Christian Gottsponer (1833 - abt. 1903)

Born 23 May 1833 in Kanton Wallis, Kolliken, Aargau, Switzerland

Ancestors

Husband of Maria Josephine (Heinzmann) Gottsponer — married 1858 in Kanton Wallis, Switzerland

Descendants

Died about 23 Nov 1903 at about age 70 in St Vincent, Arkansas, United States of America

Profile manager: Kelly Gottsponer [send private message]

Biography

In 1870, Christian appeared in a census at Visperterminen in Canton Valais/Wallis, Switzerland, with household:^[1]

• Cristian Gottsponer b. 23 May 1833
• Ma. Josepfa Heinzmann b. 11 [Her] 1837
• Josepf Gottsponer, son, b. 5 July 1859
• Isajas Gottsponer, son, b. 5 July 1859
• Melania Gottsponer, daughter, b. 26 May 1861
• Zenobia Gottsponer, daughter, b. 19 Hornung 1863
• Maria Gottsponer, daughter, b. 11 [Jul] 1865
• Rosa Gottsponer, daughter, b. 21 Jul 1868
• Josepfina Gottsponer, daughter, b. 10 April 1870
• Ma. Josepfa Wittener, grandmother, b. 11 [Her] 1814

Sources

1. ↑ Recensement Valaisan, images of various censuses conducted in Canton Valais. Select 1870 -> Visp -> Visperterminen and select page 78.

Christian Gottsponer immigrated and arrived in the US on Oct 1 1883 along with 10 other family memebers - port of departure was LaHavre France & he stated that his destination was Texas - They traveled on the ship Normandy and their port of arrival was New York.

Arkansas Naturalization Register shows Christian Gottsponer became a US Citizen in Little Rock US District Court December 7, 1888

1900 Census - Gregory, Conway Co, AR - Gottspuner, Crist (67) b. May 1833 Switzerland, married 41 years; Josie - wife (63) b. Oct 1836 Switzerland, married 41 years (13 children/11 living); Olly - son (23) b. 1877 Switzerland; Allos - daughter (16) b. June 1883

International Genealogical Index shows he was born in Kanton Wallis, Kolliken, Aargau, Switzerland May 23, 1833 and shows parents' names but no info on them

Possible record about Christian Gottsponer's hometown within the book "Romance Switzerland" by W D McCrackan c.1894 p 210/211:

Visp is the gate to an enchanted garden of the Alps, perhaps the very noblest and most inspiring spot in Switzerland. It seems almost incredible that Zermatt had to be practically rediscovered for modern tourists, although the Th^odule Pass was undoubtedly used in Roman times. In 1789, De Saussure paid the first recorded visit of a traveller, the details of which have reached us. His reception by the astonished inhabitants was anything but pleasant. A few years later, an English party visited Zermatt, and as this century advanced, an increasing number of bota- nists, naturalists, and geologists made it a happy hunting-ground. Such men as Sir John Herschel, Agassiz, Desor, the two Forbes, Tyndall, and Ruskin were among early visitors. One by one, the giant peaks were scaled until, in 1865, Mr. Whymper capped the climax by his daring ascent of the Matterhorn.

The first travellers took shelter with the parish priest, Pfarrer Gottsponer; but, in 1839, ^^' Lauber, the village doctor, built an inn, which was later bought by M. Alexandre Seiler, and called the Hotel de Monte Rosa.

The Rev. W. A. B. Coolidge, who has made some remarkable studies in the byways of Swiss history, finds that Zermatt is mentioned in documents dated as early as 1280, and thinks the settlement must doubtless be much older. The inhabitants were originally probably united in a free Mark, but ultimately fell into feudal dependence upon certain powerful families in the Rhone Valley.

• The Swiss Canton that the Gottsponer & Gsponer families originate from is called Wallis in German and Valais in French & English. Valais is a French, German and Italian speaking Canton. It joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815 and has 163 communities.

• Ancestry.com
• Find A Grave: Memorial #110019453

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