has three grandchildren still living and many great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren and on. She and Francesco would've been happy to know this and to see them all now!
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