30. Births and deaths in February and March

Reviewing the February and March anniversary dates --

February --
   2/ 7/ 1847  --  Birthday of Anna Johanna Geiser 
   2/ 8/ 1872  --  Birthday of Anna Ida Treuthardt 
   2/ 12/ 1907 -- Death of Friedrich Treuthardt, age 73

March --
   3/ 11/ 1936 -- Death of Anna Johanna Geiser Treuthardt, age 89
   3/ 28/ 1834 -- Birthday of Friedrich Treuthardt
   3/ 29/ 1939 -- Death of Anna Ida Treuthardt Krieg, age 67

Ida was born the day after her mother's birthday, and they would have celebrated together for 64 years (1872-1936)!    Ida died the day after her father's birthday.   

Not to confuse things, but the second child of Friedrich and Anna was
Karl Arnold, who was born on March 30, 1874.  

29. Death -- Anna Ida Treuthardt Krieg, March 29, 1939

March 29, 1939 is the anniversary date of the death of Anna Ida Treuthardt Krieg.   She died at the age of 67, after surgery for breast cancer.   She was living in Thrall, Texas, next door to her son's family, Oscar and Pauline Krieg, and their sons.   Also her other sons and their wives and children lived in Thrall.   (I think Aunt Anna's family had already moved to West Texas in 1939.)    She was most fortunate and blessed to be in the company of her children and grandchildren, who took care of things for her in her last years.   Active in St. John's Lutheran Church, Thrall, the pastor had visited her recently, before her death.    Psalm 23, and this hymn taken from it, she would have known well. 

The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want

He makes me down to lie 

In pastures green;  He leadeth me 

The quiet waters by. 

My soul He doth restore again 

And me to walk doth make 

Within the paths of righteousness,

E'en for His own name's sake.

Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, 

Yet will I fear no ill;  

For Thou art with me, and Thy rod

And staff me comfort still.

My table Thou hast furnished 

In presence of my foes; 

My head Thou dost with oil anoint,

And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life 

Shall surely follow me;

And in God's house forevermore

My dwelling place shall be. 

"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want" 

The Lutheran Service Book, 710 

Text:  Psalm 23, The Psalms of David in Meeter, Edinburg, 1650, 

Tune:  William Gardiner, 1770-1853, 

setting: The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941 

 Today, March 29, 2013, is Good Friday. 

7.  Lord, by love and mercy driven,

You once left Your throne in heaven

On the cross for me to languish 

And to die in bitter anguish.

To forego all joy and gladness

And to shed Your blood in sadness.

By this blood redeemed and living,

Lord, I praise You with thanksgiving. 

"Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness"

from, The Lutheran Service Book, 636

Text:  Johann Franck, 1618-77

Translator Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78

Tune:  Johann Crüger, 1598-1662; 

setting: The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941

28. Birthday -- Friedrich Christian Treuthardt, March 28, 1834; registry in Zweisimmen, Bern Canton

On this date 179 years ago, Friedrich Christian Treuthardt was born at Echandens, Vaud Canton, Switzerland.   Friedrich was the third and last child of Jacob and Margaritha Treuthardt.   He was baptized at Lonay, Vaud Canton, on 4 May 1834.   He was born on Good Friday.

Let it be known (this is important) that the Treuthardt family "came from" not Vaud Canton, but from Zweisimmen, Bern Canton.   Zweisimmen is the original home of the Treuthardts.   

Every Swiss national has a so called "place of origin" where he (or she) is registered.   Friedrich Christian Treuthardt's place of origin was "Zweisimmen" which is a small town in the "Berner Oberland."   The registry officer of Zweisimmen has found records of Friedrich Christian Treuthardt and his wife, Anna Geiser.  

Nineteen years ago I wrote a letter of inquiry and received the above response from the Bundesamt für Polizeiwesen, Bern, Switzerland -- Federal Office for Police Matters / Tracing Service, in a letter written by Claire Jordi on October 24, 1994. 

In those days, not so long ago, people typed and signed a letter, put it in an envelope, stamped and mailed it.

[Today Friedrich's birthday falls on Maundy Thursday.]

27. Railway system in France and Switzerland circa 1850 and 1860

Below is a comparison between the railway systems of 1850 and 1860.    

1850

In 1850 there were 3,000 kilometers of railways in France.   In Switzerland at that time there were 25 kilometers of track.  

In the opinion of Monsieur Oberli* there were three probable PLM (Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée) routes,

• Besancon-Dijon-Paris-LeHavre (most likely)
• Mulhouse-Nancy-Paris-LeHavre 
• Basel-Strasbourg-Nancy-Paris-LeHavre

1860

Now let us ask a Swiss man, what did the railway network look like ten years later, in 1860?
My friend Ulrich Bretscher had this answer for me.   

Existing railway lines in 1860:
In April 1858, a rail-connection was completed between Lausanne and Geneva.    The Treuthardts would have been practiced in riding the train to Geneva and to central Switzerland.

I can remember the joy of riding the train for the first time in Europe.   How much greater that feeling must have been, when the train first arrived in Switzerland!   With confidence, I believe that Friedrich was one of the first to ride on it, and that he took his wife and children with him.

As for leaving Switzerland by train for LeHavre, Ulrich states that there was a train station only one kilometer from La Vaux where Friedrich's family lived.   It was at Alleman, which is pictured below:


        
Ulrich suggests this route was the one the Treuthardts took:

        Alleman-Geneva-Macon-Dijon-Paris-Rouen-LeHavre


*Note:   Monsieur Oberli had found my name online knowing that Oberli was a surname in which I was interested.   He was seeking knowledge of his Swiss family history.  I told him all I knew about the Oberli's -- it was reliable but little information.   However, we never found a connection between our families. 

He traveled around Switzerland looking for archival records of the Oberli's, and he sent me PowerPoint images of the forms he located.   It was greatly helpful to me for the Geiser-Oberli families.  He eventually found information on his own family.