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."  

70. Blog status August 26, 2013

My Readers -- you may be interested to know that since the beginning, this [unadvertised] blog has gotten over 2440 "hits" (as of August 26) most of them coming from the U.S.   I enjoy writing to other countries as well.      

The Russian visits are 13% of the total.   Germany is next, and then Columbia, Switzerland, Pakistan and Romania.  Other countries that have checked in are France, Brazil, Canada, Lithuania, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Morocco, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and China.   The newest visitors since July are Finland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Poland, Israel and Australia.   The post which has gotten the most hits is #40, the "White Book of Sarnen."   Most of those hits were received in one day.    Among the popular posts are the William Tell entries -- I am delighted that some people recognize his name!    The Gottfried Keller entries are also of interest which pleases me very much.   The middle posts have been read more than the earliest ones.   Welcome to newcomers to my blog!

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. 

My Mother

My Mother died on July 6.   I am taking a break from my blog temporarily.   Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our family.   My Mother was 98 years, 10 months, and 17 days old.  

God bless you today!   

68. Ulrich, April 2008

Ulrich was capable of informing me by his experience as a Swiss citizen and an elected judge in his community, by his knowledge of history and his command of languages,  by his interest in and expertise at the chemistry of Swiss black powder, and by his championship status in muzzle-loading.   He introduced me to Switzerland.   He was willing to practice English reading, writing and comprehension, in corresponding with me.   Not the least, and maybe the greatest, he gave me his time.   He made -- I don't know how many -- telephone calls.   We exchanged numerous e-mails.  

He located, bought and mailed me two significant books on powder milling, books crucial to my study, that directly related to Friedrich's two powder mills (one book in German, the other in French).   In an effort to educate me about the Swiss language, which is a separate language from German, he found a CD of a children's story, sung in the Bernese Swiss which he said the Treuthardts and Kriegs would have spoken, and which my father, uncles and aunt in Texas would have understood.**

As he thought of an idea that might provide a clue for me, he would accomplish it, until he had worked up a Swiss "team" on my behalf.   Each provided information in his own specialty.   All this took place over several weeks.   Months and years later, I am still internalizing it.  
 

**Bernese Swiss is the Swiss spoken by people living in and around the environs of Bern, the capital of Switzerland, and Bern Canton which is generally the plateau region.  By comparison Züricher Swiss is the Swiss spoken by people living in and around the environs of Zürich.