Surname Saturday: MUSCHG in Oetwil am See

The mother of the immigrant Hoffman generation also immigrated to Illinois, arriving in 1864. She was born Elisabetha Homberger, daughter of Johannes Homberger and Barbara Muschg, on 27 August 1797. She was baptized in Oetwil am See, Canton Zurich, on 3 September 1797. Her father was a citizen of the gemeinde (political community) of Egg, which is just northwest of Oetwil am See. Her mother’s family were citizens of Oetwil and lived in the Oetwil village of Bäch. Village might be a generous term as an 1835 gazetteer of Zurich listed it as having only three households. Despite his citizenship in Egg, Johannes Homberger and his family lived in Oetwil and that is where Elisabeth was raised and where she returned as the widow of Johannes Hoffmann, a citizen of Oberglatt, and where she continued to raise her children. The Muschg family must have been the anchor to that community.

Muschg looks very unfamiliar to American eyes. It appears in family name books for Switzerland and Canton Zurich, important tools in genealogical research. They list the places (gemeinde) in which people of those surnames held citizenship. The Zurich book lists detailed records of 1,200 early surnames. A problem with the books is that they give early (pre-1800) citizenship status, but only if the surname was still in the community when they were compiled. Thus Muschg is listed for Hombrechtikon and Maur but not for Oetwil am See. I believe that Barbara Muschg, wife of Johannes Homberger and her sister were among the last of the name in Oetwil. Some sons existed in earlier generations, but either they had daughters or the sons died early or disappeared from the Oetwil records. Following are the family’s Muschg ancestors.

Barbara Muschg: baptized 27 March 1777, apparently died after 1844

            married Johannes Homberger of Egg on 20 September 1777.

Rudolf Muschg: baptized 2 August 1735, died 5 November 1805

            married Barbara Krauer of Adetswil in Bäretswil on 6 June 1758.

Ulrich Muschg: baptized 30 May 1669, died 9 April 1739

            married (1): Susanna Kunz on 10 January 1700

            married (2): Elisabetha Walder on 13 June 1724

            married (3): Küngold Heüsser of Männedorf on 10 August 1734.

Bläsi Muschg: possibly born ca. 1640, died 27 December 1685

            married Barbara Küster prior to birth of a daughter in 1668.

The family information is from FHL microfilm of Oetwil am See and Egg church records of baptism, marriage, burial and family registers.

Family Recipe Friday: Jesse's Lemon Cake

Last week we made a lemon cake from the recipe given to me by cousin Donna that was her mother's recording of how Jesse's mother made the cake that became his birthday favorite. We took the cake to dinner at friends where it was enjoyed by all. The next day Dick again commented on how good it had been. While I've had the recipe for over ten years, this was the first time I tried to make it. So happy to know this family recipe is alive and well! One added note, a friend in Germany says she has a couple of cake recipes similar to this, so it may actually have been a German idea that Catherine brought with her, not something she acquired in Tennessee. I think capturing it in a scrapbook page makes a nice way to pass it along. Remember to click on the image to see it full size.

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