Joseph Steidl was one of the earliest settlers in Bemidji, arriving in 1895. Frances, daughter of John and Julia Steidl, is the first recorded white child born in Bemidji in January 1897. Joseph Steidl was the second white child born there in July 1897. Chief Bemidji often took Marjorie and Joseph out in the canoe with him. Mrs. Joseph (Clara) Steidl often told stories of the Indians, how good natured they were and how they loved to laugh at the strange ways of the white people. They loved her bread, and when they smelled it baking, the women would come to the door, one by one, and come in and sit down on the floor until the bread was out of the oven. Then she would divide the bread among them as best she could. On the evening that news of the battle reached Bemidji, most of the townspeople gathered their blankets and went to stay overnight in the court house. However, Joseph Steidl said, “No Indian is going to hurt me,” and he stayed home and Mrs. Steidl also with the two children, Marjorie and Lucille.
Information from research room, Beltrami History Center, Bemidji.