Just a couple of quick comments. The town was only about 25 miles north of Lucern. While visiting at Schmiedrued I asked if the family might have gone to Lucern to get supplies, shopping, festivals, etc. Everyone sort of drew a breath and said, "Oh no, never. Lucern is Catholic! Schmiedrued people would have gone north to the Protestant town of Aargau or Bern. " (I can't remember which it is off the top of my head)
I now understand that the Reformation was not a peaceful thing and some families were split over religious affiliations. I mentioned to one fellow that his surname was in Star Valley and had originally come from such and such a town in Switz. Without any hesitation he assured me that they might have been from the same family before the Reformation, but such and such was a Catholic town and his were from the Protestant town of ______ .
Wouldn't it be nice if we could get a translated history book? If anyone has a lead please let us know.
Thanks for taking a look. The numbers keep going up. Don't be shy about leaving a comment or question. We'll just use first names to keep things sort of private. This is an open forum for our history. We each know a little and if we pool our knowledge we'll all go away richer.
I still haven't caught some folks by phone, so please keep spreading the word!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Outside Church at Schmiedrued
The cemetery(where you are buried for a 50 year period of rest) just east of the church. Lots of familiar names there.
Mike and the historian stroll along the north side of the church.
And the watering trough in front of the church.
Lovely place - so much like Star Valley.
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