52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #1 ~ The Zaugg Family Looks for A “Fresh Start” in a New Land

Written for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. (click here for details at Amy's blog)

First just the facts:
Name: Jakob Zaugg, Sr [as the head of the family, I’ll start with him]
Born: 21-Feb-1795* Bern, Switzerland
Married: Anna Stetler, 23-Jun-1820, Eggiwil, Bern, Switzerland
Died: 09-Dec-1873, Mount Eaton, Wayne County, Ohio
 *This is a calculated date based on the description in Wayne Co records of Jacob being 78yr 9mo 18days when he died.

In May,1853, Jakob, his wife and all but one of their children ventured from Switzerland across the ocean to settle in Wayne County, Ohio.  This group included their eldest son, also Jakob/Jacob who was then married and had a 6-month-old son named, originally, Jakob/Jacob! The exception was their eldest daughter who, with her husband, would follow them just one month later.

Wayne County had a large Swiss population so the destination made sense and I can only assume that they knew people already living there.  Still, it seems hard to imagine that at almost 60 Jakob would be prepared to start over.  But this fresh start would work out well for the couple.  When Jakob died, he had enough property and money to leave something to all his then-living children.

In writing this I wanted to pull the passenger list and was dismayed to find it almost totally illegible on Ancestry.  However the same record on Family Search is very clear.  Here is a side-by-side comparison.

In looking at the clearer version on Family Search I saw something I'd never noticed before - the Bartschi family listed above.  Jacob Zaugg, the young married man, is my 3rd great-grandfather and his wife is Barbara Batschi but I'd never done much about looking for her parents.  Could this be her family?  Now I have something else I need to explore.  It always happens when I try to write anything - I discover all the holes and unexplored clues. 

Thanks Amy!!