Swiss American Historical Society Review
Keywords
Van Gunten Family, Swiss
Abstract
Greetings to All My Family:
The idea of a family history began this year when I attempted to identify my ancestors who preceded John and Anna von Gunten - an attempt to stretch backward the generations of our family tree. Other families overwhelm me with their pedigrees reaching into the 18th, even the 17th, century. So why shouldn't I trace my roots to a greater depth, hoping that our heritage would be revealed
In early 1989 I contacted a prof esmonal genealogist, asking if she would undertake a search of John's lineage. She declined, saying she did not specialize in this period of Swiss history. This did not deter my enthusiagn. So, armed with well-intentiooed instructions from many "how to find your ancestors" books, I persisted on my own. Coupled to these instructions was a fortuitous stroke of good fortune when Gervais von Gunten of Bienne, Switzerland responded to my inquiry: He is a fourth cousin who with his knowledge of our family extended backward by two generations our family tree.
I visited Bluffton, Ohio, meeting with people who had important inf or- mation which they gladly shared with me. On a brooder view I discovered many items of interest in the community around them, events in Switzerland which could have encouraged them to emigrate, and the nature of their new homeland.
I hope you will enjoy reading this family history of your ancestors.
Recommended Citation
Van Gunten, Collin S.
(1992)
"A Family History of John and Anna von Gunten,"
Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 28:
No.
3, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol28/iss3/3