THE CANTONS OF WAADT, BERN & FREIBURG
The Swiss Cantons of Waadt, Bern, and Freiburg sent sons and daughters of Samuel Frederick Ischy across the wide Atlantic, and all to the Texas County of Williamson. Even Samuel Frederick himself followed , there the patriarch of two families in Willamson County; one by his first wife, Magdalena Krummen who died in Switzerland, the other by his second wife, Elizabeth Kreig who accompanied him to Texas.
But the story begins in Canton Waadt (or, its French name, Vaud) where Samuel Frederick was born in 1828. Somethng drew him to Canton Bern, where he married Magdalena Krummen in Rosshäusern. Following the birth of four children, the family moved to Wallenbuch (an exclave of Canton Freiburg) where four more children were born. There his small farm employed four workers.
Gümmenen Bridge, over the Saane ¹ (near Wallenbuch)
From Wallenbuch, the family moved a small distance to the village of Grenchen, Canton Bern, where the new farm employed five workers. It was home also to the families of his first two daughters, Magdalena with her husband Niklaus Büttikofer and their son Rudolph, and Maria Anna with her husband Christian Flühmann and son Friedrich. But there Samuel Frederick's wife Magdalena died.
After marrying his second wife, Elizabeth Krieg, Samuel Frederick and family moved back to the place of his birth, Canton Waadt (or Vaud). From there, Samuel Frederick and Elizabeth emigrated in 1884, via New York City, to Williamson County, Texas. Samuel Frederick had been preceded, and followed, to that destination by many of his two families, including grand- and great-grandchildren, as well as several who were his brothers, nieces, and nephews -- the Swiss roots of the Texas Ischy's.
¹Used with permission of Tourismus Laupenamt/www.laupenamt.ch and the photographer: Samuel Santschi/www.sesamnet.ch.