Thanks Dave for the input. Nearest I can figure in the reference to the "Republic of Cecily" is that this had something to do with a ruler in the German area at the time. There seem to be a lot of Princesses with the name "Cecilie". And perhaps it was just transcribed as a republic in error. I found Joseph Gustav Stenger's baptism record in Westfalen (below). Since subsequent siblings were from St. Gallen, I'm thinking the family moved from "Germany" to St. Gallen, Switzerland, had a few children, then immigrated here. Thanks for the feedback.
Hal
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FS1GermanyBirt...