Reigoldswil Parish, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Reigoldswil Parish, Basel-Landschaft, 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 municipality of Reigoldswil is in the Waldenburg district and the Basel-Landschaft canton. It is located in the far Frenken valley. The municipality includes the villages of Hofstetten-Chilchli, Mittelbiel and Unterbiel.

Reigoldswil (as of 2009) has an area of 9.25 km² (3.57 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 46.2% - agricultural purposes
 * 45.1% - forested
 * 8.1% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.1% - rivers or lakes

History
In 1152, Reigoldswil was first mentioned by the name of Rigoltswilre. Reigoldswil is in the Waldenburg district and the Basel-Landschaft canton.

The population history of Reigoldswil is: 740 - 740 inhabitants 1815 - 865 inhabitants 1837 - 1,108 inhabitants 1850 - 1,270 inhabitants 1860 - 1,334 inhabitants 1870 - 1,409 inhabitants 1880 - 1,315 inhabitants 1888 - 1,343 inhabitants 1900 - 1,298 inhabitants 1910 - 1,327 inhabitants 1920 - 1,244 inhabitants 1930 - 1,192 inhabitants 1941 - 1,141 inhabitants 1950 - 1,148 inhabitants 1960 - 1,192 inhabitants 1970 - 1,306 inhabitants 1980 - 1,318 inhabitants 1990 - 1,397 inhabitants 2000 - 1,520 inhabitants 2021 - 1,583 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 11.4% were Roman Catholic
 * 68.1% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.72% were Orthodox Church
 * 0.20% were Christian Catholic Church
 * 4.93% were Other Christian Church

Spiritually, Reigoldswil was part of the Saint-Rémy parish in Lauwil. In 1529, the Saint-Rémy parish adopted the Reformation. The church burned down in 1536. In 1562, a new church in Reigoldswil is mentioned. In 1765, Reigoldswil separated from the Lauwil parish and created a new parish with Ttterten.

Church Records
Reigoldswil became Reformed in 1529. It was part of the parish of Bretzwil until 1765, when it became an independent parish with Titterten. For earlier records, see Bretzwil.

Parish records for Reigoldswil are available online from the Basel-Landschaft State Archive. The 40 volumes of digitized records include:
 * 1700-1925 Baptisms at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1766-1922 Marriages at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1765-1930 Burials at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1766-1934 Confirmations at Basel-Landschaft State Archive - with gaps
 * 1764-1935 Family books at Basel-Landschaft State Archive - organized by community

Census
(See here for information regarding Basel-Landschaft census records.)

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Reigoldswil:
 * 1815 (images 478-502)

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Basel-Landschaft

Societies
Genealogical-Heraldic Society of Region Basel (GHGRB)