Hoesli Family History upon arrival to the United States
Fridolin Hosli and Anna Margaretha Hefti were married 8 Feb 1842 in Glarus, Switzerland. They
had four children while living in Glarus, Switzerland. Katherina died 6 Sep 1842, Anna Katherina
died 13 Jun 1845, Anna Kartherina (2nd) died 18 Mar 1849, and Fridolin died 10 Aug 1851, all
pass away at the age of one year or less. With all their children no longer alive and the uncertain
direction of the newly formed Swiss Federal State, Frederick and Margaretha (as they were known)
came to the U.S. for a better life. They boarded the passenger vessel “Belle Assise” with some of
the extended Hefti family and arrived in New Orleans, LA. on the day of 18 Nov 1852. They
traveled up the Mississippi River to the Swiss settlement of Davenport, Iowa. At Davenport, IA.
Frederick and Margaretha had three more children, Fridolin “Fritz” (our grandfather) b. 10 Jan
1854, Henry b. 15 May 1857, and Jakob b. 16 Aug 1859. Anna Margaretha died at Davenport, IA
on 21 Oct 1861 and was buried the next day at 11:00 AM in the Davenport City Cemetery. Jakob
died 1 Dec 1862 with the place of burial unknown but probably at the Davenport City Cemetery as
well.
After the death of Anna Margaretha it is unclear if Frederick returned to Switzerland for a short
time or traveled straight to Tell City but Frederick Hoesli remarried Verena Scheisser on 8 Jul
1863 traveling to the new settlement of Tell City, Indiana. Frederick bought property and built a
home on the second lot southeast of the corner of 12th and Humboldt Street’s. Frederick died 13
Jan 1868 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Tell City. A few months later Verena gave birth
to their only child Anna on 18 Apr 1868 in Tell City, IN. Verena transferred the property into her
name after his death. Having little income Verena sent the two boys Fritz and Henry out to work
as servants for other families. Fridolin “Fritz” (our grandfather) worked for an unknown family in
Cannelton and Henry for the Durch family in Cannelton.
Henry Hoesli eventually moved to Evansville and around 1879 was part owner of a saloon (Hoesli
& Marsch) for a while and then became a river man. The information I gathered appears to
indicate that he wasn’t married and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in St. Louis, MO. No
further information or burial has been found to this date.
Verena managed to raise Anna who married William Gasser on 14 Oct 1886 in Tell City, IN.
They eventually move to Evansville, IN. with Verena and had two children Lillian and Viola.
Verena Hoesli died on 20 Jun 1901 in Evansville and is buried next to her daughter Anna and
William Gasser at Oak Hill Cemetery in Evansville, IN.
As far as our grandfather Fridolin “Fritz” Hoesli he married Mary Schuler on 1 Jul 1871 in Tell
City, IN. They had five children Henry, Margaret, Fred, Edward and Florence.
Henry married Maria Anna Weiss who died at the age of 24 a year after they were married. He
remarried Sarah Brinley. Henry died in Evansville, IN. after falling onto a railroad track and is
buried at Oak Hill Cemetery at Evansville, IN.
Margaret married John Rausch and later divorced. She remarried William Stark and eventually
passed away in Champaign, IL.
Fred Jr. also known as Fritz married Mary Edwards. It is believed he divorced Mary and remarried
Phebe Stanley of Henderson, KY. From this time on Fritz became a transient traveling the rails
between Evansville and New Orleans. According to Aunt Lorene Smith a short time after
attending the funeral of Florence Helen Labhart his sister, Edward Hoesli (our grandfather)
received a phone call from the Red Cross at New Orleans during WW2 stating that Fritz had died.
Grandpa Edward did not have his remains brought back and he was cremated at New Orleans,
LA.
Florence married John Labhart and passed away at the age of fifty.
Edward, our grandfather married first Amelia Coray and had three children, Clarence, Edward
and Maria. He married second Luttie Rosenkrans to which they had one child Lorene.