The Hirschy Newsletter

for descendants of Philip and Julianne (Frey) Hirschy
January 1994 No. 1

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HIRSCHY GATHERING
PLANNED FOR JULY 30
  All descendants of the Hirschy
family that arrived in the United
States in 1836 are invited to
participate in the HIRSCHY GATHERING
that will be held July 30 in
Riverside Center, Decatur, Indiana.
  Activities will begin at 3:00 p.m.
Here you can:
  - register and find your family
    group,
  - meet your relatives from near and
    far.
  - look at displays of photos and
    family histories.
  - interview the older persons asking
    about their memories of their
    parents and grandparents.
  - listen to stories told by older
    persons.
  - make a video of persons you talk
    with,
  - begin making a family tree.

  Bring your children for some group
activities that will interest them.

  We will have a potluck carry-in
meal for our supper, Bring food and
beverage you would like to share and
your table service.

  A program is being planned for
the evening.

HIRSCHY HISTORY
AND GENEALOGY
  A book that will include your
family is being prepared by David
Habegger (a third generation
descendant)for this special event.
All descendants we could obtain
information on will be included. In
it will be the history of the
Hirschy family back to 1650 in
Switzerland. Do you know our
ancestors lived in a cave house in
Switzerland for a number of years?
Photos of that home as well as the
one in which they lived just prior
to coming to America will be in.
   Brief histories of other families
who have married Hirschy
descendants will be included. Some
of these are: Roth, Klopfenstein,
Yaggy, Zehr, Sprunger, Habegger,
Neuhouser, Augsburger, etc.

  If you have not answered a
request for information send
it in immediately to have it
included in the book. It must
be received by Feb. 15 to be
assured of inclusion.

  A price for the book has not been
set since the book is still in
preparation.' The next issue of the
newsletter will have further
information and an order form, This
information will be sailed to you
early in April.

WHO ARE WE?

  First of all, we are Hirschy
descendants. No, we are not
descendants of the Hershey family
of Pennsylvania which is well
known for their candy bars, but it is
possible that we are distantly
related. Both families originated from
the same area of Canton Bern, Switzerland.
  The name Hirschy comes from the Swiss/German word for deer -
Hirsch. The name may have been
given them for their hunting ability,
or their ability to run swiftly over the
mountains of the area.
  Secondly, we are Emmentalers,
that is descendants of people who
lived for several centuries in the
Emmental (Em3e valley) of Canton
Bern, Switzerland. The family is
registered in the village of Trub
located 6km frog Langnau, (see map)
Here civil records go back to the
1600s.
  Thirdly, our forebears were part
of the Teutonic tribe Alimann that
entered Switzerland about 500 A.D.
Their dialect is one of the five
national languages of Switzerland,
OUR FIRST FAMILY
  Our common ancestors were Philip
Hirschy and Julianna Frey. Philip
was born Nov. 16, 1787 in the
community of Le Locle, Canton
Neuchatel, Switzerland, Julianne
Frey was born Nov. 13, 1798 in the
community of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
They were married Sept, 23, 1820.
  To Philip and Julianne were born
seven children that lived to
adulthood and two that died in
infancy. Those who lived were:

1.Johannes, b, Dec. 17, 1821
2.Julianne (Anna),b. May 5, 1823
3.Philip, b. Apr. 17, 1824
4.Louis, b, May 23, 1826
5.Marianna, b. March 27, 1827
6.Maria, b, July 12, 1828
7.Rosina, b. Oct. 8, 1830

  The family lived on various farms
in the area of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le
Locle, and Les Brenet in Canton
Neuchatel for the children's births
are recorded in one or the other of
these communities,
  In the 1830s the family was
living on the farm known as Bas de
Brandt, It is located at the bend
of the Doub river 13 km north of La
Chaux-de-Fonds in Canton Neuchatel.
Here the father died Dec. 22, 1831,
He probably died of a heart attack
for he died while carrying a load of
hay in a large basket on his back.
  Julianna's father, Johannes Frey,
along with some family members had
already come to America arriving in
March 1824, When he learned that
his daughter's husband had died, he
wrote her that if she could find a
husband he would assist the family
in settling in America,
  How does a widow with seven
children, the oldest only ten years
of age, go about finding a likely
prospect? She seemingly took the
nearest available person, He was
Christian Horn, their hired worker
on the farm. Julianne and Christian
Horn were married January 14, 1834
at Courtlary.

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HERE IN AMERICA

  Johannes Frey kept his promise to
his daughter. When he got word that
she was married he began building a
house for them in the vicinity of
Maximo, OR. He may have also helped
them financially to make the trip as
well.
  Christian Horn with Julianne and
family left their home in June and
arrived in New York on July 8, 1835
on the ship Richmond. On the ship
list his age is given as 24. Thus
he was probably born in 1811.
Julianne's age is given as 36.
  When Christian Horn and Julianne
arrived in Stark County, Ohio in
July 1835 they not only had
Julianne's seven Hirschy children,
but they also had one of their own
who was a year old. He was named
Christian after his father and he
was born gay 22, 1834.
  Two other-children were born to
them Lydia, b. Aug. 2, 1836 and
Joseph, b. Feb. 14, 1839.
  Johannes died two years after his
daughter and family's arrival, in
1837. He was buried in the Amish-
Mennonite Cemetery located west of
Freeburg about a quarter of a mile
north of the intersection of highway
135 and Paris road. The small
cemetery is found along a private
lane just vest of Paris road.
  One would hope that having
experienced the death of a husband,
the uprooting experience of leaving
a home in Switzerland, and having
gone through the adjustment of
establishing a new home in Ohio that
things would go well for the family.
But that was not to be. Julianne
died just a few weeks after the
birth of her twelfth child in March
1839. She was just 40 years of age.
Her first husband, Philip Hirschy,
had died at age 44. She is buried in
the same cemetery as her father but
no stone marks either grave,
  Christian Horn married a second
time to Magdalena Blaser and they
had six children: John, Elizabeth,
Mary, Anna, Rosina, and another
daughter who married Lutz.
  We do not know what happened to
the Hirschy children immediately
following the death of their mother.
GENEALOGY HUNTERS

  Interest in family history has
been carried by a number of Hirschy
family members.
  Solomon Hirschy, a son of Louis
Hirschy (4) wrote to a niece that
when he was a boy his father used to
tell the family traditions as they
sat around the table in the evening.
Those were the days when there was
no radio or TV programs to listen to
so the family was probably more
ready to hear their father tell
stories about their history.
Solomon wrote some of what he
heard from his father in letters
to his niece, Barbara Hirschy
Habegger (4.1.5.5).
  Noah C. Hirschy, a son of Philip
Hirschy (3)was probably the first to
collect information on the
descendants of the first family to
arrive in America. Letters written
in 1892 requesting information are
in possession of the author. Some
who sent in information indicated
that they desired to have a copy of
the book when it was ready. That
was not to be for N.C. Hirschy died
in 1925 before he ever got the
information published.
  After the death of N.C. Hirschy
his nephew Walter Hirschy (3.8.1)
obtained a copy and began to add to
it with the intention of printing
what had been gathered. But death
again prevented this from happening.
Walter died in 1934.
  Subsequently some families put
together information oft their
particular families,
  Then a third generation descend-
ant, David Habegger began
to gather family history after his
parents returned fro& a stay in
Switzerland in 1951. They had
gathered some information about
some of their ancestors and in
talking about it to David he became
interested in learning about more of
his forebears. In following various
leads he learned of the efforts of
Noah C. and Walter Hirschy and was
able to obtain a copy of their work
in 1958.
  He then began to have the vision
of completing the genealogy and with
the help of his mother, Barbara
 Hirschy Habegger, and sister, Lois
Habegger, began to work toward that
end in the early 1960s. But there
was never enough time to give to the
effort so the project could be only
worked at sporadically. Now that he
retired in August 1991, time and a
computer were available to give
renewed impetus to the task. It is
planned that the vision of Noah C.
and Walter will finally be completed
in 1994 in time for the GATHERING.

THE GATHERING
COMMITTEE

  A committee has been formed to
plan for our HIRSCHY GATHERING
that will take place on July 30.
Members of that committee are: (The
number behind their name indicates
the ancestor from which they or
their spouse are descended)
Kenneth Hirschy (4), Decatur. Chr.
Cletus Hirschy (4) Ft. Wayne. V-Ch.
Connie Zollars (3) Fort Wayne. Sec.
Dick Beitler (3), Berne. Treas.
Melissa (Mrs Jim) Beitler,(3) Berne
Barbara Bulmahn (1) Decatur,
David Habegger (4) Fort Wayne,
Barry Humble (Dianna 6), Decatur,
Gary Neuen (4), Fort Wayne,
Jeanette (9) and Tillman (3)
Sprunger, Berne,
James A. Witmer (5) Spencerville.
  As you can see we have a good
representation from the various
members of the first family.
  There will be a number of sub-
committees formed to do the planning
for the activities that are
envisioned. If you have ideas for
the GATHERING, and would like to
help with some of the activities,
contact any of the members named.
We would like to have an event that
will be of interest to all ages.
  The HIRSCHY GATHERING will be
held on Saturday afternoon and
evening of July 30 which is the
weekend that Berne, IN has its
annual SWISS DAYS. These begin on
Thursday evening July 28. Plan to
come to Berne to enjoy the
activities of this whole weekend.
Get in touch with your Swiss
heritage by coming to this event.
Details will be sent to you in Apr.

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A REMARKABLE PERSON

  The first person to begin
collecting Hirschy family
information was Noah Calvin Hirschy.
He was collecting such information
as early as 1892. In 1907 when he
his family were in Switzerland he
found the farm where his father and
his father's brothers and sisters
lived with their parents in the
1830s. He thus holds an important
place in the family and so we here
introduce his to you.
  Noah Calvin Hirschy was a very
unique person. Born Feb. 2, 1867 in
a log cabin in Adams County,
Indiana, he was the tenth of eleven
children born to Philip (3) and Mary
Rich Hirschy. His parents were
members of the Amish community that
had begun to settle in the forests
of Adams County, Indiana beginning
in 1837. Nary's father, Jean Rich
(Johannes Reicher) was the first
Amish/Mennonite minister to come to
this new territory.
  Philip and Mary Hirschy had very
limited education, probably the
equivalent of third or fourth grade.
Their children attended the public
school in their community and here
Noah began his educational journey.
  Teachers were needed in these
schools and persons were placed as
teachers with limited training.
Noah's ability was recognized for
when he was 18 he was asked to
become a teacher. We do not know
whether N.C. had more than an 8th
grade education at this point. His
brother, David, was already a
teacher and encouraged Noah to get
further education to prepare himself
for the job. He attended summer
classes in the Normal school in
Portland, IN in 1886 and 1887. He
then taught in a country grade
school for four years.
  It appears that attending summer
school just whetted Noah's appetite
for sore education, It was not
customary for the Amish church to
give permission to its members to
obtain any sore education than was
necessary to teach in the country
grade schools. So Noah, who had
 united with the church, went to the
Ministers to get permission to go
for additional education. In his
diary Noah remarks that the Elders
could not agree with his request.
We do not know whether this
means his request was denied or
whether there was not a consensus
of what should be permitted, In any
event Noah entered Tri-State
College in Angola, IN and attended
two years, 1889-91.
  Following this Noah became the
principle of the school in Berne for
the year 1891-92. That year he
began attending the First
Mennonite Church in Berne. The
leading minister was the young
vigorous Samuel P. Sprunger who
had received three years of
ministerial training in the
Wadsworth Institute in Wadsworth,
Ohio, the first Mennonite school of
this kind in America. Because of his
appreciation for this church, Noah
went to his home congregation
(which had now taken on the name
Defenseless Mennonite Church)
requesting his membership be
transferred. He was told this was
not the custom of the church so he
united with First Mennonite without
such approval.
  The year 1892 began a new
direction for Noah. The First
Mennonite Church had its roots in
Switzerland with a group that had
opposed Jacob Amman, the founder
of the Amish Church in 1693, First
Mennonite was also a member of
the General Conference of
Mennonite which was a more liberal
minded group than the newly
formed Defenseless Mennonite
Church conference. The ministerial
school in Wadsworth was no longer
functioning, but the Wadsworth
Mennonite Church had begun its
own school and in the fall of 1892
Noah enrolled in this school,
probably to study the Bible and
Mennonite history.
  Noah's gifts were recognized in
Wadsworth and the following year
he was asked to be the principal of
this institution and to become the
assistant to the pastor of the
church. The Wadsworth Mennonite
 Church was one of the most
progressive congregations in its
Conference having had the influence
of the Wadsworth Institute for the
eleven years of its existence.
  The attitude of many Mennonites,
as well as the Amish, was that
higher education was unnecessary,
and even a danger to faith. Those
who dedicated their lives to the
service of God might get appropriate
further education. To prepare
himself for this progressive town
church's ministry Noah enrolled in
Oberlin Theological Seminary. He
was then ordained for the ministry
by the senior pastor, Ephraim
Hunsberger and the pastor in Berne,
S.F. Sprunger.
  Another major event in Noah's
life was his marriage to Augusta
Hunsberger,the daughter of the
senior pastor, He married her Sept.
5, 1895.
  In Oberlin College and Seminary
Noah enrolled primarily in courses
in old and New Testament and
Theology. He also studied Hebrew
and New Testament Greek along with
Classical Greek , latin, and German
language and literature. Plant life
was always of interest so he also
took courses in Botany and Biology.
He completed his college and
seminary studies receiving both the
B.A. (1897) and Bachelor of Divinity
(1898)degrees. By the time he
completed this course of study he
was probably the most educated
pastor in any Mennonite church.
  Noah's gifts were also recognized
by the larger Mennonite church. He
was elected to the Home Mission
Committee of the General Conference
and in 1898 as the moderator of the
Middle District Conference, Then in
1900 he was chosen to become the
first president of the newly
organized college in Bluffton, Ohio.
  Noah continued his studies by
enrolling in the University of
Chicago Divinity School specializing
in Old Testament studies, Here he
also studied Aramaic and Arabic. He
received the N.A, degree in 1906,
But this was not the end. Noah toot
a sabbatical from his position at
Bluffton College and went to the

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University in Bern, Switzerland to
work for a doctorate. He was
granted the Ph.D. degree magna
cum laude (with great distinction)
in the spring of 190?. In receiving
this degree he stands with two
other men (C. Henry Smith and
Samuel K. Mosiman) as the first
Mennonites in America to receive
this degree. All three received the
degree in 1907, but what is most
remarkable is that both Hirschy and
Smith grew up in Amish homes.
  Noah ended his relationship with
the Mennonite church when he left
Bluffton College for the presidency
of Redfield College in South Dakota
in 1908. After serving there for
five years he left the college scene
for seven years. In 1920 he
accepted the Position of professor
of Botany in Berea College, Berea,
KY. There he died in 1925,
  A fuller account of his life will
appear in the Hirschy history and
genealogy.
  While in Switzerland Noah went
to the archives in La
Chaux-de-Ponds to locate the farm
where the Hirschy family had lived
prior to coming to America.
Nowhere in his writings does he
mention where earlier Hirschy
ancestors had lived prior to moving
to Canton Neuchatel, The records
in La Chaux-de-Fonds no longer
exist as the building housing the
records burned during the 1960s.

OUR HIRSCHY HEIMAT

  Citizenship in Switzerland is
registered in a person's HEIMAT,
or home village. Beginning in 1672
Switzerland required all residents
to register in the Parish (county)
in which they were living. This was
the start of their civil records,
Since that date, all male descend-
ants and their children are
registered in that village. The
daughters are registered at birth,
but when married their name goes
to the village of their husband with
the notation of their previous
heimat.
  Since the name Hirschy (or
Hirschi) is common in Switzerland,
Hirschy families are registered in
eight different villages in several
 Cantons. As he began to research
the Hirschy family the author
wondered whether he would ever
discover the Hirschy heimat since
Noah C. Hirschy never mentioned it.
Thus it was with real delight that
he discovered in 1974 that his
Hirschy forebears are recorded in
the sane village as his Habegger
forebears, the village of Trub in
the Emmental of Canton Bern, Philipp
Hirschi and Julie Anna Frey (sic,)
and their children are recorded in
Volume 3, page 186. The Frey family
heimat is Rothenbach, also in the
Emmental,
  Our Hirschy forebears left the
Emmental some time prior to 1736,
the date a Hirschy child was born in
the vicinity of Courtelary in the
Jura. Then by 1741 they were living
in the community of La Chaux-de-
Fonds, Canton Neuchatel. So our
Hirschy forebears lived in Canton
Neuchatel for 94 years prior to
coming to America,



THE VILLAGE OF TRUB

  The village of Trub lies nestled
in the little Trub valley with
numerous small branching valleys,
Driving up the valley one see high
pastures and fields that were carved
out of the forest centuries ago. In
this valley and on the hills one
sees single or double households
with cows grazing in the pastures.
  The village was initially started
as a Catholic monastery in the 14th
century. The monastery was given
the surrounding land to make it
 viable. The monastery rented au,,
homesteads to various families,
These early records are extant and
should be researched to find out
where the Hirschy family lived
before the Reformation, Following
the Reformation the monastery was
closed and the renters continued to
lived on the farms, paying rent to
the city of Berne.
  Trub has about 27000 registered
citizens scattered in various
Cantons and in various Parts of the
world. Though it is a tiny place,
it can boast to having the second
highest number of citizens of any
village or town in Switzerland, The
cities of today have many residents,
but they are registered in the
various heimats of the country, And
if one would count all the
descendants of these sturdy
forebears, the number would be many
thousands.
  It was impossible for the small
valley to contain the numerous
offspring, so emigration to other
Places started the second half of
the 17th century and continues at
the present time.

LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH
  If your address needs updating,
or if you want to add names to the
mailing list, send in the informat-
ion with your label to David
Habegger, 6929 Hillsboro Ct., Fort
Wayne, IN 46835.
  If you want to help defray the
cost of producing and mailing this
newsletter, you may send a contri-
bution to Dick Beitler, Treas.
2145W 700S, Berne, IN 46711.
  A second newsletter will be sent
to you in April giving more details
of the July 30 HIRSCHY GATHERING and
order form to order copies of the
Hirschy Genealogy.
  Would you like to see this
newsletter continue? Do you have
articles or information that would
be of interest to others. If so,
let the editor know.
Editor:David Habegger
6929 Hillsboro Ct.
Fort Wayne, IN 46835
Phone: 219-486-4291

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