How far back each line goes
Christopher asked (2026-10-31): expand the family connections in Switzerland; how far back can we go on any tree?
The short answer
The Ramseyer line is the deepest: 14 generations, to Peter Ramseyer, born about 1534. Much of it is now checked in the original Bern parish registers, but it is documented in blocks, not end to end. Two links between the blocks are still unproven.
| Grandparent’s line | Deepest name (any evidence) | Generations | Deepest unbroken documented chain | Where the documented chain stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramseyer (Alvin C. Ramseyer Jr.) | Peter Ramseyer (c.1534) | 14 | 7, to Johannes Ramseyer (1780–1853) | Johannes → Isaac is a strong inference; Isaac → Christian (1700) is a compiled lead |
| Miller (D. Paul Miller) | Ulrich Mishler (b. 1688), Jacob Hochstetler (c.1666–c.1722) | 11 | 6, to Eli D. Miller (1835–1913) | Eli → Daniel D. Miller rests on family compilations |
| Wiebe (Anna Bertha Wiebe) | Abraham Busenitz (1739–1787), Anna Penner (fl. 1744) | 9 | 6, to Jacob Wiebe (c.1815) | Jacob’s parents unknown |
| Neuenschwander (Ruth S. Neuenschwander) | Ulrich Leeman (fl. 1782) | 8 | 8: the whole line is documented | Ulrich Leeman’s and Peter Neuenschwander’s parents unknown |
The Ramseyer chain in Switzerland, link by link
| Gen | Person | Record | Link to parents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Peter Ramseyer (c.1534) × Christina Trachsel (16th c.) | none found | — |
| 13 | Ludwig Ramseyer (16th c.) × Madlen Huser (16th c.) | named as Hans’s parents, Signau 1594 | ⚠ compiled lead (Ludwig’s 1568 birth is from family research; Signau baptisms start only in 1589) |
| 12 | Hans Ramseyer (bapt. 1594) | bapt. Signau 20 Jan 1594 | ✅ documented |
| 11 | Ulrich Ramseyer (17th c.) × Barbara Stauffer (17th c.) | married Eggiwil 15 May 1663 | ⚠ compiled lead: the weakest link. Signau baptisms are missing for 1618–1650 |
| 10 | Christian Ramseyer (bapt. 1672) × Christina Gosteli | bapt. Eggiwil 26 May 1672; Christina bapt. Bolligen 4 Aug 1665 | ✅ documented (both) |
| 11 | Jacob Gosteli (fl. 1665) × Anna Zoss (fl. 1665) | parents at Christina’s baptism | ✅ new this week |
| 9 | Christian Ramseyer (bapt. 1700) | bapt. Mühleberg 22 Sept 1700 (Eggiwil 10) | ✅ documented |
| 8 | Isaac Ramseyer (c.1747–after 1817) | French civil records 1804–1817; aged 70 in 1817 | ⚠ compiled lead: the Swiss-to-France bridge |
| 7 | Johannes Ramseyer (1780–1853) | married Mancenans-Lizerne 1800; sailed 1835 | strong inference |
So the honest answer: documented back to 1594 in pieces, with a believable family-research chain to about 1534. Closing the Isaac and Ulrich gaps would make it an unbroken documented line of 12–13 generations, back to the 1590s. That is about as far as Bernese parish registers go: most Emmental parishes start between 1555 and 1590.
What was searched this week, and where to look next
| Gap | Searched (2026-10-31) | Result | Next record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ludwig × Madlen’s marriage | Signau marriages Apr 1589 – Dec 1594 (K Signau 1, images 154–157) | not there: married before Apr 1589 or in another parish | Langnau 1 (1555–1579), Lauperswil and [[Trub |
| Ludwig’s 1568 baptism | Langnau 1, image 40 (autumn 1568): list-style entries; no Ramseyer seen on that spread | inconclusive | Read Langnau 1 images 38–44 in full; also Lauperswil (the Family Record puts Christina Trachsel at a Lauperswil baptism) |
| Ulrich (m. 1663) → Hans (1594) | Signau baptisms have a gap from 1618 to 1650 | cannot be checked by baptism | Hans’s 1629 farm purchase (Signau land records); Chorgericht minutes; Eggiwil 1 baptism witnesses (Hans as godfather of Ulrich’s children?) |
| Christian (1700) → Isaac (c.1747) | Eggiwil 11 (baptisms elsewhere 1739–1779): not there | negative | La Sagne, Neuchâtel registers c.1745–50 (Archives de l’État de Neuchâtel); Neuchâtel Anabaptist lists; brother Abraham’s records |
| Jacob Hochstetler’s baptism (Winterkraut, c.1660–80) | Guggisberg 4, 1665 – Mar 1673, read in full (images 30–62) | not there; five Hostettler households found, incl. Hans Hostettler × Anna Mischler (1666–67) | Guggisberg 3 (1637–64) read in full: not there. Ruled out: Jun 1637 to Mar 1673. Parents’ generation found: Jacob Hoffstettler × Elsbeth Schwarzengruber (children 1637–52), Michel, Cuni, Ulrich. Next: Guggisberg 4 after Mar 1673 (images 63–100) |
| Ulrich Mishler (b. 1688) | Wahlern, Jan 1688 | not there | Wahlern 1686–90; Guggisberg 5 (1694–1723) |
| Ulrich Leeman and Maria Thüler | — | — | Langnau 37 (residents’ list 1751–1775) and Langnau 9–11 baptisms c.1750–60 |
| Peter Neuenschwander (shoemaker) | — | candidate: Peter, son of Bendicht Neuenschwander and Elisabeth Leeman, b. 1766 | Langnau 11 baptisms 1766; Langnau 37 |
| Gosteli family | — | — | Bolligen 3: siblings of Christina (1655–80); Bolligen marriages for Jacob × Anna (c.1655–65) |
Best next three
- Guggisberg 4 after March 1673 (images 63–100): June 1637 to March 1673 is now ruled out for Jacob Hochstetler, and a birth in the mid-1670s fits a son born about 1712.
- La Sagne (Neuchâtel) baptisms c.1747: the one record that would make the Ramseyer line continuous from Ohio to 1663.
- Langnau 37 residents’ list: Leeman and Neuenschwander households in the 1750s–70s; could push the Neuenschwander side past generation 8.
Lauperswil, the oldest register (searched 2026-10-31)
K Lauperswil 1 (baptisms 1528–1585, marriages 1555–1586) downloaded; it is the parish containing Ramsei, the hamlet the name comes from.
- Peter Ramseyer (c.1534): the volume has no baptisms from late 1531 to mid-1537 (p. 26 blank, p. 27 restarts in July 1537 under a new pastor, Ludwig Maler). If Peter was born in Lauperswil about 1534–35, his baptism is in the missing years. This is the end of the road for him in parish records.
- Peter × Christina Trachsel’s marriage (c.1560?): Lauperswil marriages 1557–1571 skimmed: no Ramseyer or Trachsel entry seen (handwriting poor; not certain).
- Ludwig (c.1568): Lauperswil baptisms 1566 – Mar 1570 (pp. 118–127, images 61–65) read 2026-10-31: no Ludwig/Ludi and no Ramseyer father recognized. Caution: this pastor’s 1560s hand is the hardest in the volume, many surnames are only partly legible, and pp. 126 is half blank (a gap in late 1569). A weak negative, not proof. Ludwig may also have been baptized at Signau (registers start 1589, too late) or Langnau (from 1555).
- Before the registers: only land rolls (Urbare of the Signau and Trachselwald lordships), tax lists and Täufer files, mostly not online.
Record compiled 31 October 2026.
About this research
Supporting documentation is linked throughout. This project is an exercise in AI-assisted research and development, and I haven’t manually verified every link or conclusion. All transcriptions and translations of Swiss parish records were made with AI, and their accuracy should be treated accordingly.