Hi
A few weeks ago I began a tree as a surprise birthday gift for my pastor, Rev. L. John Topel, SJ (born 1934 in Seattle). August "Hopa" Topel was his paternal second great grandfather. If you can, check my Rev. L. John Topel, SJ Family Tree on Ancestry.com. If you can't access it, contact me at
lfriedel@aol.com and I will tell you what I know about the Topels. The tree has >500 people in it already and I put a great deal of effort into understanding "Hopa" (which means "Old Grandpa"). BTW, in 1884-1885 these Topels emigrated from Daber per Lupow, Kreis Stolpe, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia to Montana. I do understand how the Skibbe family fits in the Topel tree by marriage.
My information about the Toepper family, however, is scant, so I think that we can help each other here. I look forward to exchanging information with you.
Len Friedel
Port Townsend, Washington
lfriedel@aol.com