Zetzwil, Aargau, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Zetzwil, 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 Zetzwil is in the Kulm district and the Aargau canton. It is located in the middle Wynental.

Zetzwil (as of 2009) has an area of 5.8 km² (2.2 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 51.7% - agricultural purposes
 * 37.6% - forested
 * 10.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.2% - non-productive

History
In 1173, Zetzwil was first mentioned by the name of Zeinhwile. Zetzwil is in the Kulm district and the Aargau canton.

The population history of Zetzwil is: 1764 - 573 inhabitants 1803 - 840 inhabitants 1850 - 1226 inhabitants 1900 - 748 inhabitants 1950 - 871 inhabitants 1975 - 918 inhabitants 1980 - 961 inhabitants 1990 - 1,185 inhabitants 2000 - 1,208 inhabitants 2020 - 1,363 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 15.9% were Roman Catholic
 * 70.3% were Swiss Reformed Church

Spiritually, the community was divided between the parishes of Birrwil and Kulm. Zetzwil had a chapel in the community. It was also a subsidiary of the church of Unterkulm. Since the middle of the 16th century, the village was attached to the parish of Gontenschwil. In 1942, a small church was built.

Church Records
Zetzwil has belonged to the parish of Gontenschwil. since 1636. Before 1636, the western part belonged to the parish of Kulm; the eastern section belonged to the parish of Birrwil. See Gontenschwil, Unterkulm, and Birrwil for more information.

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

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Zetzwil:
 * 1837 (images 652-665)
 * 1850: Form A (images 259-287)
 * 1850: Form B (image 288)

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Aargau

Societies
Genealogical-Heraldic Society of Bern (GHGB)