76. Jakob Treuthardt II / was he a powder miller at Echandens?

Although I cannot prove by documents that Jakob II ran a mill at Echandens, the history indicates it.   A black powder mill (maybe more than one) existed at Echandens.   When the family moved from Echandens to Steffisburg, Jakob II became powder miller at the mill of Steffisburg.  Milling was a family business.  His two sons became powder millers, indicating that Jakob II trained his sons in the techniques of milling.   Evidence could prove my theory right or wrong.   Until that happens, there is good reason to believe that Jakob II ran a black powder mill at Steffisburg.  

In previous posts I wrote,
"... Jakob II will be choosing an entirely new direction, beginning a new chapter, getting married, having a family, and frankly, he needs to think about what he is doing."  (#64)   
"Jakob II, the eldest son of Jakob I and Barbara Treuthardt, is going to take a different life-route from his father and he will set the tone for the rest of the Treuthardt family in Switzerland."  (#58)

Considering how little I know about Jakob II, I have written a lot of imaginative things (posts #45, 58, 59, 64, 69, 71, 72).   Now we will move on to Steffisburg, where the history is more certain.  

72. Jakob II Treuthardt, powder miller at a stamp mill

Jakob II was (almost certainly!) a powder miller.    A powder miller produced charcoal, and he added sulfur and saltpeter to make "powder," another name for gunpowder.    Although this theory has not been proven, my conjecture is that Jakob II was possibly powder miller at Echandens, where a powder mill was in operation.  

The powder mill at Echandens, Switzerland, used a stamping process to crush the powder.   The mining term "stamp mill" refers most recently to gold mining, but it was an ancient process which was primarily used from the 1500's to the 1900's.    According to Webster's definition in 1913, a stamp was a "kind of heavy hammer, or pestle, raised by water or steam power, for beating ores to powder;  anything like a pestle used for pounding or beating."   The origin of this term is from 1740-50;  but the process was in use long before that.

From one website, this is a description of a stamp mill, as follows:
[http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Stamp_Mill]

"The machines were known for their heavy, cumbersome awkwardness and difficulty to maintain.    Each stamp could weigh as much as 2,000 lbs. (907 kg).   They were also incredibly noisy and produced vibrations close to the area of installment and operation.   Some likened the noise produced by a stamp mill to that of a 'stampede of horses galloping across the land.' "  

The mill at Echandens had to close because it was in the way of the railroad which was being built.  [For further research -- The years that the railroad was built at Echandens, would indicate approximately when the mill closed.]   Sometime after Friedrich's birth in 1834, the family left Echandens.   Possibly they moved when the Echandens mill closed.     

References:
http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/stamp+mill
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stamp-mill
http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Stamp_Mill

71. Treuthardt, Jakob II and Margaritha Zumstein

Husband:  Jakob II Treuthardt
Wife:        Margaritha Zumstein

Jakob II and Margaritha were Friedrich's parents.
They are my great-great-grandparents.

Grandparents of Jakob II were the [Kirchmeyer] Bartolome and wife Katharina (Tritten) Treuthardt (see posts #35, 46).   Parents of Jakob II were [Carpenter and Musikant] Jakob I and Barbara Treuthardt (see posts #43, 44, 45).    Jakob II was born at Zweisimmen in 1801, and his parents moved to Thun.

The whole unknown story of why, when and how Jakob II moved to the Canton of Vaud has already been imagined and examined (see posts #58, 59, 69).  

In 1828, when Jakob II was 27 years old, and Margaritha was 22 years old, they were married at Lausanne, Vaud Canton.    Margaritha's parents were Andreas Zumstein and Anna Glauser.  I am guessing that Margaritha was a newcomer to the Canton of Vaud, as her family seems to have come from the area of Brienz, Switzerland (that is a subject for further research). 

Jakob II and Margaritha settled at Echandens, north of Lausanne, where three children were born to them, Louise, Charles, and Friedrich (the last child, who was born in 1834).


Note:  In previous research I had discovered the name "Zum Stein," written as two words.    However, this is incorrect, according to my Swiss resource, Ulrich Bretscher, and the Switzerland telephone directory.   Ulrich reported to me on September 25 that he "consulted the Swiss telephone register and found 972 Zumstein entries and zero Zum Steins."  

69. Moving to the Canton of Vaud (circa 1820?)

It has been too long since we left our great-great-grandfather Treuthardt perched on a hill marveling at the grandeur of the Lake of Geneva in the Canton of Vaud.   Though we don't know when he made this journey, I picked the years around 1820.   From the Lake of Geneva, Jakob II continued on to his destination.   There he began his work -- perhaps first completing his apprenticeship before starting a job in which he was trained and skilled.   He married Margaretha and they eventually had three children.  That account is to come.

I took a few weeks off from writing posts in this blog because of two major "good-bye" events in my life;   the death and funeral of my mother;  and my husband's retirement from his 43-year career as an engineer.   We traveled to south Texas for the funeral, and to Philadelphia, PA for the retirement banquet.    

It is somewhat convenient that this unintentional break-off occurred when I was getting ready to describe the early career of Jakob II.   Before this point in the history, almost everything is conjecture.  Other than those remote dates and names and places which are based on parish records,   the rest has been "me" trying to provide a cultural background and weave a reasonable and believable record of the personages, humble and sketchy though the report is.   Hopefully you, the reader, have ascertained accurately the things I "know" and the things I am guessing at.    

Beyond this time when Jakob II moved to the Canton of Vaud, the Treuthardt account becomes more definite and I can describe the history more confidently, thanks to the guidance and knowledge given to me by some Swiss people in 2008 and after.   Still, there are places where I will insert some conjectures because they could be important to some future researcher.    Yet to come is the most exciting part of the history, and I am looking forward to sharing it with you. 

64. A new question for an Internet search

All these years I knew that I could not do this task alone.   While the Internet was in its infancy, so to speak, it was not of much use to me, because of the limitations of the new industry.   After all, my objective was esoteric.   But technology was a promising pathway for asking a new question I had not thought of before and indeed it wasn't possible to ask before the days of the Internet.   Though it would be difficult through the Internet to find out anything personal about my great-grandfather Friedrich, now there existed an imaginative course of discovery, using this fairly convenient electronic thoroughfare to Switzerland -- if it were successful.

This is what I decided to attempt to do.   I would try to ascertain facts about Friedrich's career through websites.   Maybe I could figure out how to describe his occupation.   Maybe in the process I could learn something about Swiss history.   Perhaps that goal was attainable in the relatively short time I have left to work, and maybe I should be content with the knowledge of this about Friedrich, a little information about his career.        


In Post #59 we left Jakob II gazing out at the Lake of Geneva around the range of years 1813-1820 (I chose 1820 to make an even number).   He should be permitted this period of rest and relaxation, for he will be choosing an entirely new direction, beginning a new chapter, getting married, having a family, and frankly, he needs to think about what he is doing.   

If I know Jakob II, and I don't, I think he is probably not resting at all but making his way as quickly as he can to his new abode in the Canton of Vaud.    So I have to hurry and tell you about what happened to me, before Jakob II arrives in (say) 1820.   I am hoping that he doesn't rush over there, because I have a lot to tell before I'm ready to continue with Jakob II.   

58. The next generation of Treuthardts -- which route would Jakob II take?

The last we heard of the Treuthardts (see posts #43, 44, 45), Jakob (the 1st) was working as a carpenter in Thun, and he died there in 1830, at the age of 50, prematurely, we should think.    Some of the five (minimum) children of Jakob I and Barbara (whose two oldest daughters were named Barbara, I and II), all of whom were born at Zweisimmen, were still living in the family home in Thun at the death of their father (if all the children were alive).  His widow Barbara moved back to Zweisimmen eventually.

If you think this is confusing, don't worry, you don't have to memorize another name just yet.   Their eldest son was naturally named Jakob.  To keep him clearly distinguished from his father, henceforth I will call him Jakob (the 2nd) or II.   Ha!  Yes, it is confusing, and I am constantly having to look at the sequence -- is this Jakob I or II?   Jakob II or I?  

So we go on to the next generation, Jakob II.    Jakob II's parents (you recall this -- but I had to go back to look it up) were married in 1800, a great, good, extremely round, even number that is enjoyable to remember.   Jakob was born in 1801.   Since he was named after his father (as well as probably several other ancestors and uncles), and he was born the year after his parents were married, you may believe (as I do) that he was indeed the eldest.

I am only telling you what I know for certain, to keep things clear.   I know less about Jakob I than Jakob II.   So will you!   

If you are an eldest son, you probably have the most responsibility of your siblings, but you are also privileged, as I believe Jakob II was.   Order in the family is important, in a variety of ways.   The parents of a firstborn son are energetic and interested in educating him to the best of their ability.   A relative or family friend may be in a position to give him an opportunity for training and a job.   From time immemorial parents have hoped to save money for the sending-off of their firstborn to a good and useful profession, so he can take care of his parents in their old age.   Look at Martin Luther of Wittenburg, Germany, for example.   His father worked hard and long in the coal mines to educate him to be a lawyer, but all Martin did was to avert a lightning stroke, become a monk and change the world.    By the time the next-in-line children get their turn, the parents are already wearing down, as we may be certain Hans Luther was pretty disappointed and upset at his son Martin for wasting his money. 

Jakob II, the eldest son of Jakob I and Barbara Treuthardt, is going to take a different life-route from his father and he will set the tone for the rest of the Treuthardt family in Switzerland.