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Showing this crest at this time may be premature as I have not made the final connection to this line of Zangger's. This is the crest for the Zangger's from Solothurn, Switzerland and it may not be ours. We are from the German speaking section of Switzerland, Gettnau, and the name was changed when coming to the United States. There are two present spellings of the name: Zongker and Zonker.
I have heard two stories what the crest means: (1) The family were pliers makers and they had their forumla for the material that went into the pliers and they shared this forumla with NO ONE (2) The family were blacksmiths and the pliers shown were tools of the trade. It was called to my attention that there is a horse shoe and a helmet shown in the crest. Any one with any ideas? If so let me know what they are and we will see if we can draw a conclusion and solve this mystery.
Here is the new information as I have it. It is the imformatomn I have been working on. This new information takes us back to 1622-1623 in Switzerland. The records foem about 1620-1635 are missing and we cannot go back any farther and be correct. This information was researched by Alexander Roth who also researched the Roth line. Please check from time to time as I will not inform you each time there is new information entered.
Descendants of Melchior Zangger
Generation No. 1
1. MELCHIOR1 ZANGGER was born Bet. 1622 - 1623 in Gettnau, Switzerland (There are no other records available), and died April 18, 1699 in Gettnau, Switzerland. He married ANNA VONESCH November 26, 1643 in Ettiswil, Switzerland, daughter of JAKOB VONESCH and URSULA BISGANG. She was born April 05, 1622 in Ettiswil, and died October 18, 1702 in Gettnau, Switzerland.
Notes for MELCHIOR ZANGGER: Lived in Gettnau from 1643-1702
Children of MELCHIOR ZANGGER and ANNA VONESCH are:
i. ANNA2 ZANGGER, b. May 05, 1646.
2. ii. JOHANN ZANGGER, b. December 20, 1657; d. March 01, 1699, Gettnau, Switzerland.
iii. ELISABETH ZANGGER, b. June 27, 1655.
iv. JOHANN ZANGGER, b. December 28, 1657.
v. BARBARA ZANGGER, b. August 06, 1664.
Generation No. 2
2. JOHANN2 ZANGGER (MELCHIOR1) was born December 20, 1657, and died March 01, 1699 in Gettnau, Switzerland. He married BARBARA ROTH February 02, 1684 in Gettnau, Switzerland. She was born May 18, 1662 in Gettnau, Switzerland, and died December 19, 1716 in Gettnau, Switzerland.
Children of JOHANN ZANGGER and BARBARA ROTH are:
i. JOHANNI3 ZANGGER, b. December 25, 1684.
3. ii. JOHANN II (CHRISTIAN) ZANGGER, b. December 25, 1686, Gettnau, Switzerland; d. May 29, 1741, Gettnau, Switzerland.
iii. FRANZ ZANGGER, b. March 10, 1689.
iv. ANNA MARIA ZANGGER, b. September 16, 1691.
v. IDA ZANGGER, b. March 13, 1694.
vi. FRANZ ANTON ZANGGER, b. February 19, 1698.
Generation No. 3
3. JOHANN II (CHRISTIAN)3 ZANGGER (JOHANN2, MELCHIOR1) was born December 25, 1686 in Gettnau, Switzerland, and died May 29, 1741 in Gettnau, Switzerland. He married MARIA MULLER May 06, 1710 in Ettiswil, daughter of JACOB MULLER and MARIS SUPPIGER. She was born May 01, 1684 in Zell, and died February 18, 1737 in Gettnau, Switzerland.
Children of JOHANN ZANGGER and MARIA MULLER are:
i. ANNA MARIA4 ZANGGER, b. March 21, 1711.
ii. JOSEF ZANGGER, b. September 10, 1713.
iii. KATHARINA ZANGGER, b. May 1715.
iv. JOHANN I ZANGGER, b. December 20, 1716.
v. JOHANN II ZANGGER, b. November 06, 1718.
vi. PETER ZANGGER, b. June 29, 1720.
vii. MARIA BARBARA ZANGGER, b. March 02, 1722.
4. viii. (FRANZ) MICHAEL ZANGGER, b. September 28, 1723, Gettnau, Switzerland Batized in Ett; d. January 28, 1788, Gettnau, Switzerland.
ix. JOHAN ZANGGER, b. October 30, 1725.
Generation No. 4
4. (FRANZ) MICHAEL4 ZANGGER (JOHANN II (CHRISTIAN)3, JOHANN2, MELCHIOR1) was born September 28, 1723 in Gettnau, Switzerland Batized in Ett, and died January 28, 1788 in Gettnau, Switzerland. He married KATHARINA SCHNIDER February 04, 1761 in Ettiawil, Switzerland, daughter of MATTHAIS SCHNIDER and JACOBEA BISANG. She was born September 28, 1738 in Buttisholz, Swotzerland, and died April 01, 1789 in Gettnau, Switzerland.
Children of (FRANZ) ZANGGER and KATHARINA SCHNIDER are:
i. KATHARINA (GERTRUD)5 ZANGGER, b. September 04, 1763; d. February 27, 1805, Gettnau, Switzerland.
5. ii. JOSEF ANTON ZANGGER, b. April 24, 1764, Gettnau, Switzerland; d. Bet. 1798 - 1855.
iii. FRANZ MICHAEL ZANGGER, b. June 17, 1765.
iv. JOSEF ZANGGER, b. August 12, 1767; d. December 05, 1836, Gettnau, Switzerland.
v. ANNA MARIE KATHARINA BARBARA ZANGGER, b. January 16, 1770; d. January 16, 1770.
vi. NAME AND SEX UNKNOWN ZANGGER, b. September 24, 1771; d. September 24, 1771.
Generation No. 5
5. JOSEF ANTON5 ZANGGER ((FRANZ) MICHAEL4, JOHANN II (CHRISTIAN)3, JOHANN2, MELCHIOR1) was born April 24, 1764 in Gettnau, Switzerland, and died Bet. 1798 - 1855. He married (1) KATHARINA BRUN November 23, 1789 in Ettiawil, Switzerland. He married (2) ANNA MARIE ELISABETH BUHLER November 12, 1792 in Ettiswil, Switzerland, daughter of KASPER BUHLER and ELISABETH MEYER. She was born June 24, 1753 in Meznau, Switzerland.
Children of JOSEF ZANGGER and KATHARINA BRUN are:
i. ANNA MARIE BRIGATTA6 ZANGGER, b. September 09, 1790.
ii. MARI KATHARINA BRIGITTA ZANGGER. Children of JOSEF ZANGGER and ANNA BUHLER are:
6. iii. JOSEF ANTON NIKOLAS6 ZANGGER, b. December 07, 1793.
iv. ANTON JOHANN ZANGGER, b. December 19, 1795.
Generation No. 6
6. JOSEF ANTON NIKOLAS6 ZANGGER (JOSEF ANTON5, (FRANZ) MICHAEL4, JOHANN II (CHRISTIAN)3, JOHANN2, MELCHIOR1) was born December 07, 1793. He married ANNA MARIA ROTH 1817 in Werthenstein, Kloster, Switzerland, daughter of JOSEF ROTH and MARIE AMREIN. She was born January 25, 1792 in Ostergau, Canton Lucerne, Switzerland, and died October 03, 1874 in Avilla, Noble County, IN. Ostergau is known today as Willisau Land, Canton Lucerne, Swtizerland.
Notes for ANNA MARIA ROTH: Anna Maria was married to Josef Zangger von Gettnau in Feb. 1817. The next year, she and Josef emigrated to America.
Anna Maria is buried in the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Avilla, Noble County, IN Section 2 row 15. Her tombstone reads, " Zongker, Anna Mary Roth: Wife of Joseph; Jan 25, 1792- Oct 3, 1874; 82y 8m 9d; born in Canton, Switzerland
Children of JOSEF ZANGGER and ANNA ROTH are:
i. JOSEPH MARTIN7 ZONGKER, b. April 19, 1818, Lucerene, Switzerland; d. January 26, 1904, Hudson, Stuben County, IN; m. REGINA MYERS, November 28, 1841, Seneca County, OH; b. October 03, 1823, PA; d. February 19, 1875, Hudson, Stuben County, IN.
Notes for JOSEPH MARTIN ZONGKER:
Marriage found LDS microfiche page # 60623.
ii. ANTHONY ZONGKER, b. September 23, 1819, Lancaster County, PA; d. December 30, 1905, DeKalb County, IN buried Fairfield Cemetery; m. ELIZABETH HOSLER, July 16, 1846; b. June 29, 1826, Stark Co, OH; d. March 26, 1902, DeKalb County, IN buried Fairfield Cemetery.
iii. JOHN ZONGKER, b. March 07, 1824, PA; m. (1) MARY MARGARET OLRY, February 11, 1847, Senaca Co, OH; b. March 15, 1826, Voinemont Nancy, France; d. September 10, 1860, Avilla, IN buried St Mary's Catholic Cenetery, Avilla, IN; m. (2) ROSE HILL, 1865.
Marriage Notes for JOHN ZONGKER and MARY OLRY:
Marriage found LDS microfiche page #60623. Also shows her name as being Olvy
iv. HENRY ZONGKER, b. May 27, 1826, PA; d. March 31, 1908, Neola KS (buried Neola Cemetery); m. SUSANAH SKILLING, October 05, 1852, Dekalb County, IN; b. PA..
Notes for HENRY ZONGKER:
Henry is mentioned in the will of Joseph Zongker dated March 30, 1850 Seneca Co. ON. Found on LDS microfiche # 60623.
v. MARY ANNA ZONGKER, b. January 25, 1828, Stark County OH; d. December 12, 1904, Avilla Noble County IN; m. (1) JOHN BAPTISTE OLRY, SR, January 18, 1848, Tiffin, Senaca Co, OH; b. January 01, 1802, Voinemont, Nancy, France; m. (2) SEBASTIAN MONGER, September 22, 1853, Senaca Co, OH.
Notes for MARY ANNA ZONGKER:
Birth record and her marriage to Sebastion Monger both found LDS microfiche #60623.
vi. CHRISTINE THRESA ZONGKER, b. April 09, 1830, Stark County, OH; d. Avilla, IN; m. ALBIN MEYERS, January 11, 1853, Seneca County, Ohio; b. March 01, 1825, Schirrheim, FRANCE; d. January 20, 1917, Avilla, IN. Notes for CHRISTINE THRESA ZONGKER: Marriage and birth both found LDS microfiche page #60623.
vii. ELIZABETH ZONGKER, b. April 13, 1838, Seneca County OH; d. December 09, 1906, Gallion, Crawford County OH buried Mt. Calvary Cem.; m. JOHN PETER SMITH.
Notes for ELIZABETH ZONGKER:
Elizabeth mentioned in the will of Joseph Zongker dated March 30, 1850 Seneca Co, OH. Found on LDS microfiche # 60623
viii. ADAM ZONGKER.
ix. DAVID ZONGKER. Notes for DAVID ZONGKER:
David is mentioned in the will of Joseph Zongker dated March 30, 1850 Seneca Co. OH. found on LDS microfiche # 60623.
x. WILLIAM ZONGKER, b. 1841; d. 1895, Mountain Grove, MO; m. LOUISA JANE KELLER; b. 1843; d. 1946, Mountain Grove, MO..
Notes for WILLIAM ZONGKER:
William named in the will of Joseph Zongker dated March 30, 1850 Seneca Co, OH. found LDS microfiche # 60623.
I will now attempt to give you a brief history of the Zongker's that I have been able to put together. Some of it will be fact but a lot is from what I have been told by others, but do not discount it. In other words I believe it to be true. Mostly I learned from Cousin Floyd before he passed away in 1989. He had talked to several older members of the family. These people have now passed on.
What I started with is information he sent me in Feburary 1989 before he passed away in March 1989. At that time it was 24-26 pages in length and is now 50 plus pages. In an attempt to find for sure where and when the family arrived I found instead that Joseph Zanker arrived in Philadelphia in 1832. He was alone. Floyd had written that Joseph had made several trips back to recruit others to join him in the new country. This would account for his being alone and arriving in 1832. His age was listed as "not available".
First I have always been of the impression the family came from Germany. I found where Anna Marie is buried and on her stone it states she was born Canton, Switzerland. I have also been in contact with a Zonker in Ohio and he has done a lot of research on their lineage and traced it to Swtizerland. We talked at length about the possibility of our being related. Yes, this is possible. But you say it is spelled differenly. I have seen legal documents where the name was spelled three ways. The name was spelled with an "a" with two dots above the "a" in place of the "o". We must also remember it has been said the family spoke only German at home and could have been inclined to speak broken English when in public.
On August 15, 1998 I attended a Zonker reunion in Woodsfield, Ohio. This family is the one I spoke of earlier. In comparing notes we are now convinced we could easily be related. We are still searching for the missing link to make the connection. Some of them have been to Switzerland to do research and have traced their roots back to 1605 in Switzerland. The spelling they found was "Zangger". The meaning of the name Zangger is "pliers maker". Upon returning home I went through old letters written by cousin Floyd to my parents back in the early 50's. At that point in time he was saying both Joseph and Anna Marie were born in Switzerland. Another reason to believe we could be related to the Ohio Zonkers. Upon searching on the internet I found the name of Zangger listed. I contacted one in Gallup, NM to see if he might know something of his background. He could not go back very far and was unable to add much to what I had already learned. The first of his ancestors he could verify was a Rudolf Zangger from the Brunnethal region, Canton of Solothurn. Again we are searching for more information.
The first born of Joseph Zangker and Anna Marie Roth was Joseph Martin or Joseph Zongker II. Joseph Martin was born April 1818 in Switzerland before the family came to the United States in 1818. The first place they were after arriving was in PA. After entering through Philadelphia they first settled in Elizabethtown. perhaps in Lancaster County. From there they moved to Venango County where the second son Anthony was born Sept. 23, 1819; John about 1823, Henry on May 27, 1826. There is a possibility there is another son Anthony Zonker. There is a record in Quarter Sessions Court, Philadelphia, of the naturalization of Joseph in 1832
The next time I found the family was in Stark County Ohio where Mary Ann was born January 25, 1828. After Mary comes Christine Thresa born April 9, 1830. From Stark County the family moved futher west to Seneca County Ohio where Elizabeth was born April 13, 1838. Adam, date of birth unknown, was stillborn; David, birth and death dates unknown, was killed in the Civil War. William, the youngest I know of, was born 1841.
I found the Bureau of Land Management's web site: www.glorecords.blm.gov/ and did some searching to see if there was by chance any information on the family. Yes, I found where Joseph Zanker of Stark County, Ohio secured 80 acres of land in Seneca County, Ohio. The date of the signature was December 7, 1835. The number for this data is OH0870_.186. This date seems to be in the same time frame of their moving to Seneca County. In plating the legal discription I found on the internet the same place where I had placed an "x" marking the spot where I was told in 1994 by the Office of Records in Tiffin, Ohio the location of the cemetery where Joseph was buried. Was I surprised when it turned out to be the same.
On the 5th day of May 1850 Joseph, husband of Anna Marie, passed away and is buried in the St. Stephen Cemetery in southeast Seneca County. The 1850 census shows Anna as head of house. The name is listed as being Congker. Here again the fact the family speaks only German in the home and possibly the census taker spoke no German the "Z" could have easily been misinterpeted as being "C".
While in Seneca County we find Joseph Martin marrying Regina Meyers of Pennsylvania, October 3, 1823; John marrying Mary Olry February 11, 1847. I am not sure where or when Henry married Susan Skilling. Mary Ann first married John B. Olry, Sr, brother to John's wife, then September 22, 1853 she married Sebastain Monger. Christine married Albin Meyers; Elizabeth married John Peter Smith. I am thinking William was married after the family moved on to Indiana.
The call "Move west young man, move west" again moved the family west. All but the Smith family moved to Indiana; Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties. It is my belief the Smith's stayed in Crawford County, Ohio. By this time Joseph Martin and Regina had four children, ages ranging from 7 to 2. They settled in Salem Township of Steuben County. The farm where they lived is now within the city of Hudson, Indiana and some of the buildings are still standing and the two houses built by him are still occupied, one a wood frame, is still in the family. This house was being built for Regina at the time of her death in February 1875 and sets west of the barn. He later built a two story brick house just to the north of the barn. This area is still known today as the Zongker Farm and was featured in the late 1980's or early 1990's on a calender put out by the Bank of Ashley, Indiana.
Again the call to move struck. John went to Iowa. I have found some informtion that leads me to believe some of John's family may have gone on to South Dakota. Henry and family, along with Joseph Martin's daughter Sarah and her husband, Levi Guthrie and family, Sarah's brother, Peter moved southwest to Kansas, settling in western Reno and eastern Stafford counties. I was asked once what I knew about this family walking from Indiana to Kansas. All I can say is it is possible. I do know they had wagons as I was given a mule shoe as a teenager and was told by my father it was worn by Molly the mule that helped pull one of the wagons from Indiana.
William his wife, Louisa J. Keller settled in Missouri near Mountain Grove. At this time it is my belief the rest of the family stayed in Noble County close to the town of Avilla, Indiana.
I had found in the Family Archives of The Family Tree Maker where one researcher had stated that Anna Marie was buried in the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Avilla, Indiana. A family member from Berne, Indiana visited Avilla in August of 1998 in search of her grave. Not knowing where to start they stopped at a monument company to inquire directions. They were told by this person he had dug his first grave in that cemetery at the age of 14 and knew nothing of any Zongker except his grandmother, Elizabeth A., daughter of John. This man was in his 70's. Small world, they were related and did not know it.
I hope that in some small way I have given you an idea as to the family's movement in their early years in the United States.
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