Emanuel Staal’s first marriage was to Lea Wijl. This marriage produced five children: Sientje (who died young), David, Branca, Jacob and one child who survived the war and died soon afterwards. Lea Wijl died in 1889, and Emanuel remarried. His second wife had one child from an earlier marriage, Andries Groenewoudt. Two children were born of this second marriage: Sara and Geertruida (who died young). Emanuel was a diamond polisher, but later ran a lending library in Staalstraat.
There is a detailed biography of Emanuel Staal (in Dutch) at website about the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood.
Emanuel Staal died on 22 January 1943 at the age of 90 in Westerbork camp. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Assen on 25 January 1943. His body was later reinterred in the Jewish cemetery in Muiderberg.
Jewish Historical Museum, Documents collection, inv.nr 3397; Death register of the Jewish community Assen