Friday, January 31, 2020

Anna (Katharina) Sidler 1617 -1665


Anna Sidler was born to Johannes Sidler b 1583 and Katharina Kleiner b 1584. Her mother Katharina died when Anna was ten years old. Johannes Sidler never re-married so he raised Anna and her 6 living siblings by himself.  FamilySearch has her middle name as Katharina but we have not located verification of her middle name. Whether or not it is true it seems like a good idea because naming her after her mother is an honor. Julius Billeter called her just Anna.

After her birth her parents  welcomed four more children into their home. Verena died in infancy as did Barbara and Walthar but Othmar lived 25 years. Death was no stranger to these people. There was constant giving births and dying on the farms, similar to what happened in the stable with the animals. Death was seen as natural. Only medicine and hygienic measures lowered the infant and childhood mortality rate.  Many villages lost 30 to 40% of the Swiss population never lived past infancy or the toddler age in the 17th century.. (Peter Bertschinger)

Anna lived during the 30 years war. More people were killed in that war between Protestants and Catholics than in WWI. But Switzerland was relatively peaceful. Anna married Hans Jakob Bär when she was about 29. Anna had 15 children in 17 years which must be some kind of a record. Her first five children died in infancy. This is the reason no children are listed in the 1649 church Census.  Eight died altogether and 7 lived to adulthood. The seven children are all represented in the 1670 Kirche Census. She lived 27 years 10 months 13 days.

We often see that from the age 20 years on, when marriage was allowed by the church, the parents had least one child every year, often stillborn. The rule for naming was that the godparents gave their first name to the child,. For example if a child named Barbara died, they continued the name until one survived the first years. From this Julius Billeter concluded that a child died young and noted a "dy" by their name. On average these big farmer families had about two boys and two girls that made it to adulthood and most of them got married. (Peter Bertschinger,)

During their lives:
1618 - 1649 The balance of power between the Reformed and Catholic estates leads the Confederation to stay out of the Thirty Years' War. (Ottenbach Municipality Website)
1600 - 1800 Switzerland is a loose confederacy of 13 cities and small valley communities dominating the rest of the country. A few families control state
The Thirty Years' War was a war fought in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. One of the most destructive conflicts in human history, it resulted in eight million fatalities not only from military engagements but also from violence, famine, and plague but the Swiss confederacy is a "peaceful island." (Wikipedia and Ottenbach Municipality)

Food
Pork, beef, poultry and other meats were processed and preserved at home. Even the menus were seasonal; during the spring and summer, more fruits and vegetables were eaten because they were fresh and ripe, while in the winter families relied on preserved foods. (Wikipedia)

1670 Census
The "T"means Testimonial (Zeugnusse, Zeugnisse) and the “C”  Communicantes or Confirmation (those after the communicaton with 15 years can go to the Lords's supper (Abendmahl) and partake of the sacrament. The Decal. refers to the 10 commandments Kirche curriculum. (Dr Ziegler Latin terms)

The church censuses were taken every few years. The Ottenbach Pastor took all of his records and made a clean copy to send to his higher ups. The census included the advancement of each child in the church's curriculum.

First children learned how to pray, then they learned the 10 commandments curriculum, the small confirmation book and finally the large confirmation book. Anna's children are making good progress.


Anna Katharina's Children (from FamilySearch)
1. Katarina Bär 1646-
2. Elsbeth Bär 1648-1648
3. Catharina Bär 1649-
4. Jacob Bär 1650
5. Heini Bär 1651
6. Georg Heinrich Bär 1651-1727
7. Heinrich Bär 1652-
8. Barbara Bär 1652-1711
9. Rudi Bär 1653
10, Hans Bär 1653-1699
11. Rudolph Bär 1654
12. Hans Jageli (Jacob) Bär 1655-1703
13. Fridi Bär 1657-1682
14. Barbara Syedler Bär 1659-1711
15. Ulrich Bär 1663-1735

Documents related to Anna Sidler:



Anna Sidler birth 29 May 1617 film 8014328 page 83 Note the spelling of 
Katharina Kleiner. The K in German script looks like an S.

Anna Sidler and Hans Jakob Bär marriage 4 August 1646,
Ottenbach, Züirch Archives reference: E III 88.2, S. 11

Hans Jakob Bär marriage to Anna Sidler 4 August
1646 film 8014328 page 107 


Anna Katharina Sidler and Hans Jacob Bär 1649 Church Census 
film 8126304 page 140, Because her first 5 children died
infancy, in the 1649 Census there are no children at home however 
it appears they have taken in some relatives. This may be the 
reason no Pastoral notes on children's progress toward 
Confirmation are listed on the right side of the census.




Anna Katharina Sidler b 1617 and Hans Jacob Bär b 1618 Family 
in 1670 Kirche Census by  Pastor Hans Ulrich Wiesendanger 
film 7765846 page 383 Anna is not listed because she died 5 years 
previously but her children are there. The word after Han’s name 
says viduus = widower at the time of census.

This is Pastor Wiesendanger's key so a person can
decipher where each child is in their progress toward
confirmation. 
Sidler and Hegetschweiler Temple Record Book by Julius Billeter page 7


Anna Sidler death 11 April 1665 film 8014328 page 369