Huttwil Parish, Bern, Switzerland Genealogy

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Geography
The parish covers over 6&frac12; square miles and had a population of over 3400 people in 1850. Huttwil shares about a 3&frac12; mile border with Luzern canton on its east. The significance of this is that Luzern was a Catholic canton, and prior to the 1848 Federal constitution, the canton’s were separated by a religious divide. Literally, people living in a Swiss reformed canton were not allowed to settle in a Catholic canton and vice versa. Even in the 1840’s there was conflict in the region over religion. After the 1848 constitution there was slow and small changes in religious demographics, even today Huttwil is about 70% Swiss reform.

Surrounding Parishes
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Huttwil Gemeinde
It consists of over 6&frac12; square miles and had a population of about 3400 in 1850.

Surnames
The community or gemeinde of Huttwil was the heimat or ancestral home for over 40 different surnames. The Register of Swiss Surnames provides the surnames associated with every gemeinde or community in Switzerland. The register provides correct spellings for surnames and place names.

Locations
A google map that shows the villages in Huttwil centuries old.

Genealogies
There are numerous compiled genealogies that have been created since 1900; however, they need to verified by researching the parish registers since it has been proven that a percentage of them are inaccurate.

The following genealogies have been researched for Huttwil families:
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Church Records
(see here for an article describing the Bern Church records)

The parish registers for Huttwil were recorded in the following volumes, as numbered by the Cantonal Archive of Bern:

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

Societies and Libraries
Cantonal Archive of Bern