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Re: Stubli/Steubli or Rumohr
"lin" most definitely indicates a diminutive. Steub / Stub / Staub probably is the German word "Staub" for "dust".
The Dictionary of American Family Names says for Staub: "occupational nickname for a miller, from Middle High German stoup". But the name could also denote a person who raises dust, who runs around fast, a restless man.
In Bavaria (I don't know about Switzerland) "Staub" is also a word for a waterfall or a rapid creek (as it may also raise "dust"), so Staub could be a habitional name.
There is also the last name STEUBER / STUBER in Germany, either an occupational name for a barber (The German word "Bader" means someone who owns a "bath", that is heated with a "stove"; "Stube" means "(living) room", because it once had a stove in it). The "Stube" can be short for "Trinkstube" (pub), so a St(e)uber may have been someone owning a tavern or living next to one.So take your pick - or ask a Swiss.
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While searching for this name I've learned that stubli and stuebli are Vorarlberg dialect for stube. Vorarlberg is in Western Austria but the dialect is also spoken in neighbouring districts of Switzerland and Germany. So maybe it's a metonymic for one of Andy's suggestions; a barber, or someone who works in a tavern.
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Wow! How enlightening! Thanks everyone!
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I tracked the name from the u.s to england then to switzerland.
If you want to contact me it is jimstubli@hotmail.com
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