our search for european hershey roots · limited to 20 persons and proselytizing was forbidden....

Our Search forEuropean Hershey Roots

by Wilson & Donna Hershey

Abstract

DNA testing has clearly shown that the descendants of Christian Her-shey, who immigrated from Friedelsheim, Germany to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1717, have close relatives in Switzerland (Hirschi) and in France (Hirschy). We are not related to the Swiss Hersche family.

Introduction

~ Where in Europe did our family live before coming to America?

~ Why did they leave?

~ Do we have relatives living there today?

These questions have always intrigued us.

For more information, go to: hersheyheritage2019.wordpress.com

Printed April 2019 atMasthof Press

219 Mill RoadMorgantown, PA 19543-9516

Our Search for European Hershey Roots

Where Did Our Hershey Forefathers Live?

We wanted to know our story and how that story unfolded from the mystical and magical long-ago. Based on books and word of mouth, we believed we descended from the Hersches of Appenzell, Switzerland. Switzerland! That beautiful, tiny country where every turn in the road offers a new picture to capture.

For years, our family was certain that our forefathers came from Appenzell located about fifty miles southeast of Zurich. So say the family genealogy books by Scott Hershey in 1910, Henry Hershey in 1929, and Eby Hershey in 1959. Further, in 1912, Milton Hershey chaired a Hershey Reunion and the program booklet stated that the Hersheys lived in Appen-zell. In 2009, Anton Josef Hersche, fourth-generation owner of Bazar Hersche in Appenzell, provided a genealogy which appears to be common to ours before 1673. Dozens of Hersches still live in the Appenzell area. Glad to know we came from Appenzell!

Or maybe not. Research over the last 40 years seems to indicate that our ancestor Christian Hershey instead came from the greater Schangnau area in the Canton of Bern, Swit-zerland. Bern is located about 75 miles southwest of Zurich, and Schangnau is located about 30 miles southeast of the city of Bern.

The 1989 book by Noah Hershey, the Kambly genealogy research, plus a research thesis done by David Johnson all support the fact that Hirschis lived near Schangnau.

An Appenzeller historian, Professor Peter Hersche had examined the possible relation-ship of the American Hersheys and the Appenzeller Hersches. In a 2008 article, Peter con-cluded that one of his own ancestors had constructed the fake kinship, perhaps hoping to gain from Milton Hershey's enormous fortune.

Unfortunately, a gap of 70 years exists in the church records of Schangnau because they were burned during the second Villmergen War with the Catholics. Thus, no records exist of the ancestors of the various Christian Hirschis who left for the Jura, the Alsace, and the Palatinate. The Schangnau to Dürrenroth area of Canton Bern is still quite rural, with primarily farming-related activities.

Further, a Swiss historical novel entitled Die Furgge by Katharina Zimmermann, covers the story of many of the Anabaptists from the Schangnau area of Switzerland. Die Furgge is the

Our Search for European Hershey Roots4

old name for this mountain, now known as Hohgant. Christen Hirschi and Madleni Schilt are two of the main characters in this book. Christen is so consumed by the desire to meet Madleni that he pretends to need a cow and purchases one from her father on the farm known as Weggli which was Madleni's home. About three miles to the east is Schwand, Christen's home. Farms still exist there today on these sites.

The book was translated into English in 2017, titled Furgge, and is available from Masthof Press.

Why Did the Hirschis Leave?

Trouble soon surfaces for the Anabaptists of this region and grows into a looming storm that tragically engulfs Christen and Madleni and some of their neighbors.

In the early 1500s, the Zwingli Reformation took hold in several Swiss Cantons in-cluding Zurich in 1523, and in Bern in 1528. Zwingli's Reformed Church separated from the Roman Catholic Church just after Martin Luther's 1517 movement in Germany. At first, the soon-to-be Anabaptist leaders supported Zwingli, but then they separated over six prime issues including nonresistance, separation of church and state, having to bear arms, and believer's baptism, having reached these conclusions after an intense study of the Scriptures. Since most of these new Anabaptists had been baptized as infants, this second baptism resulted in the name Anabaptist, literally “again baptized.”

Soon the Anabaptists were persecuted, arrested, imprisoned, and sometimes executed. Some were sent away as galley slaves which many considered the worst punishment of all. Many of their properties were confiscated. The Martyrs Mirror records more than 20 deaths of Anabaptists in Bern. Many others were deported.

Christen and Madleni and some of their neighbors were prime examples of these persecuted people as you will learn by reading Furgge. Trachselwald Castle stands about 15 miles from Schangnau. Anabaptists were imprisoned in this castle that can be visited today. Safety was typically found by fleeing to higher elevations, worshipping or hiding in caves, or by moving to Cantons where persecution was less severe. During the 1600s and early 1700s, many Anabaptists moved to the Jura, to southern Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

Since they would have been foolish to leave records disclosing their plans, it is difficult today to discover their whole story. Even today, many Hirschis reside in the greater Schangnau area in the Canton of Bern.

Our Search for European Hershey Roots 5

Do we Have Relatives in Europe Today?

Naturally, we desire to find out more about these European people who possibly may be part of our great extended family, and to know whether there may be a relationship that can be tied to a common ancestor. To date, five Hirschis from Switzerland, one Hersche from Ap-penzell, one Hirschy from France, and one Hersey with Dutch roots took the Y chromosome DNA test. Every one except Peter Hersche is related to us! Thus, Hersheys have no connection to Hersches in Appenzell. This was confirmed by Alfred Hirschi who said there are no records in Switzerland of a Hersche/Hirschi connection.

Jean Jacques Hirschy from Colmar, France, said his family moved to Birkenhof in the early 1700s. Before that, they lived in Schangnau, Switzerland, and in Germany. Likely during the early 1670s, three or more Hirschi brothers or cousins left the Canton of Bern with one or more eventually settling in the Alsace region of France while our Christian traveled on to Friedelsheim, Germany, and one eventually traveled to the Netherlands.

Three hours north of Basel lies the small 1000-person village of Friedelsheim, Germany. Dr. Paul Richter and Karl Urban did research on the Hirschis who lived in Friedelsheim to determine whether they were ancestors of Milton Hershey. They have found village records which indicate that a Christen Hirschi, his family, and perhaps 60 other Men-


nonites lived there beginning around 1670. Some Mennonites still live there and attend the Mennonite Church. Dr. Richter said it is very important to him to determine whether these Hirschis were the ancestors of our relative Milton Hershey.

According to the book Brotherly Love by James Lowry, Dutch Anabaptists made loans to the poor refugees arriving from Switzerland. He documents that while in Friedelsheim, Christe Hirschi and his wife borrowed money for a mattress, clothes, sheets and shirts. Dr. Richter said the arriving Anabaptists likely lived in empty horse and cattle barns. According to Gabriele Harder-Thieme, many arriving Mennonites lived in what became known as the Mennonitenhof which was very near their current church.

Even though the ruler of the town invited Anabaptist families to live there, they were treated as second class citizens. They were not allowed to own land. Group assemblies were limited to 20 persons and proselytizing was forbidden. Furthermore, the village was burned twice by French invaders.

Persecution drove Anabaptists from Switzerland to Germany, France, and the Neth-erlands, but the ongoing wars between France and Germany as well as their second class citi-zenship caused many to eagerly move to America with its promise of religious and economic freedom after receiving personal invitations from William Penn and George Fox.

In the spring of 1717, Christian Hirschi and some of his family left Friedelsheim for the last time, perhaps pausing to look back through the village gates, shedding a tear for this place that never became a home. Then they turned resolutely towards the Rhine River to travel to the Netherlands and finally on to America.

While most of the Hirschis left Friedelsheim in 1717, one Christian Hirschi stayed until 1739. The dates in these Friedelsheim records almost perfectly match those we have of our family. No Hirschis lived in Friedelsheim after 1739.

DNA Testing Information

Fortunately, several Europeans agreed to DNA testing which was performed using Family Tree DNA services. Each person provided two swab samples taken from the mouth, between the cheeks and gums. The first round of testing was the Y37 chromosome test. After we determined our closest relatives to be Walter Hirschi of Switzerland and Guillaume Hirschy of France, we upgraded those tests to the Big Y 111.

Walter Hirschi and Guillaume Hirschy are two of Wilson’s three closest known relatives at the 111 level. All four have since upgraded these tests to the Big Y 700 but that data will not


be available until much later this year. Please check our Blog hersheyheritage2019.wordpress.com early in 2020 if you are interested in the Big Y 700 results.

Our DNA relatives are identified in the People Section that follows in this book.

Credits

Photographs by Kent and Ashleigh Mast, the Mast Collective Historians and consultants: Joanne Hess Siegrist, Hansruedi Hänni Author Katharina Zimmermann Special thanks to everyone listed in the People Section that follows.

Hänni, Hansruedi

Hansruedi is an excellent guide in the Emmental. A retired school teacher, he is a researcher and historian and is conver-sant in Swiss German, German, French, and English. Without the encourage-ment of Hansruedi and David Hirschi, no one in Switzerland would have taken the DNA test. Hansruedi’s wife Elisabeth died on January 31, 2019. He lives in Langnau, and his mother was a Hirschi from Schangnau. Hansruedi performed the transcription of Churchbooks and Chorgerichtsmanuale and captured the bourgeois families and the former Anabaptist families of the Ober-Em-mental.

Harder-Thieme, Gabriele

Gabriele (not pictured) is the pastor at the Mennonite Church in Friedelsheim where we plan to attend the Sunday morning bilingual service on May 19.

Hersche, Professor Peter

Peter is a Swiss historian and former professor at the University of Bern. As an “Appenzell Hersche,” he wrote a paper in 2008 exposing the myth of Hersches and Hersheys being related. To prove it, he took our DNA test. We concluded that we are not related, having no common ancestor in probably the last 3,000 years.

~ People ~


Hirschi, Albrecht

Albrecht, related to us, farmed in Canton Aargau until his retirement when he moved back to the Eggiwil/Schangnau area. His wife’s name is Margrit. The cows of Albrecht’s related neighbor are featured in the “Hersheys Prior to 1700” video as they made their spring journey to the Alp. This video can be viewed at hersheyheritage2019.wordpress.com.

Hirschi, Alfred

Alfred is a cousin of Hansruedi Hänni and is related to us. He now lives in Canton Aargau in northern Switzerland. Alfred pro-vided family genealogy and other key Hirschi information.

Weatherpermitting,we hope towitness a scenesimilar to this.


Hirschi, Andrea

Andrea is the wife of David, and her mother was a Hirschi. Andrea is conversant in English and she sings with their church praise team, plays the accordion, and yodels. She loves the outdoors! She and David live in Schuepbach.

Hirschi, David

David is the husband of Andrea and the son of Walter and Margrit Hirs-chi. He persuaded his father to take the DNA test which showed they are our close relatives. David works at the Stifung LebensArt. (see leb-ensart.net) Conversant in English, David is an excellent guide and a singer. Outdoorsman describes him well.

We plan to visit the old-time cheese-making Gmündenalp Käserei where David works.

Hirschi, Fritz

Fritz is a retired farmer and lives with his wife Margrit in the Weggli where, according to Die Furgge, Madleni Schilt lived before marrying Chris-ten Hirschi. In the summertime, they live in Alp Farnerli. The picture on the cover of the English translation of Katharina Zimmermann’s book Furgge was taken near the Weggli. A DNA-proven relative, Fritz lives near Schangnau and loves to hunt.


Hirschi, Fritz

Fritz lives in Unter Schinli near Trub with his wife Verena and daughter Tanja. A farmer and woodcutter, Fritz is a former student of Hansruedi Hänni and a close DNA relative.

Hirschi, Hansruedi

Also a close DNA relative, Hansruedi lived at the Höhlenfluh as a child with his parents and siblings as well as other adults, eleven in all. The Höhlenfluh was owned by Hirschis for a short time before it was sold in the 1960s to cur-rent owner Mr. Fankhauser.

Hirschi, Philipp

Philipp is Andrea’s uncle, brother of her mother Rosemarie. A farmer and hunter, Philipp is from the Schangnau area.


Hirschi, Walter

Our closest known DNA relative in Switzerland, Walter is husband of Margrit, and they are the parents of David. One can experience a fantas-tic 360-degree view of the Alps from the highest point on their farm near Dürrenroth. The farm is now farmed by their son Christian. They love to sing and are very interested in our DNA research.

Hirschy, Guillaume

Our closest known DNA relative in France, Guillaume is married to Priscille. They have two young daugh-ters, Laura and Melissa. He had lived in the U.S. for a few years, working through MCC. Very conversant in English and French, Guillaume origi-nally comes from the Birkenhof.

Hirschy, Henri

Henri and Ruth, parents of Guil-laume, put us in touch with Guillau-me who lives two hours away. Henri and Ruth had been caretakers of the Mennonite Church in the Birkenhof. They live next door to the church and arranged for Pastor Luc Nussbaumer to give us a tour of the church and cemetery.


Hirschy, Jean Jacques

Jean Jacques met Gary Waltner of Weierhof at a conference in April 2017. Gary arranged for us to meet Jean Jacques in Colmar at his home, and then Jean Jacques arranged for our visit with Henri and Ruth. Jean Jacques’ ancestor Christian donated the land for the church at Birkenhof. He said the Hirschys moved to France from Germany and Schangnau, Switzerland in the early 1700s.

Kambly, Oskar and Ursula

Husband and wife, Oskar and Ursula (not pictured), operate the Kambly Company which is being turned over to the fourth gen-eration. About 20 years ago, Ursula did key research tying the ancestors of Milton Her-shey to Friedelsheim.

Nussbaumer, Luc

Pastor at the Mennonite Church in Birkenhof, Luc (not pictured)is conversant in French, German, and English. He provided historical information for us as well as a tour of the church and cemetery.


Richter, Dr. Paul

Paul escaped East Germany as a teen and therefore has a lot of sympathy for the Anabaptists and for all persecuted peoples. He lives in Friedelsheim and did research on the Hirschis who lived there as well as on other Mennonites. Paul was hoping to show a connection to Milton Hershey. He had records of Freidelsheim Hirschis that almost perfectly match those we have of the Generation One Christian Hershey family. Paul will be about 90 years old when we visit Friedelsheim!

Urban, Karl

Another key researcher in Friedelsheim, Karl became i interested in the old records since his uncle was the town clerk. Karl and Dr. Richter collaborated on research and traveled to Weierhof to get more information on the Mennonites. Gary Waltner connected us.

Waltner, Gary

As a prime researcher and historian at the Weierhof Library, Gary proved absolutely essential to both the Hirschy and Friedelsheim connections.


Zimmermann, Katharina

Katharina Zimmermann is a pastor’s wife, researcher, and writer. She wrote Die Furgge and about ten other books. We plan to meet, interview, and have dinner with Katharina in Bern on May 23. Fifty or more years ago, Kathari-na’s young husband was elected as the Pastor of the Reformed Church in Schangnau. The previous pastor told them that much of the nearby land was owned by the church. Curious as to why, she found old records in the Parsonage to begin her research. At that time, the story of the Anabaptists (Täufer) was not taught in their schools or churches. After eight years of research and a separate fifteen-year assignment in Indonesia, the book was published. See her interview about the book at hersheyheritage2019.wordpress.com.


Bern, City of

Bern is the capital of Canton Bern and also the national capital of Switzerland. Anabaptists (Täufer) were kept here in jail in 1711 until death or deportation to the Netherlands. The last prison-er executed in Bern was Hans Haslibacher in 1571.

~ Places ~


Freidelsheim, Germany

Friedelsheim was home to Christi Hirschi and his family from about 1670 until 1717 when most left for America, settling near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.


Höhlenfluh

Höhlenfluh, an original structure built in a cave in a rock perhaps 200 years ago, was owned by a Hirschi family for a short time and sold in the 1960s. Some of the beams from a 1761 Hirschi house in Bärbach were brought here to expand the house. Histori-ans believe this action resulted in the mistaken belief by Americans (according to Professor Hans Re-idwyl) that Hirschis lived in the Höhlenfluh for hundreds of years. The house in Bärbach was recently torn down and replaced with a va-cation home.

Kambly Company

See kambly.com — this compa-ny, private maker of biscuit style cookies, is about to be turned over to the fourth generation. You may wish to bring some along home!

Kemmeriboden

This hotel and restaurant near Schwand is the place where fic-tional modern-day Anna vaca-tioned as written by Katharina Zimmermann in her book Die Furgge. It was here that Anna learned about the Anabaptists (Täufer) of the Schangnau area.

1960 Photo


Schangnau ReformedChurch and Parsonage

Katharina Zimmermann’s hus-band was elected as a young pas-tor, and it was in Schangnau that they first heard about Anabaptists. They also found old Anabaptist-related records stored in a trunk in the Parsonage.

Schwand

See photo on the next page. Schwand is a farm near Kemmeri-boden which Christen Hirschi’s parents apparently owned. Ac-cording to Katharina Zimmer-mann, Christen lived here with his wife Madleni Schilt and fam-ily. (Wives did not take the last names of their husbands.) The farm was owned by Hirschis early in the 20th century.

Weggli

Weggli is now owned and occu-pied by Fritz and Margrit Hirschi.

Weierhof

Located near Marnheim, Ger-many, Weierhof (not pictured) is a Mennonite community. Visit mennonitengemeinde-weierhof.de for complete information.

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our search for european hershey roots · limited to 20 persons and proselytizing was forbidden....

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