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Note: Ref.: Genealogical Report forwarded by Christian Emig, May 2011. Ref.: Rene Schürch, Schürch von Sumiswald II, p. A.7.
Ref.: Rene Schürch, Schürch von Sumiswald II, p. A.15.
From Christian Emig:
The emigrants to America with code H and code C are for some time with the help of the family research Wenger and Brechbühl clarified. Caspar Schürch and Verena Burkhard left with 4 children around 1695/96 Sumiswald. Thus they were for for us be enough for missing. The family within northern law at the today's French the border must have lived several years. Probably in the something (secret) Täufergemeinde Blumbergerwaldgemeinde of late Florimont secret umwobenen (partly also in the Sundgau). The family had at least 3 additional children in this region.
From Schürch Family Association of North America newsletter, Apr. 2004: 13-20. Swiss Connection of Code H Caspar Schürch. Information from Rene Schürch, Swiss Schürch Family Historian, Compiled by Newsletter Editors.
The history of the Brechbühl family at the Lebanon County Historical Society revealed that their ancestor, Christian Brechbühl, immigrant of 1738, aboard the ship, 'Thistle,' settled near Code H Caspar Schürch, immigrant of 1732, in Bethel Twp., Lancaster (now Lebanon) County, Pennsylvania. Another shipmate of Christian was Abraham Stettler, who also settled on land near Caspar.
Brechbühl tradition says Christian Brechbühl (or someone else in his family) wrote a letter from Europe to our Code H Caspar Schürch in Pennsylvania asking Caspar to purchase land for him, 'where he could come and settle with his family.' Caspar did this for him. Christian Brechbühl, along with Abraham Stettler, came to Pennsylvania and settled on the land Caspar had acquired for them. It was located near Caspar Schürch's farm. Rene was able to confirm the close relationship between the Brechbühls and Schürchs and that the Stettlers originally came from Eggiwil, Switzerland.
The Brechbühl family was from the hamlet of Chrummholz (Krummholz), where there were two farmhouses. The name of this little valley was Dürrbach, which 40 years ago was renamed Heimisbach, in honor of Simon Gfeller, a famous writer and teacher. Today Heimisbach is part of the community of Trachselwald. Krummholz today consists of one farmhouse and the restaurant Krummholzbad (English bath or spa), much the same as has happened with our stem farm, Schürchtanne, with the Restaurant Tannenbad, in the community of Sumiswald, which is only 2 km away. American guests are welcome at both places.
Rene, on August 15, 2003, remarked - 'With the new information . . . I could identify (Code H) Caspar's family in Sumiswald. His father was A71 - Caspar Schürch senior and mother Verena Burkhard. The genealogical grandparents were A7 Jacob and (first wife) Anna Mumenthaler. When Anna died (c.1655) leaving four young children, Jacob remarried (second wife) Christina (Stini) Brechbühl in 1657 and she became Caspar's stepmother when he was about 8. Therein lies the Schürch/Brechbühl connection. Both these families were very strong Täufers . . . (and) influenced by Jacob Ammann, who held the radical thesis that: a good Täufer should avoid any contact with the State church.' (Most of the Emmental Täufers followed the liberal Täufer leader, Hans Reist, who recommended some tolerance between State church and Täufer). But: (by law) every newborn child must be baptized by the State church. Father Caspar did not accompany his own children to the church (to be baptized). The Sumiswalder pastor baptized four of Caspar's children, who were born in Sumiswald, without (their) parents (presence) and made corresponding notes in the records.
'We can be sure the Schurch families on the Musterplatz were not Täufer, since Musterplatz/Musterung means military mustering place.' As Rene has pointed out numerous times, the Täufer (Anabaptist) aspect is very important and should never be ignored. Another documented clue to a possible connection is the fact that in 1739 Peter Burkhard tried to save Schürchtanne after the death of Dr. Hans Schürch, without success.
In 1695/96 the family left Sumiswald and relocated elsewhere, believed to be in the Bishopric of Basle, the usual first stop for emigrants from the Emmental. Rene believes additional children including A715 Joseph (Code C) and A716 Caspar (Code H) were born in this new location. 'The father was happy. His next children needed no baptism in the State Church. Father was happy, (but) family researchers are unhappy -- we have no birth/baptism dates!!!'
. . . The first stop for Taufer emigrants from the Emmental was the bishopric of Basel. Including the Schürch Taufers. The first Schürch emigrant there seems to have been Joseph A52 in 1679, who must have been very active in the Taufer movement. . . . He lived several years in the northern Jura where he met . . . friends. Traditionally, . . . Emmentalers seemed to know that they had friends in the Jura. . . . Later we find Joseph in 1720-35 documented in the principality of Montbeliard. One of his grandsons, Andreas, settled in Salm, Principality of Salm.
The bishopric in the Jura mountains was private territory of the Bishop. (To) understand the situation there 300 years ago, we . . . compare it with the principality of Montbeliard in southern Alsace and the principality of Salm in the Upper Bruche valley in Alsace. Conditions in all three regions were similar: (1) Mennonites were welcome. (2) We find traces of Schurch Mennonites. (3) Capable farmers were needed in mountains and marshy grounds. (4) Religious tolerance prevailed. (5) (They were) private territories of a bishop or prince. (6) Napoleon ended . . . these conditions.
After 1815 the Bishopric of Basel (has been) more or less the (same as) Berner Jura region . . . More nebulous in marshy . . . southern Alsace. . . Family research (today) in the bishopric is practically nil. In 1815 the castle Porrentruy/Pruntrut, then the bishop's residence, became a civil administration center. Old documents were burned, probably too many tragic Taufer stories could be incriminating (to someone)."
E-mail from Rene Schürch to Joe Sherk, Dec 2009, "concerning Frolimont community: You must know Frolimont was a succession-cummunity. We do not know why the older community was closed. the region was two/three hundert years ago a savage area abounding in water and less streets. On Swiss side Elsgau (French Ajoie). On French side Sundgau (French Sundgovie). Enough place for Mennonites but bad land for settlement. A few moved West other North. From time to time came political pressure against Mennonites and much moved. The Bernese government knew well the dark centuries and burned documents after receiving castle Pruntrut (French
Porrentruy) from Napoleon."
Donna Flinn - djbf18@gmail.com
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