Good Online Resources for Swiss Research

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Permalink Reply by Fredric Z. "Rick" Saunders on July 14, 2009 at 2:00pm

Online sites I would list are:
Swiss Genealogy of the Internet http://www.eye.ch/swissgen/schweiz-en.html
If you are unfamiliar with Swiss research, I would suggest clicking on the "Information on the Project and Switzerland in General," and reading the sections on the "Introduction," the "Assorted Information" section, the "Basic Rules of Swiss Citizenship" and "Register of Swiss Surnames" as the most important.

The search page at Swiss Roots you mentioned, most particularly the Swiss Family Name Handbook
http://history.swissroots.org/swissroots/en/stories/heritage/Geneal...
This will list where (villages) the different Swiss names held citizenship. Going in the other direction, if you know a village and are reading the church records on microfilm or CD, you can see all surnames that held citizenship at that village, so you will know what names to expect when you are reading the records.

Swiss Map
http://map.search.ch/
After entering a location, you can zoom in and out to see adjacent villages

For Canton Bern, an 1838 and 1844 Gazetteer.
http://www.andrist.net/ortschaften-be/
You can find locations by names (many/most as small as one or two houses) and to what Gemeinde (village of citizenship) they belonged. These small locations are often given in the church records, and a Gemeinde .may have dozens or more than a hundred smaller locations associated with it.

Not all Gemeinde had a parish church, and the residents may have attended one elsewhere. For Canton Bern, this lists the Gemeinde, and what church would have the records for them.
http://users.zoominternet.net/~ewbaugh/church.htm

If you have ancestors in Canton Bern, you may want to buy the CD for that location that you may search the records from home, rather than on microfilm at a Family History Center
http://www.pictonpress.com/store/category/Swiss

Julius Billeter (List of families and locations he researched):
http://www.ghgrb.ch/researchCorner/billeter_order_e.html
Be sure to read at the first site listed above a caution I wrote about his records:
http://www.swissgenealogie.ch/billet-e.htm

Permalink Reply by Adam Rickle on July 26, 2009 at 2:42am

I'm searching through the Gazetter and could use some help with what I'm looking at. I thought it would be a bit easier to figure out.

Permalink Reply by Viktor Wabel on October 4, 2009 at 11:05am

Hi,
a very good page is http://www.geneal-forum.com/index_de.php its in German, but also in English. You can find a lot of interesting information on families or local events.

Permalink Reply by Sarah Walls on February 18, 2012 at 2:57pm

Leah, What success have you had researching Swiss records?  Have you learned any new sites? My 7th great grandparents were born there in 1701 and 1702. I do not know what canton.   Sarah in Florida

Permalink Reply by Andreas Krebs on August 1, 2012 at 4:01am

The Register of Swiss Surnames is now available online.

Permalink Reply by Deb on February 14, 2014 at 4:58pm

http://www.theswisscenter.org/swissroots/genealogy/