Early Life
Von Staden was born the son of a burgher (bourgeoisie) in Ahlen, near Munster, Germany. His mother, Kattarina Ossenbach, died in the plague, and he had a brother, Herr Bernhardus von Staden, a Roman Catholic priest in Ahlen, and a sister. When attending a Catholic seminary in Ahlen, von Staden was accused of stabbing a fellow seminarian with an awl. His cousin, Steffan Hovener, invited him to live in Livonia with him, where "he would not be disturbed." In Livonia, he worked on building the city walls, but didn't like the labor and ran away to the Wolgarten estate in Wolmar, Valmiera. There, the wife of Wolgarten entrusted him with her estates when she learned he could read and write in Latin and German, and was learning Latvian.
After Wolgarten remarried and moved away, Von Staden also moved, to Karkus, and became a merchant. After trouble erupted in the Livonian government, von Staden sent a letter to his friend, Joachim Schroter at the border town of Dorpat, which was held by the Russians. He wrote that he would serve the Grand Prince if he would be paid. He was invited to Moscow, where he met the Grand Prince Ivan IV. Ivan was impressed with von Staden, and invited him to dinner; soon after, he became a member of the Tsar's political police, or Oprichnina.
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