Research Notes:
We are researching Christian Bixler [1], who died 1777 in Manchester Twp, York County, Pennsylvania.
Some researchers suggest that this couple, Ulrich Bichsel and Verena Stucki, were the parents of that Christian Bixler [2].
The ancestry shown here for Ulrich Bixler is from a biography of son Hans Bixler. That biography refers to the Mennonite Encyclopedia and to the research of Richard Warren Davis for the Swiss ancestry reported here. The evidence is based on the family of Ulrich Bichsel, whose sons John and Christian diappeared from the records of Eggiwil, Switzerland in 1725. A John and Christian Bixler arrived in Pennsylvania in 1725.
We speculate that this Ulrich Bichsel of Eggiwil, Switzerland was the father of the sons Christian, Peter, and Hans.
A biosketch reports [3]:
Ulrich Bichsel, born 9 Sep 1677, Eggiwil. Ulrich died at Eggiwil in 1732. He was of "auf der Berg" when he married Anna Baiser on 16 May 1699 at Eggiwil. He lived at Berg, Eggiwil in 1700. He was living in Sumiswald in 1705 and 1709. He was living at Flubach, Eggiwil after 1717. He married as his second wife, Verena Stucki by 1705. Verena (born 1679) died at Eggiwil in 1744 at the age of 65 years. His sons, Hans, Christian and Peter are not found in the Eggiwil records after 1725." "Ulrich Bichsel may not be the father of the Bixlers who supposedly came to Lancaster County in 1725. The Mennonite Encyclopedia states that Hans and Christian Bixler, brothers came from Eggiwil in 1725. However, Eugene Bixler has sent me documentation that shows that Christian Bixler signed his last name "Büchsler" which sounds like Bixler, and may be a different name than Bichsel. Eugene Bixler also has identified another possible brother to Hans and Christian named Michael Bixler who died in York County in 1738, leaving four young daughters. Michael Bixler does not show up as a son to Ulrich in Eggiwil records. Ulrich Bichsel (1677-1732) of Eggiwil did not baptize any children at Eggiwil between the years 1709 and 1717 so there is the possibility that he had children born between those years at some other locale and then returned to Eggiwil by 1717." Family A: "Mr. Büchsler, born c1680. The Mennonite Encyclopedia indicates that his sons came from Eggiwil, Bern, Switzerland, but this may be incorrect. Eugene Bixler has done research which shows that this man's sons wrote their names "Büchsler" or "Bücksler" and not Bichsel. At this point it is uncertain whether or not "Bixler" is the same name as "Bichsel" which was a common name found at Eggiwil.
A Bixler genealogy researcher in Germany suggests that the Sumiswald records name the children of Ulrich Bichsel, including Christian and John, and identify them as "foreign" [4]. We seek copies of these records:
Die Nachforschungen von Agnes Bixler Kurtz ergaben, dass es gemäss Angaben in Testamenten im frühen 18. Jahrhundert tatsächlich vier verschiedene "Bixler" in Pennsylvania USA gab:
a) John Bixler, erwähnt 1765 in York County Courthouse Pennsylvania
b) Christian Bixler, erwähnt 1777 in York County Courthouse Pennsylvania
c) Peter Bicksler, erwähnt 1772 in Reading Pennsylvania und
d) Christian Bixler, erwähnt 1762 in Lancaster County Courthouse Pennsylvania.
John und die beiden Christian waren je zweimal verheiratet.Auf Grund der Kirchenbücher in der Schweiz und andern verlässlichen Hinweisen kann mit Sicherheit angenommen werden, dass es sich bei John Bixler um Hans Bichsel, geb. 04.02.1700 in Eggiwil handelt und Christian, geb. 05.12.1706 sein Halbbruder war und 1777 in York starb. Hingegen kann Peter Bicksler kein Bruder der beiden gewesen sein (wie in mehreren Publikationen behauptet wird), der etwa zwei Jahre später ebenfalls nach Amerika auswanderte. Hans und Christian waren Söhne von Ulrich Bichsel aus Sumiswald, der sich in Eggiwil verheiratet hat und wohl als Knecht an mehreren Orten tätig war. Seine Kinder aus der zweiten Ehe mit Verena Stucki kamen in ganz unterschiedlichen Gemeinden zur Welt: Magdalena, geb. 1704, Christian, geb. 1706, Peter und Christina, beide geb. 1709, alle in Münsingen, Anna, geb. 1711 und Barbara, geb. 1712 in Münsingen, Johannes, geb. 1713 in Rüegsau, Elsbeth und Catharina, beide geb. 1714 in Signau, Verena, geb. 1717 in Eggiwil, Ulrich, geb. 1720 in Eggiwil, und Niklaus, geb. 1722 in Eggiwil. Alle Kinder sind im Taufbuch von Sumiswald als auswärtige Kinder erwähnt, was als sicherer Beweis dient, dass der Heimatort nach wie vor Sumiswald hiess.
A biography of John Bixler reports on an alternative ancestry based on the oral history from another descendant of son Christian. That alternative ancestry has John and Christian as Jewish brothers from Munich who hooked up with the Mennonites in order to disguise their religion.
[1] Janet and Robert Wolfe, Genealogy Page for Christian Bixler, died 1777, [JRWolfeGenealogy].
[2] Agnes Bixler Kurtz, Bixler John (1700-1765) Pioneer, Immigrant, Farmer 2nd edition (Hanover, New Hampshire: ABK Publications, 2000), 22, [FHLBook].
[3] Richard Warren Davis, Mennosearch.com Family Notes, Bichsel A and B1322, [Website].
[4] E. Bichsel, Bixler, Bicksler und Bissell in den USA, [URL].