Today in Family History in 1837 ~ Regina Anna Maria Catarina Giuseppa Filomena Gentinetta was born

On today’s date in 1837, my third great grandmother Regina Anna Maria Catarina Giuseppa Filomena Gentinetta was born in Brig, Switzerland. She was the daughter of Francesco Giuseppe Gentinetta and Anna Maria Regina Theresia Mutter. Anna Maria Regina Theresia Mutter was from the village of Niederwald – birthplace of Cesar Ritz.

Who was Regina? She was the mother of my immigrant second great grandmother Anna Heinzen (Kirsch) and immigrant Leo Heinzen. In 1858, Regina married Joseph Anton Heinzen, a farmer. Their wedding record stated that her father was from Italy, specifically Valle Bognanco. However, the 1870 Cenus for Ried, Brig, which I had to comb through one by one, stated he was born in Ried. I do not know which is correct.

Also according to that census, Regina, husband Joseph Anton, and their children, including Anna, were residing with her father Francesco Gentinetta. Please see the image below. He is at the top of the page – indicated as Franz.

Earlier census records for Ried are online as well at the Archives of Valais in Sion. Unfortunately, there are so many Franz Gentinettas and misspellings of the surname I do not know which is ours. Adding to the confusion is the fact that his father was also named Franz!

Regina passed away on October 1, 1911 in Brig, Switzerland. Some day I hope I get to see a photo of her.

Are we related? Do you have a correction or addition? Please email me at cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net.

Today in Family History …the Witchcraft Trial of my 10th Great Grandfather Martin Heinzen Began (Re-Post)

On today’s date in 1629, the witchcraft trial of my 10th great grandfather Martin Heinzen started at Freigericht Ganter, near Glis, Valais, Switzerland because someone in the local populace had sick livestock and other executed witches had implicated him as their accomplice.  Martin ended up being tortured for nearly a week in hopes of extracting confessions of sorcery.

Mayor Kaspar Stockaler was the man responsible for routing out witches in the local population.  Thirty witnesses had sworn statements against my 10th great grandfather.

Because Ganter didn’t have a torture device, they borrowed one from nearby Brig.

Through his long torture, Martin confessed every sin, and in an article in French on the subject of witchcraft trials in Valais, he confessed every “pecadillo” BUT sorcery.  On the 12th of October 1629, friends and relatives of Martin demanded his release.   So he was released and ordered to pay one third of the costs of his trial!

When I found this sensational fact about my ancestor, I discovered that the witch trial madness had actually started in Valais, Switzerland in 1428 before it spread to the rest of Europe.  It started there! You can find headings about this sad phenomena under such headings as “Valais witch trials” and “Swiss werewolf witch trials.”  I am still searching for a book in English on the subject.

Martin went on to marry and have my 9th great grandfather Kaspar Heinzen.  Of note is the fact that Martin’s wife and Kaspar’s mother – Barbara Andamatten, shared a surname with one of Ganter’s witchcraft judges.

Martin Heinzen’s tale appears in “Das Freigerecht Ganter” and “Notes sur les procès d’hérésie et de sorcellerie en Valais” because he was an accused sorcerer that walked away from one of these terrible trials with his life.

I suspect Martin may be my 10th great grandfather two times over.  I need to do some more digging.  Martin is the ancestor of my immigrant second great grandmother Anne Marie Aloisia Heinzen.

Do you have Swiss ancestors accused of sorcery? Have you found European ancestors accused of witchcraft?

Sources:

Dionys Imesch, “Das Freigericht Ganter”, dans Blätter aus der Walliser Geschichte, Bd 3, 1902-1906, S. 70-100, surtout p. 82-83 (http://doc.rero.ch/record/200661) 

Kirchegemeinde Glis

“Hexerei im Oberwallis” um 1600 von Hans Steffen

Jules-Bernard Bertrand, “Notes sur les procès d’hérésie et de sorcellerie en Valais”, dans Annales valaisannes, 1921, vol. 3, n° 2-3, p. 151-194, surtout p. 189-191 (en ligne: http://doc.rero.ch/record/6753)

Thank you to the great people in Genealogie Familienforschung Ahnenforschung Schweiz and Genealogy Translations…  

This post was originally shared 4 years ago on this date.

cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

Military Monday ~ The Bonaparte Years in Switzerland and Italy

Switzerland

Johann Joseph Heinzen was born near Brig, Valais, Switzerland in 1782 to my fifth great grandfather Joseph Ignaz Christian Heinzen, and his first wife, Anne Marie Fintschen. According to Le soldat valaisan au service de l’Empereur Napoléon: un service étranger différent (1806-1811) – in Vallesia, by Louiselle de Riedmatten, via Geneanet, when he was baptized, his godfather was Major D. Joseph Berenfaller. I did a quick search of the Berenfallers and believe they were a local Brig family.

On May 1, 1807, at age 24, Johann Joseph entered into the foreign service of Emperor Napoleon. His matricule number was 465. He was my 4th great grand uncle.

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  Swiss infantry of Napoleon via Pinterest

At this time I would like to acknowledge the various other Heinzens, Mutters, and Gentinettas that are distant cousins, or whom I cannot currently verify a relationship to, who were in Napoleon’s foreign service. They would all be relations of immigrant Anne Marie Heinzen Kirsch.

Italy

Meanwhile, south of Switzerland in Italy, in 1808, my sixth great grandfather Paolo Carusi was made Luogotenete (Lieutenant) of the Guardia Urbano by the local occupying Bonapartist French military leader. He would have been around 72 years old at this time.

Paolo was given command of 12 French soldiers with the purpose of hunting down the brigands of Farindola and the environs. In fact, some of the local brigands made alliances against the French, and were former soldiers themselves, who had fought against the Bonapartists in the north of Italy in the 1790s. These former soldiers included one Massimo Marcella of Trosciano, purported to be the local go-between between brigand factions. Paolo Carusi, and this period of upheaval in Farindola, are mentioned in the book Storia di Farindola, Dalle Origini ai Giorni Nostri by Antonio Procacci.

Gennaro Carusi, in his great book, I Carusi, suggests that Paolo may have been chosen for this assignment because he may have had prior military experience.

I have written here before of Paolo and his children. Paolo Carusi was also one of the few in Farindola that could write. Paolo was the ancestor of Luigia Maria Massei.

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-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

31 Day Genealogy Challenge – Day 19: Share a Record from a Foreign Country

Today I got to pick from many foreign records. I chose the Catholic baptism of my third great grandmother dated March 18, 1837 from the parish of the Assumption of Mary in Glis, Canton Valais, Switzerland. Her full name was Regina Anna Maria Caterina Giuseppa Filomena Gentinetta. Her father was Francesco Giuseppe Gentinetta from Val Bognanco, Italy and her mother was Maria Regina Mutter from Niederwald, Canton Valais, Switzerland. Niederwald was the birthplace of Cesar Ritz. Regina is the mother of immigrants Anna Heinzen Kirsch and Leo Heinzen, the spiritual healer. Leo was the subject of Day 16 of this challenge. This record is not online. The Swiss cantonal archives sent me a series of records on this branch of the family.

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Do you have any comments or additions? Please email me – cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net.

31 Day Genealogy Challenge – Day 16: Share an Obituary

Today I share the obituary of my immigrant great grand uncle Leo Heinzen. He was born in Brig, Valais, Switzerland in 1878, emigrated to Chicago in the early 1900s to live with his sister Anna Heinzen Kirsch, and died in 1962 in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was a mesmerist in the Spiritualist Church for many years as well as a cook. This obituary was printed in the Battle Creek Inquirer on March 23, 1962.

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Are we related? Email me – cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net.

12 Months of My Family Tree in Print – February

This month the following news items are featured in my family tree:

• On February 13, 1915, the burial notice of my second great grandmother Katharina Schuttler Eckebrecht was in Chicago’s German language newspaper The Abenpost on page 4.  She was to be buried in Montrose Cemetery with Fred Schmidt’s funeral home handling the burial.

• On February 14, 1953, Antonio Ciocco appeared on page 8 of The Cincinnati Inquirer, while he was serving as an advisory committee member to an Air Hygiene Study.  The photo caption stated he was the head of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.  Who is he to me?  He is the son of Gelsomina Ferraro Ciocco, sister of my great grandfather Carmine Ferraro.  That makes him a first cousin twice removed to the writer.  He is the gentleman seated in the bottom left corner of the photo below.  The family resemblance is definitely there.

• On today’s date in 1899, my immigrant second great grandfather Johann (John) Leies was named on page 10 of The Chicago Tribune.  His name was in print because he was being listed as a Clerk of Elections in the Twenty-First Ward, Precinct 13, for the Democratic Party.  It also listed his home address.  See for yourself below.

• Finally, on February 19, 1925, my second great grandmother’s brother Leo Heinzen, the spiritual healer, was in The Battle Creek Enquirer on page 3 because he was qualifying for a United States Citizenship ceremony.  The women listed had to file for citizenship because their spouses were born elsewhere!

Do you have more information on any of these individuals, have questions, corrections, or comments?  Please feel free to email me cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #27: Independent

This week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Independent.  There are many in my tree that fall under this prompt.

My immigrant second great grandmothers Emilia Anna Bold Leies and Anne Marie Aloisia Heinzen strike me as two independent women of their time because they both made the trek to this country without the benefit of being accompanied by parents or a spouse.  Emilia may have come with one or more of her brothers, however, Anne traveled alone.  Emilia’s mother, Great Great Great Grandmother Elisabetha Scheid Bold is another.  She came to the United States after the death of her husband in her old age to live out the rest of her days.  Does that mean Emilia inherited her independent nature?  I am positive her sister Anna did, because she came to New York City alone at age  15.

My immigrant second great grandfather Fritz Eckebrecht, who gallavanted across the post-war South and lived with the Comanches, all while he was still a teenager, also comes to mind.

So does my great grandfather Cesidio, an immigrant who came to America alone to earn money for his family still behind in Italy.

My great grandfather Serafina must’ve been extremely self-sufficient and busy raising the children while Cesidio was in America.

Lastly, I also think of my immigrant second great grandfather Italian Army Captain Angelo Ferraro because he was there on September 20, 1870, when the Italians Captured Rome from foreign armies during the Italian War of Unification.

Happy Birthday to my great uncle, Father G. John Leies, born on today’s date 110 years ago!  He started the hunt!

 

–cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

 

 

Women’s History Month/52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #13 In the Papers ~ Great Grandmother Helen Kirsch Ferraro – Witness in the Murder Case of Mrs. Louise Gentry ~

This week’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is in the papers.  My great grandmother Helen Kirsch Ferraro was a protected witness in a Chicago murder case that involved an international manhunt on 3 continents before she met and married my great grandfather.  All of the information I found concerning the murder, manhunt, and trial came from old newspapers.

My great grandmother had become acquainted with a man that later was wanted for murder while she worked in an Italian “boot-blacking” shop on Clark Street in Chicago. Because she had seen perpetrator Frank Constantine get in a car near the scene of the crime, and because of the amount of national press coverage the investigation garnered, the Chicago Police Department sent her to Poughkeepsie, NY to identify him with a different name.  Below is a 3 year old blog post I offer this week’s challenge.  The only sources available about the investigation and crime were newspaper articles because the case file has been destroyed.  Because it gained nationwide attention, I was able to use articles from allover the country.

Great Grandmother Helen Kirsch, witness in the 1906 murder case of Mrs. Louise Gentry

 

–cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

My Switzerland (Canton Valais and Canton Bern) and Northern Italian Surnames and Places Lists

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Canton Valais/Wallis, Switzerland

• Ried-Brig: Heinzen, Vollmar, Bieler, Imhoff, Holzer, Pfaffen, Andamatten
• Brig: Gentinetta
• Niederwald: Mutter
• Bodmen: Mutter, Nellen
• Lingwurm: Lauwiner
• Unknown: Blatter, Zum-Kami

Piemonte, Italy

• Bognanco: Gentinetta

Canton Bern, Switzerland

• Wattenwil: Muller, Stauffer
• Oberdiessbach: Muller, Rubeli/Strubel, Gungerich, Schindler
• Langnau: Strubel/Rubeli, Vogel

 

Thank you for visiting.

-cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net

The Unbreakable One: My 10th Great Grandfather Martin Heinzen – Witchcraft Trial Survivor

On today’s date in 1629, the witchcraft trial of my 10th great grandfather Martin Heinzen started at Freigericht Ganter, near Glis, Valais, Switzerland because someone in the local populace had sick livestock and other executed witches had implicated him as their accomplice.  Martin ended up being tortured for nearly a week in hopes of extracting confessions of sorcery.

Mayor Kaspar Stockaler was the man responsible for routing out witches in the local population.  Thirty witnesses had sworn statements against my 10th great grandfather.

Because Ganter didn’t have a torture device, they borrowed one from nearby Brig.

Through his long torture, Martin confessed every sin, and in an article in French on the subject of witchcraft trials in Valais, he confessed every “pecadillo” BUT sorcery.  On the 12th of October 1629, friends and relatives of Martin demanded his release.   So he was released and ordered to pay one third of the costs of his trial!

When I found this sensational fact about my ancestor, I discovered that the witch trial madness had actually started in Valais, Switzerland in 1428 before it spread to the rest of Europe.  You can find headings about this sad phenomena under such headings as “Valais witch trials” and “Swiss werewolf witch trials.”  I am still searching for a book in English on the subject.

I also found this web article simply titled “No One Tortured Witches Like the Swiss.”

Martin went on to marry and have my 9th great grandfather Kaspar Heinzen.  Of note is the fact that Martin’s wife and Kaspar’s mother – Barbara Andamatten, shared a surname with one of Ganter’s witchcraft judges.

Martin Heinzen’s tale appears in “Das Freigerecht Ganter” and “Notes sur les procès d’hérésie et de sorcellerie en Valais” because he was an accused sorcerer that walked away from one of these terrible trials with his life.

I suspect Martin may be my 10th great grandfather two times over.  I need to do some more digging.  Martin is the ancestor of my immigrant second great grandmother Anne Marie Aloisia Heinzen.

Do you have Swiss ancestors accused of sorcery? Have you found European ancestors accused of witchcraft?

Sources:

Dionys Imesch, “Das Freigericht Ganter”, dans Blätter aus der Walliser Geschichte, Bd 3, 1902-1906, S. 70-100, surtout p. 82-83 (http://doc.rero.ch/record/200661) 

Kirchegemeinde Glis

“Hexerei im Oberwallis” um 1600 von Hans Steffen

Jules-Bernard Bertrand, “Notes sur les procès d’hérésie et de sorcellerie en Valais”, dans Annales valaisannes, 1921, vol. 3, n° 2-3, p. 151-194, surtout p. 189-191 (en ligne: http://doc.rero.ch/record/6753)

Thank you to the great people in Genealogie Familienforschung Ahnenforschung Schweiz and Genealogy Translations…  

cinziarosagenealogy@comcast.net