Kübler / Kubler
Visitors from North America / Kübler von Büsserach

Published in 2013 by:

Rolf T. Hallauer, Büsserach, chairman of the GHGRB

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There are many reasons to combine family research with a family celebration. A few Küblers from Büsserach in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland already had the desire to organize a festival on a larger scale. An external request was ultimately the trigger for an unstoppable dynamic. With this description that follows, I want to give you a practical impetus for how you can approach a family reunion with a genealogical background.

 

The following request from the USA got the whole thing rolling:

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A researcher I know wrote to me:  

I will be in Boppard and Speyer between September 14th and 25th with a few (14) family researchers from America. All Americans are here in Germany to visit the hometowns of their ancestors in the Rhineland, Switzerland and the Palatinate, to learn more about history and - if there is time - to possibly do family research. The cities of Boppard and Speyer serve as base camps for the group to explore the area and visit their home towns. While the individual researchers swarm out, the tour guides look after the returned sheep in the meantime. An American, Mrs. Kim Wolterman, née Kubler, has ancestors from Büsserach . Because I am not at home in the area myself or have no relatives or friends there, I am looking for local help for the American. I hope I've come to the right address with you. I have received the following data from the Americans so far:

 

Joseph V. Kubler, born February 14, 1848 (according to the tombstone) or February 14, 1850 (according to the obituary) in Büsserach, Catholic. The parents are unknown. Emigrated between 1850 and 1854. The obituary from the USA and the basis for the research in Switzerland read as follows:

 

"Leading Industries of the Principal Places in Union, Fayette, Rush & Shelby Counties Indiana" 1884 states in the article "Joseph Kubler" that he is a native of Switzerland born in 1850 who came to this country when he was four years of age. The Connersville Examiner states in the article “Joseph Kubler Drops Dead”, dated September 22, 1886, that he was born in Buserach Canton Solotum [sic], Switzerland February 14, 1850 and emigrated to this country two years later, landing in New Orleans . His tombstone states that he was 38 when he died in 1886, so that would make a birth year of 1848."

 

September 19, 2013 was agreed as the visit date. Arrival is by train. Kimberly would be interested in the following:

 

• Is there someone who could do an English-language city tour (church, local history museum, etc.)?

• Is there a local historian who could tell something else?

• Are there still family files in the on-site archives?

• Do you know of family researchers who deal with Büsserach in particular?

• Are the houses of the ancestors still standing?

• Ms. Kim Wolterman would also be interested in meeting living relatives.

 

The specifications were clear, the time for implementation was rather short but possible. Because I live in Büsserach myself and am actually acquainted with almost all Kübler (everyone knows each other in the village), I took matters into my own hands and agreed. After some e-mail contacts, clarifications, reservations, visits to the archives and contacts with the Kübler families in Büsserach, the visit and research program is as follows:

 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Arrival of Ms. Kim Wolterman - Kubler from Osnabrück to Laufen with accompanied transfer to the Hotel Gasthof zum Weissen Kreuz Breitenbach. Dinner with Kübler/Hallauer. This inn was the place of public increase when the emigrant monetized his goods before leaving.

 

Fri, September 20, 2013

Early in the morning: Transfer to the State Archives in Solothurn. Research morning and show the most important entries to the Kübler von Büsserach family.

Afternoon: City tour of Solothurn including the "Altes Zeughaus" museum.

Evening: Dinner at the Küblers.

 

Sat 21 September 2013

Morning: 10:00 a.m. Church tower museum in Büsserach with aperitif. Then possibly inspection of the church archives.

Afternoon: 1:00 pm Family reunion with lunch at Büsserach Castle and presentation of the results of research on Kübler von Büsserach and the North American branch.

Evening: Dinner with a Kübler family

 

Sun, September 22, 2013

Departure of the visitor to Speyer/D.

 

The emigrants could indeed be found in the church registers in the Solothurn State Archives. The father of the emigrants was called Vinzenz Joseph Kübler (*1806). He and his four sons were entered in the passport book in Solothurn as emigrants to North America. His wife Calorina Borer, however, is not mentioned. She may have traveled to America afterwards. The emigration took place in 1854. Two names of the four sons were changed in America. Pius Kübler became John. Adelrich Kübler became Adloch. Vinzenz Joseph Kübler and Urs Victor Kübler kept their names. First, the family name was entered as Kuebler without an umlaut. The name was later changed to Kubler.