Research Notes

STOTZER RESEARCH NOTES

Stotzer Swiss Research Notes: In searching the internet and other sources, there are large gaps in the Swiss Stotzer family history data from before 1800 in Switzerland to around 1920. Some Stotzer families are very well documented while others are totally missing (mine and that of Mineral City for example). This is probably due to differences in church recordkeeping, etc. I've also noted that there seem to be numerous ties (marriages) in Switzerland between Stotzer family members (starting in the late 1600s-up to 1900) in Büren an der Aare and members of these families: Gribi or Griebi; Kocher; Ruchti. There are records of the Greibi/Gribi family that trace as far back as an Urs Gribi born in 1605) To see what I am referring to-search for "Stotzer" and "Stozer" at the LDS website.
German/other European Connections 1500-1850: The Stotzer surname may actually originate in Germany before the 12th century. The oldest Stotzer on record so far is a "Hans der Stotzer" born in Rottweil, Germany in 1396. There are STOTZER or STÖTZER entries in some databases that date as far back as the late 1500s up to the 1800s in Germany and even possibly Austria/Romania-see the Mystery Page.
Stotzers in the USA in the 1700s/Connections to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR): The ancestors of some European Stotzers may have emigrated to the US from Europe as early as the 1700s-some possibly from Germany. These Stotzers are listed on my Mystery Page and might be the ancestors of the Stotzers now living in Illinois, Indiana , Pennsylvania or New York noted above. So far, there are records that indicate that at least two Stotzer men married DAR members (women who have a documented family history that connects them back to specific individuals that did participate in the American Revolution on the colonist's side) in the US midwest in the late 1800s or early 1900s (but nothing as far back as the 1700s):
Stotzer Emigration to the USA before 1850: A few Stotzers show up in genealogical records that indicate that there were Stotzers (or Stotsers/Stozers) in the US before 1850 (the earliest emigrants I've found from Switzerland are after 1798-followed by a family in the 1820s) in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. The 1800 Federal Census shows a John Stotzer and wife (both age 45 or older) living in Windsor Twp., Berks County, Pennsylvania with their eight (3 boys + 5 girls) children. A John Stotzer from Ohio and William Stotser from Iowa served and died for the Union Army in the U.S. Civil War (1862-1865)! So far, none are connected to any of my known Stotzer groups-see the Mystery Page.
Stotzer Emigration to the USA after 1850: It appears that most of the Stotzers with Swiss/Büren an der Aare roots (noted in these pages) trace their family history back through an ancestor that emigrated to the USA after 1850. So far there are only two exceptions-a family that may have left Switzerland as early as 1798 and another in the 1820s-see the Mystery Page. The latest Swiss Stotzer emigration dates I have found are 1923 and 1927.
Stotzers in the USA Today: From doing repeated, extensive internet searches and mailing numerous letters to Stotzers here in the USA (and even to Stotzers in Switzerland) I have discovered that there are other small Stotzer "groups" or individuals (in addition to the main groups noted above) in these US states:
- Illinois, Indiana and Massachusetts. It appears that most of the current Massachusetts, Illinois, and Indiana Stotzers are tied to the Illinois/Wisconsin group. There are a few Stotzers shown in Indiana and Illinois before 1850-see the Mystery Page.
- New York (NY) Pennsylvania (PA). Some Pennsylvania and most of the New Jersey Stotzers are related-see the PA/NJ group. There are a few NY and some PA Stotzers not accounted for-most before 1850-German emigrants? See the Mystery Page.