Adligenswil, Wattenwil, Ballwil, Rothenburg and Rain, plus separately labeled family folklore. The American-family bridge remains qualified.
Bange
Unverified tree lead. A shared family tree gives Adligenswil as Jacob Widmer’s birthplace. The records reviewed so far establish Switzerland but not this town. This pin shows a lead to investigate, not a confirmed family home. Read the family folklore about Anna staying behind with Jost Roos — the story’s port and date are unknown, and it is not placed here. Read the evidence. Back to maps
Bange
Suspected family connection. Elisabeth Widmer, born Reber, is described as from Wattenweil, Canton Bern, in her 1870 Highland death entry. Read the evidence. Back to maps
Swiss original-record research leads
The original entries now support the Swiss family described below. Its connection to our American family remains a research question.
25. Ballwil, Lucerne, Switzerland
BangeSwiss originals reviewed; American family link unproved.
Two original Ballwil marriage entries record Joseph/Josepf Widmer and M. Anna Boog marrying on 31 August 1840; the family binder instead gives 28 August. The groom’s parents are Franz Widmer and Elisabet Waller, and the bride’s are Johan Boog and Maria Wermelinger. Their dates and parents connect with the Rain and Rothenburg baptism entries. This documents the Swiss couple, but their connection to our American family remains unproved.
Location precision: Town reference point only, not a church, house, farm or proved birthplace.
Source: Ballwil XXI.c.5, FA 29/10, image 619, entry 14; XXI.c.4, image 557, penultimate row; DGS 008183497. Both give 31 August 1840. XXI.c.4 labels the dates as baptisms and gives the bride’s as 6 March 1809; XXI.c.5 labels them as births, but her day/month is overwritten and remains uncertain. The groom’s residence differs: Brand in XXI.c.4, Luzern in XXI.c.5. These parallel entries concern the same event and are not automatically independent testimony. Binder comparison: Widmer1.pdf, PDF pages 2–3.
26. Rothenburg, Lucerne, Switzerland
BangeSwiss originals reviewed; American family link unproved.
The original Rothenburg register records a baptism on 6 March 1809 for “A: Maria, Magdalena,” with parents Joanes Boog and “a: Maria Wermelinger.” The matching baptism date and parents in Ballwil’s marriage book strongly connect this child with the later bride M. Anna Boog. This supports the Swiss family, not yet its link to our American Widmers. The register’s more precise place wording remains partly uncertain; the pin marks Rothenburg only.
Later Rothenburg records name children of Joseph Widmer and M. Anna Boog at Schlag: an unnamed son born March 14, 1842, who died immediately after birth; Jakob Anton, born March 17, 1843; Jost Joseph, born March 5, 1844 and baptized March 6; Johann, born February 11, 1845; and twin daughters born April 6, 1846. Schlag is the children’s recorded birthplace and the family’s residence; Rain is their citizenship community. These entries make this a stronger family to compare with the American Widmers, not a proved match. Rothenburg H9, entries 11 (1842, image 593), 8 (1843), 11 (1844), 2 (1845), and 16–17 (1846). Read the unresolved American comparisons.
Location precision: Town reference point only, not a church, house, farm or proved birthplace.
Source: Rothenburg H2, FA 29/207, DGS 008014357, image 353, left page, 6 March 1809. This is a baptism date, not an independently established birth date. The parental forenames are retained as written; the longer names in later compilations are not supplied here. The uncertain place wording does not justify a house or farm pin.
27. Rain, Lucerne, Switzerland
BangeSwiss originals reviewed; American family link unproved.
The original Rain register records the baptism of “Johanes Josephus Franciscus ex Herzigen” on 26 March 1816, with parents Franciscus Widmer and Elisabetha Waler. Ballwil’s later marriage entry gives its groom the same date and the matching parents Franz Widmer and Elisabet Waller. These records strongly connect the Swiss Widmer family; the bridge to our American family is still unproved. The pin marks Rain, not the farm.
A generation earlier: an original entry records Franciscus Widmer and Elisabetha Waler marrying on February 14, 1803. It is recorded in the Hochdorf parish register. Its repeated date and place wording points to Rain, but the exact ceremony venue remains uncertain. This strengthens the Swiss couple’s story; it does not prove the later American connection.
Read the 1803 marriage source
Hochdorf II C4/54, FA 29/97, image 218, right page, entry 11. The date is carried forward from the preceding entries. The place/officiant abbreviation is not expanded into a definite church or ceremony location.
Location precision: Town reference point only, not a church, house, farm or proved birthplace.
Source: Rain B11, FA 29/182, DGS 008014356, image 17, right page, second entry, 26 March 1816. This entry records baptism; Ballwil XXI.c.5 separately reports the same date as the groom’s birth. Waler and Waller are the forms in the respective originals. Longer parental forenames from later compilations remain unverified.
The family account tells of Anna crying as the family boarded a ship, while Jost Roos stood on the dock asking her to stay and marry him. Given the choice by her father, she returned to shore and to Jost.
Family folklore, not a verified event. The account is attributed to Florence Widmer; its date remains unknown. So are the port, ship and date of this story. It is not assigned to Adligenswil, Bremen or any other map location. Read the recovered family account and its uncertainties.