Swiss Lineage

Ancestry and lineage is one of my long-time fascinations.  I started doing research many years ago, starting with those who came to North America. I have a huge list of the names of early ancestors, but no context - no understanding of where they came from other than the name of the country: England, Germany, Holland, etc.

This year I've been diving deeper into those lands of my roots to understand my origins a little better; and this week I'm researching Switzerland.

 

1. Read "Root and Ritual"

2. Map it out

3. Study more genealogy

4. Swiss cheese

1. Read "Root and Ritual":

I'm reading again from "Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self," by Becca Piastrelli (2021). I'm on Part 2: Lineage, about tapping in to our ancestral memories to activate our connection to our line of descent. Or to our "affinity" ancestors.

Chapter 5 is called Connecting to Lineage Through Food and Folklore. She suggests that we can have a deeper connection to our roots if we access our senses. "When I talk about incorporating my senses, I mean literals eating the foods that my people used to cook, listening to their folk songs, watching their folk dances, and reading or listening to the old myths and folktales that have lasted through time."

I would add to that list: Making the folk arts and crafts that my folks made, and celebrating the seasonal holy days that they celebrated.

2. Map it out:

I've just finished mapping out the origins of my Swiss and German ancestors from my mother's side; these were Mennonites who mostly lived in Bern, Zurich, or Krefeld, and immigrated to Pennsylvania after 1700. I decided to focus my research on Bern, Switzerland, where most of my Swiss ancestors lived.

Bern is both a city and a Canton (an administrative area, like a state), and is located on the Swiss plateau, between the Jura Mountains to the north-west and the Alps to the south-east. 

Originally, Switzerland was inhabited by Celtic tribes in the West and South, and by Rhaetians in the East, then became part of the Roman Empire, and was shaped in the Early Middle Ages by Christianity.

One of the best-known archaeological sites in Switzerland is the Celtic village and ritual site of La Tène on Lake Neuchâtel, just west of Bern. La Tène is situated on an ancient route through the Jura Mountains; many pre-historic journeys across the Jura would naturally cross the narrow isthmus between the two lakes, making it a strategically significant location.

Written records from the Mediterranean area referred to the Celtic Helvetian tribes living in this region during the late Iron Age in Europe, from around 460 BC to 15 BC. The Helvetians were the largest of about 11 intersecting Celtic tribes living in the area that is now Switzerland. They came originally from the north and east, pushed south by Germanic tribes. They settled along the Swiss lakes and rivers, which were becoming the hub of the continent's developing trade routes, and built up a string of over 400 villages and a dozen fortified towns in the vicinity of Lake Neuchâtel.

The La Tène Celts were mostly farmers, raising crops such as grain with new and revolutionary agricultural methods: They used a new heavy-wheeled iron plow which allowed them to till the land much more efficiently; they were able to process the heavier soils found in the lowlands, increasing the amounts of the arable land as they went. They also had iron axes, which helped them to clear the abundant hardwood forests that covered Switzerland at that time. 

Although the Helvetians left no written records of their own, they featured in several chronicles of the period: The Greek writer Poseidonios said they were "rich in gold but peaceful people". 

When Julius Caesar invaded during the Gallic Wars in 58 BCE, many of the Celtic villages were burned down as Celts fled west along the Rhône River. 

During the period of benign imperialism which followed, Rome's cultural influence on the region and its people was profound. The Helvetians adopted Latin, their larger settlements turned into major Roman urban centers, and the road network was expanded to complement the Celts' river routes.

Roman rule lasted until the Helvetian province, after a slow infiltration, finally fell under the control of the Germanic Burgundians and Alamans in around 400 AD. But the Helvetian Celts remained, living side by side with the newcomers. The Burgundian Germans who colonized western Switzerland adopted the Latin dialects of the Helvetians. French-speaking Switzerland is thus a cultural footprint of the Celts.

3. Study more genealogy:

As I said, my Swiss ancestors were Mennonites, or Anabaptists. The Anabaptist Movement originated in Switzerland, and began at the time of the Reformation in the 16th-century. A Short History of the Swiss Mennonites says, "When Martin Luther in Germany and Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland separated from the Catholic church and ushered in the Reformation, there were many quiet people who welcomed this Reformation and expected much of it. They were soon aware that both of these reformers did not reform thoroughly enough; i.e. they did not cast aside all of the Catholic abuses. Evangelical Christians objected to child baptism and that Zwingli as well as Martin Luther established a state church; these Christians believed that according to the Holy scriptures, church and state should be separated. In Switzerland the leaders of this movement met Zwingli, but they soon saw that they could not agree with his doctrine. They went their own way. He therefore took a stand against them."

Anabaptism obtained a foothold in Bern in the very earliest period - just weeks after the first adult re-baptisms - sometime in early 1525. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the newly established Reformed Church looked upon Anabaptist groups as dissidents who were weakening and undermining the "true church" because of their adherence to Christian pacifism, rejection of infant baptism, and refusal to accept the dictates of the state on religious matters. In 1527 the government leaders of Bern issued a mandate that all Anabaptists in their city would face death by drowning, and they got spies to identify the Anabaptists among them.

Emmental Valley

Continuing with the focus on Bern, I  began to dig into the specific locations of my ancestors. Many of them were from the Emmental Valley, which was mostly devoted to dairy farming, cheese making, and transporting timber down the Emme River. By the 15th-century, much of the mountain forest had been cleared to provide pastures for cattle.

Hans Ulrich Bergey was born in April 1700 in Langnau, a village in the Emmental Valley, in the eastern part of the Canton of Bern. And Nicholas Bieri was born possibly in Schangnau, a village just south of Langnau, on March 10, 1696/97. And Jacob Hunsberger was born possibly in Kirchberg, Bern, in about 1700, another village in the Emmental Valley, northwest of Langnau. 

By the time these men were born, the Anabaptists (Mennonites) had been practicing in Bern for 180 years, with varying degrees of persecution. It's probable that they were all born into Anabaptist families, who did their best to hide their religion. 

Even with all the harsh treatment, Bern continued to see growth in the number of Anabaptists and sympathizers. In 1693 the Bernese Reformed Church clergy complained that they can hardly say anything critical about the Anabaptists because “almost everyone is so well-disposed towards them, that nobody wants to listen if we preach against them”.

But the Reformed church and the government continued its systematic effort to rid Switzerland of the Anabaptists, and many fled to Holland or Germany, or into the Jura Mountains. All of the above mentioned ancestors eventually left Bern and ended up in Pennsylvania (and then Ontario, Canada, where one of their descendants - Martha Saltzberger - met and married John Jones).

4. Swiss cheese:

Since my roots are in cheese-making country, I decided to research Swiss cheeses; specifically Emmentaler (“em-en-TAH-luhr.”)

Emmentaler (or Emmental cheese) is a medium-hard cheese originating in the Emmental Valley in Switzerland.

Emmentaler is what we all know as Swiss cheese. In Switzerland, there is no “Swiss cheese”; instead, there are a number of Alpine cheeses—Emmentaler, Gruyère, Fontina, and others—from different regions.

Switzerland is multi-ethnic, and so are its cheeses. Gruyère comes from a predominantly French area, while Fontina is an Alpine cheese originating in Italy. 

A good Emmentaler's flavor is nutty and somewhat buttery, with a slightly fruity, acidic tone. Emmentaler is pale yellow and riddled with distinctive holes, or “eyes.” It has a hard, thin rind covered by paper with the producer’s name on it. The aroma is sweet, with notes described by some as similar to fresh-cut hay.

In Switzerland, traditional Emmental cheese must be aged a minimum of four months. This is known as “classic” Emmentaler. “Reserve” Emmentaler is aged for eight months, and Premier cru for 14 months. The denomination “Emmentaler Switzerland” is protected; however, the term “Emmentaler” is not. Accordingly, one can find Emmentaler cheese from France, Bavaria, Finland…and, of course, the United States.

Emmenthal has very good melting properties, which makes it ideal for cheese fondue or any dish that requires melted cheese, such as gratins and casseroles, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta, and egg dishes. It can also be eaten cold, layered into sandwiches, or served on a cheese platter with fruit and nuts.