Swiss roots go way, way back

When we decided to trace our ancestry, we had a secret weapon — the Mormon church. A relative belongs to the church and through his efforts we got the scoop on the Hosler side of the family.

The Mormons believe tracing ancestry is more than just a fun pastime, but a spiritual and religious imperative. Whatever their motivation, they’ve amassed a treasure trove of genealogical facts.

We didn’t expect to find any close relatives living in Switzerland. Our family, which is traced back to Sebastian Hassler, left the Canton of Basel in 1749 by sailing down the Rhine river and then to America on the Crown, arriving in Philadelphia, Pa., on August 30, 1749.

The Hassler name was no doubt changed to Hosler in America. Phonetic spellings of names was a common occurrence as officials struggled to document names.

Downtown Rheinfelden defines Swiss charm.

They settled in Berks County, where many Germans lived, otherwise known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. Sebastian had five sons by Barbara Degen, all but one (too young) of whom served in the Revolutionary War on the side of the colonists in the Berks Militia.

Trying to find records dating back to the 1700s must be quite a challenge. Back then mainly the wealthy could read and write, with a literacy rate of about 38 percent in Germany. That’s one reason why so few records exist. Wars and natural disasters haven’t helped matters.

Nevertheless, we have a wonderful book on the Hasslers written by Helen Dempsey Hassler published in 1946. She went to Switzerland to do research, although it’s unclear when.

She goes into fine detail, tracing the Hassler name to the Hasle-thal valley at the base of Meirengen. In what has to be one of most satisfying acts of serendipity, I rode my bike up the Grimsel Pass in 1985-86, without knowing about the family connection.

With these details in hand, we set off to Switzerland, even if only to see where our ancestors lived. We settled on a stay in Zurich, north of the Hasle valley and east of Basel.

Our first excursion took us by train for one hour to Rheinfelden, a quaint tourist town on the Rhine river bordering Germany. It’s near Basel, but part of the canton of Aargau, so it’s unlikely our ancestors lived here, but close enough. Many Hasslers lived in the area south of Rheinfelden, Buss and vicinity.

Our lone attempt to find out more information ended in disappointment at the city offices. They spoke little English and said they had no records.

However, during our stay we saw two signs with Hassler/Hasler; one for a profitcenter tool company, with Hasler emblazoned on their cars and the other a car dealership outside Zurich.

The best way to see Switzerland — by train.

For the trip to the Hasle valley we chose one of the most spectacular train rides in Switzerland, the Luzern-Interlaken Express.

Traveling by train in Switzerland gives you a new appreciation for train travel and how it could be put to better use in the U.S. We sat in the dining car and enjoyed a meal of fine cheeses and coffee, as the Swiss countryside with its curvaceous green valleys carved by glaciers and snow-covered Alps passed by.

All the more amazing is that this train uses a rack and cog system that allows it to climb one section of Brunig Pass on a 12 percent grade! Most trains struggle with a grade over two percent.

We stopped in Meiringen station and that was about as close as we came to the Hasle valley. I could take satisfaction in knowing that my bike rides up the Grimsel Pass took me past the original birthplace of the Hassler families. How fun.

Looking at Grimsel Pass from Furka Pass in September 1985. Perfect weather.