Elise was married in 1861 to Christian H. Isely. Here is information about their family.
Elise was born in Courrendlin, Canton Bern, Switzerland on June 21, 1842. Soon after her birth, her family moved to a dairy farm on the southern slope of Montagne d'Orvin in Switzerland. She immigrated to American in the 1853, landing in New Orleans. She traveled up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in steam powered paddle ships to St. Joseph, Missouri. There she met Christian Isely and they married in 1861.
Elise went with Christian to Kansas and lived there until 1936. The story of her life is told in her autobiography, Sunbonnet Days, written with her son, Bliss Isely.
Here is Elise's obituary published by the Wichita Eagle on 10/27/1936.
Caption on back, "Elise Dubach Isely" Studio is Chase of Hiawatha, Kansas.
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A visit to Wichita in
1935 (18 MByte)
This was filmed without sound by Charles Christian (CC)
Isely Jr when he and his family visited Wichita in 1935. He and his wife Mildred
added the narration later. The film features (in order of appearance) Elise
Dubach Isely, her great-grandson, Trey (CC Isely III), Aunt Jo (Lydia Isely
Wellman), Frances Nickerson Isely, James Thornton Isely (with Trey), and Aunt
Alice (Mary Alice Isely).
The Kansas Iselys
gathering for Elise's funeral in 1936 (6 MByte)
This was filmed without
sound by CC Isely Jr. The narration was added more than 50 years later by
Katherine and David McGuire.