Bettwil Parish, Aargau, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Bettwil Parish, Aargau, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
The former municipality of Bettwil is in the Muri district and the Aargau canton. It is located on the western slope of the Lindenberg. It includes the linear village of Bettwil and the hamlets of Brandholz, Guggibad and Königsberg.

Bettwil (as of 2009) has an area of 4.25 km² (1.64 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 68.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 21.4% - forested
 * 9.6% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.2% - non-productive

History
In 924, Bettwil was first mentioned by the name of Petiwilare. Bettwil is in the Muri district and the Aargau canton.

The population history of Bettwil is: 1850 - 421 inhabitants 1900 - 400 inhabitants 1950 - 414 inhabitants 1980 - 376 inhabitants 2000 - 576 inhabitants 2020 - 654 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 67.5% were Roman Catholic
 * 21.2% were Swiss Reformed Church

In 1496, the Chapel of Saint-Othmar, was inaugurated. It was demolished in 1789. In 1789, it was replaced by the Church of Saint-Joseph. Until 1799, Bettwil belonged in the Sarmenstorf church parish. In 1799, Bettwil became an independent parish.

Church Records
Bettwil belonged to Sarmenstorf until 1799, when its church, St. Josef, was established as an independent parish. See Sarmenstorf for earlier records.

Original church records are located onsite at the Bettwil parish church office. Microfilm copies of the following church records are available onsite at the Aargau State Archives:
 * Baptisms 1799-1816; marriages 1799-1814; burials 1799-1819
 * Baptisms 1816-1894; marriages 1817-1894; burials 1819-1894; confirmations 1804-1942
 * Marriages 1817-1852
 * Family book 1835-1891

Post-1875 church records, as well as the following church record, are found onsite at the Bettwil parish church office.
 * Baptisms 1817-1875

Census
(See here for information regarding Aargau census records.)

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Bettwil:
 * 1837 (images 482-488)
 * 1850: Form A (images 602-611)
 * 1850: Form B (image 612)

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Bettwil prior to 1875:

Related sources
The town's website (in German) can be found here.

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Aargau

Societies
Central Swiss Society for Family History (ZGF)