Swiss Origins
Thursday February 06 2020
I thought today I would give a little history of the Betler-Haessig family. My mother always talked about St. Gallen (pronounced San Gal' en) in Berne which was where her grandfather, Ernst Haessig worked at a hotel. The family lived there and the girls worked as maids. Great-Great-Grandfather Ernst, and his 11-year old son Ernst, came to America in 1894 arriving in New York on the La Bourgogne. Grandmother Christina and the girls arrived on 3 Nov 1894 on the Paris. The family found their way to Helvetia. This is a copy of Ernst' Business Card:
Ernst daughter, Anna, married Otto Betler on 22 Apr 1903. She was his second wife. Otto's first wife, Anna Emily Anderegg died in 1901. Anna had many "female" problems and Otto took her to many doctors but to no avail - the couple remained childless. When Otto and Anna Haessig married, rumors ran that she was in "the family way." She was not, of course, with their first child being born in Nov 1904.
The Betler family had come to the Helvetia area as part of the founding group. They were also from Berne. Emmanuel Gottlieb Betler and his brother, Johannes, came to the US and settled first in Pittsburgh PA in 1871. He met another Swiss native, Verena Risch, there and the couple were married on 12 Jan 1873. Sometime between 1874 and 1878 the family, which now included two children, moved to Helvetia. Verena died in Helvetia at the age of 46 leaving 5 children. Hers is the line from which I descend. Gottlieb married Ida Sandler on 7 May 1889 and this couple had an additional 7 children.
In the spring of 1890 Gottlieb and Ida moved to the family farmhouse he had built. The farm lies 2.5 miles from Helvetia and 2.5 miles from Pickens. For this reason, some of the children claim that they were born in Helvetia and some claim Pickens. The farm is still in the family.
Ernst daughter, Anna, married Otto Betler on 22 Apr 1903. She was his second wife. Otto's first wife, Anna Emily Anderegg died in 1901. Anna had many "female" problems and Otto took her to many doctors but to no avail - the couple remained childless. When Otto and Anna Haessig married, rumors ran that she was in "the family way." She was not, of course, with their first child being born in Nov 1904.
The Betler family had come to the Helvetia area as part of the founding group. They were also from Berne. Emmanuel Gottlieb Betler and his brother, Johannes, came to the US and settled first in Pittsburgh PA in 1871. He met another Swiss native, Verena Risch, there and the couple were married on 12 Jan 1873. Sometime between 1874 and 1878 the family, which now included two children, moved to Helvetia. Verena died in Helvetia at the age of 46 leaving 5 children. Hers is the line from which I descend. Gottlieb married Ida Sandler on 7 May 1889 and this couple had an additional 7 children.
In the spring of 1890 Gottlieb and Ida moved to the family farmhouse he had built. The farm lies 2.5 miles from Helvetia and 2.5 miles from Pickens. For this reason, some of the children claim that they were born in Helvetia and some claim Pickens. The farm is still in the family.