Monday, December 16, 2019

Veronica Schneebeli 1709 - 1746

Veronica Schneebeli was born 22 January 1709 in Ottenbach, Zürich, AG. She is the daughter of Caspar Schneebeli and Margaretha Stilerli. Veronica was the second of four children, three girls and one boy. She married Hans Kaspar Sidler, Seckelmeister and Ehegaumer, on 16 November 1728 and bore five children. She died 28 September 1746. Veronica lived 37 years 8 months 6 days. A short life by any standard. Her husband lived another 22 years and married Elisbeth Schneebeli.  The two woman were not directly related and came from separate communities. She left 4 children for Hans to raise.

The name Schnebelli is very popular in Ottenbach and goes back to the beginning of the Village into at least the 1500s. To pronounce Schneebeli you pronounce the initial e's as a long ē. (Sh-nē-belly)

What happened to their children?
Barbara Sidler 1729-1786 married Jakob Bär, 7 children,  lived 56 years 6 months 28 days
Dorothea Sidler 1732 died as an infant
Anna Sidler 1732-1770 married Mathias Meier, no known children, lived 35 years 10 months 0 days
Barbara Sidler 1736-1802 married Johannes Stehli of Maschwanden on 3 July 1756, died 24 June 1802 at 67, one child.
Rudolf Sidler 1742-1801 married Elisabetha Sidler, night watchman and Feldschreiber in Ottenbach, 15 children, lived 58 years 9 months 16 days
Elisabetha Schneebeli 1710-1765 second wife, born in Affoltern, had one son. Julius Billeter made a mistake and put this child with the first wife but Veronica Schneebeli passed away before Ulrich's birth
Ulrich Sidler 1751-1800 married Verena Häberling, had 2 children, one married, lived 48 years 9  months 28 days

Vronegg or Fronegg or Froneck is a Swiss version for Veronica, today Veronika. It is often misread as Verena, Frena, Freni, Vrena, etc. The published on-line marriage data base (EDB) of Dr. Pfister of the Staatsarchive Zurich tells you whether it is Veronika or Vernena. He only uses the standard, normalized version (which is the one used still today both of first and last name to faciliate on-line research). Sometimes the old versions as read from the marriage books are indicated as comment line both for men and women.

Veronica's Death
Veronica's death document was difficult to find because the Pastor spelled her first name in an unusual way. Everything else lines up including her husband, death date, years lived and last name. For some reason the Pastor thought she was Vronegg instead of Veronica. The word Veronica is pretty easy to identify because only the initial letter V is large. In any case this is the correct document for her.

1746 was an unusual year in terms of deaths in Ottenbach. It starts out with things like Apoplexy or cerebral hemorrhage but on July 31 a 6 year 2 month old child died of dysentery. From August to the end of the year 75 people died from Dysentery. It almost looked like Pastor Balthasar Zwingli  was writing Dysentery for everyone. As you can see, Veronica who was just 37 years 8 months 6 days, fell prey to the disease.

Documents related to Veronica Schneebeli:

Veronica Schnebelli birth 22 Jan 1709 Ottenbach film 8014328 page 295

Veronica Schnebelli married 16 November 1728 film 8014328
page 364 number 11

Veronica Schneebeli death 28 Sept 1746 Ottenbach
film 8014328 page 627 
Kent: 
It appears that there was a plague of dysentery in Ottenbach in 1746 almost looked like Pastor Balthasar Zwingli  wrote Dysentery for almost everyone. As you can see, Veronica who was just 37 years 8 months 6 days, fell prey to this condition.

Dysentery in a community is caused by the transmission of parasitic and bacterial infections from person to person. This can happen through:
1. Contaminated food or water: When someone with poor hygiene prepares food or drinks contaminated water
2. Sexual contact
3. Swimming in contaminated water: Such as lakes or pools or the Reuss river which runs through Ottenbach 
4. Physical contact: With someone who has dysentery

Most people who experience dysentery develop either bacterial dysentery or amebic dysentery. Bacterialdysentery is caused by infection with bacteria from Shigella, Campylobacter, Salmonella, or enterohemorrhagic E. coli. ... Amebic dysentery is caused by a single-celled parasite that infects the intestines

Dysentery (like in Ottenbach, 1746) was a frequent infectious disease with fever, nausea, vomiting, painful urge to stool and urinate, bloody diarrhea. Amoebic dysentery was often chronic and affected the liver. Bacterial dysentery affects the nervous system and can lead to death.
Hans Kaspar Sidler b 1705 in the 1749 

Bevölkerungsverzeichnis film 8014124 page 91

Kent: 
This Bevölkerungsverzeichnis lists Hans Kaspar's second wife along with first wife's children from Barbara to Rudolf.
Sidler and Hegetschweiler Temple Record by Julius Billeter, page 37