The reviewed Swiss children are promising comparisons, not a settled identification with the American brothers. This page retains the differing dates and limits.
A Swiss family that may connect to ours
The Widmer search leads to a family living at Schlag, near Rothenburg in Switzerland. Joseph Widmer and Anna Boog had children there during the 1840s, including Jakob Anton, Jost Joseph and Johann. Their records also tell of children who died very young.
Those names look familiar from the American family. John’s church marriages name Joseph Widmer and Anna Bog as his parents, strengthening the connection. The Swiss Johann, born in 1845, is a strong candidate for the man later found in Seattle.
There are still differences to explain. Jacob’s American birthday is ten days earlier than the Swiss record. Joseph’s American date matches the Swiss baptism rather than the birth. John’s later records also disagree about his birth details. We are keeping those differences in view rather than smoothing them away.
Read the sources and research notes below ↓
Sources and research notes
The full record details, earlier comparisons and remaining questions are retained below.
A Swiss family to test. Rothenburg’s original birth and baptism registers now identify children of Joseph Widmer and M. Anna Boog living at Schlag: Jakob Anton, born March 17, 1843; Jost Joseph, born March 5, 1844 and baptized March 6; and Johann, born February 11, 1845. The entries refer to the parents’ marriage at Ballwil on August 31, 1840. Twin daughters followed on April 6, 1846: Anna Maria and an unnamed girl who died just after birth. An earlier entry records an unnamed son of Joseph Widmer and Anna Boog, born at Schlag on March 14, 1842, who died immediately after birth. The same parental marriage identifies him with this Swiss household. See H9 entry 11 (1842), folio 31, image 593, and entries 8 (1843), 11 (1844), 2 (1845), and 16–17 (1846).
This is a much stronger family to compare with the American brothers, but it is not yet a settled match. Jacob’s American birthday is March 7, ten days earlier than the Swiss record. Joseph’s American March 6 date matches the Swiss baptism date rather than the birth date. New American parish records now give John’s parents as Joseph Widmer and Anna Bog in both 1874 and 1885. Together with the family and household records, they strongly support the American family connection and make his identification with the Swiss Johann born February 11, 1845, strongly probable. That exact birthday is still qualified: later census and Seattle death details conflict. See the original marriages and family records. Rain is recorded as the Swiss family’s citizenship community. Schlag is the children’s recorded birthplace and the family’s residence.