The Fontes Rerum Bernensium (FRB) print every known Bernese charter up to 1390. All ten volumes were full-text searched on e-rara (2026-10-31) for Ramsei / Ramsey / Ramseia / Ramseyer / Ramseier. Four mentions, the earliest records of the name found anywhere:
| Date | FRB | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Feb 1343, Burgdorf | vol. 6, no. 740 (p. 712) | “Katerina, ewirtin Johans von Ramseia, burgers ze Burgdorf” gives a farm at Lissach to the convent of Fraubrunnen for yearly masses for her father Heinrich von Langnöwa (Langnau), her mother Bercht, her sister, and “des egenanten Johans von Ramseia selheil”. page |
| 14 Oct 1361, Burgdorf | vol. 8, no. 1123 (p. 429) | “Chünrat von Ramsey und Chünci, sin sun, burgere ze Burgdorf” sell land and a house at Rüti (by Burgdorf) to Adelheit von Ramseya, widow of the late Johans von Ramseya, burgher of Burgdorf and Chünrat’s brother, and her children Burin, Elsin and Agton. Chünrat keeps the house for life for himself and his wife Tenton. page |
| 1369 | vol. 9, p. 191 | A rent list: “ze Gosslawile Rudi Ramseis (Ramsers)” pays two measures of rye for a farm he works. The editor’s “(Ramsers)” shows the name already turning into a surname. |
| (index) | vol. 9 | ”Grünen, Bach, mündet bei Ramsei in die Emme”: the hamlet where the Grüne stream meets the Emme. |
What this means
- A “von Ramseia” family existed by 1343: two brothers, Johans and Chünrat (Konrad), citizens of the town of Burgdorf, with Johans married (first?) to Katerina of Langnau and later to Adelheit; Konrad’s son Chünci; Johans’s children Burin, Elsin and Agton.
- In 1343 “von Ramseia” still means “of Ramsei”; by 1369 a farmer is called “Ramseis/Ramsers”, the surname forming.
- No link to Peter Ramseyer (c.1534) can be proven: there are about 190 years and no records between. These are the earliest known bearers of the name, not proven ancestors.
- The Langnau marriage in 1343 is suggestive: the family’s later home was the Langnau–Signau–Eggiwil area.
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.