After seeing the new photo of Barbara Eicher, I decided to dig a bit on our French ancestors.
Barbara Eicher was born on 14 March 1814 in Aspach-le-Haut, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France.
She married Jacques or Jacob Wagner about 1837. Some references say they were married in Belfort, France while others say they were married in Basel, Switzerland.
They are the parents of Christian Wagner.
I spent some time looking back through Barbara's line. What is interesting are the names on her tree. These names include: Eicher, Klopfenstein, Luginbuehl, Reiss, Oberli, Buetschi, Graber and Huenli. I asked the returned Sister Missionary who served in France about these names. She told me that these are not French names. I have to admit that these names seem rather German.
Let's take a closer look at these names:
Oberli: google search bring up this name being from France from the Alsace region and the highest number being from Switzerland. The gap is about 5% France and 95% from Switzerland.
Huenli: came back with no search results. The ancestor with this name is from Oberdiessbach, Bern, Switzerland so I feel safe to say that this is a Swiss name.
Buetschi: Came back with search results from Switzerland.
Reiss: This is an old German name often used by Ashkenazic Jewish people as a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rice. The south German or Austrian Reiss is a leftover of a profession name Reußhäusler which could best be translated to maker of charcoal from wood in English. Another source for the name Reiss - originated mostly from the County of Hessen (Frankfurth/Main) area is a Jewish name. Some Ancestral historians write it could come from a dealer in rice or from the profession of a water gate operator, or a fish basket fisherman. Since medieval Jews did not have the right to be fishermen in Europe, the latter is doubtful.
Statisically this is a German name with some mention of the name in France, Baden, Austria, and Bavaria.
Luginbuehl: South German (Luginbühl): topographic name from Middle High German luogen ‘to watch or (lie in) wait’ + bühel ‘hillock’. This name is also Swiss in origin.
Klopfenstein: German: occupational name for a quarryman or stone mason, from klopfen ‘(to) strike or knock’ + Stein ‘stone’, literally ‘strike the stone’. Statistically this name was evenly found in Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Eicher: German: topographic name for someone living by an oak tree, or habitational name for someone from a place called Eiche or Eichen. See Eich.South German: occupational name for a person who checked weights and measures against official specifications, from Middle High German icher.
This is also a German or Swiss name.
For Jacob or Jacques Wagner, what does his line look like? The names in his tree include: Wagner, Schegel, Ummel, Stucki, Hoeschelicker, Leuss, Gasser, Christen, Hummel, Braebdle, Entzler, Sterki, and Murray.
Wagner: German (also Wägner) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a carter or cartwright, from an agent derivative of Middle High German wagen ‘cart’, ‘wagon’, German Wagen. The German surname is also well established in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, eastern Europe, and elsewhere as well as in German-speaking countries.
Schegel: German: from Middle High German slegel ‘hammer’, ‘tool for striking’ (Old High German slegil, a derivative of slahan ‘to strike’), hence a metonymic occupational name for a smith or mason, or a nickname for a forceful person.
Ummel: Swiss German in origin
Stucki: German: variant of Stuck. Swiss German in origin
Hoeschelicker: Interesting name with no search results.
Leuss: German origin
Gasser: German and Swiss German (also Gässer) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in a side street or alley, from a derivative of Middle High German gazze, German Gasse, Yiddish gas.
Strong Swiss origin
Christen: Strong German and Swiss origin
Hummel: German and Dutch: from a pet form of Humbert or Humbold (a compound name with the same first element + bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’).German, Dutch, and Danish (of German origin): nickname for a busy or bustling person, from Middle High German hummel, Middle Dutch hommel ‘bee’, of imitative origin. Compare English humblebee, which in modern English has become bumblebee.
Braebdle: no search results
Entzler: no search results
Sterki: Swiss
Murray: actually a Scottish or Irish name. Our Murray ancestor was born in 1745 in France. I have no information on her parents.
My conclusion is that our French ancestors were not French but rather Swiss. Parts of Switzerland speak French and others speak German. We are most likely Swiss-German and not French at all.
Barbara Eicher was born on 14 March 1814 in Aspach-le-Haut, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France.
She married Jacques or Jacob Wagner about 1837. Some references say they were married in Belfort, France while others say they were married in Basel, Switzerland.
They are the parents of Christian Wagner.
I spent some time looking back through Barbara's line. What is interesting are the names on her tree. These names include: Eicher, Klopfenstein, Luginbuehl, Reiss, Oberli, Buetschi, Graber and Huenli. I asked the returned Sister Missionary who served in France about these names. She told me that these are not French names. I have to admit that these names seem rather German.
Let's take a closer look at these names:
Oberli: google search bring up this name being from France from the Alsace region and the highest number being from Switzerland. The gap is about 5% France and 95% from Switzerland.
Huenli: came back with no search results. The ancestor with this name is from Oberdiessbach, Bern, Switzerland so I feel safe to say that this is a Swiss name.
Buetschi: Came back with search results from Switzerland.
Reiss: This is an old German name often used by Ashkenazic Jewish people as a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rice. The south German or Austrian Reiss is a leftover of a profession name Reußhäusler which could best be translated to maker of charcoal from wood in English. Another source for the name Reiss - originated mostly from the County of Hessen (Frankfurth/Main) area is a Jewish name. Some Ancestral historians write it could come from a dealer in rice or from the profession of a water gate operator, or a fish basket fisherman. Since medieval Jews did not have the right to be fishermen in Europe, the latter is doubtful.
Statisically this is a German name with some mention of the name in France, Baden, Austria, and Bavaria.
Luginbuehl: South German (Luginbühl): topographic name from Middle High German luogen ‘to watch or (lie in) wait’ + bühel ‘hillock’. This name is also Swiss in origin.
Klopfenstein: German: occupational name for a quarryman or stone mason, from klopfen ‘(to) strike or knock’ + Stein ‘stone’, literally ‘strike the stone’. Statistically this name was evenly found in Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Eicher: German: topographic name for someone living by an oak tree, or habitational name for someone from a place called Eiche or Eichen. See Eich.South German: occupational name for a person who checked weights and measures against official specifications, from Middle High German icher.
This is also a German or Swiss name.
For Jacob or Jacques Wagner, what does his line look like? The names in his tree include: Wagner, Schegel, Ummel, Stucki, Hoeschelicker, Leuss, Gasser, Christen, Hummel, Braebdle, Entzler, Sterki, and Murray.
Wagner: German (also Wägner) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name for a carter or cartwright, from an agent derivative of Middle High German wagen ‘cart’, ‘wagon’, German Wagen. The German surname is also well established in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, eastern Europe, and elsewhere as well as in German-speaking countries.
Schegel: German: from Middle High German slegel ‘hammer’, ‘tool for striking’ (Old High German slegil, a derivative of slahan ‘to strike’), hence a metonymic occupational name for a smith or mason, or a nickname for a forceful person.
Ummel: Swiss German in origin
Stucki: German: variant of Stuck. Swiss German in origin
Hoeschelicker: Interesting name with no search results.
Leuss: German origin
Gasser: German and Swiss German (also Gässer) and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived in a side street or alley, from a derivative of Middle High German gazze, German Gasse, Yiddish gas.
Strong Swiss origin
Christen: Strong German and Swiss origin
Hummel: German and Dutch: from a pet form of Humbert or Humbold (a compound name with the same first element + bald ‘bold’, ‘brave’).German, Dutch, and Danish (of German origin): nickname for a busy or bustling person, from Middle High German hummel, Middle Dutch hommel ‘bee’, of imitative origin. Compare English humblebee, which in modern English has become bumblebee.
Braebdle: no search results
Entzler: no search results
Sterki: Swiss
Murray: actually a Scottish or Irish name. Our Murray ancestor was born in 1745 in France. I have no information on her parents.
My conclusion is that our French ancestors were not French but rather Swiss. Parts of Switzerland speak French and others speak German. We are most likely Swiss-German and not French at all.
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