Family History of de Steiguer (Steiger) Family: From Johann Rudolf back 500 years
Source:
"The Swiss-American Family de Steiguer", was found in a collection of papers at the Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. This article was written by J. E. de Steiguer, most likely in the late 1970's. Some minor changes from the original manuscript have been made to the online herein posted.
The following pages present an overview of the 500-year history of the Swiss-American family de Steiguer. It is a story which depicts the gradual rise and abrupt decline of a family within one of the most exclusive aristocracies of 18th century Europe and their subsequent settlement in the frontier state of America.
In the Spring of 1819, Baron Johann Rudolf de Steiguer emigrated from Bern, Switzerland [map], to Athens County, Ohio [wiki entry], bringing along with him a son, two daughters, a new wife, and a group of colonists....
Rudolf was a member of the so-called "black" Steiger family of Bern.
The
designation
'black" was derived from the use of a black ibex on the family coat-of-arms.
(Note: another patrician family of Bern known as the "white" Steigers were so
designated because they used a white ibex on their coat-of-arms. The two
Steiger families were of separate origins, although both held numerous positions
in the aristocracy.)
In 1786, the family was authorized to use the predicate of nobility "von" and, thus, their name became "von Steiger" (Historisch-Biographisches Lexikon der Schweiz, Neuenburg: Administration des Historsch-Biographischen Lexikons der Schweiz, 1931, VI, p. 522). Also because of the strong French influence among the Bernese patriciate, some family members used the spelling "de Steiguer." This latter mode of spelling has persisted among the American family members.
The "black" Steigers were a politically dominant element in the Bernese patriciate. For over 250 years, the family members served in various government offices. Their story is inseparable from that of Bern.
The Government of Bern
The city of Bern was founded in 1109, and entered the Swiss Confederation in 1353. The city government was at first democratic enough (J. Christopher Herold, The Swiss Without Halos, New York: Columbia University Press, 1948, p. 101). It provided for a Great Council of Two-Hundred elected by guild representatives from sixteen districts in the city. The Great Council, in turn, elected a Small Council. Two avoyers (Schultheissen), chief magistrates elected for life, constituted the executive power of the Councils. This democratic appearance is misleading. In 1649, the register of full citizenship was closed, and only those families which were already citizens were allowed to assume positions on the Councils. Published accounts differ with regard to the exact number of families that formed the Bernese patriciate (3 sources cited: William Martin, Switzerland from Roman Times to the Present, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1971, p. 129; E. Bonjour, H. S. Offler and G. R. Potter, A Short History of Switzerland, London: Oxford University Press, 1952, p. 200; Herold, p. 104). However, it is likely that as few as twelve families held a majority of the council positions. The names of some of the most influential families are Erlach, Diesbach, Mülinen, Wattenwyl, Bonstetten, Luternau, Steiger, Fischer, Jenner, Haller, Graffenried, and Effinger (Martin, p. 129).
A patrician class like that of Bern's was completely given over to the art of government. It had considerable wisdom to draw upon, thus increasing the chances of success at its task (Martin, p. 129). The business of ruling became the very business by which the ruling class sustained itself. Lucrative governorships were handed around among the favored few, and family fortunes were amassed with the acquisition of titles and property. Administration of the government became the preoccupation of "their Excellencies," and training for this life's work began at an early age.
History has dealt fairly with the Bernese aristocracy; both the good and the bad have been acknowledged. Proud and arrogant, they nevertheless governed in a competent and dedicated manner. Their attitude was truly paternal as they cast a stern and watchful eye on their subjects. A limited amount of democracy was tolerated, but the ruling hand dealt harsh punishment to true dissenters. We are obliged to admire the ability and versatility of the government and the men concerned in it who were prepared to undertake war, carry on diplomatic negotiations, and at the same time oversee everything in the city and its vast domains (John Martin Vincent, Costume and Conduct in the Laws of Basel, Bern and Zurich, 1370-1800, New York: Greenwood Press, 1935, p. 7).
Map of Bern 1550:
Map of Bern 1572:
The Family in Switzerland
By 1538 Bern was lord of one of the largest states within the Holy Roman Empire Herold, p. 101). It was about this time, during the early 16th century, that the first "black" Steiger settled in Bern. His name was Johannes Steiger (1523 - 1577), a tailor and a citizen of the city (Historisch-Biographisches Lexikon der Schweiz, VI, p. 522). Johannes was the son of Rudolf Steiger (1502 - ????) and Adelheid Harder, and he was born in either Niederneunforn (Thurgau) or Stein-am-Rhein (Almanach Généologique Suisse, II, p. 545).
Johannes had a son and a grandson who were named, respectively, Hans Rudolf I and Hans Rudolf II. Both men served on the Bernese councils, thus leaving the door of government open for future generations. Two sons of Hans Rudolf II, Abraham (1599 - 1636) and Emanuel (1615 - 1670), constituted the two major branches of the family. Both branches had numerous male offspring that occupied positions within the aristocracy. It was the branch of Emanuel; however, that eventually dominated, and it is from this branch that the American de Steiguer family has descended.
Emanuel had six sons, and with this increase in the number of male heirs, the family rapidly expanded. By the late 18th century, the Bernese government was fairly saturated with Steigers. In 1796, they were predominant on the councils with a total of twenty-two members (John Rodolph de Steiguer, "History of the de Steiguer Family," Athen, Ohio, unplublished manuscript, 1888, p. 3). The family gave to the city of Bern three avoyers, five treasurers, three bannerets and numerous bailiffs, counselors and officers (Historisch-Biographisches Lexikon der Schweiz, p. 522). The baronies which the "black" Steigers owned were Montricher and Monnaz, both in Vaud, and numerous estates in the neighborhood of Bern, such as Weyermannshaus, the "Stock" at Bümplitz, the Gässligut near Vechigen, the Buchsi estate at Könitz, and Berseth estates at Tschugg (Almanach Généologique Suisse, II, p. 547).
The apex of achievement for the family came in 1714, when the title of Baron and a coat-of-arms was bestowed by Frederick William I, King of Prussia, in return for services rendered. The hereditary title was assigned to Christoph (1651-1735), who was then avoyer, eight other Steiger males, and their descendents (Frederick William I, "Steiger Family Patent of Nobility," Translated copy in possession of J. E. de Steiguer). Christoph had been called up on to arbitrate the Neuchâtel Affair. The substance of this matter was that in 1707, the Duchess de Nemours died leaving no heirs to claim the principality of Neuchâtel, and Christoph adjudicated Frederick William I, the lawful ruler of Neuchâtel.
A family member, Schultheiss Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger (1729 - 1799), was the most prominent political figure in Switzerland during the last years of the Confederation (Steiger, Schultheiss Niklaus Friedrich von, Encyclopaedia Britanica Micropaedia, IX, 15th edition, 1978, pp. 546-47). He received his early education in Germany and the Netherlands and then returned to Bern, where he was appointed to numerous government offices. In 1787 he was elected avoyer and held this position until the Confederation fell to the French in 1798. Niklaus Friedrich was a bitter enemy of the French Revolution and, therefore, allowed English, Spanish and Sardinian recruitment of the famed Swiss mercenaries to oppose the armies of Napoleon.
During the French invasion of Switzerland (PDF), there was much indecision on the part of the cantonal governments as to whether they should wage war against the French armies. Schultheiss von Steiger was the exception; he was one of the few men in the Swiss Confederation who knew what he wanted and was not afraid of war (Martin, p. 147). At the age of seventy, he was with the Bernese army in their ill-fated attempt to stem the tide of French aggression at the Battle of Grauholz (5 March 1798). Following the battle, he fled to Bavaria where he died in exile. In 1805 his mortal remains were solemnly interred in the Bern Münster [visitor information] .
Niklaus Friedrich's second cousin was Johann Rudolf de
Steiguer (1743 - 1805), the
father of the American immigrant. Johann was a lieutenant-colonel in the
service of Holland and bailiff of Grandson from 1785 to 1790. He resided
for some time at the
Grandson Castle, and his coat-of-arms is still on display a the Grandson
city hall.
The American immigrant, Johann Rudolf de Steiguer (1778 - 1834), was born during the declining years of the Confederation. The major events of his life and the circumstances surrounding his settlement in America were recorded in an unpublished manuscript by his grandson Judge John Rudolph de Steiguer of Athens, Ohio (de Steiguer, p. 42). That manuscript is the primary source of the following information.
When Rudolf was released he returned to Bern, and what he found was traumatic. The aristocracy had been deposed in favor of the Helvetic government, and the family fortune had been usurped by Napoleon to finance his ill-fated Egyptian campaign. In 1803, the aristocracy regained control of the government, but the reinstatement was brief and their rule ineffectual. The days of aristocratic rule were over.
Rudolf served as captain of the guards for Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of the Duchy of Baden. As a token of his appreciation, the Duke gave Rudolf an exquisite tortoise-shell snuff box with an oil painting on its top. The snuff box is still in the possession of the family. It was about this time that Rudolf met and married a young German girl name Wilhelmina Müller. It was an impetuous romance that ultimately caused him much distress, because after a few years of marriage and the birth of three children they were divorced.
The years immediately following the divorce were very difficult for Rudolf. Although he had possession of the children, John Rudolph, Wilhelmina and Elizabeth, his mobile life-style kept them apart. The children were raised by their great aunt de Graffenried, and Rudolf busied himself with the running of a flour mill which he owned in Bern.
The flour mill was managed by a man named Stalder whose daughter Magdalena worked as a housemaid for Rudolf. She and Rudolf had fallen in love and wanted to marry, but Bernese law strictly prohibited marriages across social classes. Their union would have been regarded as a misalliance. As a consequence Rudolf decided to forsake his homeland so that he could marry Magdalena Stalder and begin and a new life in America.
Emigration and Settlement
In the Spring of 1819, Rudolf sold his flour mill, gathered together family possessions which had been accumulated over centuries and departed Bern with Magdalena, his children, and a group of Swiss colonists. The first leg of the journey was to Amsterdam [map]. Rudolf, Magdalena, and the children made the journey in his private coach, while the colonists sought their own transportation to the coast.
Recent investigations (note: by Mrs. Agnes C. Hill, genealogical researcher, living in Tuppers Plains, Ohio at the time of this original writing. Since 1975, she has been researching the history of the de Steiguer colony) have indicated that the families who accompanied Baron de Steiguer as colonists were the following: Stalder, Finsterwald, Junod, Weiss, Hausner, Guisie, Oberholtzer, Huber and Koker. Also, the 1820 census records of Cannan and Ames Townships (site of the Ohio colony), indicated that 40 "foreigners not naturalized" inhabited the two townships (1820 Census of Athens County Ohio, Washington, DC: National Archives, microfilm M33, roll 86, p. 139). No doubt the then newly settled colonists accounted for a substantial portion of those 40 foreign inhabitants.
Upon the arrival at Amsterdam, Rudolf and Magdalena were married. There they met another group of Swiss colonists who were unable to pay passage to America. In a noble, but ultimately foolish gesture, Rudolf offered to finance their trip if they would assist him in establishing a colony in America. They accepted and Rudolf charted two sailing ships bound for America.
The voyage to America in those days took about two months. The Atlantic crossing was in actuality, and even more in popular imagination, a formidable enterprise (Robert Billigmeier, The Old Land and the New, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1965, p. 13). After, their arrival at New York, the new Americans made their way to Philadelphia. En route, the group of colonists which Rudolf had befriended in Amsterdam deserted him. This was a costly and embittering welcome to the New World.
In Philadelphia, Rudolf added some new members to his party. Among them was a Mr. Thure, who would introduce the Swedenborgian faith to the Ohio frontier. From Philadelphia, they journeyed to Pittsburgh and chartered keel boats to carry them down the Ohio River to a place of settlement. The river was low and they encountered great difficulty on the trip. Frequently, the party members had to remove the boats from sandbars with the use of levers and jackscrews. Because of the difficulty in river travel, the group decided to stop short of their intended destination farther down-stream. Thus, Rudolf stopped at Marietta, Ohio [map], and purchased 3,680 acres of land along Federal Creek in Athens County, where they settled.
Rudolf and his band of Swiss colonists were essentially an urban lot. They were ill-suited for life on the American frontier, and the tasks of land-clearing and agriculture were difficult and unfamiliar. Nevertheless, they adapted to the new surroundings through sheer perseverance. Rudolf built a log cabin to house his family and some of the colonists. This was replaced in 1826 by a Swiss-style cottage which still stands as a famous Athens County landmark (Carol James, "Swiss Baron's Home Still Stands in Athens County", Athens, Ohio, The Messenger, Sunday, July 7, 1974, p. D-1).
The home was called "de Steiguer's Rest," but for Rudolf there was little rest to be found in the harsh and unfamiliar new environment, especially when the ultimate tragedy struck. Shortly after the completion of the new home, Magdalena died and was laid to rest in a hill-side grave behind the Swiss cottage.
The remaining years of his life were unhappy ones for Rudolf. In 1888 his grandson described this man and his melancholy:
"Physically he was a very large man, being over six feet, two inches tall, and large in proportion. He was naturally proud, imperious, irascible, and those uncomfortable qualities had been increased by his military life and family surroundings. The removal to America was so far as he was concerned, without a doubt, a great mistake. His previous life had been spent in the army, and with surroundings, which had the effect to utterly disqualify him for business of life in this country. He was never able to assimilate with the people after the death of his second wife, and his life in this country was undoubtedly a very lonely and unhappy one." (de Steiguer, pp. 14, 30)
Rudolf clung tenaciously to the traditions of his family and the old Swiss Confederation. It was simply too much to ask that he change a way of life and a point of view which had been inbred for centuries. He continued to speak the German and French languages and to tell the stories of the Steiguer clan. Until the end, he still signed his letters "Steiguer Grandson," reminiscent of the times when his father had served as bailiff of Grandson (Letter from Baron Johann Rudolph de Steiguer to his son written sometime between 1826 and 1834 -- copy furnished by Cortez Hoskins, Anaheim, California). In 1834 Baron de Steiguer died and was buried near the home of his daughter, Wilhelmina Uhl, in Boaz, West Virginia.
After the death of Baron de Steiguer, the remaining colonists gradually moved from the site of the Federal Creek settlement. Many of them moved initially to nearby towns in southeastern Ohio.
Baron de Steiguer was, no doubt, motivated to emigrate from Switzerland and establish the colony because of the downfall of the aristocracy and his desire to marry Magdalena Stalder. However, after examining the great cost of this venture, one can perhaps surmise that there was another motivating reason. It is likely that Baron de Steiguer was attempting to establish a social order similar to that of Bern during the Confederation. In that attempt, the colonizing effort could be viewed as a failure. However, the immigration did remove a hardy and resourceful group of people from a politically troubled Switzerland and place them in an environment where they were able to exercise a greater degree of freedom. In that respect, the colonizing effort can certainly be viewed as a success.
Epilogue
John Rudolph de Steiguer (1805 - 1866), son of the Baron, attended college in Athens, Ohio and later married Laura Ames. Together they had ten children. After her [Laura's] death in 1851, John married Melissa Nelson and they had three children.
