In 1870, Christian appeared in a census at Visperterminen in Canton Valais/Wallis, Switzerland, with household:[1]
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.
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Christian is 25 degrees from Mary Cassatt, 39 degrees from Salvador Dali, 32 degrees from Théodore Géricault, 35 degrees from Hans Heysen, 34 degrees from Bruno Liljefors, 33 degrees from Margaret Mackintosh, 28 degrees from Charles Porter, 34 degrees from Rembrandt van Rijn, 23 degrees from John Sargent, 25 degrees from Tom Thomson, 41 degrees from Jan Vermeer and 26 degrees from Mindy Silva on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
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Categories: Canton of Valais