Johannes' father Kaspar taught school from 1767 to 1790 or 23 years. When Kaspar died in 1790 his son Johannes took over and taught from 1790 to 1828 or 38 years. That means that Susanna's Jenta's uncle taught Susanna from the time she entered school until she completed her education. The school was held in Johannes's parlor from 1790 until 1809, at which time the first school building was built. School was held in that structure until 1954. When Johannes died in 1828 Susanna's uncle, Johannes' son, Heinrich took over and taught from 1828 until 1949 or 21 years. (Jenta history researched by Peter Bertschinger, Full history, & photos of Ettenhausen by Peter Bertschinger, History of the municipality of Wetzikon)
In 1799 schoolmaster Johannes Jenta reported on the conditions in the school which went into great detail on what school was like for his students. The agency over the school was the pastor of Wetzikon. This wasn't a school just for Ettenhausen but included six small surrounding hamlets all 10 to 12 minutes away. Ettenhausen had far and away the largest number of students totaling 76 everyday students and 26 repeater students. The other hamlets made up 10 students and 7 repeaters. There were 85 High School Students in the summer. School was 6 hours a day. Most of the year they met daily but in summer they met only 2 days a week. School began with prayer, then songs from the Schmidlischen Choral Songs, the Psalms of David, and Songs of the Christian hymn book. Children were divided into the following five classes. 1. Nammenbuchli, 2. Teacher, 3. Test Book U. Psalter, 4. Psalm Book and 5. Testament. The schoolmaster is examined by the Convent of Zurich for the pastor's presence and standstill, after the rehearsal, reading, writing, singing. The schoolmaster has a wife and 2 children. Students paid a small tuition of 20ß and Johannes received 10 fl a year. The schoolmaster kept the school in his own room (parlour), from which he receives interest above school fees, approximately from the church property for Sunday school 5 fl. .......Ettenhausen. in March. 1799,
Greeting and brotherly love Schulmstr Jenta.,
(Source for paragraph above: Ettenhausen School report 1799) (Notes: Stillstand - church overseers, also called Ehegaumer. They had to stand still after the sermon on Sunday and discuss with the pastor all the scandals that happened at their place/ 1 fl. is one Florin = one Gulden, used to be a piece of money, coin, quite valuable/1 ß is one shilling, a part of a florin like a dime/ The wood of the big Ettenhausen forests was necessary to heat the oven in the school house during winter season. Often the pupils had to bring a log to the school to heat./Namenbüchli was full of names, often from the Bible - the kids used it to learn the letters, i.e. to spell./Scheuchzer was a famous (rich family) in the City of Zurich. They sponsored a fund, to make possible the school in Ettenhausen, i.e. to pay the teacher).
Famine
It must be recalled that in the days before world trade the danger of famine was always latent. Even partially failed harvests were enough to throw the affected regions into a state of emergency. Opportunities to import from neighboring regions were limited. Local economies were very susceptible and prices reacted sensitively and suddenly. In January 1770, a loaf of bread cost 5 Shilling 8 Heller, and it rose to 12 Shilling 6 Heller in January 1771, reaching 15 Shilling in April 1771 and dropping again to 6 Shilling in August 1772. Price rises and famines like these were part of the normal experiences of a lifetime, like natural catastrophes or epidemics, and they were remembered as admonishments and warnings. People should not ask themselves, wrote Schmidlin of Wetzikon, “Why God subsequently [after good years] thins the misapplied surplus in anno 1770 and 1771 with shortages. It became apparent that their daily bread came from the hand of the Lord: the official price of bread was announced from the pulpit after morning service. During the years of rising prices the people would acknowledge this portentous message with humble resignation. In the starvation year 1817, whens the prices were red out in the church of Wetzikon on 6 June, the choir leader, schoolmaster Jenta of Ettenhausen, struck up a song by Schmidlin Ich sterbe nun (I Die Now) and the parishioners sang it through to the end with tears in their eyes. The specter of famine was constantly knocking at the door, but poverty and distress cannot be explained by failed harvests and starvation years; they should be seen ‘not so much as absolute causes, but as catalysts.’ (Industrialization and Everyday Life by Rudolf Braun page 162 – 163, Note Johannes Jenta 1773 – 1828 was the schoolteacher qwho led the song at the time. A reprinted book currently available called Excerpt from the hymn book of Johannes Schmidlin, Pastor Zu Wetzikon Und Seegräben, born 1722 and died 1772: Published by the parish of Wetzikon)
Famine
It must be recalled that in the days before world trade the danger of famine was always latent. Even partially failed harvests were enough to throw the affected regions into a state of emergency. Opportunities to import from neighboring regions were limited. Local economies were very susceptible and prices reacted sensitively and suddenly. In January 1770, a loaf of bread cost 5 Shilling 8 Heller, and it rose to 12 Shilling 6 Heller in January 1771, reaching 15 Shilling in April 1771 and dropping again to 6 Shilling in August 1772. Price rises and famines like these were part of the normal experiences of a lifetime, like natural catastrophes or epidemics, and they were remembered as admonishments and warnings. People should not ask themselves, wrote Schmidlin of Wetzikon, “Why God subsequently [after good years] thins the misapplied surplus in anno 1770 and 1771 with shortages. It became apparent that their daily bread came from the hand of the Lord: the official price of bread was announced from the pulpit after morning service. During the years of rising prices the people would acknowledge this portentous message with humble resignation. In the starvation year 1817, whens the prices were red out in the church of Wetzikon on 6 June, the choir leader, schoolmaster Jenta of Ettenhausen, struck up a song by Schmidlin Ich sterbe nun (I Die Now) and the parishioners sang it through to the end with tears in their eyes. The specter of famine was constantly knocking at the door, but poverty and distress cannot be explained by failed harvests and starvation years; they should be seen ‘not so much as absolute causes, but as catalysts.’ (Industrialization and Everyday Life by Rudolf Braun page 162 – 163, Note Johannes Jenta 1773 – 1828 was the schoolteacher qwho led the song at the time. A reprinted book currently available called Excerpt from the hymn book of Johannes Schmidlin, Pastor Zu Wetzikon Und Seegräben, born 1722 and died 1772: Published by the parish of Wetzikon)
Johannes
Schmidlin. b. Zürich, 22 May 1722; d. Wetzikon, 5 November 1771. The son of a
ship’s captain, he was a student at the music college of the church of Our Lady
at Zürich. From 1736 he attended the Collegium Carolinum under Cantor Johann
Caspar Bachofen, who influenced him greatly. At the same time he studied
theology, and was ordained in 1743. He was vicar of Dietlikon (1744-54) and
priest of Wetzikon and Seegräben from 1754 until his death. He was known as a
composer of edifying Pietist hymns. In 1752 he edited what is perhaps his best
known work: Singendes und Spielendes Vergnügen Reiner Andacht Oder Geistreiche
Gesänge (Zürich, 1752), a collection of hymns by Paul Gerhardt*)
 |
| Zürich Archives, Johannes Jenta FamilyWetzikon E lll 139.21 p 1735 |
 |
| FamilySearch microfilm 008191940 page 355 |
Ettenhausen Schoolhouse where Johannes taught
Since 1673
Ettenhausen was a member of a school in Kempten. However, this condition did
not appeal to the church members there and after only a few years they demanded
their own school
On 22 November 1711,
the Etttenhausen civil-game community was granted its own school by the
Education Council in Zurich in Adoration of the numerous schoolchildren there.
On December 9, Joos Sporri was appointed as the first schoolmaster. As
elsewhere (e.g. in Bauma, where the schoolmasters antenten Wartmann from 1678 -
1828) also in Ettenhausen the school was held in the living room of the
schoolmaster. The schoolmaster was kept in the living room of the schoolmaster.
The schoolmaster in Ettenhausen did not receive a fixed income like the
schoolmasters of Oberwetzikon and Kempten.
In the year 1714, the
brothers Johannes and Konrad Scheuchzer made a large legacy in Zurich for
religious reasons (Christian duty) to improve old schools in need of mines in
the Zurich landscape. The schoolmaster of Ettenhausen benefited from the annual
interest on the legacy.
Old Ettenhausen
Schoolhouse 1809 – 1954. The community of Ettenhausen was initially in
Oberwetzikon, since 1673 to Kempten. Swiss school. Due to the long journey to
school, a separate school was granted in 1711, due to the foundations and
bequests, their own schoolmaster could be employed, who would hold school in
his parlor. The first school building was only built in 1809, demolished in
1954 or was replaced by consumption.
In 1809, the Civil
Community built a simple school building with a teacher's number and a boiler
room. The schoolhouse was demolished in 1954 dare a consumer new building. Upstairs
was a room for the teacher. This small school house was built in 1809 and
removed in 1954 when the Konsumverein food shop was built there, today this
building is used as Kindergarten. It is at left side at the beginning of
Ringwilerstrasse.