Sit back and let me tell you the story of a short man; a long armed, black-haired German who left his family behind in 1896 and journeyed by himself to America, the Land of Promise!
This is the story about the search for the birth place and family of my Great Grandfather Fred (Johann Friedrich) Schwald. He was the oldest born to Anna Maria (Kropf) and Johannes Schwald. They lived in the small farming village named Sitzenkirch, which is located in the Southwest Black Forest region of Germany, called Baden.
Fred had a sister named Emilie and brothers Ernst Friedrich & Reinhard Julius. His Grandparents were Friedrich & Maria Barbara (Adolf) Kropf and Johannes & Maria Magdalena (Pfunder) Schwald.
At one point, Fred and family moved to the nearby town of Kandern. This is where we believe he learned his skills as a baker. In 1896, at the age of 22, he left Kandern via train and sailed to Le Havre, France, with just the clothes on his back. Fred eventually travelled to Seattle, Washington, where he met and married my Swiss born Great Grandmother Elisabeth "Lizzie" Gyger, in 1898.
My sister Janet and I began the search for our roots in 1999, but ran into many dead-ends and stopped. The hunt resumed in 2001, after I was assigned to Sembach Air Base (near Kaiserslautern) Germany. Realizing that I was only 2 hours away from Baden, I decided to look in the German phone book. After finding many Schwalds, and on a whim, my other sister Joanie and I decided to drive to the Baden/Black Forest area on September 1, 2001. In the town of Maulburg, I asked for directions for a street named Schwald street. The man replied there was no Schwald Street in town, but there were many Schwaldfamilies! So he sent us across the street, and by sheer luck and the grace of God, we met Christof Schwald and his father Ernst!
Christof is the one who discovered the origins of my Schwald line. He is currently working on connecting all lines of the Baden Schwalds! Currently we are working on dates from the 1600's! I am also tracing our Norwegian roots from Kristiansund, Norway and our Swiss ancestors from Bern, Switzerland. So please take the time to look at my our family tree - maybe you are connected to it! If so, please contact us by email.
Narrative courtesy of Roderick Schwald - Thanks Rod!
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