Christen Binggeli (1672 - abt. 1713)

Born 14 Jan 1672 in Wahlern, Bern, Switzerland

Ancestors

Husband of Elsbeth (Burri) Binggeli — married 20 Oct 1693 in Guggisberg, Switzerland

Descendants

Died about 1713 at about age 40 in Guggisberg, Bern, Switzerland

Problems/Questions Profile managers: E. Gatlin [send private message] and Steve Hennings [send private message]

Biography

Birth: 14 Jan 1672 in Wahlern, Bern, Switzerland^[1]

Marriage: 20 Ost 1693 in wahlern, Bern, Switzerland^[2]

Death: About 1713^[3]

Research Notes of Bruce Fosnocht(Fosnocht-12)

We have been looking for many years at the family of Christen Binggeli and Elsbeth Burri, the parents of JS and PM. That study had been paused with about 11 families possible for the parents of Christen Binggeli, who is almost certainly the Christen who bought a house in Gauchheit in 1703 and was in Goblissmatt in 1712 when his children went begging in Freyburg territory. This coincides with PM's memoir which says he sought the support of others in his sixth year, and presumably until his 9th year, when his father died.

But, while searching for records for these 2 places(which almost blend together on Google Maps), I discovered some long-forgotten Chorgerichtsmanual(Church Court Manual) entries about some schoolmasters named Binggeli.

On 10/19/1683, Hans Binggeli, der alt schoolmaster(meaning either former or elder), was accused by the pastor of drinking at the inn in Guggisberg during Sunday School. He was fined for this by the court on 1/25/1684. No home location was given for him.

On 2/11/1698, schoolmaster Binggeli testified to the court that he had heard from some people in Freyburg territory that Peter Studeman had been dancing in Plaffeyen. There was no first name or location given for him in this entry, nor was he caller der alt schoolmaster. But it would be very likely that a man living in either Gauchheit and Goblissmatt(where we know Christen Binggeli/Elsbeth Burri were living) would be friendly with people from Plaffeyen, which is in Freyburg territory, just across the river Sense from these places.

On 3/31/1700, schoolmaster Binggeli's son was fined for improper behavior at a wedding in Blumengarten, along with young friends Ulrich Stubi and Hirschi's sons. The schoolmaster's son was not named. The Stubi and Hirschi names can be found often in towns nearby Gauchheit and Gopplissmatt in the pastor's register of 1715.

On 4/24/1711, alt schoolmasters Zand and Binggeli were neighbors of Christen Pfouti of Gauchheit when they testified about Pfouti's brother promising to help pay for their mother's care.

The schoolmaster Binggeli is named Hans in only one of these instances, and no forename is provided for his son. But it's clear that there is an older schoolmaster Hans Binggeli in the very same vicinity of Christen Binggeli, father of JS/PM. There are no records in the BMF of any other Binggelis in this remote corner of Canton Bern.

I think it's inescapable that the Christen Binggeli married to Elsbeth Burri and living in Goblissmatt must be the son of the schoolmaster Hans Binggeli of Gauchheit.

So the long list of Christen Binggelis who could marry Elsbeth Burri in 1693 can be reduced to those who are sons of a Hans.

I have reviewed the families of the Hans Binggelis with sons named Christen. They all have some unique sponsors with possible connections by either location or sponsorship to Christen and Elsbeth Burri, but those connections cannot be proven.

But the Hans Binggeli/Barbara Pauli family, whose Christen was born 14 Nov 1672, has some unique individuals and sponsors with connections to Christen and Elsbeth Burri, as follows.

There was only one Barbara Pauli of an age to marry Hans Binggeli in 1664. She was the 1637 daughter of Hans Pauli and Anna Binggeli of Riffenmatt.

Barbara Pauli had a unique brother Benedict(1635) who was the father of a Christen Pauli who may have sponsored Christen of Christen Binggeli/Elsbeth Burri in 1696 and also their Barbara in 1698. I have examined all the adult Christen Paulis who were likely sponsors in those years, and the only one that fits is this nephew of Barbara Pauli.

This provides a unique connection that allows us to confidently declare that Hans Binggeli, the schoolmaster from Gauchheit, and Barbara Pauli, married 1664/11/28, are the parents of Christen Binggeli/Elsbeth Burri, and the grandparents of JS/PM.

The next step in the ancestry of JS/PM was to determine which Hans Binggeli married Barbara Pauli in 1664.

Lee Arthurs has told us that his analysis of the Binkley y-DNA indicates that the ancestral lines of all Binkleys of interest to us converge and culminate with Jerman Binggeli/Elsbeth Spring. And when we "shine the flashlight" on that tree, we find that the Hans/Elsbeth Trachsel family is the most sensible place to attach JS and PM.

This can be confirmed by using the BMF to analyze the baptismal sponsors of the Hans Binggeli/Barbara Pauli family.

The Hans Binggeli/Barbara Pauli family had 2 Binggeli sponsors with possible ties to the Hans/Trachsel family. The sponsors Christen Binggeli (in 1665) and Elsbeth Binggeli (in 1674) are not unique, but they could possibly be children of Hans/Elsbeth Trachsel.

More importantly, there were some unique Pauli sponsors with ties to Hans/Elsbeth Trachsel.

The Pauli family is a rather small one, and many of the early forenames were unique. I was able to use the BMF to assemble a lot of that family in my Rootsmagic some time ago. Barbara Pauli's father was Hans Pauli, born 1612/04/28. His father Pauli Pauli had brothers named Wilhelm(from Ried) and Georg(from Almisried). Georg, Wilhelm, and their wives are all unique sponsors of the family of Hans Pauli/Anna Binggeli, whose home was nearby in Riffenmatt. We can use this extended family of Barbara Pauli to make several more connections to Hans/Trachsel.

1) On 1641/07/25, Wilhelm Pauli and his wife Anna Gilgen had a unique sponsor named Niclaus Wul, who was a close associate of Hans Binggeli/Elsbeth Trachsel from 1632-1670, which ties an uncle of Barbara Pauli to Hans/Trachsel.

2) On 1622/12/08, Anna Gilgen sponsored Anna, daughter of Hans Wittwer, who was a unique sponsor of Hans/Trachsel on 1635/07/05.

3) Georg Pauli had a unique sponsor named Jacob Feller, whose unique wife Madlena Zand sponsored Anna of Hans/Trachsel 1630/11/14.

4) Jacob Feller also sponsored Barbara of Jerman Binggeli/Elsbeth Spring1624/09/19.

These 4 unique and 2 possible connections provide a preponderance of evidence that allows us to declare that the first great-grandfather for JS/PM is Hans Binggeli/Elsbeth Trachsel, who has long been known as the son of Jerman Binggeli/Elsbeth Spring.

Research Notes

• Although Dr. Binkley used the spelling Binckele for Christian, I have used the original Swiss spelling of Binggeli. Steven Hennings

Christen was born about 1677.

Sources

1. ↑ Wahlern KB2/349
2. ↑ Guggisberg KB4/365
3. ↑ Moravian Archives, Winston-Salem North Carolina