Re: Seeking Info on 3 brothers from Germany/FRETZ
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In reply to:
Seeking Info on 3 brothers from Germany/FRETZ
Kelly Fretz 5/07/06
The brothers John and Christian Fretz, together •
with a third brother, (whose name is said to have
been Mark, and who died on the voyage), emigrated
from near the city of Mannheim, in the Grand Duchy
of Baden, Germany, formerly known as the Palatinate,
or Rheinish Prussia. They were either of German
or Swiss origin, probably the former as they
wrote and spoke the German language, and were
connected with a distinctively German Church. On
the opposite side of the Rhine in the Province of
Alsace, are to this day living where they have lived
for the past two or more centuries many Fretz's of
an old Alsatian stock, who claim they are of German
origin, "as all true Alsatians are."
The province of Alsace was annexed to France
in 1648, prior to that time it was always under German
Dominion, and while the French language was
exclusively taught in the schools, the language
spoken is a German dialect, with decided variations
in different localities. However, Fretz is a family
residing to this day in the Canton Zurich, Switzerland,
so it is possible that the family may be of Swiss
origin.