Frederick Ramseyer
Frederick Ramseyer (My grandmother's father's father) was born on March 29, 1817 in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland to Jacob Ramseyer and his wife. He emigrated from the port of Hungry and arrived in New York on June 12, 1853, later moving to Boston. He married Elizabeth Haberstroh (from France) on November 12, 1857 when he was 40 and she was 26. It was his second marriage and her first. I believe his first wife's name was Anna Marie Antoni and she died (possibly in a fire) sometime before he came to the United States.
The 1860 census has Frederick living at 5 North Grove Street in Boston and working as a vest maker. The May 1865 census has the names and ages of all of his children, including those from his first marriage: Frederick , Jr. (22), Mary (21), Caroline (19), Minnie (4), and Theodore (2). The 1880 census has him living at 464 Tremont Street in Boston with his wife and only his children from his second marriage; Minnie, Bertha, Theodore, and Edward. He died on October 21, 1891 at the age of 74 from chronic diffuse nephritis. He was living at 18 Wyman Street in Boston at the time of his death.
Below are pages about Frederick Ramseyer and his family from Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts, Volume 4 by William Richard Cutter, Lewis historical Publishing Company, 1910. It says that his people flourished in Solothurn, Switzerland for many generations. That he married a Swiss maid, who bore him four children and died in the prime of her life. He left Switzerland after his wife died, making a voyage to New York with his children, later moving to Boston. It was really cool to find something written about one of my ancestors. Click on the image below to view larger or visit the link above.
I hope to do more research to discover more about his family in Swtizerland. Who was his mother? Did he keep in touch with his family? Do I have ancestors that are living in Switzerland today? I will add more information and photos if I find either.
