Notes for Abraham Fahrni and Anna Carli

A detailed sketch of the family of Abraham Farni and Anna Carli has been published in the Farni book by Gottfried Fahrni. [1]

1668 Abraham, son of Steffan Farni and Barbli Rüsser, was baptized on May 31 at the church in Thierachen, Bern, Switzerland. [2] The Steffisburg church also has a record of the baptism: Abraham zu Thierachen, son of Stephen Fahrni and Barbara Rüsser, was baptized in June. "frist(?) Calend. junÿ eine Abraham zu Thierachern getauft". [3]

1670 Anna Carli, daughter of Peter Carli, was baptized on March 13 in Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland. [4]

1694 Abraham Farni and Anna Carli were married about this time. Here are two accounts:

"Twenty seven year old Abraham Farni re-emerges in Steffisburg with a Church Tribunal document 'Chorgericht', dated 6 Jan.1695, blaming him for having wedded Anna Carli wearing a flower crown in church. As his wife Anna was already pregnant at the wedding, it was against church rule and traditions to bear a flower crown during the church ceremony. Their first child Cathrin was baptized on 16 Dec.1694, and the parents may well have married in Steffisburg in the last quarter of 1694. However, as no wedding registration of Abraham and Anna was found in Steffisburg, it may well be that the act was not entered into the church wedding book because of their 'Taufer' faith and their wearing flowers in church." [5]

"They were married in the Reformed Steffisburg church in December, 1694. Abraham was censured by the church which discovered after the fact that Anna had been pregnant at the time of the marriage, yet wore a crown of flowers during the marriage ceremony, a practice which was against church rules. Two of Abraham’s elder brothers, Ulli and Peter Farni, as well as Anna’s father, Peter Carli, were all leaders and became martyrs of the Anabaptist/Mennonite movement. As such, Abraham was closely watched by Bernese authorities. From the baptism records of the children, one can tell that after their marriage, Abraham and Anna lived in Steffisburg only a little more than a year, from late 1694 to1696, then moved to Wattenwil on the other side of Lake Thun, most likely to become less of a target of the authorities." [6]

1694 Daughter Cathrin Fahrni was baptized on December 16 in Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland with god-parents [Taufzeugen]: Bendicht Schnell, Jungfrau Cathrin Tscharner, Magdalena Stär. [Magdalena Stär was Catherine's Aunt, perhaps]. Her parents were listed in the record: Abraham Fahrni (aus Eritz Filchhar Schwartznach(?)) and Anna Carli. [7] [8] [9]

1696 Barbara Fahrni, daughter of Abraham Fahrni (aus Eritz(?)) and Anna Carli, was baptized on August 9 in Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland with sponsors Hans Walthart, Barbara Bylang, and Barbara Kuntz. [10]

1701 Anna Fahrni, daughter of Abraham Farni and Anna Carli, was baptized on October 2 in Wattenwil, Bern, Switzerland with sponsors Christen Farni, Salome Apligen(?), and Barbara Carli. "N.B. diß kind gestörb in den (?) Schwartzenegg ist (?) getauft (?) (?) der vatter ein Burg st(?)". [11]

1703 Anna Fahrni, daughter of Abraham Fahrni and Anna Karle, was baptized on December 9 in Wattenwil, Bern, Switzerland with sponsors Christen Sch(?), Salome Obligen, and Barbara Karle. [12]

1706 Christen Fahrni, son of Abrah. Fahrni and Anna Karle (von Steffisburg), was baptized on October 24 in Wattenwil, Bern, Switzerland with sponsors Christen Grunig, Joseph Lugenbuhl, and Barbara Bode. [13]

1708 Christen Fahrni, son of Abraham Fahrni and Anna Karle, was baptized on January 29 in Wattenwil, Bern, Switzerland with sponsors Hans Grunig, (?) Roth, and Margreth Leeman. [14] [15]

1720 Abraham was a farmer in Siegerland, North Westfalia, Germany. [16]

1727 Abraham Farn immigrated to Philadelphia with 4 person on September 18 on the ship William & Sarah. [17]

1731 Abraham was a farmer in Junkernhees, North Westfalia, Germany. [18]

1737 Abraham Farni, age 63, returned to Philadelphia on August 30 on the ship Samuel. [19] [20]

Mennonite card file. [21]

1585 Map with Steffisburg, north of Thun, Switzerland and Im Eritz east of Steffisburg.
1585 Mercator, Das Wiflispvrgergov [Henricus Hondius, Amsterdam: 1630] [22]

Steffisburg church (photo by Roland Zumbuehl, 2014)
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The town's parish church was first built in the late 7th or early 8th century. It was replaced with a new building in the 9th or 10th century. It was first mentioned in 1224 as the Church of St. Stephan … The bell tower was added between 1320 and 1500. In 1528, Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and the church at Steffisburg converted. … In 1681 the current church building was built in Steffisburg, incorporating elements from the 9th or 10th century building. [23]

1700 Family tree (Stammbaum) not seen. [24]

1800-1829 Scenes of the region that great-grandchildren might have enjoyed if they could have visited their ancestral homeland in their retirement years.

1814 Lake Thun in the distance from Steffisburg (by Gabriel Ludwig Lory). [25]

1821 Street in Steffisburg (by R. Fueter and Ludwig Albrecht Haller). [26]

1821 Steffisburg Church (by Jakob Samuel Weibel). [27]

1823 Steffisburg (by Jakob Samuel Weibel). [29]

1829 Schwarzenegg, Switzerland (by Jakob Samuel Weibel). [30]

1682 Coat-of-arms: "Fahrni of Steffisburg". [31]

1682 Coat-of-arms: "Carli of Steffisburg". [32]

Thierachern is west of Thun.
Eriz is in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. East of Steffisburg.
Fahrni is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Northeast of Steffisburg.
Schwartzenegg is about halfway between Eriz and Fahrni.

2024 Driving from Thierachen to Eriz (28 km) via Steffisburg and Schwartzenegg. [33]

1705 Perhaps Kathrin (born 1694) died and another Kathrin was born to this couple and was baptized on Nov 16 at Wattenwil. We seek evidence for this possibility.

c 1697 Peter Forney was born about this time and emigrated to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Perhaps he was a child of this family. We show him as a son in order to provied access to his notes even though we have found no evidence for this relationship. We seek evidence for this possibility.

Many thanks to Gottfried Fahrni, whose research gave the basis for the entire Fahrni ancestry reported here. [34]

Footnotes:

[1] Gottfried Fahrni, The Descendants Of Christanus Von Farne, pages 81-89, [InternetArchive].

[2] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, K Thierachern 2, Taufrodel (1605-1673), Eherodel (1611-1673), 318, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[3] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, Steffisburg, Kirchenbuch 4, Taufrodel (1657-1701), Totenrodel (1700-1701), 148, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[4] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, Steffisburg, Kirchenbuch 4, Taufrodel (1657-1701), Totenrodel (1700-1701), 166, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[5] Gottfried Fahrni, The Descendants Of Christanus Von Farne, [InternetArchive].

[6] Willard L. Oplinger, Gerald G. Oplinger, Robert L. Hess, Claus Oblinger: A Swiss Pioneer : C. 1678-1730 (2015), 26-27, [GoogleBooks], [FamilySearchBook].

[7] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, Steffisburg, Kirchenbuch 4, Taufrodel (1657-1701), Totenrodel (1700-1701), 481, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[8] Switzerland, Select Baptisms, 1491-1940, [AncestryRecord].

[9] Personal Communication, Gottfried Fahrni.

[10] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, Steffisburg, Kirchenbuch 4, Taufrodel (1657-1701), Totenrodel (1700-1701), 496, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[11] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, K Wattenwill 1, Taufrodel Nr. 1 (1660-1706), Eherodel (1659-1752), fol. 228, page 118 of pdf, top left, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[12] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, K Wattenwill 1, Taufrodel Nr. 1 (1660-1706), Eherodel (1659-1752), fol. 238, page 123 of pdf, top left, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[13] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, K Wattenwill 1, Taufrodel Nr. 1 (1660-1706), Eherodel (1659-1752), fol. 250, page 129 of pdf, bottom left, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[14] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, K Wattenwill 2, Taufrodel Nr. 2 (1707-1751), Auswärts getaufte Burgerkinder (1682-1728), fol. (6), page 5 of pdf, bottom left, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[15] Staatsarchivs des Kantons Bern, K Wattenwill 2, Taufrodel Nr. 2 (1707-1751), Auswärts getaufte Burgerkinder (1682-1728), fol. 207, page 106 of pdf, [BernStateArchivesImage], [BernStateArchivesCatalog].

[16] Personal communication, G Fahrni.

[17] Ralph B. Strassburger, William J. Hinke, ed., Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Vol. 1 (1934, Pennsylvania German Society), 8, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].

[18] Personal communication, G Fahrni.

[19] Ralph B. Strassburger, William J. Hinke, ed., Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Vol. 1 (1934, Pennsylvania German Society), 168, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].

[20] Ralph B. Strassburger, William J. Hinke, ed., Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Vol. 1 (1934, Pennsylvania German Society), 170, [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].

[21] Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Genealogical Card File (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].

[22] Old Maps Online, [URL].

[23] Wikipedia article about Steffisburg, content subject to change, [Wikipedia].

[24] Bern Archive, Catalog Link, [URL].

[25] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[26] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[27] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[28] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[29] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[30] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[31] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[32] State Archives of Berne – Online Catalogue, [Catalog Link].

[33] GoogleMaps.

[34] Gottfried Fahrni, The Descendants Of Christanus Von Farne, page 81, [InternetArchive].