ramsei

Research log

Newest entries at the top. Every AI session adds an entry (date, which AI, what was searched, what was found, which notes changed, what’s left). See AGENTS.

2026-10-31 — Claude — the Phoenix (1749); ships and journeys note

  • Pennsylvania German Pioneers (1934, free): the Phoenix, master John Mason, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes, qualified 15 Sep 1749; “Hannes Miller” and “Ullrich Mischler” signed list 133 C. Added to Wounded John’s note.
  • New Ships and journeys of the immigrant ancestors: every known voyage (ship, master, route, merchant/owner) and overland journey (wagon, canal boat, raft, railroad), with tasks to find the ships’ owners (Christopher’s request).

2026-10-31 — Claude — “Wounded John” Miller

  • The 1984 Troyer genealogy (“The Miller Family I”) and the 1912 Hochstetler genealogy (fam. 9146) agree: John (Hannes) Miller, ship Phoenix 1749, settled at the Northkill; wounded in the hand by the 1757 raiders while chopping wood, during the Hochstetler attack; wife Magdalena; later died in Somerset Co., Pa. His son John “Annas” Miller (b. c.1754, m. Frany Yoder; to Holmes Co. c.1815) is the father of David Miller (1779–1853). Son Jacob = Bishop Jacob Miller of the 1808–09 Holmes County settlement.
  • Updated his note, his son’s, Fanny Stutzman’s, and the massacre story and event. New note for his wife Magdalena.

2026-10-31 — Claude — Keim and Weaver line

  • Keim and Allied Families (1898-1899) (free on the Internet Archive) and the 1912 Hochstetler genealogy: Elizabeth Keim (4 Dec 1790 – 20 Oct 1868) was the eldest child of Nicholas Keim (b. 2 Feb 1768 Berks Co., d. 18 Oct 1830 Somerset Co.) and Fanny Stutzman; married Samuel Weaver in Somerset Co.; ten children; moved to Holmes Co. Nicholas was the son of Peter Keim, whose own parentage is disputed (Johan Peter Keim the immigrant vs the Oley founder’s line vs three brothers from Baden) → evidence “unresolved”.
  • Fanny Stutzman belongs to the Somerset Co. Stutzman family (sister of Bishop Jacob Miller’s wife Anna; aunt of Jonas Stutzman, first settler of Holmes Co.); the 1912 book thinks these were probably children of Christian Stutzman and Barbara Hochstetler of the 1757 massacre family (unproven).
  • Troyer 1984 entry 898: David Miller’s brother Jacob was “son of John and Frany (Yoder) Miller, and grandson of ‘wounded’ John Miller” → added Frany Yoder and “Wounded John” Miller.
  • Six new ancestor notes; Samuel Weaver’s parents still unknown.

2026-10-31 — Claude — Kuhns and Hummel

  • Kuhns: Samuel Kuhns (1843–1918) was born in Holmes County (1918 obituary); parents Samuel A. Kuhns (c.1805 Somerset Co., Pa. – 1870) and Mary Catherine Shank (Byler - Amish Immigrants of Waldeck and Hesse (1993); Geni/WikiTree summaries citing Gingerich & Kreider). Two new ancestor notes (compiled lead). Conflict logged: mother reportedly died Jan 1842, but Samuel Jr.’s birth is given as 1843 (obituary) or c.1840 (Byler).
  • Hummel: no parents found for William C. Hummel; burial (Walnut Creek Cemetery) and next steps added.
  • Noted that Christopher owns Dutch Anabaptism (1968).

2026-10-31 — Claude — Miller line: Daniel D. Miller’s parents (Troyer genealogy)

  • Full-text search of the Internet Archive for the Miller-side gaps. Troyer Family History (Hilda Troyer, 1984) gives Daniel D. Miller (b. 23 Sep 1806, d. 15 Aug 1865, Old Order Amish minister) as son of David Miller (1779–1853) and Elizabeth Troyer (b. 1781); David “son of John Miller”; Elizabeth daughter of Michael Troyer Sr. (Brotherhood, 1750; Northkill; Somerset Co., Pa.; d. 1807) and Magdalena (d. 1827, possibly a Mast). Catherine Weaver (18 Oct 1811 – 22 Jul 1893), daughter of Samuel Weaver and Elizabeth Keim.
  • Seven new ancestor notes (compiled lead); Daniel and Catherine dated exactly. Possible pedigree collapse with Bishop Jacob Mast and Magdalena Holly noted on Michael Troyer’s note.
  • Searched without result: Samuel Kuhns’s parents, William C. Hummel’s parents, Anthony G. Gonser and Elizabeth Warnes (one 1830s tax-list mention of Anthony G. Gonser).
  • Rebuilt ancestor numbers, canvases, Timeline, Completeness, Migration routes.

2026-10-31 — Claude — Neuenschwander sweep; Cornelius Krahn

  • Neuenschwander: little new (A. J. at West Swamp from 1934); an Amish Diary death-date entry for a Christian P. Neuenschwander logged as a probable different person.
  • New story Cornelius Krahn - the family’s historian of Dutch Anabaptism: Hilda Wiebe’s husband; Chortitza, Barth and Bonhoeffer, Heidelberg Ph.D. on Menno Simons (1936), Bethel’s Mennonite Library and Archives, Mennonite Life, Mennonite Encyclopedia, Dutch Anabaptism (1968). Edna and Hilda both worked on the 1974 Melting Pot. Bethel MLA and Wikipedia pages were blocked or missing; used A Legacy of Faith (1962) and periodicals.

2026-10-31 — Claude — Internet Archive sweep: A.C. Ramseyer and the Wiebes

  • Full-text searches; details in Internet Archive full-text sweep (2026-10-31).
  • Wiebe: Aron J. Wiebe’s 1922 German obituary names his parents Jakob and Anna Wiebe née Entz → Jacob and Anna upgraded to documented; Aron’s parent link documented. The family were in the Ladekopp congregation (baptism 1864) — new target for the next generation. Emigration 1896/1897 (not 1894) logged as a conflict. Gerhard’s 1942 obituary and Mennonite Life’s 1950 “Wiebe’s Dairy” added.
  • A.C. Ramseyer: Master Farmer winter 1926–27; 606 bu/acre (1927); Bluffton trustee 1927–48; chapel gift (1940) and $8,000 College Hall gift (1943); Guernsey sales and the 1918 imports; Potter County partner; gas well (1942); Goshen class of 1904; Boys’ Village (1948). Two farm-fortune tasks closed.

2026-10-31 — Claude — Edna Ramseyer Kaufman, full biography

  • Searched the Internet Archive’s full text (about 200 hits for “Edna Ramseyer”) and read about 55 sources: MHB, MQR, The Mennonite, Goshen and Bluffton papers, NADW and Delta Kappa Gamma journals, Juhnke’s Creative Crusader, Women of the Hour, AFSC reports, CSIR News (India).
  • Dissertation found: Ph.D., Ohio State, 1956, The Role of the Home Economics Unit in Ohio Colleges in Education for Family Living (USDA thesis list). Blocker 1 closed.
  • New: the Marseille rescue of Ilse Fürstenberg (Oct 1940); AFSC Mexico (1942); her role in founding MCC women’s summer units (1944) and the first Mennonite Women’s Conference (1944); 1948 Europe tour and Frankfurt unit; Woman of the Year 1964; OSU’s Punjab mission (1965–67); BCWA president 1970–74; Melting Pot sales; archives MSS 500 (diary) and the 1976 oral history.
  • Rewrote Edna Ramseyer Kaufman - a life of service; added blockers 15–16.

2026-10-31 — Claude — the 2002 Ramseyer Family Record, first photos

  • Christopher photographed 15 pages (front matter, introduction pp. IX–XIII, the Richmond list, a Stark County map, the 1835 mortgage deed, and sample page 302). Images: Attachments/Ramseyer Family Record 2002/; HEIC originals moved to the archive.
  • Transcriptions and notes in Sources/Ramseyer Family Record 2002/; page 302 described only (living people).
  • Added: all ten children of Johannes and Barbara; the 1830 draft and Joseph’s 1834 scouting trip (explains the “1834” arrival date); the land price, mortgage and legal description (SE ¼ Sec. 33, T17 R6); three mapped places; early-Ramseyer details; Isaac’s brother Abraham; Edna’s Bluffton College files.
  • Differences logged in Conflicts; fixed a “siblings”/children mix-up on Johannes’s note. Wish list of pages to photograph: Ramseyer Family Record 2002 - cross-reference and wish list.

2026-10-31 — Claude — population by place; the 1534 Danzig letters

  • New note Anabaptist population by place: counts and estimates for Bern, the 1711 trip, the Palatinate (1671–72: 643 people; 1732: 618 families; 1744: 1,370 souls), the Jura (1716–1888), France, the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia and America, mostly from Müller with page numbers.
  • No total exists for Bern-to-France; Séguy’s “barely a thousand” in France by 1780 is the best estimate. Lead: Müller p. 249 lists a Peter Neuenschwander of Langnau at Courtelary–Cormoret in 1745 (unverified).
  • Corrections: the 1710 deportation (32 of 54 freed at Mannheim, not 82); Deventer 1711 is 116 in Müller’s summary but 106 in his detail; Hans Wiebe’s farm burned in the Second Northern War (1655–60), not the Thirty Years’ War.
  • The 1534 Danzig letters: citations recorded in The Wiebe faith trail - Friesland to the Vistula; not online, added as human blocker 13. Blocker 14 added for French counts.

2026-10-31 — Claude — the Wiebe faith trail to the Netherlands

  • Christopher asked for the religious (not blood) trail from the Prussian Wiebes back to the Netherlands, and whether the Dutch Mennonites predate 1711. New story: The Wiebe faith trail - Friesland to the Vistula.
  • Read Horst Penner’s settlement study (English translation) pp. 14–21: Danzig’s 1534 letter to Emden and Amsterdam about Anabaptist passengers; the first Dutch drainage contracts (1547); Frisian home towns (Emden, Groningen, Harlingen); Hans Wiebe of Tiegenort (1662); three Wiebes at Herrenhagen calling themselves “personae mennonistae” (c.1700).
  • Conclusion: the Dutch church began in 1530–36, long before 1711; the Wiebes are very probably Frisian (strong inference, not documented); the founder’s arrival date, and so whether he was a refugee or an economic migrant, is unknown. No ancestors or evidence levels changed.
  • Linked from Home and Where the Wiebes came from.

2026-10-31 — ChatGPT (Codex) — Wiebe names and faith networks

  • Tested Christopher’s idea of intersecting family names with congregational expansion, including spelling and patronymic changes. New research note: Wiebe before Prussia - names and faith networks.
  • Located the cataloged Wiebe provenance and sixteenth-century correspondence in the Heubuden Urkunden-Buch; identified early lease targets, Bouwens’s geographic baptism itinerary, Dutch church-transfer and lower-court sources, and the specific Bocholt 1621 Anabaptist list. Added seven source notes. Original manuscript/deed inspection remains outstanding.
  • Corrected the overstatement that only DNA can help, and qualified the universal-founder claim in Where the Wiebes came from, Jacob Wiebe (c.1815) and Open questions. Prior assertions retained visibly. Added tasks and an unresolved-link entry to Conflicts. No ancestors, parent relationships or evidence upgrades added.
  • At Christopher’s request, documented research_agents in Schema, flagged this session’s contributions as ChatGPT, and applied attribution to the previous Moutier clarification. Body-level dates distinguish new claims from inherited material; historical sources remain separate.
  • Checked the diff and internal links of the new notes; refreshed Completeness. Used an isolated Git branch/worktree and preserved existing canvas changes and the untracked scan crop. No external messages sent.

2026-10-31 — Codex — distinguish Swiss Moutier from German Münster

  • At Christopher’s request, added explicit, dated place-name clarifications to Moutier, Münsterberg (Montagne de Moutier), 1530 Melchior Hoffman baptizes at Emden and 1536 Menno Simons joins the Anabaptists. Existing research wording retained.
  • Checked the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (Moutier, historical German name Münster) and Münster City Museum (the German city’s Anabaptist rule). Full source URLs appear beside the clarification and in each note’s sources property.
  • Moutier/Münster and Münsterberg in the Swiss family research are geographically distinct from Münster, Westphalia, Germany, site of the 1534–1535 rebellion. No ancestral involvement in the rebellion is established by these place names. Added a distinction between historical Bernese Jura geography and Moutier’s current canton of Jura.
  • Used an isolated Git branch/worktree; preserved existing canvas edits and the untracked parish-register crop. Refreshed the completeness report; no genealogical relationships or evidence levels changed.
  • Remaining historical review issues: qualify “became their leader” and “peaceful remnant,” distinguish the family’s two relevant Anabaptist streams from the movement’s wider origins, and source the proposed early Wiebe migration separately. This geographic clarification does not resolve those questions.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — Münster, Dutch Mennonites, the 1711 Swiss and the Wiebes

  • New story Muenster, the Dutch Mennonites, the 1711 Swiss and the Wiebes from Müller ch. 10, 18, 19 and ChatGPT’s Wiebe plan: the 1711 Swiss had no Münster connection; they merged into Dutch Mennonite congregations in 1822/1824; the Wiebes are from the post-Münster Dutch stream; the two streams met when Danzig and Elbing Mennonites hosted the Swiss scouts (Aug 1711). Also turned Müller’s book into a readable Markdown file in Codex/outputs/mueller-1895/.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — 1711 Rhine exodus (picking up ChatGPT’s work)

  • ChatGPT (ran out of tokens) left Documents/Codex/2026-10-29/tr/work/rhine1711-sources/ (Müller 1895 OCR text + page images) and outputs/martyrs-mirror/ (English PDF/EPUB/TXT). Nothing of that run was committed to the vault.
  • Read Müller ch. XVI–XVIII. Rewrote 1711 The Rhine exodus from Bern: amnesty, four boats, route with stops, 346 departed, ~340 arrived Amsterdam 3 Aug, settlement (Groningen 126, Kampen 87, Deventer 116, Harlingen 21), the Ammann–Reist split, and family surnames on the lists (Elsbeth Neuenschwander of Trub, Anna Habegger, Katharina Stauffer, Daniel Neukomm of Eggiwil, Anna Blank, Marg. Plank, Bendicht Lehmann; Schwarzenburg people). No direct ancestor on the lists. New source note Müller - Geschichte der Bernischen Täufer (1895).

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — Bluffton trustee; land maps

  • Searched Bluffton yearbooks (1925, 1928, 1941–43) and catalogs (1920–23) on the Internet Archive; OPAL digital collections not searchable. No trustee term found. Found Irene (1928), Edna (Dean of Women), Al (1941–42) and Ruth Neuenschwander (1943). Land maps: only the 1897 Caldwell atlas (not online) and county deed records; noted in The Ramseyer farm fortune.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — Ramseyer business history

  • New story The Ramseyer farm fortune: Peter (412 acres, $12,000), Daniel (Norman horses, 322 acres), A.C. (Guernsey dairy 1906, potatoes 1923, 1932 barn fire, 2,000 acres, Coudersport seed farm 1940, Texas citrus, 1946 Texas land, Mauretania 1948). Sources: MLA obituaries (full text), 1910 county history, Spudman 2007, Wooster history exhibit, search summaries of the WCPL wiki (bot check; human task 12).

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — Mast: baptisms 1725–26

  • Read Guggisberg 6 images 16–23. Joseph, son of Hans Mast × Anna [Zwahlen?], Oct 1725 (godparents Peter and Christina Mast); Joseph, son of Christen [?] × Barb. Stoll, 8 Feb 1726 (possible first child of Christen Mast × Barbara Stoll; surname unreadable). Stopped: surname readings too uncertain at this resolution. Recommended Transkribus or a Bern researcher (added as human task 11).

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — Bishop Jacob Mast: Guggisberg 1737–40

  • Continued: read the Guggisberg 6 marriage pages 1723–1737 (images 175–186). Mast marriages: Christen Mast × Barb. Stoll, 12 Oct 1725 (clear); Hans Mast × Anni [Bigler?], 5 May 1735; others uncertain. Recorded on Jacob Mast’s note. Still no baptism for Jacob. Remaining: baptisms 1740–46 (siblings), the Wahlern registers, and the Bern Täufer lists.

  • Read every baptism in K Guggisberg 6, scan images 100–123 (Jan 1737 – Feb 1740). No Jacob Mast baptism. Recorded the five Mast couples baptizing then (incl. Hans Mast × Anna Hostettler, 1737) on Jacob Mast (1738–1808).

  • Possible reasons and next steps (wider years, Wahlern, Täufer lists) are on his note as tasks. Guggisberg has no death registers before 1875.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — early Ramseyers checked; which Christen solved

Ramseyer (Staker’s early chain, checked in the Eggiwil registers):

  • Christian Ramseyer bapt. 26 May 1672, son of Ulli Ramseyer and Barbli Stauffer — confirmed (K Eggiwil 1 p. 148; Staker has 23 and 26 May).
  • Christian Ramseyer bapt. 22 Sept 1700 at Mühleberg, son of Christen Ramseyer and Christina Gosteli — confirmed (K Eggiwil 10 p. 21, with sister Barbara at Wohlen 1698).
  • The conversion generation: Christina Gosteli marked “anabapt.” at daughter Anna’s baptism, 12 Mar 1706 (K Eggiwil 2 p. 46); parents of Ulrich, July 1708, “Anabaptiste in der Riedmatt” (p. 61). Christian (1672) and Christina Gosteli are the Ramseyers who joined the Anabaptists, about 1698–1706.
  • Not found: Isaac (c.1747) in the Eggiwil register of children baptized elsewhere 1739–79 (vol. 11 index); Isaac’s 1774 marriage in the Eggiwil marriages-elsewhere register (vol. 23, Jan 1774). The Christian (1700) → Isaac link stays a compiled lead.

Neuenschwander — which Christen? Solved.

  • Tramelan banns 1840–61 (K Tramelan 18, downloaded to the archive): no Neuenschwander in autumn 1844.
  • Langnau marriages 1837–52 (K Langnau 27) no. 141: banns 29 Sept–13 Oct 1844, Christen Neuenschwander, Peter’s [son], b. 23 Dec 1812, and Anna Lehmann, Peter’s [daughter], b. 25 Feb 1825, both of the Anabaptist congregation; married 26 Oct 1844 by an Anabaptist preacher.
  • Langnau Täufer register p. 18 re-read at higher resolution: Peter Neuenschwander, shoemaker at Perrefitte, × Elisabeth Hutmacher, m. 10 Oct 1810; Christen b. 23 Nov 1812.
  • Changed: Christian P.’s parents are now Peter Neuenschwander and Elisabeth Hutmacher (documented). Johannes Neuenschwander + Catharina Fuhrimann, Bendicht + Elisabeth Leeman and Peter (d. before 1791) are no longer ancestors (notes kept, with a correction box). The candidate note “Christen … son of Peter” was merged into Christian P.
  • New tools: _System/tools/recompute.py (ancestor numbers from parent links) and _System/tools/canvases.py.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — filled properties from note text; migration countries

  • Filled 102 empty properties from facts already written in the notes (no new research): burials (Amish Plank Cemetery, Brubaker farm, Oak Grove, MRE, Pine Grove…), death places, occupations, faith traditions and congregations (Oak Grove, First Mennonite Berne/Beatrice, Northkill) per the research file’s context table, and residences seeded from birth/death places.
  • Corrected over-specific birthplaces where the source names only a county: Noah E. and David D. Miller (Holmes County, not Berlin), Elizabeth Stauffer and Christian C. Sprunger (Adams County, not Berne), Joseph Plank (Wayne County, not Wooster), Fanny and Abraham Miller (Berks County, not Northkill), Christian Hostetler (Juniata County).
  • New place notes: Alsace, Wayne/Holmes/Stark County (Ohio), Adams/Elkhart County (Indiana), Berks/Juniata County (Pennsylvania), Glenmont, Atlantic Ocean.
  • Completeness after the pass: death place 23→28%, burial 18→24%, congregation 12→21%, residences 35→57%, tradition 47→53%.
  • Migration routes now show the country of every stop and a country path per ancestor (Prussian villages labelled “Prussia (now Poland)”); rebuilt by the new script _System/tools/migration.py.
  • Map: switched the recommendation to Obsidian’s official Maps plugin (Bases Map view, Obsidian 1.10+), which reads the existing location: [lat, lon] property.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — checked in the Obsidian app

  • Viewed Home, a history note, a person note (Christian P. Neuenschwander), the Neuenschwander canvas and Statistics in Obsidian itself. Properties, links, tables inside callouts, Bases tables (embedded on Home), pie charts and canvases all render.
  • Fixed: flowcharts were wider than the page — added a fit-to-width setting to every flowchart. Removed 376 headings that only repeated the note’s file name (Obsidian already shows it as the title); person notes keep their full-name heading. Canvas boxes made taller so long names aren’t clipped.
  • Known limits: links inside residences list items show as plain text (the “Where they lived” section has working links); evidence callouts look plain until the evidence CSS snippet is switched on.
  • Note for agents: typing into Obsidian in the background can land in the open note — one stray word was undone with git restore.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — rendering checks

  • Checked without opening Obsidian (computer use not available): all 480 notes’ properties parse as YAML; every place has numeric location coordinates; the 8 .base files match Obsidian’s documented Bases syntax; all 116 Mermaid diagrams compile with Mermaid 11.4.1, and sample pedigree and pie charts render cleanly.
  • Fixed: the four canvases had an over-tall layout (Ramseyer side ~178,000 px). Regenerated with a compact tree layout (1,300–3,200 px tall) plus a colour legend.
  • Not yet seen in the Obsidian app itself: Bases table appearance, the cards view, and canvas look.

2026-10-31 — Claude (Opus) — vault built

  • Built this Obsidian vault from family-tree-research.md (now frozen as Legacy research file): 169 people (156 direct ancestors), 77 families, 100 places with coordinates, 54 sources, 10 congregations, 28 history notes, 8 stories, dashboards, canvases. Ancestor numbers and relationships computed from the parent links.
  • Same session, earlier: Langnau Täufer register (K Langnau 36) read pp. 1–18 and 32 — Lehman parents documented; Neuenschwander families of Peter’s sons; two candidate Christens born 1812. Tramelan marriages 1844 checked (not found). Downloading the Eggiwil, Langnau and Guggisberg registers (84 PDFs, about 3.4 GB) to ../Family Tree Archive/bern-registers/.
  • Left to do: see AI tasks, Human tasks and blockers, Open questions.

Earlier sessions (2026-10-29 to 2026-10-31), from the research file

  • Verified the modern Ramseyer chain and corrected several dates and the misidentified mother in the previous AI account.
  • Established D. Paul’s birthplace and the Miller–Hummel, Mast, Gonser, and Kuhns links above.
  • Read Andrew and Bessie Neuenschwander’s archived obituaries in the browser after the text retrieval service failed; Bessie’s notice confirms Ruth and adds Sprunger–Reusser grandparents.
  • Christopher supplied Beatrice as Anne’s birthplace; a direct browser search located her full obituary and resolved the tentative 1914–2010 identity match.
  • English ancestry remains a family-history lead, not a proven conclusion.
  • 2026-10-30: Expanded the Ramseyer–Neuenschwander side. Sources read:
    • Alvin Sr.’s two 1948 obituaries.
    • Rebecca’s and Daniel’s obituaries, in full.
    • The 1910 Wayne County history sketch.
    • Find a Grave memorials, with their transcribed obituaries and death-certificate abstracts, for John and Mary (Conrad) Smiley, Elizabeth Smiley Ramseyer, Mary Ellen Schrock Ramseyer, David and Fanny (Plank) Schrock, Ruth Ramseyer, Andrew, Jacob C. and Elizabeth (Stauffer) Neuenschwander, Christian C. and Rosina Sprunger, Peter R. Sprunger, Jakob Reusser, and Asa Sprunger.
    • Mary Ellen’s 1973 Gospel Herald notice.
  • 2026-10-30: Christopher identified Arden Ramseyer, compiler of the Johannes & Barbara Ramseyer family record, as his grandfather Al’s brother. Confirmed by the 1948 obituary and Find a Grave.
  • 2026-10-30: Added a section on the Anabaptist/Mennonite context of every line, at Christopher’s note that all the family connections lie within or near that tradition.
  • 2026-10-30 (second Ramseyer pass): Read Staker Part 5, pp. 135–142, in full. Read the Find a Grave memorials for Alvin Sr. (with his Gospel Herald obituary), Daniel, Rebecca, Mellie Yoder, Peter and Barbara Ramseyer, Joseph and Nancy (Hostetler) Plank, and David Schrock. Read the Gospel Herald originals for Fanny Schrock (Mar 1942) and Lydia Schrock (Gospel Witness, Sep 1905). Searched the Herald of Truth for Aug and Sep 1903 without finding David Schrock.
  • 2026-10-30 (third pass): Searched the Oak Grove and Paris Township Amish cemeteries on Find a Grave for Schrock and Rich/Reich burials. Read the Gospel Herald obituaries of Moses Schrock (May 1909), Christina Gerig Schrock (Nov 1909) and Joseph Schrock (May 1938). Checked the Geni profile for Moses Schrock. Searched Staker Part 4 for Rich/Eckinger without result; parts 1–3 and 6–10 are not at the same URL pattern. Ruled out Samuel and Lydia Schrock as David’s parents.
  • 2026-10-30 (fourth pass, Miller–Wiebe side):
    • Read the Christlicher Bundesbote and MWR obituaries for Gerhard A. Wiebe, Anna Gertrude Claassen Wiebe and Gertrude Toews Claassen, plus Find a Grave memorials for the Wiebe, Claassen, Kuhns, Slabaugh, Miller, Mast, Hummel and Gonser families.
    • Read Samuel Kuhns’s 1918 Gospel Herald obituary.
    • Found and read two digitized books on the Internet Archive: the 1907 Ramseyer-Rich Reunion booklet, and the 1958 Neuenschwander Family Record, which concerns a different family.
    • Searched catalogs for Edna Ramseyer Kaufman’s and Irene Musser’s books. Found only Edna’s 1974 cookbook; no genealogy by either has been found yet.
  • 2026-10-30 (fifth pass):
    • Read the rest of the 1907 Ramseyer-Rich booklet. It covers Joseph Rich’s descendants, not Barbara Reich’s family.
    • Searched Stark County burials before 1880 for Reich, Rich and Eckinger, and found Gotleib Eckinger (d. 1824).
    • Searched for Lula Klinglesmith without result.
    • Traced the Conrad line on Find a Grave to Jacob Conrad Sr.
    • Found David Luthy’s account of Nathan Smiley (Irish-born, British mother, Amish foster home) and Nathan’s Find a Grave memorial. No 1872 Herald of Truth obituary found.
  • 2026-10-30 (sixth pass): Recorded Christopher’s physical sources: three books, the Mary Alva Farm folder, and the illustrated tree. Found the Open Library and OCLC record for the Ramseyer family record (Arden, publisher; Edna, contributor; lii + 818 pp.). No online record found for The Schrock Ramseyer Story or the 1973 Sprunger genealogy. Bessie’s entry on p. 39 of the Sprunger book confirms her marriage to Rev. Andrew J. Neuenschwander, son of Jacob C.
  • 2026-10-30 (seventh pass): Read five photos of the family’s illustrated tree. They confirm the Schrock line from Michael Schrock through Moses and Christina (Gerig) to David and Mary Ellen. The tree’s dates agree with the records except for Mellie Yoder’s birth day, Christina Gerig’s birth year, and Susanna Yoder’s death year. Photos copied to source-images/.
  • 2026-10-30 (eighth pass): Transcribed the ancestor roots of the full “Ramseyer, July 1986” tree. New: Joseph Gerig and Christina Yoder (Christina Gerig’s parents), and dates for Jacob Reich and Louise Eckinger. Conflict found: the tree names Nathan Smiley’s wife as Margaretha Miller, but John Smiley’s obituary says his mother was Anna. The descendant branches, which include living people, were deliberately not transcribed. Photo saved as source-images/tree-00-full-page-ramseyer-july-1986.jpg.
  • 2026-10-30 (ninth pass): Read eight photographed pages of The Schrock Ramseyer Story (pp. 6, 38, 46–51).
    • Nathan Smiley: “red headed Irish orphan,” deserted by his mother, raised by the Amish Troyer family; first wife Anna Stutzman.
    • David Schrock: third son of Moses and Christina; died Aug 10, 1903.
    • New ancestors: Casper Schrock (Wynigen); Christian Gerig and Elizabeth Goldschmidt; John Melchior Plank (m. 1767, Rotterdam); Jacob Plank and Mary Yoder; the Hochstetter line back to Jacob (b. 1704); John Zook.
    • Eggiwil given as the Ramseyer home. Conflicts noted: Peter’s 1834 arrival; Nancy Hostetler Plank’s burial place; Michael Schrock’s 1828 marriage year.
    • Al’s p. 38 page was read but its details of living family members were not transcribed. Photos saved to source-images/srs-*.
  • 2026-10-30 (tenth pass): Read the 1912 Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler (Internet Archive full text): entries #6527, #6943, #6975 and #6976, plus the chapters on the attack, the captivity, Joseph’s return and the 1776 heirs’ deed. Checked the Wikipedia summary of the massacre. Recorded Christopher’s line from Joseph Hochstetler and the conflicts over the attack date, Jacob’s immigration year, and Fanny’s marriage year.
  • 2026-10-30 (nineteenth pass, side research): Expanded Edna Ramseyer Kaufman: her MCC children’s home near Marseille (1940), the women’s “C.O. Girls” movement she founded at Goshen (1943), and her papers at Bethel College (MS 300).
  • 2026-10-30 (eighteenth pass): Bishop Jacob Mast’s ancestry. His father is unknown; trees offer Christen, Ulrich or Jacob Mast. The trees agree on a family home at Guggisberg, Canton Bern, and WikiTree attaches a Mast line there back to Benedict Mast (born about 1597). That makes three of Christopher’s lines from the Schwarzenburg district: Hochstetler, Mast and Mishler.
  • 2026-10-30 (seventeenth pass): Took the immigrant “Daniel Miller” back further. Modern Amish genealogies identify him as Christian (Daniel) Miller Jr. (c.1734–1777), son of a Bernese immigrant of 1742. His wife Veronica Mishler is traced to Wahlern, Canton Bern. This conflicts with the 1911/1912 books; both versions are recorded.
  • 2026-10-30 (sixteenth pass): The 1911 Mast Family History (C. Z. Mast) shows that Bishop Jacob Mast (born 1738 in Switzerland; arrived 1750 on the Brotherhood) is Christopher’s ancestor on both sides: through his daughter Barbara (Ramseyer side) and his son Christian (Miller side). It also shows that immigrant Daniel Miller (ship Patience) is a double ancestor on the Miller side. D. Paul’s Mast line now reaches the 1730s.
  • 2026-10-30 (fifteenth pass): Wiebe side extended to 1707 using the Am Trakt family site (amtrakt.de) and the Reid–Schroeder family tree, which cites the Deutsches Geschlechterbuch (1964) and the Beatrice First Mennonite Church record book. Neuenschwander side: added the Berne, Indiana origin (Münsterberg, Bernese Jura, 1852), the Sprunger family’s Thurgau-to-Jura background, and leads for Christian Neuenschwander’s Swiss home.
  • 2026-10-30 (fourteenth pass, Miller side): The 1912 Hochstetler genealogy lists “Maggie, Apr. 6, 1890” among the children of Magdalena Slabaugh and Samuel Kuhns (#3162), settling Maggie’s mother. It traces Magdalena back to John Hochstetler, the immigrant Jacob’s eldest son. So Christopher descends from Jacob Hochstetler twice, through the brothers John (Miller side) and Joseph (Ramseyer side).
  • 2026-10-30 (thirteenth pass): Expanded the immigrant’s father. Jacob Hochstetler, an Anabaptist Täuferlehrer (teacher/minister) born at Winterkraut near Guggisberg, is documented in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (Markirch) from 1697. He signed petitions alongside Jakob Ammann in 1701 and 1702, stayed through the 1712 expulsion, was arrested in Switzerland in 1720, and last appears in 1721. Source: Erwin Hochstättler, from Bern and Alsace archives.
  • 2026-10-30 (twelfth pass): Traced the Hochstetlers before 1757. Jacob arrived on the Charming Nancy, Nov 9, 1738, aged 26, and was born in 1712 at Echery near Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Alsace. His father came from Winterkraut near Schwarzenburg, Canton Bern. The 1912 book’s Harle (1736) identification is a documented mix-up with a different Jacob.
  • 2026-10-30 (eleventh pass): Read the full Wikipedia article on the Hochstetler massacre (link supplied by Christopher). Added Jacob’s route and escape from his 1758 sworn statement, the cellar, cider and peaches account, the older brother John as witness, Christian’s adoption by Custaloga and his 1765 return, Joseph’s later visits to his adoptive village, the Fort Allen report supporting Sept 19, and the Schwarzenburg origin.
  • 2026-10-30 (twelfth pass): Read the 1912 genealogy’s chapters on Swiss origins, the Harle list and the Northkill land warrants, and the Jacob Hochstetler Family Association’s pages on history, Schwarzenburg and the ship. Built a timeline: Schwarzenburg (Heimat), Winterkraut (father, late 1690s), Echery, Alsace (born 1712), Charming Nancy (1738), Northkill (1739–1757). Recorded the Harle mix-up and the open question of the immigrant’s wife’s name.
  • 2026-10-30 (thirteenth pass): Read Erwin Hochstättler’s footnoted article on the Täuferlehrer Jacob Hochstetler at Markirch (JHFA), J. Virgil Miller’s excerpt on Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, and the Amish Mennonites of Canada Hochstetler genealogy.
    • Added the 1697–1723 archival timeline, the 1701 and 1702 joint petitions with Jakob Ammann, the 1712 expulsion, the 1720 arrest in Bern, the Blanck connection, and the immigrant’s siblings.
    • Clarified that the hiding-room tradition belongs to Winterkraut, Switzerland.
    • Added a “Key Hochstetler references” list with links to the 1912 genealogy and the JHFA pages, at Christopher’s request.
  • 2026-10-30: At Christopher’s correction, removed the cross-links between the Hochstetler line (Ramseyer side, through Mary Ellen Schrock) and the Lake Thun English-ancestor story (Miller side). Lake Thun is mentioned in the Hochstetler section only as geography.
  • 2026-10-30: Restructured at Christopher’s direction. Section 4 now holds only the Miller-side English-ancestor (Lake Thun) story. The Nathan Smiley account and the Rich family’s English-descent tradition, both on the Ramseyer side, moved into section 1. Lake Thun no longer appears in the Ramseyer branch.
  • 2026-10-30 (fourteenth pass): Searched the 1912 Hochstetler genealogy for Miller-side names. Found Magdalena Slabaugh (#3162) with Maggie listed, and traced the line through #3125, #3063 and #3062 to John Hochstetler (#2). Eli D. Miller and Mary Mast, the Masts and Kurtzes, and the Hummels and Gonsers appear only as spouses.
  • 2026-10-30 (fifteenth pass): Read amtrakt.de (Fieguth family; Maria Fieguth, with Johann Dyck’s 1890 diary entry) and the Reid–Schroeder tree sheets F13600, F13601, F13602, F11338, F13510, F13552, F11893, F39476, F32702 and F39477. On the Neuenschwander side: searched for Christian Neuenschwander’s origin (lead: Höfen, Bern, unconfirmed) and the Sprunger origins (Thurgau, then the Jura about 1741; Berne founded 1852 from the Münsterberg area).
  • 2026-10-30 (sixteenth pass): Downloaded and searched the 1911 Mast Family History (Internet Archive). Read entries #1 (Bishop Jacob Mast), #119 (Daniel Miller), #169 (Fanny Miller Kurtz), #563 (Barbara Mast Hostetler), #1513 (Christian Mast), #1557 (Abraham Mast), #1592 (Mary Mast and Eli D. Miller) and #1593 (Noah E. Miller). Web searches on the Hummels and Gonsers found only a Salem Reformed Church lead.
  • 2026-10-30 (seventeenth pass): Read the 1911 Mast genealogy entry #119 in full (Daniel Miller’s eight children). Read the WikiTree profiles for Veronica Mishler (Mishler-1) and Christian Miller Sr. (Miller-655) in the browser, since WikiTree blocks direct downloads. Recorded the two competing identifications and the Mishler line to Ulrich Mishler of Wahlern (born 1688).
  • 2026-10-30 (eighteenth pass): Read the 1911 Mast genealogy on Bishop Jacob’s origins, life and burial, the WikiTree Mast-18 profile in the browser, and the Mast Family Stories page. Recorded the unknown father, the Guggisberg origin, and the compiled Mast line to Benedict Mast (born about 1597) as a hypothesis.
  • 2026-10-30 (nineteenth pass): Edna Ramseyer Kaufman research. Sources read: the MCC Intersections issue on MCC and National Socialism; the Goshen College faculty history; the 1947 Conference on Mennonite Cultural Problems proceedings; the MLA MS index (MS 300); and Edmund G. Kaufman’s MWR obituary. The Goossen book’s text is restricted on the Internet Archive.
  • 2026-10-30 (twentieth pass): Expanded Berne, Indiana and Christian and Anna (Lehman) Neuenschwander. Sources: Wikipedia (Berne), a GAMEO search summary (Münsterberg; First Mennonite Church), Snow’s 1907 Adams County history (full text, Internet Archive), and the Find a Grave memorials for Christian and Anna, read in the browser. New: their birth and death dates, Anna’s birthplace (Moutier), the 1844 marriage at Tramelan, both sets of parents (compiled), the 13 children, and the 1884/1886 vs 1887/1889 conflict, resolved in favor of the headstones.
  • 2026-10-30 (twenty-first pass): Traced Christian and Anna Neuenschwander’s parents. Johannes Neuenschwander (born 1776, Langnau) and Katharina Fuhrimann (1782–1853, died in Ohio) are compiled leads. Strong lead: the Putnam County pioneer Michael Neuenschwander (1785–1859, La Sagneule), whose wife Barbara Fuhrimann was probably Katharina’s sister. Anna’s father Peter Lehman (1782–1861) remains untraced. The 1852 Berne leader Peter S. Lehman (1821–1899) was a different man. A Geneanet tree page was not opened because it required a bot check.
  • 2026-10-30 (twenty-second pass): Followed up the next sources. The Bixler book is not online (Internet Archive, Open Library). Find a Grave shows the 1833 Putnam County pioneer was Michael Neuenschwander (1778–1852), married to Anna Ernst at Florimont, France, in 1809. That corrects the previous pass, which merged him with the Michael (1785–1859) who married Barbara Fuhrimann. No grave found for Katharina Fuhrimann Neuenschwander. Added notes on why Anabaptist births are often missing from Swiss parish registers, and where Jura Anabaptist records are held.
  • 2026-10-31 (twenty-third pass): Edna’s doctorate. Searched Open Library, the Internet Archive, Google Books (quota hit), WorldCat, HathiTrust and OSU’s catalog (the last three blocked). Title not found. The OSU School of Home Economics history shows that a Ph.D. in home economics existed only from 1947, with the first awarded in 1949. New facts: Edna was dietician at CPS Camp 13 (1941–42); in 1945 she led a women’s summer unit at CPS 144 (Poughkeepsie), where Eleanor Roosevelt visited on July 9 at her invitation; and in 1948 she led an MCC summer unit in Germany. Prussian church books: searched Penner’s and Goertz’s transcriptions (the 1776 census spreadsheet; the 1789 land census; the Brandregister of 1727; the Dutch aid lists of 1735/37; land leases 1600–1770; Heubuden baptisms 1770–99; Ladekopp baptisms 1782–1804 and 1809–13; Gross Werder baptisms 1814–23). Found Anton Fieguth’s 1791 baptism, Abraham Busenitz in the 1776 census, a Jacob Wieb at Altenau in 1776, and the earliest Prussian Wiebes and Fieguths. Pre-Prussian origin: read Penner’s 2023 Mennonite Historian article (it rules out Adam Wiebe; Y-DNA shows one founding Wiebe; probably an early-1500s Dutch refugee) and his 2020 surname article. Searched the 1660 Martyrs Mirror text (only a patronymic “Jouke Wybes,” Franeker, 1658). Started the “Blockers where Christopher can help” table.
  • 2026-10-31 (twenty-fifth pass): Mapped the Bern state archive’s online parish registers (series K) for the family parishes. Eggiwil (own parish from 1648, before that part of Signau): 29 volumes, 1.19 GB. Langnau: 37 volumes, about 1.46 GB, including K Langnau 36, the register of Langnau Anabaptist families (1791–1870). Guggisberg: 18 volumes, about 0.75 GB. Catalog IDs: Signau 220213, Trub 220230, Wahlern 220239, Tramelan 220229, Moutier 220176, Schwarzenegg 220209, Röthenbach 220202, Sumiswald 220223, Hilterfingen (Oberhofen, Lake Thun) 220149. Read K Langnau 36 pp. 1–18 and 32 (Neuenschwander families of Peter’s sons Christian, Hans, Michael and Bendicht; Johannes and Catharina Fuhrimann, page 16; two candidate Christens born 1812); checked K Tramelan 16 for 1844 (no Neuenschwander marriage). Also: documented Anna Lehman’s parents, Peter Leeman (born 1782, Corgémont) and Anna Fuhrimann (born 1788, Oeschenbach, parish of Rohrbach), married at Moutier in 1820.
  • 2026-10-31 (twenty-fourth pass): Expanded the Zurich-to-Bern origins (Swiss Mennonite Conference chronology: Eggiwil parish founded in 1631 to combat Anabaptism; Sonnenberg and Münsterberg congregations; Ammann at Oberhofen on Lake Thun). Added a population table, including an actual count from the 1776 census (12,190 people, 2,637 households, 62 Wiebe households), and notes on GRANDMA and the Gingerich–Kreider Amish genealogies as near-complete population traces.

Revision log of the research file

  • 2026-10-29: Original log (from earlier AI session).

  • 2026-10-30: Ramseyer–Neuenschwander side expanded by about two generations on every line:

    • Rebecca Smiley’s probable parents (Rev. John Smiley and Mary Conrad) and Conrad grandparents.
    • Mary Ellen Schrock’s documented parents (David Schrock and Fanny Plank).
    • Andrew J. Neuenschwander’s documented parents (Jacob C. Neuenschwander and Elizabeth Stauffer) and grandparents.
    • Sprunger and Reusser grandparents of Bessie.
    • Ruth’s own dates (1922–2017).
    • Arden D. Ramseyer confirmed as Al Jr.’s brother and author of the family book.
    • New section on the Anabaptist/Mennonite context of every line.
    • Merged with the complete original file. The Miller, Wiebe and English-ancestor sections are unchanged apart from rows added to the religious-context table.

  • 2026-10-30 (second pass, Ramseyer):

    • Read Staker’s Ramseyer chapter in full. It cites French civil records for Isaac and Johannes, the 1835 Richmond passenger list, and the 1840/1850 censuses.
    • Added Peter Ramseyer’s and Barbara Rich’s dates and Barbara’s reported parents.
    • Added Peter’s children and the Ramseyer–Conrad marriages.
    • Documented Fanny Plank’s parents through her father’s 1914 obituary, and added the Hostetler, Plank and Kurtz leads.
    • Added Mellie Yoder’s parents.
    • Corrected one claim from the first pass (see Mary Ellen section).

  • 2026-10-30 (third pass, Schrock and Rich gaps):

    • Identified Moses Schrock and Christina Gerig as David Schrock’s probable parents.
    • Found that Alvin Sr.’s two wives were probably first cousins.
    • Found possible Rich relatives in the Paris Township Amish cemetery.

  • 2026-10-30 (fourth pass, Miller–Wiebe side):

    • Identified Anne’s parents in full: Gerhard A. Wiebe and Anna Gertrude Claassen.
    • Documented her grandparents, who came from West Prussia and the Am Trakt settlement in Russia, confirming the family recollection.
    • Added Miller, Mast, Hummel and Gonser grandparents.
    • Tested the Kuhns link and found a count conflict.
    • Found the 1907 Ramseyer-Rich Reunion booklet, which records a family tradition of English descent for the Rich family.
    • Added a section on books by family members, including Edna Ramseyer Kaufman’s.

  • 2026-10-30 (tenth pass): Expanded the Hochstetler massacre section. The 1912 Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler (a published genealogy, digitized) traces the line from the captive Joseph Hochstetler to Fanny Plank. It states David Schrock was “the son of Moses and Christianna (Gerige) Schrock”, independently of the 1986 family history.

  • 2026-10-30: Christopher confirmed that the Nathan Smiley account is not the English-ancestor story he remembers. Section 4 now treats the two separately; the English story remains open.

  • 2026-10-30 (ninth pass): Read eight pages of the 1986 family history (The Schrock Ramseyer Story).

    • It confirms Nathan Smiley was “a red headed Irish orphan deserted by his mother,” raised by an Amish family named Troyer.
    • It names his first wife, Anna Stutzman.
    • It confirms David Schrock as “the third son of Moses and Christina Gerig Schrock.”
    • It adds Plank, Hostetler, Gerig, Schrock and Zook ancestors.
    • It gives Eggiwil as the Ramseyers’ ancestral home.

  • 2026-10-30 (eighth pass): Read the full page of the illustrated tree (“Ramseyer, July 1986”). Its roots add Christina Gerig’s parents (Joseph Gerig and Christina Yoder), give dates for Barbara Reich’s parents (Jacob Reich and Louise Eckinger), and show Mellie Yoder’s mother as a Schrock. They name Nathan Smiley’s wife as Margaretha Miller, which conflicts with John Smiley’s obituary.

  • 2026-10-30 (seventh pass): Christopher’s photos of the illustrated family tree confirm David Schrock’s parents as Moses Schrock and Christina Gerig, and Moses’s parents as Michael Schrock and Susanna Yoder. Photos saved in source-images/.

  • 2026-10-30 (sixth pass): Christopher located his family-held sources: the Johannes & Barbara Ramseyer family record, The Schrock Ramseyer Story, the 1973 Peter Sprunger genealogy, The A. C. Ramseyer Family (Mary Alva Farm), and images of an illustrated family tree. Library catalog details added; the authorship of the Ramseyer family record is resolved.

  • 2026-10-30 (fifth pass): Nathan Smiley, Rebecca Smiley’s grandfather and Christopher’s direct ancestor, is described by the Amish historian David Luthy as born in Ireland in 1797 to a British mother and raised in an Amish foster home. This is the strongest candidate yet for the “English ancestor” story (see section 4). Also added the Conrad line back to Jacob Conrad Sr. (born Bern, 1757) and an early Eckinger in Stark County.

2026-10-31 — Swiss registers (Claude)

  • Hans Ramseyer baptized Signau 20 Jan 1594, “Ludi Ramseyer und Madlen Huser ein Sun” (K Signau 1, p. 48, no. 336). Confirms Staker and the 2002 Family Record for this generation.
  • Ulli Ramseyer × Barbli Stauffer married Eggiwil 15 May 1663 (K Eggiwil 17, image 7). Also Peter Ramseyer × Elsbeth Stauffer, 25 Sept 1663.
  • Christina Gosteli baptized Bolligen 4 Aug 1665, parents Jacob Gosteli and Anna Zoss (K Bolligen 3, image 144). New notes for both parents; new place notes Bolligen and Wohlen.
  • Negative: Christen Ramseyer × Christina Gosteli not in Eggiwil marriages 1687–1699; Ulrich Mischler not baptized at Wahlern 14 Jan 1688; Anna Fuhrimann not in Rohrbach baptisms Feb–May 1788 (Anabaptist family).
  • Remaining gap: Ulrich (m. 1663) → Hans (1594). Signau baptisms 1618–1650 are missing.
  • Signau marriages Apr 1589 – Dec 1594: no Ludi Ramseyer × Madlen Huser (married before 1589 or elsewhere). Langnau 1, 1568 spread checked: inconclusive. Guggisberg 4 mapped (baptisms from 1665 at image 30) for the Jacob Hochstetler search. Summary in How far back each line goes.
  • Guggisberg 4 baptisms 1665 – Mar 1673 (entries 1–632) read: no Jacob to a Hostettler father. Hostettler households: Michel, Hans × Anna Mischler, Heini, Heinrich, Hans. Details on Jacob Hochstetler (c.1666–c.1722).
  • Guggisberg 3, Jul 1656 – Dec 1664, read: no Jacob to a Hostettler father. Window mid-1656 – Mar 1673 ruled out. Michel Hoffstettler × Barbara Zand (1661) noted.
  • Guggisberg 3 read in full (1637–64): no Jacob to a Hostettler father; Jun 1637 – Mar 1673 ruled out. Earlier generation: Jacob Hoffstettler × Elsbeth Schwarzengruber (children 1637–1652, incl. Peter 1643/1649, Samuel 1652); Michel × Margreth Zwahlen; Cuni × Benedicta Portner.
  • Neuenschwander side: Habegger, Swiss of Adams and Wells Counties read. New: Anna Moser (1798–1843), Johann Sprunger (1793–1853), Barbara Lehman (1796–1877). Christian Stauffer corrected to 1802–1892, born Alsace (renamed). Exact dates for Abraham and Peter R. Sprunger, Marianna Moser, David Reusser, Katharina Utz, Verena Habegger, Katherine Sprunger.
  • Moutier registers downloaded (6, 14, 18). Peter Neuenschwander (shoemaker) aged 23 in Jun 1811 (Johannes’s civil birth, Perrefitte): born c.1787–88; rules out Bendicht’s son Peter (1766). Best candidate: Peter b. 18 Jan 1790, son of Michael × Barbara Steiner (unproven). 1810 marriage and Christen’s 1812 birth not in Perrefitte civil registers.
  • Tested Peter (b. 1790, son of Michael × Barbara Steiner) as the shoemaker’s identity: inconclusive; Langnau 36 pp. 1–91 read; no separate entry for the 1790 Peter, but our Peter’s entry lacks the back-reference his brothers have. Johannes of Perrefitte × Catharina Baumgartner (m. 1806, p. 20) also unlinked: possibly a brother.
  • Langnau 16 (born elsewhere, 1785–1820) pp. 1–45 read: no Peter Neuenschwander born 1786–90; the 1790 Peter of Michael × Barbara Steiner is missing too, so the register is incomplete for Anabaptists. Shoemaker Peter’s parents still unknown.
  • Eggiwil 1 index read: Ulli Ramseyer × Barbli Stauffer had six children baptized 1664–79 (Anna, Elsbeth, Ulli, Christen, Hans, Barbara), at Diepoldsbühl. Stauffer godparents likely Barbli’s siblings.
  • Bolligen 3, 1665–76 read: Jacob Gosteli × Anni Zoss had Christina 1665, Niclaus 1668, Barbara 1670, Anna 1673. A second Jacob Gosteli (× Christina Krieg) at Bolligen at the same time.
  • Lauperswil 1 (1528–86) downloaded: baptism gap late 1531–mid 1537 covers Peter Ramseyer’s birth. New place note Ramsei: origin of the surname and namesake of RAMSEIER juice (1910 cooperative of eight farmers), not a family link.
  • Lauperswil baptisms 1566–Mar 1570 read for Ludwig Ramseyer: not recognized (very poor hand; weak negative).
  • FRB full-text search: earliest Ramsei bearers: Johans von Ramseia, burgher of Burgdorf, × Katerina of Langnau (1343); his brother Chünrat von Ramsey and widow Adelheit (1361); Rudi Ramseis (1369). Not linked to Peter (c.1534).
  • Susanna Yoder (1791) parents found: John Yoder × Magdalena Stutzman, granddaughter of Barbara Hochstetler (Hostetler 1938, nos. 1–3161). Ramseyer side now also descends from Jacob Hochstetler (1712–1776). Casper Schrock: b. Switzerland c.1745, m. Mary Stuckey, Berlin, Somerset Co.
  • Schrock/Yoder expansion: Stutzman line to the 1727 immigrant; Moses Schrock and Christina Gerig dates (1938 no. 3290); A. C. Ramseyer’s wives were first cousins; Gerig-Goldschmidt Alsace origins (Markirch, Pfastatt).
  • Open questions searched: John Yoder and Christina Yoder parents not online; Casper Schrock and brother John settled near Berlin 1765 (Brethren history 1916); Michael’s father unresolved (Casper, John or Ulrich).
  • Plank line: 1900 reunion paper read. Melchior Plank b. Switzerland, indentured on arrival, Lancaster then Mifflin Co., d. c.1817; Jacob Plank d. 10 Jan 1851 aged 83 (b. c.Nov 1767), cabinet-maker and miller, Plank fanning mill; Jacob, Christian and John Plank married three Yoder sisters; Mary Yoder Plank d. 28 Mar 1850 aged 79 (b. c.Feb 1771).
  • Zook: Catherine Zook 5 Aug 1801 – 15 Jul 1875 (Only a Twig); Fanny Mast × John Zook (1796) tested as parents, not supported. Found reference to ‘Records of Descent from John Yoder, Jacob Zook, Daniel Conrad and Nathan Smiley’.
  • Elizabeth Yoder (1799–1890) parents found: John Yoder × Barbara Reichenbach; grandparents John Yoder × Magdalena Mast; great-grandmother the widow Barbara Yoder (husband died at sea) (Mast 1911, fam. 943 note).
  • Miller side: Fanny Stutzman (Nicholas Keim’s wife) is a daughter of Christian Stutzman × Barbara Hochstetler (1938 no. 12445): pedigree collapse with the Ramseyer side. Samuel Weaver b. 22 Mar 1788, d. 11 Sep 1869, son of Jacob Weaver × Magdalena Overholser; Elizabeth Keim 4 Dec 1790 – 20 Oct 1860.
  • Slabaugh: The Diary (1977) Nissley article: John Slabaugh b. 1806 in Germany, only son of John Slabaugh who came to Somerset Co. at 23 with his mother (née Yoder) and a sister. Christian Nisly’s European origin not in this volume.
  • Hessian Amish history written from ME vols 2/4 (free online: vols 2-4). Schlabach name: Peter Schlapbach of Signau, Anabaptist 1538.
  • Mennonite Encyclopedia vols 2-4 mined: family entries (Neuenschwander, Lehman, Habegger, Moser, Sprunger, Hostetler, Troyer, Yoder, Zook, Hooley, Mast, Stutzman, Plank, Gerig, Fieguth, Toews) and places (Ladekopp: Jakob and Abraham Wiebe preachers 1743; Heubuden; Am Trakt; Lysanderhöh; Signau; Langnau; Oak Grove).
  • Wiebe breakthrough: Ladekopp Familienbuch gives Jacob Wiebe b. 15 May 1813 at Simonsdorf, d. Apr 1872, son of Jacob Wiebe of Schlablau; Anna Enz b. 16 Dec 1817, d. Jun 1896, daughter of Aron Enz of Altmünsterberg; 9 children incl. Aron 14 Sep 1845. Heubuden book: Aron Ensz b. 4 Aug 1797 Münsterberg (probable).
  • 1789 land census: Jacob Wiebe at Simonsdorf and Altenau. Heubuden book: Jacob Wiebe Oct 4 1788 (Simonsdorf/Altenau); Jacob Wiebe × Maria Neufelt m. 21 Oct 1806 Münsterberg. Hypothesis recorded on Jacob Wiebe (of Schlablau); unproven.
  • mennonitegenealogy.com mined: Catharine Epp’s parents Johann Epp (1778–1852) × Catharina Wiens (1800–1873); grandparents Heinrich Epp (1752–1800) × Agnetha Wölke (1759–1829), Johann Wiens of Neukirch (Ladekopp Familienbuch, Palschau).
  • Johann Fieguth’s death 22 Jun 1780 aged 73 confirmed (Ladekopp KB LA 0.1). Anton Fieguth m. (1) Maria Busenitz 6 Nov 1800 (Heubuden).

2026-10-31 (Claude): structure, cross-references and the to-do hub

  • Church papers (Christlicher Bundesbote, Mennonitische Rundschau): Beatrice report of 19 Jul 1894 names Johannes Bergmann and Gerhard Wiebe from Saratov (two Gerhard Wiebes on the Trave resolved); Joh. Bergmann, Lysanderhöh colony head, 1892 relief; A. J. Wiebe letters from Adelaida 1898, Pacific District 1903.
  • New categories Conferences/ and Governments/; fields conferences, faith_origin, governments, search_log; 15 missing places/congregations; backlinks.py (“Narratives and research” on every person and place).
  • To-do hub generated by todo.py (questions, AI and human actions, edges with what has been tried); old lists now point to it. check.py health check added to the rebuild; it found and fixed two broken property blocks and a duplicate note name (1776 census source renamed “(Penner transcription)”).
  • Edges: of 103 ancestors with an unknown parent, 81 have no recorded search.

2026-10-31 (Claude): edges, generation 6

  • Worked the five generation-6 edges plus the Sprunger brothers. Found: parents of Johann (1793) and Abraham Sprunger (1797): Peter Sprunger (b. 1757, Pieterlen) and Anna Röthlisberger (b. 1762, Kirchberg), from Habegger; a double ancestor (nos. 240, 252). Lead: Verena Habegger, candidate daughter of Peter Habegger and Elisabeth Sprunger of Trunda. Found but no parents: Bundesbote 1894 death notices for Marianna Moser and Verena Habegger. Searched, nothing: Christian Stauffer, Samuel Kuhns and Mary Shank (next: AAMG, 1850 census, blocked by sign-in). Every search logged in search_log.

2026-10-31 (Claude): edges, generation 7 (first pass)

  • Found: Claas Reimer x Sara Harder marriage, 12 Apr 1796 (Heubuden, Marienburg & Sandhoff): settles his first name (Claas, not Abraham) and shows Sara Reimer was born c.1797-1815. Candidates (name only): Peter Claassen x Margareta Wiebe, m. 1800 at Schönsee (Ladekopp). Searched, nothing: Aron Enz (too many Ensz families), Toews x Siemens, Warkentin x Enss, Sara Harder birth (not in Heubuden), Barbara Lehman, Anna Moser, Anna Stutzman, Christina Yoder, Veronica Fanny Kurtz, Catherine Zook mother, Christian Nisly, Gonser, Warnes. All in search_log.

2026-10-31 (Claude): edges, generation 7–9 (second pass)

  • Found: the Kurtz immigrants. Hertzler 1885 (found through a 1912 citation) names Joseph Kurtz (b. 21 May 1765) and Abraham Kurtz (1753–1831) as sons of Abraham Kurtz and Barbara Bolinger, who came on the Phoenix 15 Sep 1749 (confirmed in Rupp and Smith, same ship as Joseph Mischler). Susanna Kurtz (wife of Christian Mast) was Abraham Jr.’s daughter by Barbara Ritter, so Abraham Kurtz Sr. and Barbara Bolinger are double ancestors. Susanna’s printed birth year (1792) conflicts with her 1800 marriage: recorded. New notes: 4 people, 2 families, source Hertzler 1885.
  • Context: Daniel Rich (c.1807–1857) buried beside Barbara Rich Ramseyer, Stark Co. (possible kin of Jacob Reich).
  • Searched, nothing: Louise Eckinger, David Reusser, Katharina Utz, Anna Fuhrimann, Elisabeth Hutmacher, Catherine Yoder (Schlabach), John Slabaugh elder, Michael Schrock’s mother. All in search_log.

2026-10-31 (Claude): edges, third pass

  • Candidate: Frany Yoder (wife of John Miller) may be the “Fanny Yoder, married to John Miller” among the children of Christian Yoder (d. 1772, near Hamburg, Berks) in Hertzler 1885, living in Somerset Co. in 1787. Christian was a son of the widow Barbara Yoder (already an ancestor). Logged as a lead with an estate-record task.
  • New facts: Jacob Weaver born 1748 in Zurich, came 1764 as an indentured servant with cousin Christian, Revolutionary War service, died Somerset Co. 1820 (Hostetler 1938).
  • Searched, nothing: Yoder/Mast/Reichenbach chain (Hertzler 1885 is the source the Mast book copied), Keim, Troyer, Wounded John Miller and wife, Busenitz, Penner, Wölke, Heinrich Epp (Heubuden book starts 1772), Klopfenstein, Kaufmann, Augsbourg, Schmucker (Staker). All in search_log.

2026-10-31 (Claude): edges, last pass (all never-looked edges now searched)

  • Found: Hertzler 1885 Fam. 554 (from Dr. Blank’s own manuscript) names Hans Blank’s wife Magdalene (d. Apr 1796) and their six children incl. Anna (m. Joseph Hostetler); they were Reformed converts to the Amish, came before 1752, lived in Heidelberg Twp., Berks, then bought 303 acres in Salisbury Twp., Lancaster (1769); Hans died Jan 1790. This confirms the Salisbury “Jno. Plank, doctor” lead. New notes: Magdalena (wife of Hans Blank), family note.
  • Leads: Casper Schrock and the Schrock immigrants Hanes and Ulrich are “generally regarded as” sons of Claus Schrock (The Diary, July 1979: tradition only). The Joseph Conrad Family (Graber): Jacob Conrad came 1823 (not 1819) with a brother Martin left in Switzerland.
  • Searched, nothing: the remaining 21 edges (Stutzman, Hochstetler wives, Holly, Plank, Yoder, Zook, Mueller, early Ramseyer wives, Bolligen couple, Thüler). All in search_log.

2026-10-31 (Claude): Bolligen register, and more on the Blank raid

  • Bolligen baptisms 1636–1647 (K Bolligen 3, img 65–99) read page by page for Jacob Gosteli and Anni Zoss: not found. Gosteli families at Flugbrunnen and Ostermundigen were baptizing then; Zoss does not appear at all, so Anni probably came from another parish (Worb/Vechigen). Still to read: 1615–36, 1648–64, the marriage register.
  • Blank raid: Bishop John Blank and Family (c.1962) reprints the Hertzler story and adds that Hans and Magdalena brought two orphan boys, Christian Umble and John Holley, who married their daughters; both are buried on the homestead near Cains. No Swiss place or date for the raid in any source found. New source note.

2026-10-31 (Claude): Passau prisoners and the Ausbund noted for follow-up

  • New History note 1535 Anabaptist prisoners at Passau write the Ausbund hymns (unverified, from general knowledge) with tasks: verify in GAMEO, find the Passau hymns and the Haslibacher ballad in an online Ausbund, ask family about a surviving family Ausbund. Linked from the 1571 Haslibacher note.

2026-10-31 (Claude): Ausbund follow-ups done

  • Passau facts verified (Duerksen, Mennonite Life 1957; Ausbund; Clasen and MQR snippets); GAMEO blocked by a bot check, not bypassed. Ausbund hymn numbers: Passau from 81, 139 = 1659 arrests at Dürsrüti near Langnau, 140 = Haslibacher. New notes: History 1659 Dürsrüti; sources for the Ausbund and Duerksen. No tree surnames in the ballads.

2026-10-31 (Claude): new book photographed

  • Christopher’s old book identified: Christian Burkholder, Nützliche und erbauliche Anrede an die Jugend, dated 1804, wording matching Bender’s first edition (Ephrata: Bauman & Cleim, 39 pp. quarto; one copy known to Bender in 1929, at HSP). Photos filed under Attachments/Books; inscription “Sch…” not yet read. New source note with follow-ups.

2026-10-31 (Claude): Burkholder translation saved

  • English translation of the title page, 1792 preface and pp. 6–7 added to the Burkholder 1804 source note.

2026-10-31 (Claude): copies of the Burkholder 1804 first edition

  • Known: HSP, Goshen (Springer 1961), Elizabethtown (Spohn, digitized spohn1097; PDF saved), Christopher; Bethel possible. 38+1 pp.; Christopher’s 35 pp. copy probably lacks the closing hymn. WorldCat rate-limited; Arndt & Eck not readable online.

2026-10-31 (Claude): Lancaster archival trip plan

  • New note Archival trip plan - Lancaster County: Amtrak from NYC, Mennonite Life (ex-LMHS), LancasterHistory, County Archives (status unclear; deed images from 1729 online), optional Elizabethtown and Berks; request lists drawn from open tasks.

2026-11-01 (Claude): Swiss registers

  • Guggisberg 6, Mar 1735 – Dec 1736: no Jacob Mast; five Mast baptisms recorded, incl. a new couple Hans Mast × Anna Beyeler (Dec 1736). At least four Hans Mast households in 1735–38.

  • Tramelan 18 banns, Jul–Dec 1844: no Neuenschwander × Lehman (marriage is in Langnau 27 only).

  • Moutier 18 marriages, 1819–1820: no Lehman × Fuhrimann (15 Aug 1820); the cited register must be another one; next try Langnau 26.

  • Langnau 26 (marriages 1804–36), 1820 p. 119: FOUND Peter Leeman (son of Ulrich) × Anna Fuhrimann (daughter of Joseph, of Oeschenbach), Täufer, married at Moutier 15 Aug 1820. New person Joseph Fuhrimann (documented); new source note.

  • Langnau 26, 1810: no Peter Neuenschwander × Elisabeth Hutmacher (two other Neuenschwander marriages noted).

  • Guggisberg 6, Apr 1740 – Apr 1741: two more Mast baptisms (Joseph, Hans Mast × Anna Beyeler, Nov 1740; Barbara, Hans Mast × Anna Zand, Feb 1741). Five Hans Mast households now known; Jacob’s family still not identifiable.

  • Added a “Guggisberg Hans Mast puzzle” callout to Jacob Mast’s note (five Hans Mast couples, 1725–41).

  • Langnau 36 pp. 17, 20, 28, 44 transcribed: Leemann family of Tavannes (four sons and daughters “nach America”); Johannes Neuenschwander at Perrefitte × Catharina Baumgartner (m. 1806), probably Peter of Perrefitte’s brother; later Neuenschwander marriages 1805–1842.

  • Langnau 36 full surname sweep: no Fuhrimann/Stauffer/Habegger/Sprunger/Ramseyer family heads; Röthlisberger pp. 19, 34, 65 transcribed. Find: a Täufer marriage at Trondai, 10 Nov 1780, performed “by Peter Ramseyer”, an Anabaptist minister in the Moutier mountains (noted on Isaac Ramseyer). Anna Röthlisberger (b. 1762) not there.

  • Bolligen 3, Aug 1659 – Apr 1665: three older children of Jacob Gosteli × Anna Zoss found (Johannes 1660, Bendicht 1661, Martin 1663); home Ostermundigen; marriage c.1659–60; Bendicht Zoss × Catharina Stämpfli probably Anna’s brother.

  • Bolligen 22 (marriages 1605–1761) downloaded (ID 221000). 1659–63 read: no Gosteli × Zoss marriage found; the 1659–early 1660 page is too faded to read with confidence. Bolligen catalog: parish ID 220072, volumes 220979–221005.

  • Pennsylvania German Pioneers (free, vol. 1): confirmed Hans Blanck (Queen of Denmark, 4 Oct 1751), Abraham Curts (Robert & Alice, 3 Dec 1740) and Abraham Kurtz (Phoenix, 15 Sep 1749), and Daniell Miller (Patience, 11 Aug 1750). No Jacob Weber in 1764. Christopher Bolinger on the Robert & Alice 1739 (context).

  • lancasterdeeds.com: the search requires accepting the county’s terms; left for Christopher.

  • Bundesbote 1884: death notice of C. P. Neuenschwander, 5 Nov 1884 near Berne, aged 71 y 8 m 5 d (conflicts with his 23 Nov 1812 birth); no parents.

  • 1887 Adams County Biographical and Historical Record: only C. P. Neuenschwander’s daughter Elizabeth (b. 1864, m. 1883); no parents.

  • County-history sweep beyond Adams not done this pass (Stark, Wayne, Holmes, Putnam remain).

  • Lancaster deed index (accepted terms with Christopher’s OK): 31 Oct 1798, D03 pp. 457/459, Salisbury: the Blank heirs (Umble, Hooley, Hochstetter couples) to John Blank, Christian Zug, Jacob Yoder: first original record linking Anna Blank Hochstetler to Hans Blank. Kurtz index large, unsorted; Holly/Mishler not completed (form errors).

  • County histories: Stark (1881, 1916), Putnam (1915), Wayne (1878) searched: no Ramseyer, Reich or Neuenschwander biographies. History of Wayne County (1910) vol. 2 pp. 985–988: biography of Daniel Ramseyer (Peter and Barbara Reich; John Ramseyer borrowed passage money, landed 1834; Peter married with 50 cents, worked for father-in-law; 1857 farm near Paris; Daniel m. Rebecca Smiley 1875; Norman horses). Page images saved; vol. 2 PDF in the archive folder. Birth year conflict 1853 vs 1856.

  • Deed index: Hooley only the 1798 Blank deed; Mishler: Joseph Mishler bought from Michael Bear 1784/86, deputation 1796 (not the 1756 heirs).

  • County-history sweep (14 volumes: Elkhart 1905, Adams/Wells 1918, Mifflin 1879, Tazewell 1879, Berks 1886, Bedford/Somerset 1884 and 1906, Wayne/Holmes 1889, Gage 1918 and 1888, Wayne 1878): surname counts done. Finds: Nathan Smiley in the 1823 Conemaugh Twp. tax list (first contemporary record); Elkhart 1905 (first clover, agricultural society treasurer); 1884 Somerset: Scots-Irish Robert Smiley family (Jenner, 1780). Gage 1918: the other Gerhard Wiebe (b. 1844) identified. No new parents for Neuenschwander, Gonser or Lehman.

  • Nathan Smiley: MHB 2006 (raised by John Troyer; English mother; wife “Anna Miller” conflict); 1841 four-man scouting trip down the Ohio. No ship record (no federal lists pre-1820; Tepper 1800–1819 lending-only).

  • Somerset Smiley test: Robert Smiley (1732–1810) × Rhoda Boyd (1748–1827), Jenner Twp. from 1780; children Agnes, George, Sarah, John (1787–1839), James, Robert; no Nathan. Jenner borders Conemaugh. Verdict unproven; tests recorded (Robert’s 1810 estate, 1800/1810 census, Sullivan 1989 Smiley data).

  • Nathan Smiley death notice found (Herald of Truth 1872): died 9 May 1872 on Elkhart Prairie, aged 74 y 10 m 22 d (vault had 9 Mar); no birthplace. Elkhart 1916 history: agricultural society treasurer (org. 1851). Census checks need FamilySearch login (task for Christopher).

  • Double ancestors note updated: Kurtz, Sprunger, Stutzman, Holly, Mishler pairs; Jacob Hochstetler 4 times; Kurtz diagram; count 19.

  • Obituary sweep: Bundesbote: Abraham Sprunger 1889 (full Nachruf: b. 19 Feb 1797, member from 1814, wives Anna Moser 1828 and Magdalena Hüfenacht 1848, 181 descendants, emigration via Havre with 20 families to Sonnenberg), Katharina Reusser née Utz 1889 (Christian, Kan.), Christian Stauffer 1892. Herald of Truth 1873/75/80/82/94: no obituaries for Peter Ramseyer, Barbara Reich, Jacob Reich, Louise Eckinger, Daniel Conrad, Catherine Zook (probably in the German Herold der Wahrheit).

  • Herold der Wahrheit (German edition) is on archive.org (1864–1901, 1913–56), but its Fraktur OCR is unusable; page-image reading task added for Peter Ramseyer (1880), Jacob Reich (1873), Daniel Conrad (1882).

  • Bolligen marriages 1690–1697: no Christian Ramseyer × Christina Gosteli (a Christina Gosteli m. Hans S[altzgeber?] 12 Feb 1692). Next: Mühleberg/Wohlen registers.

  • Mühleberg (K Mühleberg 1, downloaded, ID 226011): FOUND the baptism of Christen Ramseyer, 22 Sep 1700, p. 225: father “Christen Ramsÿer uß dem Eggiwyl”, mother Christina Gosteli. Marriages 1692–1704 searched: not there. The early Ramseyer chain is now documented from 1594 to 1700 except the Hans→Ulrich link and this marriage.

  • Neighbouring parishes for the Ramseyer × Gosteli marriage: Wohlen 1689–98, Neuenegg 1688–1700, Frauenkappelen 1691–1701: not found (six parishes now negative). Incidental: Anna Ramseyer m. Joseph Dürrwächter, Wohlen 1696; Niclaus Neuenschwander m. Elsi Walter, Frauenkappelen 1694. Ferenbalm 13 is alms accounts, not marriages. Catalog IDs added to the manifest.

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.

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