Liecht Family of Obergoldbach in Biglen

A study of the Liechti family of Biglen has turned out to be more complex than thought. Biglen, Arni, and Landiswil are the three gemeinden within the Kirchgemiende of Biglen. In genealogies and FamilySearch family tree everyone is noted as being from Biglen. Biglen gemeinde cover about 1 ½ square miles while Arni and Landiswil cover about 4 square miles each. The distance between Landiswil dorf to Biglen dorf is about 4 miles.

My last count of families in Biglen from 1700 to 1750 is at 30 with an average family size of about 5 children, of course, some children did not survive childhood. Obergoldbach is not only a dorf but also one of three districts within Landiswil. I’ve found four families in Obergoldbach district from the following places, Längacker, Schlöttermoos, Aspi, and Obergoldbach. The records in this time period only noted the hamlet, so it is necessary to have a map to determine where the places are located.

My fifth great grandmother, Anna Liechti, was born 6 October 1754 in Obergoldbach. The records indicate that her father Niclaus Liechti (1728-1797) was a gerber. A gerber is a tanner. A tanner is someone who makes leather from rawhides. Occupations are occasionally recorded in the records, but it implies that others in the family followed this occupation. In a 1798 census, a cousin of Anna Liechti’s was recorded as being a gerber. Most people worked on the land, so this is an identifying characteristic for this family.

Joseph Liechti and Barbara Haggi are one a few Liechti families from the Obergoldbach area. They had 9 children from 1710 to 1731. Four of their children are noted in this blog; Peter (1717-1776), Catharina (1722-1797), Niclaus (1728-1797), and Barbara (1731-1800). Christian and Ulrich are known to have survived to adulthood.

Each baptism record provides possible clues to relatives as there are 3 witnesses recorded for each baptism. Some records note a direct relationship while others are inferred in the context of what is known. While some witnesses show an obvious connection others show no connection. Broadly looking at all the contemporary families allows one to see the importance of any particular witness.

My direct line ancestors, Niklaus Liechti (1728-1797) and Catharina Aeschlimann, married on 30 January 1750 and had 5 girls. The following witnesses of consequence are found in the records: Hans Liechti von Obergoldbach; Barbara Liechti, Christian Minder’s wife; Christian Haggi von Goldbach; Barbara Haggi, widow of Joseph Liechti. In summary the records note Niklaus’s mother, Barbara Haggi; and a sister, Barbara Liechti. Hans Liechti a relative is also noted. The records also note that Niklaus is von Obergoldbach and that he is a gerber.

Anna, the only child of Christian Minder and Barbara Liechit (1731-1800) was born in 1756. An important relationship is noted. Catharina Liechti wife of Hans Liechti’s from Ramisberg is directly noted as being a sister of Barbara’s. This entry has the perfect elements of a witness. It notes the relationship, her husband, and where they were living, Ramisberg.

Upon looking at the children of Hans Liecht von Ramisberg and Catharina Liechti (1722-1797) from Obergoldbach other connections are found. Barbara Liechti, Christian Minder’s wife is noted. Elisabeth and Christian Liechti from Obergoldbach, and Anna Rüfenacht from Worb are noted. I am still debating whether Ulrich Liechti noted as a witness in 1750 belongs to Hans or Catharina.

Now we turn our attention to another sibling, Peter (1717-1776). He married Anna Rüfenacht in 1750. Ten children were born to them. They lived in Müsingen from about 1750 to 1765 and can also be found in Worb and Biglen records in that time period. When a child was born 1755 in Biglen, one witness, Christian Liechti is noted as being a sibling of Peters. Cathri Liechti, wife of Hans Liechti from Ramisberg is also noted. When a daughter, Anna, was born in 1762 the witnesses, Niklaus and Catharina are directly noted as being siblings to Peter. In about 1765 they moved from Münsingen to Worb where 4 family members are noted in the burial records in the 1770’s.

In summary: Many of the same people appear as witnesses from family to family. We have a possible 60 witnesses since 20 children were born within a 21 year period from 1750 to 1771. Of course, Peter was not living in Landiswil, so it would be expected that most of those witnesses would not be connected.

In Post 1700 the places the Liechti families lived is paramount in determining how they connect. Families often stayed in the same place or hamlet for generations within a parish. The minister of the parish noted where each family lived so he could differentiate between families. A couple with the same surname of Liechti married, so we know that some of them are not closely related. With the FamilySearch family tree being so fragmented it becomes a struggle to determine how families connect from generation to generation. There are certainly other connections to be made in this generation and in following generations. I have included some sources on my website that support my conclusions.

Glauser's in Rüti bei Lyssach

My ancestor, Elisabeth Glauser, from Rüti bei Lyssach was born in 1714 and married Bendicht Rösch, a schoolteacher, in 1732 at the the age of 18. The family lived in Lyssach as this is where Bendicht taught school. The parents of Elisabeth Glauser were Hans Glauser (1685) and Elisabeth Kauert (1685). It must be remembered that Rüti had a very small population with less than a dozen families living there. Hans Glauser (1685) was the only son of Hans Glauser (1641). Hans Glauser (1641) was the son of Jakob Glauser and Anna Iseli. The family lived in Mötschwil, and in the mid 1640’s they moved to Rüti. All Glausers in the parish connect to this family. Niklaus (1652) their son, had by far the most descendants, as he had 2 sons with large families, Hans Ulrich and Samuel. Hans Ulrich was the Kirchmeir in the parish. Samuel was the chorrichter. Hans Ulrich and Samuel lived to an old age. The parish clerk when recording the baptisms noted whether the father was the sohn of the Kirchmeir or Chorrichter. With all the Glauser’s in the parish by 1730 this becomes an invaluable guide as to who the children belonged to. The records often note the estate where the family lived, Ramsie or Ramsiehof. My ancestor, Elisabeth Glauser (1714) is noted as being from Ramsie in her marriage record in 1732. In fact, many of the records just mention Ramsie instead of Rüti by name. Ramsie is in the upper part of the parish near Lyssach or as I suspect it may have been a detached part. Elisabeth (1714) had a brother, Michel (1719) who continued the Glauser name through my line. He was the only Michel in the parish in this time period. He became a chorrichter and lived to an old age.
Glauser was the predominate name in the parish. There was only a few baptisms and marriages a year.The marriages ended in 1750, 1771 and thereafter all the marriages are found in Kirchberg parish registers. There are no burials, so it is uncertain of who survived. It has been calculated that about 40% never survived childhood. This Glauser family is in the FamilyTree. The research was conducted in 1990. This is the worst tree that I have come across as many of the family connections were incorrectly connected. The person who performed the research followed no genealogical standards. The relationships were made up. A few of the baptisms were created out of witnesses to an unrelated baptism. I found numerous marriage dates that were made up. I have straightened up most of the tree, so it corresponds to what the records say. Starting in the 1820’s the getauft of the couple was included in the marriage records, so it is simple to connect that generation; however they still did not connect them correctly. So it becomes obvious that whoever did this research did not make an honest effort.

Maurers in Zollikofen, Part 1

Back in 2013 when I first stared researching Swiss records I started to look at the Maurer family but the genealogy was in such disarray that I moved on to other families.  Now I have come back to the Maurer family after two years of viewing the online records.  I went down to the library and got a copy of Billeter's notes for the Maurer family.  His research which was conducted in the 1930's is completely inadequate.  On the FamilyTree I found that a Bolligen and Zollikofen family of the earliest generation had been combined into one adding to the cunfusion. Many more Maurers were from Bolligen than Zollikofen. In 1764 about 250 people lived in Zollikofen, over 5 times that many lived in Bolligen.  To add to the confusion Billeter only included 2 of 9 children for the family of Marti Maurer and Anna Wanzenried.   My ancestor Johannes Maurer (1724-1804) had 17 children in two marriages.  Billeter once again only notes 2 of the 6 children of his first marriage to Barbara Rohrer.  It must be remembered that up to the 1990's there was no access to Bern Canton Swiss records unless you were in Bern to view them at the archives.  In 1992-1993 filmed copies of the records made there way into the Family History Library in Utah.  Then came the challenge of being able to read and interpret the records. This meant that up to this point in time everyone relied on Billeter and other researchers for genealogical information.  Billeter by far being the largest contributor since he is credited with naming about 2 million names in his records many of which were in Bern Canton. 
A look at Billeter's notes (1930's) show that Johannes father is noted as being Daniel. Daniel and Martin were noted as being the same person as Johannes baptism record notes Martin as his father, yet Daniel born 1702 is noted as his father.  Ironically, Daniel born 1702 was Martin's last child with Anna Wanzenried.  It is rather illogical to say the two people named in the records, one as Daniel and one as Martin are the same person.  In my years of research I have never come across such a naming pattern such as this.  Upon further research I saw that Anna Wanzenried had died in January of 1723 and that a Martin had married in June of 1723 to Barbara Müller and there after Johannes was born.   Since Martin (Marti) is not a common name and no other possibilities exist, it is obvious that Martin remarried and had more children.  In past centuries it was common  for a man to remarry a much younger women after his 1st wife died.  Martin lived to 1736.  Billeter often did not use death dates, if he had he would have realized that Anna Wanzenried had died and soon after Martin remarried. His work for the Maurer family in Zollikofen seems to have been hastily created in the pre 1750 time period.
And yet another twist in this family which is not so common.  Barbara Müller remarried in 1738 to a widower, Jakob Zwygart and had 2 more children, Daniel and Christina Zwygart.  Thus we see Zwygart witnesses to Maurer baptisms post 1738. 
Another item worth mentioning is that the Bremgarten parish registers appear to have been tampered with. 

Bern Canton Online digtial images at FamilySearch

Create a Source for the Parish rather than the whole collection

The online FamilySearch references do not match with the volume references as created by the Bern archives. Reference the records according to the references established by the Bern archives. Consider the reference that FamilySearch has established as a finding aid, since it does not conform with the standard reference. It can be confusing to have two completely different references that refer to the same page; The family history library catalog provides a reference for each parish in Bern Canton with film numbers. Ironically the catalog does not provide volume numbers. (Münsingen in Catalog)
The film numbers are becoming less relevant, but until there are links to individual volumes in the wiki, they can be useful in navigating each parishes landing page. 
The wiki is being developed with volume numbers, descriptions, links, and film numbers for every parish in Bern Canton, so one can quickly go to a volume and have a reference for a particular record.  See the Münsingen parish page on the wiki that is being developed.
If the volumes and descriptions are not listed on the wiki then one must go to the pages before page one in the volume you are looking at where you will find the spine of the volume, there you will find a volume number and description.

Reference as establish by Bern archive / volume, page number (Example of Münsingen Parish, volume16, page 22)

Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Münsingen (Bern) Schweiz, Kirchenbuch, 1528-1875, digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1640373, volume K16, Taufenrodel 1796-1828; page 22; https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-19607-60046-43?cc=1640373

both references refer to the same page in the Münsingen Kirchenbuch, yet have different elements to the created citation. Each page in the collection has its own URL, there are over 500,000 pages in the collection

FamilySearch Online Reference (Example of Münsingen Parish, volume 16, page 22)

Schweiz, Kirchenbücher, 1277-1992," images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-19607-60046-43?cc=1640373 : accessed 31 May 2015), Bern > Münsingen > Evangelisch-Reformierte > Taufen 1796-1804 > image 14 of 49; Staatsarchiven von Basel-Stadt, Bern und Schaffhausen, Schweiz (Basel-Stadt, Bern, and Schaffhausen State Archives, Switzerland)

Bern Parish Records are part of an online collection by familysearch of Schweiz, Kirchenbücher, 1277-1992, thus it is not individualized for each parish.

If you go to the landing page for Münsingen you will see the sections that it was divided up into. The dates were assigned according to how it was filmed in an arbitrary manner. The dates may be links to many volumes or just part of a volume. The same methodology is used for every parish.  In the case of Münsingen some of the volumes ended up on the landing page of another parish, Mühlethurnen.

To view the images in the collection you must go to a LDS Family History Center located around the world, or be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints with a login to access it from your home computer.

Switzerland - introduction

Recherswil

Demographics of Switzerland

Map of Religions in Switzerland

Map of Languages in Switzerland

Melchnau on wikipedia

A place map of Switzerland focused on Melchnau - bookmark

Example on Familysearch Family Tree - Jufer

Julius Billeter, pioneer Swiss genealogist : a man of faith and action ; digitized at Family History Library

Example of Julius Billeter Notes

Jaggi Stettler webpage

Church record of Marianne Jufer - Melchnau

Church record example - Jufer

Picton Press - Louis Rohrbach - Swiss books and CD's

Schenk family of Signau that lived in Vechigen

The methodology of Billeter’s research to place everyone in their heimat regardless of where they lived has led to countless errors.  While both Schenk families were from Signau, only one actually lived in Signau. Take the example below:

I began to look at the parents of Anna Schenk of Signau and was surprised to find that the line is incorrect.  It is the result of Billeter’s research in the 1930’s. Christian Stettler married Anna Schenk (KHCL-WLP) in Bolligen in 1809.  The marriage record says her father’s name is Hans Ulrich.  There are two Anna Schenk’s born in 1788 when she was born.  Ulrich Schenk and Anna Kupfer had a daughter, Anna (LDMF-Z5N), in May of 1788 in Schwimmbach; and Hans Ulrich Schenk and Elisabeth Krayenbuhl had a daughter, Anna (KHCL-WLP), in February of 1788 in Vechigen.  The records indicate that the Anna from Schwimmbach, died 3 November 1792, age 4.  Schwimmbach is a hamlet in Signau parish. Vechigen is about 12 miles east of Signau.  When Anna Schenk died in 1859 her birth is recorded as February 1788.  Three months after their marriage in Bolligen their first son, Christian, was born in Vechigen as well their second child, Anna.  The witnesses to the ten children of Christian Stettler and Anna Schenk are inconclusive in identifying possible relatives of Anna.  It is obvious that the Anna Schenk that married Christian Stettler is from Vechigen and counter to the conclusion found in Billeter’s research.

Upon looking at the Hans Ulrich Schenk who lived in Vechigen I find additional errors.  Billeters research provides no clues as to where the children were born other than Signau which is the heimat of this Schenk family.  Hans Ulrich Schenk had 12 children with 2 wives.  The first 3 children were born in Worb where he married Elisabeth Rüfenacht, he had three additional children in Vechigen and then Elisabeth Rufenacht died in 1778.  He then married Elizabeth Krayenbuhl in 1779 and had 6 additional children, one of which was Anna in 1788.  Hans Ulrich then died in Vechigen in 1811 at the age of 75 years and 7 months which puts his birth in February 1736.

Billeters research divides the two families of Hans Ulrich Schenk into two separate families with one connected to a Hans Ulrich born in 1837 (KH5M-2S9) and the other Hans Ulrich born in 1842 (KZ5B-GT3). The Hans Ulrich born in 1837 may be the correct person since the age is within a year, yet with all the other inconsistencies I find in Billeter’s research concerning this family I doubt any conclusions found. The research appears to be based on convenient guessing rather than real research.  In fact, some of errors are so obvious it appears to be an act of disinformation. 

I might mention Ulrich Schenk and Anna Kupfer had a son, Christian who was a well known mechanical engineer or inventor, and grandparents of Johan Karl Schenk a famous pastor, politician, and member of the Swiss Federation Council. 

If you have any Schenk ancestors from Signau it may be a good idea to revisit the research and verify the accuracy of the current research in the FamilyTree.

Baumgarten and Röthenbach Bösiger’s

After sorting out the Schenk family of Signau that lived in Vechigen I move onto the Bösiger family.  The Bösiger family lived in Herzogenbuchsee kirchgemeinde.  It is commonly written Boesiger, since umlauts were not used in American research (ö = oe).   This kirchgemeinde has 14 gemeindes in it.  Our ancestors are found in the gemeindes of Röthenbach and Graben.  The research for this family was conducted about 1964, submitted 1966.  

What is unique about Graben is that the registers generally do not mention Graben by name but the hamlets within the gemeinde.  Baumgarten is a small area within the Gemeinde; north of there is Burrach and south of there is Kleinholz.  In familytree and many old family group records the place is simply written Baumgarten without a mention of Graben or Herzogenbuchsee.  With the breakdown of the families in these specific hamlets it becomes easier to sort the numerous Bösiger’s in the area.  

I focused on the 1st and 2nd families of Hans Bösiger.  He married Ursula Gränicher in 1743, after she died in 1762, he then married Maria Gygax in 1763.  There are 13 children between the two marriages, of which 7 or 8 survived into adulthood. View the family in the familytree, it is a work in progress

In the first family the 4 marriages of the children were incorrect or missing, and a key name in that family was altered from Urs to Ursula.  Urs Bösiger is found as a witness to many of the baptisms of his siblings. In the second family only one marriage was incorrect.  To view the genealogy as it was submitted in 1966 see film 564385, item 5.  These 5 marriages result in 5 new families which adds 30 new people to the tree, and many others in the following generations. Since the incorrect data has been around for 50 years or more I would expect some people to be baffled by the changes.

I also have come to realize that Hans Bösiger married a Maria Gygax born in 1842 rather than 1835. The Gygax family is from Thörigen gemeinde.   The witnesses to the baptisms of the children of Hans Bösiger and Maria Gygax align perfectly with the Maria Gygax born in 1742.  There is also a match for the Maria born in 1835 who married Joseph Staub in 1766.  The death records for the 2 Maria’s are yet to be found, and that would provide absolute proof.  It appears the Maria born in 1835 was chosen simply because of her age.

This is the same scenario of Hans Ulrich Schenk.  He married and had a family with his wife, when she died after about 20 years of marriage, he married a 20 year old, which means that the oldest children from his first marriage are about the same age as his new wife.  He then went on to have numerous children with his new wife.   

Within the family of Hans Bösiger and Maria Gygax I have found three descendants who have who joined the Mormon Church.  

If the Bösiger’s, Gygax’s, or any other family in Herzogenbuchsee are to be properly researched and or organized, they need to be noted in the familytree or any genealogy with the gemeinde they come from not the parish, Herzogenbuchsee, since there are 14 gemeindes.  The same surname will be found in numerous gemeindes within the parish, and there is no point in trying to connect them since they will not be related. In the case of Graben, it is hamlets, since the records separates the families by hamlets.  

Julius Billeter's Notes

Julius Billeter's Notes

As I have noted in past posts, most people in the Switzerland are associated exclusively with their hiemat regardless of where they lived. By reviewing Billeter’s notes one can see that this was his methodology. In the computer age the advantage that Billeter gave us is to be able to find records on people and families much quicker using the dates and the hiemat a person was associated with. His work can be used as a means to an end.

Transcription of family entry. View Original 
Top of Page - Jufer v. Melch. (Melchnau)
Jb (Joh) 2.10.78   19.8.42    d 26.6.83 - (4th family down left side)
Barb Frauchiger v. Auswil (Joh) 
Barb 22.10.79 4.99 Jb Ladermann v. Madiswil
Magd 13.5.81 ?? d 18.2.93 11.9
√ J Uli 30.3.83
Abbreviations - Jb =Jacob; Joh=Johannes; Barb=Barbara; Magd=Magdalena; J Uli=Johann Ulrich 
(There are a few errors in the notes. Barbara Frauchiger was from Eriswil not Auswil, The second child was Maria not Magdalena.)

Julius Billiter was quite remarkable in his ability to research so many people in an organized manner. Where ever a person was living their baptism, burial, and marriage was recorded in their hiemat. If they happened to be living anywhere other than their hiemat it was recorded there as well, so for many people there are two copies of the event in different handwriting. Deciphering the handwriting can be difficult at times. Having two copies makes it easier. It is wise to check every copy available since the pfarrer or pastor in each parish did not always record the same facts. It appears that Billeter did not consult multiple copies of a record.

 It has been noted that there are errors in his work in connecting adult married children to parents; however, pre 1810 the records can be sparse with information. Every family basically used the same given names. Starting in the 1810’s the record keeping increased substantially, thus making it possible to make solid connections from one generation to the next. The most important record keeping change can be found in the marriage record when they started recording the getauft or baptism date of those who were getting married. The death records started to record the exact age a person down to the day and you will begin to find a death date written on a baptism record. Getauft or baptism records started to record the grandfathers name consistently and the parents’ marriage date. Some parishes adopted the new standards quickly while other lagged behind.

Summary of Billeters notes:

• At the top of each page are the Surname and the hiemat
• Birth and death dates are exclusively associated with the hiemat
• The dates are accurate with a few exceptions
• All the given names are abbreviated
• What resembles a check mark next to some people means that line continues on another page
• Billeter’s handwriting can be difficult to decipher
• Birth, Death, and Marriage dates are recorded without location
• The spouses full name is recorded and her hiemat
•  Females took their spouses hiemat upon marriage
• Not digitized - On film

 It is not really necessary to review the notes on every family, only when there is a question with the family connections. Knowing the date and the hiemat is typically enough to locate a person in the parish registers. Use Billeters notes as a means to an end in creating an accurate genealogy by consulting the church books. The results of Billeters work is on Family Search Family Tree, start adding places, correcting errors and making accurate lineage connections with sources.

Swiss genealogies on Family Tree at familysearch.org

Julius Billeters notes 

Since most of the Swiss genealogies are the result of Julius Billeter's research, the same inherit problems I found in my research, will be found in most genealogies on Family Search Family Tree. It is estimated that Julius Billeter research resulted in the submission of over 1 million names during his career as a genealogist. The genealogies are submissions made pre 1960’s, and many of the genealogies on Family Tree are unchanged from those submissions. Family Tree has the largest collection of Swiss genealogies in the world. For those of us with Bernese ancestry it just became a lot easier to create an accurate genealogy. Now with the click of the mouse one can view the same parish registers that Julius Billeter used to compile all those genealogies.

The Stettler’s of Bolligen on the Family Tree is the result of research conducted by Julius Billiter in the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s. Ernest Stettler and others paid Julius Billeter money over the years to gather genealogies of particular families. Billeter sent them over 15,000 names over the years. Now we have a snap shot of the research on the FamilyTree that is a result of the submissions made to the church as a result of Julis Billeters research. I have gone through my various lines adding sources, and I found errors, omissions, and duplication of submissions. I have added over 100 new people to the genealogy.

The problem is twofold; how Billeter recorded the information and how it was submitted to the church. The family group sheets which were started in the early 1940’s contained no place to enter the death or marriage place of children. On Family Tree rarely is there a death place, and the marriage place is not recorded or the place can be a gemeinde, not a kirchgemeinde. When I started researching 6 months ago I had the Maurer family from Zollikofen. Every records says they were born and married in Zollikofen; however, I could find no entry in the catalog referring to Zollikofen. Zollikofen is a gemeinde in the kirchgemeinde of Bremgarten, so all the births, deaths, and marriages will be recorded there. Anyone who lived in Zollikofen or had a hiemat there will be found in the church books of Bremgarten.

While all the dates are quite accurate, the place names are based on the hiemat or community from which they originate from. The Frauchiger family from Eriswil who were living in Busswil bei Melchnau as early as 1740 are still recorded as being born in Eriswil, or Wyssachengraben which is a gemeinde of Eriswil, in the 1850’s. People moved around often, yet this is not reflected in the genealogies. One would think that they lived in one gemeinde for centuries without change. Typically they did not live far from there hiemat.

This article focuses on Bern canton. With the Church books of Bern Canton online now it is possible to compare, correct, and source the genealogies on Family Search Family Tree. Filmed copies of the church books were made available in the early 1990’s at familysearch (before computers); thereafter, digital copies of the church books were made available on CD. Now the church books are online, 500 thousand pages worth.

Summary of original genealogies on Family Tree

• Perhaps we should call it, Billeter's genealogy
• people are recorded as being born in there hiemat exclusively
• marriages are associated with a persons hiemat rather than where it took place
• most deaths and many marriages have no place name attached
• errors or omissions exist, but only will be discovered by reviewing the church books
• Deaths records are marginalized, valuable information can be found in death records
• Getauft and geboren dates are interchangeable

Gemeinde, Kirchgemeinde, Switzerland

I have found a few very useful websites in sorting out the community where people lived as well as a description of the gemeinde or community of each place in Switzerland. As an example I will focus on the gemeinde and kirchgemeinde of Melchnau in Bern Canton. The gemeinde of Melchnau was 4 square miles and the kirchgemeinde was 10 square miles and included the gemeindes of Busswil, Gondiswil, and Reisiswil. To determine which surnames that belonged to each gemeinde, hiemat, or community go to the website, Register of Swiss Surnames. In german is its called, Familiennamebuch der Schweiz. The kirchgemiende of Melchnau is where the church records were kept for the 10 square mile area. The parish registers are on film, CD, and online at familysearch. While baptisms may have taken place in the hiemat or community, the marriages would have taken place in the parish church in Melchanu. Or as I have learned they may have went to a nearby parish church or kirchgemeinde to get married.
To get an idea about the gemeinde or community where they lived go to the website, Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz; type a place name in the search box (Melchnau, Busswil, Gondiswil, and Reisiswil), and then click the link to the place. It will come up in german. Copy the text into Google translate and in seconds you will have an English translation. These communities or gemeindes were in the district of Arawangen but now in the district of Oberaargau. Wikipedia provides details about each place.

138 year Closure Period for Records in Switzerland

Now we know that the family lived in Recherswil we can look at marriages of the children. The seven girls in the family would have married men from the area, so they would not be found in Affoltern registers, except for their marriages. The women took the hiemat of their husbands. It doesn't matter anyway. In Switzerland the closure period for records begins in 1876. This means that those who married after 1876, there is no marriage record available for viewing; therefore, all those young people who married post 1876 cannot be traced to the next generation. It is not possible to trace post 1876 descendants in Switzerland. When I was at the zivilstandsamt in Tracheswald some years ago I was able to get the familienschein for the Christen family. The familienscheins are limited to direct line ancestors; although, I’m not sure how they police this standard since I produced family group sheets of the family as evidence of my connection. I would assume this 138 year closure period is why so few Swiss genealogies can be found, and those found with people after 1876 can be considered unreliable since no records can be used to verify the accuracy.
I used to think a hundred year closure period was harsh. When they do change the closure period to 1900 it will take many years for the records in the form of microfilm or online images to become accessible. Probably after 2025.

Did your Swiss ancestor live in their hiemat?

The concept of recording the hiemat of a family for a birthplace rather than where they lived or born is and was a wide spread practice in Swiss research. It is for one simple reason, their records were kept there; however, a record was kept where they lived as well. As time marched on more and more people were no longer living in their hiemat. I have wondered how Anna Christen (1861-1917) from Affoltern met and married Gottfried Jaggi (1860-1918) in 1883 in Kriegstetten, canton of Solothurn. The family group sheets of the past provide no clues. I followed the paper trail (parish registers) of Anna’s family from when her parents, Peter Christen and Maria Bürki, married in 1860 in Affoltern im Emmental. They had 11 childern from 1860 till 1881. They never lived in Affoltern im Emmental after they married. For 9 years after their marriage they lived about 8 miles north of Affoltern in Rohrbach parish, and many years in the town of Lemiswil. About 1870 is when they arrived in Recherswil. Both Anna and Peter died there.

Distances: Affoltern im Emmental to Rohrbach – 8 miles; Rohrbach to Lemiswil – 3 miles; Lemiswil to Recherswil – 12 miles Distances

Family group sheet prepared in the 1950’s by Gottfried Jaggi

Jaggi Stettler website; Peter Christen and Anna Bürki

A picture of the baptism record of Anna Christen (1861-1917) (#29)
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Swiss Records Online

Researching Swiss ancestry has just become a lot easier. The parish records of canton Bern have been put online at familysearch.org; since 3/4 of my Swiss ancestry is from canton Bern this makes it easy to access the records from home. What makes these records at familysearch so valuable is the ability to link the records to the ancestors in the Family Tree. I have linked over 500 such records to names in the family tree. Now anyone can go to the tree and will find a source with a link to the original document from which the information was obtained. It will take some study of the handwriting to decipher what it says. Since our grandparents came to this country over 100 year ago they have been submitting information and participating in the various genealogical programs by the church. All the submissions of the past have been based on the hiemat or community or parish from which the family originated from many 100’s of years ago. This means that regardless of where they lived in Switzerland a record of a marriage, baptism, or death will be found in one place. Some had not lived in their home parish for decades, but I have found that almost all of them remained in canton Bern. The baptism, marriage, or burial is recorded also where they were living, so there are multiple entries in the registers for one event. It is of value to check all the entries since more information may have been recorded by one parish clerk than the other. By looking at the genealogy of the past one would think that everyone lived in one place. NOTE: If there is no source linked to a person in the Family Tree then add one.

Church Records

I am often looking at church records of England. I could not do much research without them. As the nineteenth century marched on it becomes apparent that the Church of England was not dominating the religious scene. I am finding fewer of my ancestors in the parish registers as the century moves on. I can find them in the census records and civil registration indexes but not in the parish registers. Few post 1837 nonconformist records have been filmed. Civil registration started in 1837 and becomes the source for documenting people at a price of about $11 per certificate.
After 1876 it is not possible to view Swiss records. Their closure policy is currently at 135 years. That really puts a damper on finding cousins. If they want people to find a new excitement about researching in Switzerland they may want to make that a 80 year closure policy. Those church record before 1876 can be purchased on CD.
I find it interesting that I can find filmed LDS Church records prior to 1907 for members of the church in Switzerland, but in Utah I cannot find them. 1907 appears to be the year that the church started a new record keeping system. Of course there were many fewer members to keep track of in Switzerland than Utah. My great grandfather, Gottfried Jaggi, joined the Church in Switzerland on February 25, 1889 and there is a record of him and for every member of the Solothurn branch going back to the 1850’s. For members of the LDS church anywhere in the world there is a church census that was taken at 5 and 10 year intervals between 1910 to 1960.

Switzerland Recherswil 1850 Census

My surname, Jaggi, originates from Recherswil which is a short distance from Solothurn. One might think that Jaggi is a rare surname. The 1850 census of Recherswil reveals that 1/3rd of the town has the Jaggi surname. Solothurn is worth a visit as it is Switzerland’s finest Baroque Town. It also has a good archive for the Kanton. I found my Ancestors in the 1850 census. Yes there is an 1850 census for the Kanton. I had to take pictures of it with my camera since the books are so large. The census records the wife’s maiden name. It also records occupations. I was quite surprised that the Bern archives has no census records. I came away from the Bern Archives with copies of picture postcards of my ancestors home towns. Try making a google search for census records in Switzerland. I found nothing but vague reference to these records. Is there a reference book anywhere that tells one what census records are available for each place in Switzerland?

Familienschein Switzerland

When I was in Switzerland in 2006 I made it a point to visit the Zivilstandsamt. Now many of the Gemeinde records have been deposited in a central location, so it is not necessary to travel in out of the way places to find them. A familienschein is a record of a complete family all on one page with reference to the sons familienschein and the daughters marriages. I went to the office with a family group sheet printed in German and wrote on the top of the page, “Ich Mochte familienschein”. I did not speak German. It is not a good idea to rely on someone speaking English, as I found out. I showed them my group sheet and a woman went and got these old books. I was able to get three generations starting with Hans Christen who was born in 1755; then Ulrich his son born in 1799; then Peter his son who was born in 1834. As you look at these records one can easily see the depth these records have to offer. I ask to get a copy of one of my uncle relations before 1800 and they said I could not look. It cost me $150 for those three generations, which was three pages. They charge by how many children are in a family. In total there were 26 children, you do the math. I have found misinformation about the availability and access to these records, so I was happy to gather quite a few of these records. This discussion will continue later.