Individual Details

Anna GYGAX

(17 Mar 1836 - 26 Dec 1902)

A Look at the Facts Concerning Anna Gygax Compiled by Allyson Hunt Wood - July 2006

In the most northern part of Bern Canton, Switzerland in a small village near Schwarzh usern, Samuel and Anna Zurlinden Gygax began their family. As was tradition, announcements were made that young Samuel and Anna were to be married and on 5 July 1833 they were united in the Evangelical Reformed Church of Niederbipp, Bern Canton.

The young couple took citizenship in Schwarzh usern where the Gygax family had originated. I believe they lived in either Schwarzh usern, which is on the east side of the river Aare or in Aarwangen which is on the west. The two modern day towns are separated only by the river and it is not known where their home was. The church was in Aarwangen, and so even if they lived in nearby Schwarzh usern they would have spent a great deal of time in Aarwangen. The people in both villages would have known each other well as they grew together, worked their farms near each other and attended Sunday Meetings.

It was not long before Samuel and Anna began adding children to their family. Anna Maria Gygax was born on 24 Jan 1834. Then Anna followed a couple of years later on 17 Mar 1836. Two sons were born - Johnn Gottfried, born 11 Apr 1838, and then Johann Rudolf on 18 Dec 1845. Elisa was born 9 February 1851, and their family was complete with the birth of Maria, born 15 Jun 1853.

Samuel and Anna Gygax's family saw to it that each of their children were christened in the Evangelical Reformed Church when they were about one month old. Young Anna was christened on 3 April 1836. It was witnessed by Peter Gaunchan (sp?), Aunt Maria Friedli - Samuel's sister and Maria Gygax - who is at this time unknown. It was a common practice to have two of the three witnesses for a girl child be female, whereas the male children usually had two male witnesses and the third female.

We know very little of Anna's young life, but she undoubted played in the Aare River and ran through the thick grasses that grew on any uncultivated ground. She probably spent hours playing in the forests or gathering wood for the family as well as helping the family grow a garden. All of these things would have been probable for a child of that time in this area of Switzerland.

Anna and her siblings played together, worked together and all grew to adulthood. In that day and age it was a very rare occurrence to be able to raise all of your children. When her older sister, Anna Maria, was just 25 years old she became ill and died. All of the other children were still unmarried and at home with their parents.

While all of the children's christenings are found in Aarwangen, some of Anna's siblings are shown to be in Neiderbipp. Samuel, his wife Anna and their children remained close to their extended family as well. Schwarzh usern, although it is closer to Aarwangen, (about 1 a km), is only about 5 a km from Niederbipp.

Anna fell in love with a young man by the name of Johann Andreas Huber, of Biel. He was born just one year before Anna on 23 Apr 1835 and had family citizenship in Buch-Uesslingen, Thurgau. He may have been born there or in H ttwilen, Thurgau. Instead of recording where they were born, the records include where their citizenship is from. As we continue searching the towns near there, we may someday find where he was born. Eventually he moved to Biel, Bern Canton, on the north easternshores of Lake Biel. Somehow their paths crossed, they dated and fell in love. They were married in the Evangelical Church of Aarwangen on March 22, 1862 when Anna was 26 and Andreas was almost 27 years old. Shortly after their marriage their first child was born, Anna Maria Elizabeth Huber. She joined their family on 17 April 1862 in Biel, and was christened in Aarwangen on 18 May 1862. Their family was blessed with four more children in a very short time frame including: Anna Elise - born 1 Sep 1863 in Biel; Johann Karl - born 15 May 1865 in Klus (a small town near Balsthal in Solothurn Canton), Maria Elise - born 2 Jun 1867 in Aarwangen (although not proven yet) and Amalie - born 16 Mar 1869 in Klus. (A probable christening records show that Amalie was born Apr 28, 1868, chr May 1, 1869.)

The naming of children was an important thing to the Swiss people. They often named their children after family members as an honor to a beloved family member, and a role model for their child. It is easy to see where some of the children's names come from, as Anna Maria, Maria and Elisa were Anna's sister's names. Johann is also a family name, named for her husband, it is also the first name of her two brothers; Karl is the name of Andreas brother. (To date, we have not found a family tie to the name Amalie.)

Shortly after Elise was born in 1867, Andreas fell from a 5-story building probably where he was working. From that moment, the lives of everyone in his family were changed forever. It was necessary for Andreas to remain in the hospital for the next two years trying to regain his health. His condition was very serious and the family hoped that he would be restored to full health and vigor but the prospects were never very good.

Anna became the sole-support for her family when Andreas had his accident. Anna had a brand new baby, a two-year old, a four-year old, and a five-year old and it would have been all but impossible for her to work and still raise her family. With such an undaunting task before her, she handled it the best way she could, she relied on her young children to help her. The older children helped care for the younger, and they did some household chores but before very long she had to rely on her extended family for help because her children were just too small for such big responsibilities. Eventually Andreas was able to come home from the hospital and they tried to put their family back together. Shortly after he returned baby Amalie was born. After two years of struggling to face the trial that had befallen them, they realized they must face a new challenge, one they had hoped would be resolved with time, but was not. The trauma from the fall had caused Andreas' personality to change and he became very irresponsible, and child-like. Instead of Anna and Andreas raising a family of five children together she would now have to do it alone, and with the added responsibility of raising a child-like adult. The trials Anna, Andreas and their family faced at this time were many. Although Anna was extremely grateful that Andreas was alive, he was not the same. The head injury left him very challenged and he resembled mentally what you would think of as a 12 year old boy. Andreas was a totally different person. He was simply unable to do what he had once done. Anna had lost her helpmate, her loving companion, and the financial supporter of their growing family. She had to face the fact that her children would age with each birthday, but her husband would never mentally age again. What a very difficult time it was for them. She missed her Andreas greatly, and even though he was still alive, the man she loved was forever gone, and each time she saw him she was reminded of that loss.

Anna asked the doctors if there was any chance he would regain his mental faculties. They were unable to give her any hope for this kind of complete recovery, and suggested that if he were forced to support himself he would do so, but that he would never again be the supportive husband he had once been. And if allowed to, he would become totally dependent upon her.

As hard as it was for Anna to decide to permanently divide her family, she realized that it was necessary for the survival of the rest of them. Anna packed up the children and moved out of theirlittle apartment. We think that she tried to keep the family together in the beginning, but it was impossible to find work that would afford her the luxury of keeping them all under the same roof. Eventually, the children were taken in by Anna's brother's and sister's families and she went to work with the goal of getting the children back as soon as possible.

Anna found employment in a home keeping house. After a time, the man of the home allowed her to bring some of her children to live with her. Most of the children had adapted well to the hardship of being separated from their parents and each other, with the exception of the oldest. Anna Mary, although still a child, was expected to help more with housework and caring for the younger children in the home where she was staying. When she failed to live up to their expectations, she was passed on to another home. This happened a few times before she was finally brought back to live with her mother. Two of the children, Amalie and Karl, were not allowed to move back with Anna, their mother. They had adapted well to their new life and their new family and their guardians felt they would be better off left where they were. Although it had broken Anna's heart, she realized that they were probably correct. Also, because she could only bring a few of her children back to live with her she would have had to choose which ones. What an awful choice that would have been. If she left Karl and Amalie where they were, she could take the other three back in with her. This was a heartbreaking decision, but it was the only choice she could make. Anna knew they needed all of the help they could get and turned to the Lord for that help. Anna believed in God and taught her girls to do the same. They belonged to the Evangelical-Reformed Church as had most of their recent ancestors. In the early 16^th century, Europe was alive with the reformation. Huldrych Zwingli studied the scriptures and found that what was being taught in the Catholic churches did not correspond . At the same time Martin Luther had come to the same conclusion and Germany was going through many of the same changes. Most of the German speaking part of Switzerland followed the ideas of Zwingli, including Anna's forefathers. The invention of the printing press allowed the word to spread quickly, and the movement was unstoppable, although many of the leaders were martyred because of it.

What overwhelming challenges she faced. Her heart broke as she asked herself if she had done all that was possible to keep her family together. Her mind always racing she found moments of second guessing herself. If she had allowed Andreas to stay would he have beaten the odds and gotten better? Would her children have been able to stay together? Could she have done something different that would have changed everything? Why did this happen to her and her family? Did the children blame her for the situation they were in? Seeing them suffer so was almost more than she could bear and all of these human feelings would have driven her near insanity. Although we may look at Anna's situation with a clearer perspective, and see that she did all that was humanly possible, she would not have been able to see it as easily. Guilt is the hardest part in dealing with this type of situation. Although she regretted so much what was happening, she had done all that she could for her family. Anna might have been grateful that she had to work so hard just to survive - it kept her mind busy on the necessities of life and not looking back. Reunited with three of her children, Anna Mary, Maria and Elise, Anna continued working in the home where she was employed. She worked hard keeping the house clean and doing all of the chores that fell to her. We do not know for whom she worked. Was this a single man that needed help with his house, or was it a family who eventually lost their wife and mother? We do not know, but eventually the man of the house asked Anna to marry him. She brought the proposition to her three girls, but they were adamant that their mother not marry him. We do not know their objections, but Anna was very aware of them and she refused the proposal.

Anna's refusal of marriage brought on it's own problems. Anna no longer felt comfortable working and living in the home with this man, so she packed up her three girls and moved to a new location. We assume that this is the move which took her to Oftringen, Niederwyl but she may have already been here, or she may have moved several times in between. We calculate that the move to the Oftringen area happened around the year of 1878. Anna Maria, the oldest child, was then 16 years old and old enough to help out with the family finances. The merchants of Switzerland had found great profit in the textile industry, and there were great fortunes to be made with silk and cotton. Factories sprang up everywhere and Anna found employment with one of the cotton factories in nearby Strenglebach. The money she earned was given to her mother and was a major part of the family's finances. Anna again went to work helping in a home, this time working for a couple which appears to us to have been very good to her, and there was a close emotional connection between them. (It is believed that the family's name was Buhler, but is not known for sure.)

It was while working in a cotton factory in Strenglebach that Anna Mary, the oldest daughter, first heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons. Anna Mary was invited to attend the meetings with a friend and soon became interested in this new religion. Anna was very opposed to her daughter attending and did what she could to stop her from going. She even hide her nice clothing so that she would not be able to attend meetings with the Mormons. Eventually her heart was changed, as her daughter plead to be allowed to be baptized.

We do not know when Anna's feelings changed towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but she eventually gave permission for her 20 year old daughter Anna Maria to be baptized. Different missionaries visited Anna's home to teach her more about the religion her daughter had been converted to. Eventually Anna agreed to attend one of their meetings. One of the elders in the area, John Georg Hafen, asked Anna to attend a conference with him in Bern. She agreed to attend with him, and it was at this conference that Anna was converted to this new religion. She was baptized at the age of 46 on December 29, 1882 in Pfaffnau where the branch was headquartered, about 5 miles from Oftringen, and 3 miles from her hometown of Schwarzha sen. She was baptized by Elder T. Hofer, and confirmed by Elder John G. Hafen.

The leaders of the Church were trying to gather all of the new converts to Utah where they would build up Zion in America. Money was still very hard to come by and Anna could not imagine a way to join with the saints. Also, her other two girls did not want to join this new religion, and her son and youngest daughter were living with extended family. We do not know whether Anna had a desire to emigrate to America or not, but Anna Maria did. The elder that had confirmed Anna came to her with a proposal. Elder Hafen suggested that through the perpetual emigration fund of the Church, they would be able to arrange passage for young Anna Maria to come to America. At this time in the history of the Church, polygamy was being practiced. John had left two wives back in Utah to come to Switzerland and serve a mission for the Lord. He told Anna Maria that he would be glad to help her go to America and when she arrived he would be willing to marry her and take her as his third wife. Anna Maria convinced her mother that this was what she wanted to do. Anna thought deeply about what was being asked of her, both in behalf of herself, her other girls and also in behalf of Anna Maria.

It would be a great hardship on those left in Switzerland, because Anna Maria had become a very vital part of the family income. But this was what young Anna desired, and the mother knew that. Permission was granted for Anna Maria to emigrate to Utah after Elder Hafen returned home and in August of 1884 Anna bid her eldest daughter farewell for the final time in the flesh.

The challenge of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ in Switzerland and to remain there when most of the other members had emigrated would bring it's own set of challenges. Persecutions raged as neighbors were quick to turn on anyone that had joined this new "cult" as they called it. They had heard rumors about how awful the teachings were and that Mormons even ate their young. Few people were strong enough to withstand the hate and persecution and it was on 2 November 1884 that Anna's membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was terminated. Anna was excommunicated, but we do not know the circumstances around the event we only know that it was a very trying times for Saints that stayed behind in Switzerland. Very soon after the body of the Church left Switzerland Anna's membership was terminated and she returned to worshiping in the Evangelical Church of Switzerland. Karl and Amalie continued to live with Anna's extended family until adulthood. They lost track of Karl but corresponded a little with Amalie. Karl and Amalie never again had the closeness with their other sisters and their mother Anna that the Elise and Maria felt. Amalie married a soldier in the Salvation Army, Johann Jacob Schweizer, and moved to Zurich. Eventually they found Karl in Basel and he had married Lina Schmutz but they never had any children. Anna Maria married John Georg Hafen in America, and became his third wife. Maria married Oct 22, 1883 to Jakob Hunziker. Daughter Elise married Jakob M ller on 28 Jun 1888 in Aarwangen.

Anna moved back to Aarwangen, though we do not know when. Her contact with Anna Maria was limited. Although they wrote, it was not often. Practically every minute of every day was spent growing and cooking the food. It was very much a matter of survival - actually on both women's parts. Often it was years before they would hear back after writing a letter, but one very special letter was found written by Anna to her eldest daughter in America:
***************************** Aarwangen or Aaraie 11 Dec 1895

My dear ones,
It's been a long time since we heard from you. If is our fault. Since your letter, I have been sick a long time. I had so much pain in my back until the middle of the summer. I couldn't walk and had to stay in bed 'mid great pain. I couldn't move. The doctor came everyday. When I could get out in the sun it finally started to get better. Otherwise all are well.
The children grow and are happy. Little Anneli wants to boss everyone.
Dear Anna, five weeks ago they burried Mrs. Buhleu. Our Marie was there and took care of her while she was ill.
What are your children doing? Are they well? I hope so. Good health is the greatest wealth we can have.
We had a meeting in Evangelist Ruggele. I repented. Since then I have been reading the Bible and praying and I hope God will bless me with the Holy Ghost and strength to endure the time I have left to live. So I will remain here until we meet on the other side where it is beautiful and Heavenly - right dear Anna?
I am sending a picture, you can tell your children this is their Grandmother. How I would like to see them and give them a kiss and clasp them to my heart.
Outside of this, I have nothing new to write to you. My brothers and sisters as far as I know are well.
Lisele and Muller went to Schwarzhausen with Ammeli to visit and had a good time. The son of sister Lisele was here with us last summer.
We send you loving greetings., Lisele Muller and children and wish you a blessed New Year. Especially greetings and kisses to your children, you and your husband.
Your Mother,
Anna H.

*****************************

Anna's health continued to decline. She eventually moved in with Elise and Jakob M ller. She lived there and Elise and Jakob were happy to care for her and look after her. Anna continued to get worse, and her mind deteriorated and by the early 1900's it took at least two people to care for her. She needed full time watching - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Elise and Jakob were no longer able to keep her with them and found it necessary to seek help. She had been termed "insane".
In M nsterlingen, Thurgau there was a hospital set up for the insane called the Psychiatrische Klinik M nsterlingen. This psychiatric hospital had been established back in 1838. They were in the process of expanding and adding four new pavilions and a new mansion. Anna was admitted and lived in the hospital in the middle of the year 1900.

We do not know what kind of care she received here, but in those days the patients in an insane asylum had a rough life. One patient that lived in this hospital a few years after Anna was eventually released and moved back to live with her family. She was not able to deal with the death of her husband, and had to spend a short time institutionalized. When she was allowed to return to her family she would never again step foot in a buggy or car because she was overcome with fear that they might take her back to the hospital in M nsterlingen. She would rather walk the two miles to the family farm where she helped, and then she also returned on foot. The memories of being institutionalized struck such fear in her heart she would not take any chance of going back. Anna lived in the hospital for over a year and a half, and then passed from this life on December 26, 1902 in M nsterlingen, Thurgau.

Anna's life was a hard one. How grateful we are for the atoning sacrifice of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that all things will be made right in the next life.

Though Anna's life was filled with challenges - some we can not even comprehend, she appears to have faced her trials in life with a brave face and did the best she could do in every situation. She loved her children and did all that was possible to help make their life better and easier. She died having faith in her Savior and trusted in His goodness. He was her strength in this life, and she looked forward to meeting him in the next. FIELD NAME Page VALUE John Georg Hafen Jr. LDS Temple Record Book _INFO P FIELD NAME Page VALUE 1907 - another translation _INFO P FIELD NAME Page VALUE John Georg Hafen LDS Temple Personal Record Book _INFO P

Events

Birth	17 Mar 1836	Schwarzhäusern, Aarwangen, Bern, Switzerland
Christen	3 Apr 1836	Aarwangen, Bern, Switzerland
Confirmation	1852	Of Aarwangen, Bern, Switzerland
Marriage	22 Mar 1862	Aarwangen, Bern, Switzerland - Johann Andreas HUBER Jr.
Move	29 Dec 1882	Oftringen, Aargau, Switzerland
Residence	29 Dec 1882	at LDS-b age 46 - Oftringen, Niederwil, , Switzerland
Residence	1902	Psychiatrische Klinik Münsterlingen - Münsterlinger, Thurgaau, Switzerland
Death	26 Dec 1902	Psychiatrische Hospital, Münsterlingen, Thurgau, Switzerland
Divorce		Johann Andreas HUBER Jr.
Divorce		Johann Andreas HUBER Jr.
Divorced		Divorced - Johann Andreas HUBER Jr.
Divorced		Divorced - Johann Andreas HUBER Jr.
Divorced		Divorced - Johann Andreas HUBER Jr.
Reference No		r738-Q9

Families

Spouse	Johann Andreas HUBER Jr. (1835 - 1915)
Child	Anna Maria Elizabetha HUBER (1862 - 1944)
Child	Maria Elise HUBER (1863 - 1945)
Child	Johann Karl HUBER (1865 - 1916)
Child	Anna Elise HUBER (1867 - 1965)
Child	Amalie HUBER (1869 - 1946)

Father	Samuel GYGAX (1809 - 1865)
Mother	Anna ZURLINDEN (1814 - 1893)
Sibling	Anna Maria GYGAX (1834 - 1859)
Sibling	Johann Gottfried GYGAX (1838 - 1902)
Sibling	Johann Rudolf GYGAX (1845 - )
Sibling	Elise GYGAX (1851 - )
Sibling	Maria GYGAX (1853 - )

Individual Details

Anna GYGAX

Events

Families

Notes

Endnotes

Individual Details

Anna GYGAX

Events

Families

Notes

Residence

Residence

Endnotes