Joseph Mistele, Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Frey were born in Switzerland in the early-1800’s. They had eight children who emigrated to America with them, of which their two sons, Joseph and Victor, settled in Monroe County. The children of Joseph and Victor married into families such as Rasler, Moot, Schubert, Schultz and Gabower, and all of the Mistele families in Monroe County descend from the two sons.