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Magdalena "Mattie" Krenger was born on 24 Jun 1853 in Thurnen, Bern, Switzerland to parents Albert Krenger and Barbara Kunzi. Mattie married Johannes Beyeler in 1876 in Switzerland. Supposedly, John left for America ahead of Mattie in 1882 and she followed a year later. The couple changed their last name to Beieler and settled on farmland in Wooster, Ohio. The couple naturalized in 1888 and retired in the nearby village of Smithville where Mattie died in 1924 at the age of 71.
Johannes Beyeler was born on 03 Sep 1854 in Schwarzenberg, Wahlern, Bern, Switzerland1 to parents Christian Beyeler and Magdalena Hostettler.2 Johannes, better known as John, is listed under multiple last names in his lifetime. Originally, John states his last name as "Beyeler", after immigration he changes it to "Beieler", common misspellings have listed "Beiler" & "Beichler", and finally some children adopted "Beeler" and their records applied that spelling to John.
Emma was born in the area of Wahlern, Switzerland in what we assume is Schwarzenberg. Emma immigrated to America with her mother in 1883, 2 years after her father. The family settled in Wooster, Ohio where Emma grew up speaking both English and French. She married farmer and laborer Thomas Winkler in 1895 and the couple would raise 2 boys together. The family had little money and although they spent their entire lives around Wooster, they never put down permanent roots until around 1930. Emma and Tom were married for 49 years. Emma passed in 1955 following a heart attack.
