Since
1284 A.D. Zubler families have been known to be in Switzerland. If
you study the Zubler Swiss Page you
will come to understand that, in most every instance, the
Zubler’s were able to raise a family as free people. This was
not an easy task. In one instance, in Hallwil, during the 15th
century, the Zubler’s were Serfs, or slaves to the Lords who
owned the land. The Zubler’s, who settled in Hunzenschwil,
however, were quite different. They prospered. Not only did they
prosper but consistently married into the wealth of the village. You
will note in the Zubler's of Hunzenschwil there
are numerous marriages of male Zubler’s to female Rohr’s
and visa versa. To
a lesser extent the Fricker family was of similar wealth and are
noted in several marriages. A third marriage group was Zubler’s
marrying Zubler’s. They may have been close or distant relatives
to each other. Our heritage is from this Hunzenschwil ancestry.
Fred's
father, Johannes Zubler-881 and Susanna Bryner-882 were married on
23 February 1849 in Hunzenschwil. They
had four children.
Johann
Heinrich-963 - b. 24 Dec 1849
Anna
Maria-964 - b. 4 Dec 1850
Josef
Friedrich-965 - b. 7 Jan 1852 - Fred's given name
Elise-966
- b. 2 Mar 1853
Records
show that Johannes, also, married a woman named Wilder-986. If this
was after the death of Susanna, it was for a very short period of
time, as Susanna died during Feb of 1872 and Johannes married a Maria
Luise Häusler-960 in Jul of 1872. Johannes had another child
with Maria Luise.
Johann
Karl-967 - b. 11 Apr 1863
Note:
The number after each of the above names is a random number used to
identify the individual on the Zubler's of Hunzenschwil page.
The
Zubler’s, of Hunzenschwil, were among the richest in the
village. Occasionally, one might run into financial trouble but there
was always another Zubler to buy the land or property to keep it in
the family. Because they were among the wealthiest people in the
village the Zubler’s were able to provide a house, or portion
thereof, to each of their son’s. This approach was the
probable scenario between Johannes and Fred Zubler.
On
22 Sep 1877 Josef Friedrich
(Fred)
Zubler married Anna Maria (Mary) Meyer in Hunzenschwil,
Canton Aargau, Switzerland.
Fred was born and raised in the German speaking part of Switzerland
and Mary was, originally, from the French speaking part, probably
Fribourg, just south of Bern. I recall, during my youth,
being told that Fred and Mary did not understand each other very well.
Although
Fred grew up in Hunzenschwil,
he moved to Villmergen, a few miles to the southeast. There were
other Zubler families, who lived in Villmergen, but were from a
different tribe that separated from the Zubler's of Hunzenschwil in
the 1500's.
There
may have been a farm available, in Villmergen, and Johannes sent
Fred to run it. During Jul of 1877, Fred and Mary’s first child,
Friedrich, was born and in Sep 1878 came Louisa. Their place of birth
is unknown
but may have been in Bern or Villmergen.
Now
that Mary had two children and a third one on the way she needed
help in caring for Friedrich and Louise while recovering from her
third birth. So Mary took the children to Bern, about 100 miles
Southwest of Villmergen. There is reason to believe that
Mary’s parents lived in Fribourg, some 15 miles south of
Bern. This is the French speaking part of Switzerland. The
family may have stayed there until it was time for the child to be
born. Then on to Bern for the delivery. Ernest was born in Jun
1880. In April of 1882, when Otto came along, the senario may have
been a repeat of Ernest’s birth.
Starting
in
1875,
it became difficult to raise a family in Switzerland. This was the
beginning of several years of crop failures. These failures led to
serious problems feeding the populace. Sustained cold and icy weather
did not provide the type of climate needed to grow healthy and
abundant crops. As a result, many crops failed. Hunger and famine
from the poor food supply, among other things, started a rather
large exodus from Switzerland. It continued to rise until 1883
when it peaked.
Now,
with four children, times must have been hard for them too! With the
tight food supply and poor results in farming, Fred had to make some
decisions. His decision was to leave Switzerland as many other
Swiss families had been doing the past few years.
He,
most assuredly, heard of all the people going to California. In the
1880's, it was booming! He must have thought that all these people
are going to build houses and they will need House Painters. He could
make his fortune in California. Well, at least, a better life.
Fred, Mary and the children pack up and leave Switzerland.
When he left he listed his occupation as a House Painter. It
is hard to imagine that he was doing that, in Villmergen, as most
every one of the villagers were suffering. This was, most likely,
soon to be his new occupation in America.
In
the early fall, of 1882, they took a train from Switzerland to Le
Havre, France where they boarded the ship Saint Laurent. Most
of the passengers indicated that they were going to the USA but
without a destination. The Zubler’s knew precisely where
they were headed. To California!
The
ships passenger list shows the Zubler’s as follows:
|
NAME
Fritz Zubler
Louise
Fritz
Louise
Ernest
Otto |
AGE
31
30
4
3
2
.06 |
SEX
M
F
M
F
M
M |
OCCUPATION
Pointer
Unknown
Child
Child
Child
Infant |
1. This information is found in the book "Germans to America
- Vol 44 - August 1882 to November 1882 - Page 194. The
Family History Library Film 1027027, which documented the Saint
Laurent, failed to microfilm the page of the ship’ manifest that
had the Zubler information on it.
2. Fritz is short for Friederich.
3. It is not known why Mary was listed as Louise. It may have
been an error of the Purser or the transcription into the Germans
to America book. There is no doubt that it is Mary.
4. The occupation of Pointer is incorrect. Fred was a House Painter.
5. The .06 means that Otto was 6 months old.
They
arrived in New York on September 27, 1882. After passing
through immigration they headed to the train station. The
transcontinental railroad had been competed in 1869 and was the best
way to get to California. And West they came. They settled in
Visalia, California. They rented a home at 406 N. Church Street,
in Visalia, and Fred started to establish himself as a Painter.
Fred
went to Superior Court in Tulare County and, on 15 Dec 1983,
declared his intent to be a citizen of the United States. It was
approved on 4 Aug 1888 and the family was granted full citizenship.
In
1884, Walter, the fifth child, was born in Visalia and in 1886
Clara, the sixth child, became the newest Visalian. These were
happy times for all the children. They were too young to take on
much responsibility and, even though father Fred was a very strict
man, there was Mary to mellow any situation. On numerous weekends,
during the summer, they would go to the St. John’s River, about
9 miles east, to fish and have a picnic. 1
On
July 6, 1888, Frank was born. Mary was 38 years old. This
was her eighth.
1.
A letter from sister, Louise Snyder.
This
large family must have had difficulty surviving on only a House
Painters income. Typical of this era,
they
may have raised chickens and, possibly, sold Eggs. They, most
assuredly, had a garden to provide much of their own food. The men,
the two Fred’s, may have worked as farm laborers, pickers or
packers when there were no painting jobs.
Families,
at this time. rarely let their children complete Grammar school.
They were needed to earn a living for the family as soon as they were
able however, Fred
and Mary's children completed their Readin, Riting and Rithmetic.
Frank,
the youngest child, died on 27 May 1892 in Visalia.
Two
years later, on 23 Feb 1894, mother Mary died. The children ages, at
her death, were: Frederick - 16, Louisa - 15, Ernest - 13½,
Otto: - 11 ½, Walter
- 10, Clara - 8, Franck - Deceased.
Now
that Mary was gone there was no comforting for the children from
their stern father. Ernest must have been angry at the loss of his
mother, his protector. Why Mom? We know that he was quite independent
and he may have become rebellious, or just a typical 13 year old
seeking his own way. Father Fred demanded discipline and would not
tolerate insubordination. Ernest’s actions, whatever the cause,
brought on the wrath of his father and Ernest was beaten severely
numerous times. Father Fred would place Ernest head face down between
his legs and pound on Ernest’s back. This was too much for
Ernest and, during his 16th year,
he ran away from home. He worked on farms, locally, for awhile
then travelled
east spending some time in Texas. He returned to California in 1899
and restablished some contact with the family.
Sometime
between 1899 and 1900, father Fred moved away from Visalia. He moved
into a house at 627 S. Monroe in Stockton, CA. He took Clara with him
as she was still too young to be on her own. She, probably, did the
housework and the cooking. The house, now in an industrial area, no
longer exists. Louise,
also, moved to Stockton. The wereabouts of young Fred, Otto and
Walter are unknown at this time. Ernest
joined the
army and was assigned to an Artillery Battery on Alcatraz Island in
the middle of San Francisco Bay. The childrens ages, in
1900,
are: Clara
- 14, Walter - 16, Otto - 18, Ernest - 20,
Louisa - 22 and Fred - 24. The birthdates listed on the census,
for both Fred and Clara, were erroneous. It
appears the error was intentional for reasons only Fred would know.
The
family had grown and began to leave the roost. In 1902 Louise
marries. Fred and Walter moved to San Francisco. Otto's whereabouts
are unknown but photos of him appear to be from San Francisco. Clara
marries in 1904.
Fred
remained close to Louisa and Clara. He stayed with Louise for a few
years in Oakland and then with Clara in Lindsay, CA. He, and Ernest,
mended their differences and maintained contact until Fred's death in 1923.
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