Gary, Could be, but not necessarily. This was in the days before antibiotics and sanitation. Death was a common occurance. In Switzerland, the Bubonic Plague or Black Death struck in: the 14th century, along with other pestilencial diseases which included mainly typhus, smallpox, diphtheria, dysentery, enteric fever, etc. In 1348 almost two-thirds of the population of Europe contracted the plague and most of those died (Zinsser,H., "Rats, Lice and History," Boston, 1963,p.88). The plague, in this case is presumed to include the Bubonic Plague and those pestilencial deseases listed in the preceding paragraph. It continued its devastation thru 1349 as well. In 1361, half contracted these deseases and most succumbed. In 1371 one-tenth of the remaining population were struck but most survived. In 1382 one tenthg were affected but almost all survived. In 1528 Lautrec and his army of 28,000 had encircled Naples, Italy. In less than a month this army was reduced by typhus fever to less than 11,000 and Naples was saved. A siege of the German city of Metz in 1552 was called off when the army of Emperor Charles the Vth lost 10,000 men to typhus in one month. In 1542 a supporting army in the Turkish-Hungarian war lost 30,000 men to typhus in one month, and the campaign was abandoned. and on thru the 17th century which had several epidemics of one kind or another. The most recent European pandemic occured from 1663-1669. After this time, the epidemics of plague tended to become localized, with the last to strike Switzerland occuring in 1721. Typhus and the bubonic plague were caused by fleas endemic to the host species of black rat. In the early 1700's hordes of vicious brown rats almost succeded in exterminating the black rat. So much for the epidemics of those periods. Other epidemics came along which, together with starvation, continued to suppress the population in Switzerland, almost up until the present century. Suffice it to say, childhood was a pretty rough proposition and the death of two or three children in a family of eight or ten or more was not that unusual. Didn't have to be an epidemic. Just that many of the common childhood diseases of the day were untreatable by today's standards. Pete Mattli Ft. Myers, FL (USA)

Just wondering if any else is researching the BOSSLI/BOSSLEY/BOSSLY/BOSLI surname. Gr Gr Gr grandparents from Bern, Switzerland. Emigrated to USA 1867 on COLUMBIA sailing from La Harve, France to NEW YORK port. Thanks for all your help. Helen HEAD Bossley Florida, NY (an hour north west from New York City)

To Gary Minder: Do you know of a Susan Minder born abt. 1768? Her parents were Frederick and Catharine. She married Jacob Siegfried and they lived in Pa., USA. They probably came from Switzerland like the rest of my people. Please email Jane at green956@aol.com. Thanks. Jane Green

Dear Kjell , In the German occupations dictionary available on line at http://www.maxpages.com/ourlostfamily, Soeldner (Soldner) is translated by 'mercenary soldier', but also 'day laborer'. Schiffmann means 'sailor'. Hope this help. Olivier Pasteur E-mail: olivier@pasteur.net _________________________________________________ The Pasteur Galaxy / La Galaxie des Pasteur Web site: http://www.pasteur.net/en Mailing list: mailto:PASTEUR-L@rootsweb.com Surname list: http://rsl.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/rslsql.cgi?op=user&user=pasteur WorldConnect: http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=pasteur Database: http://www.genealogie.to/cgi-local/geneweb.cgi?b=pasteur _________________________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: Kjell Ove Hattrem [SMTP:khattrem@PlanetAll.com] Sent: Sunday, November 28, 1999 6:51 PM To: SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [SWITZ] Swiss occupations

Tim. Addresses for each of the Swiss archives are listed at: ===== Swiss State Archives - Addresses http://www.etatne.ch/adm/auto/archives/arcch_en.htm ===== & ===== Schweiz: Archive der Kantone http://www.staluzern.ch/vsa/archive/kantone.html#AR ===== Pete Mattli Ft. Myers, FL (USA) >------------ Subj: [SWITZ] Archives - Ticino Date: 11/28/1999 5:33:51 PM Eastern Standard Time From: tpurdy@thegrid.net (Tim I. Purdy) To: SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Does any have the address for Archives in Ticino? I have a great success with the Archives in Nidwalden, but never have contacted this Canton. Tim Purdy Susanville, CA

Have the LSD filmed the Bern Passport Register? Can I order the film? Film #? Alan Rossing Monterey, CA, USA ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

Upon filling out a family group sheet for my 4g-grandparents I discovered that 3 of 7 children died within 3 weeks of each other in 1827. The parents were Jakob Minder b. 06 Oct 1765 and Suzzana Wirth b. 22 Nov 1767. Members of the Minder family have been citizens of Huttwil, BE for centuries. Jakob Minder was born there and it appears that his family lived there and nearby. Jakob and Suzzana had 7 children born between 1798 and 1811, including Barbara, b. 30 Jan 1803; Suzzana, b. 1807 and Peter, born 1811. Suzzana died 17 Aug 1827, age 20; Barbara died 6 Sept 1827, age 24 and Peter died 12 Sept 1827, age 16. All of the deaths occured in the same town. My best guess at the translation from the German script in the Huttwil Burger Rolls is Walterswil, BE. Walterswil is only a few miles from Huttwil. I might never know what killed the three siblings, all so close together, but the most likely reason I can think of would be an epidemic of some sort. So my question is this. Does anyone know of a resource available that might allow me to track down whether some kind of epidemic struck that area in 1827? Of course if only my family members were affected by some illness then there would be no record. But if some illness struck the population in general then perhaps there would be. Thank you! Gary Minder sdkhaki@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

Dear list, My possible ancestor Rudolf Schinz (died 1556) from Oberrieden, ZH, is mentioned as "Söldner und Schiffmann" in the work "Zürcher Familiennamen" (ZF). Does the term "Söldner" necessarily translate to "mercenary" -- a hired soldier in *foreign service*? ZF says Rudolf was wounded at Marignano and Kappel. I gather these are locations of historical battles. The designation "Schiffmann" is not listed in any of my German dictionaries. It seems to be a nautical occupation. If somebody knows an English equivalent to the word in question, I would love to hear it. With regards Kjell Ove Hattrem

Doing surnames:Barnett, Barrett, Cain, Coleman, Davis, Embree, Gibbons, McKain, McKinnon, Merriman, Palmer, Plummer, Raber, Snodgrass, Stevens, White, Wright in PA & OH areas.

I have found this listserv to be a good resource of information. I have been receiving the Digests since V99 #420. How can I request the Digests prior to my subscription? Are there some archives available online or a command to request these from the listserv? Thank you! Paul Hanni - researching Hanni/Haenni in Bern canton

Fellow listers, I've been reading with great interest, but this is my 1st post to this list. My GGrandparents, John E. Hof born in Zwingen, 1844, and Maria A. Cueni, in Laufen, 1847. They married ca.1865, son John P. Hof born 1866. When the baby was 9 months old, the family emigrated to Baltimore, Md., where they lived to a ripe old age & were parents to many children. They were R.C., and the fam. rumor tells that Johan had been a seminarian who left to marry Maria?? The surname does not appear on any Swiss lists that I've seen, so far. Would have expected it to be a common name? Does anyone have any ideas, tips, info? Very grateful for ANY help, Jeanette in Connecticut

Thanks for replying, but the villages of: Elay, Alle, Seehof & Roggenburg in Suisse. Please send more data regarding as to how to locate people in these towns.? Call Gene at: > SKARBO@aol.com

I visited the URL that I believe WOLF posted for the Swiss Surname Directory. I entered two surnames which I have been searching, both on my paternal ancestral lines. The same day (very fast) I got a reply but am not sure I understand all it is telling me or how to use the information. I think it was giving me Cantons in Switzerland where folks with the surname lived and a date, is that correct? Also, it provided some narrative information but none of that matched. What may I do with a date, surname, and canton to try to obtain more information?

Hi, Looking for Franz Walti. [professor]. I beleive he is teaching in the French part of Switzerland. Olga

Hi Pete, In yesterdays mail I got your mailing... Now that I am still awaiting for my French translation, I feel that I should compose a letter worded a little differently... Like I should include more about the WEBER name as well as the Wodtli name. I also want to look at the Neuchatel record book of marriages, as I feel these 2 folks Wodtli and WEBer met in and married in Neuch�tel... Last Wednesday I called another LDS center that is about 30-40 minutes away from me. It's good I called as they were closed for painting and will reopen this Monday.. (The LDS center I usually go to is only 15 minutes away but much smaller and I knew they were closed for Thanksgiving) Anyway this LDS center that is 30-40 minutes away is much larger and so I believe they have Neuch�tel records on file permanently. So maybe if I get there Monday I can get more info about WEBER & Wodtli, as the French records are easier for me to read and figure out. I have been to this center a few times before but I don't like the traffic that it takes to get there!! Anyway thanks for the letter and names and addresses... I'll be working on this letter and wording...( I want to get the right wording to hopefully get an answer from someone that might know of the Wodtli family)... Thanks again I really appreciate your help and thoughtfulness.... Margaret in Maryland

Dear JBishop, The last paragraph on the autoreply e-mail you received, and which contained the data, should have read something like "If you don't understand the above text, please check out the following URL (URL is given) before asking me questions." Also, the first sentence on the webpage that Wolf posted for the Swiss Surname Directory reads: " If you are not familiar with this service, please check out the description and the sources used first. Both "description" and "sources used" are links to pages that provide the information you are asking for. You might want to bookmark both webpages for future reference. The explanations are brief but accurate. You also inquired "What can I do with a date, surname and canton to try to obtain more information? A fair question, the answer to which is not readily apparent. Here are a couple of ways I use that data to achieve those ends. 1) If, for example, your ancestor was born in 1777, and there are three lines of data for three different communities that the surname held citizenship in, but only one community is time-coded "a" for "before 1801, then that is the Buergerort or hometown where records were maintained. However, since most cantons have transferred the church and civil records dated before mid-1800 to central storage in the cantons' Staatsarchiven, that is where you would write for your ancestor's records. And addresses of all the Staatsarchiven are listed in SwissGen on the Internet. 2) If, taking the same case, the data indicated that the surname was found before 1801 in several communities, and you know the wife's maiden name, then you would look up her data in SSD and see what one community was common to both of them. This would likely be the community where your ancestor held citizenship. The reasoning here is that in the 17-1800's automobiles did not exist and people tended to marry people from their own hometown, or close thereto. In this case also, you would write to the Staatsarchiv for the same reason given above. You also mentioned that narrative information you received did not match. That would be the narrative information from "Bibliography of Swiss Genealogies" by Mario von Moos. From this source we provide references to genealogies written on the surname of your ancestor. The first names may not be the same, or even if the same they may be genealogies written on different individuals (even though the name may be the same). We cannot guarantee that a genealogy was ever written on a particular ancestor, though we always hope for a match-up. If you still have questions concerning the data you were sent after reading the two webpages referenced above, please write to me at: <outriggger@aol.com> [3 g's in outriggger] Pete Mattli Ft. Myers, FL (USA) Ass't Administrater, SSD >-------------- Subj: [SWITZ] Swiss Surname Directory Date: 11/27/1999 7:40:17 AM Eastern Standard Time From: jbishop@gte.net (jbishop) To: SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com I visited the URL that I believe WOLF posted for the Swiss Surname Directory. I entered two surnames which I have been searching, both on my paternal ancestral lines. The same day (very fast) I got a reply but am not sure I understand all it is telling me or how to use the information. I think it was giving me Cantons in Switzerland where folks with the surname lived and a date, is that correct? Also, it provided some narrative information but none of that matched. What may I do with a date, surname, and canton to try to obtain more information?

----- Original Message ----- From: <Halltall@aol.com> To: <SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, November 25, 1999 12:25 PM Subject: [SWITZ] Re: SWITZERLAND-D Digest V99 #442 > The Swiss Surname directory used by the person doing my lookup was dated > 1940. not much help for we Americans who are investigating our Swiss > ancestors who may have come over in the 18th or 19th centuries. Is there > another site? > <snip> You misunderstand how the Familienamenbuch der Schweiz (FNBS) is used in the Swiss Surname Directory. This series of volumes shows the origin (where and when) of citizenship for Swiss families at about the date the FNBS edition was issued. The main change in the more recent edition was the addition of detailed data for families which had moved into towns and cities in this century. Given the increased mobility of the population in this century it is a useful addition. The real key to this book is that a very large majority of Swiss families will still be found in or near their historic origins (pre-1800). They often will have expanded from that base, and sometimes may have died out in a particular ancestral town, but they are often still found in the same area. So FNBS data (from whatever edition) gives you a very good idea of the areas of Switzerland which deserve closer scrutiny. The volumes do not show you where a family used to have citizenship but is no longer present. Nor do they show surnames which have disappeared by emigration or "daughtering out." They also do not show families of a given surname which may be living in a given town but whom retain their citizenship at their original town. Regards, Mike Hobart

I received several messages that did not address the question. http://familysearch.org/fhlc/supermainframeset.asp?display=localitysearch&columns=*,180,0 I want to make clear the question is on the PLACE search problem. Please do not discuss this on the list. Just report your problems direct to me so I can take the printed-out messages directly to the person responsible for the mess. State what browser you use (Microsoft, Netscape, AOL, etc) and type of computer you use along with the problems you encountered (such as missing information, empty information, error messages, etc.) W. David Samuelsen

I would like to see any messages from any of you who found to have problem with searching the Family History Library Catalog on the familysearch.org site at any time. I need to know exact problems you have encountered such as incomplete information or missing links or missing information whatsoever, etc, including how many times you had to go back and forth before you finally get the information you requested as well how many times you received the obnoxious error message. Do not discuss this on the list - just send to me off the lists so I can collect them and take directly to the programmers who still don't get it that their server programming is problemic. After all I live in Salt Lake City and I know who the contact person is for this problem. W. David Samuelsen

The Swiss Surname directory used by the person doing my lookup was dated 1940. not much help for we Americans who are investigating our Swiss ancestors who may have come over in the 18th or 19th centuries. Is there another site?