A centuries-old Swiss village may be the missing chapter in your Jewish family story — and a European genealogy group is hoping someone in St. Louis can help close the book.
The Swiss Society for Jewish Genealogy is searching for descendants connected to Lengnau Jewish genealogy, a project aimed at reconstructing Jewish family histories from the Swiss village of Lengnau, where Jews once lived under restrictive laws before the country’s emancipation. With many descendants having emigrated to the United States, St. Louis is among the cities where ties to this legacy may still exist.
Tracing Swiss Jewish roots
The Swiss Society for Jewish Genealogy is compiling a *Jüdisches Ortsfamilienbuch* — a Jewish local family book — for Lengnau, in the Canton of Aargau. Before emancipation, Lengnau was one of only two Swiss villages where Jews were permitted to live. Today, descendants of families who once lived there are scattered across the world — and the society is looking for help from Jewish communities abroad, including St. Louis.
The group is seeking descendants of families with surnames such as Bloch, Dreyfuss, Guggenheim, Oppenheim, Weil and others who may trace back to Lengnau. Their goal: to document Jewish life in the village from 1720 onward, preserving names, stories and genealogical ties before they’re lost to history.
St. Louis genealogists weigh in
For those involved in St. Louis’s vibrant genealogy scene, the appeal is familiar — and often fruitful.
“Sometimes you put the word out and it falls on deaf ears,” said Ilene Murray, publications director for the St. Louis Genealogical Society and co-leader of its Jewish Special Interest Group (J-SIG). “But sometimes you get great results because the right person is in the right place at the right time.”
She’s seen it firsthand — from European descendants tending American graves, to cousins separated by continents reconnecting after decades. And while the names on the Swiss list don’t immediately ring bells, she points out that St. Louis’s early Jewish settlers were largely of Germanic origin, making a connection possible.
“The names on the list are Germanic, and because of that large early German Jewish community here, it’s certainly possible to find descendants of those names,” she said. “You never know.”
Reconnecting through community and records
The project — which plans to publish in English, German and French — is also tapping into global networks like Facebook’s Jewish Genealogy group to cast a wider net.
For those interested in exploring potential ties to Lengnau, or simply learning more about their own family story, J-SIG meets quarterly and offers support for beginning and advanced researchers alike.
As Murray puts it, genealogy is often less about certainty and more about possibility.
“Genealogy thrives on serendipity,” she said. “You never know what you’ll find until you start looking.”
If you wish to get involved or learn more, please contact: René Loeb, President, Swiss Society for Jewish Genealogy via email.
| RELATED: Tracing Jewish roots: How St. Louisans can explore their heritage through genealogy
