H2250 · A life in the study
Magdalena Hirschi
Born at Amsoldingen in 1836, emigrated to America in 1850, and died at Highland in 1903.
born 4 Feb 1836 at Amsoldingen, Bern died 18 Jun 1903 at Highland, Madison
Magdalena Hirschi was born on 4 February 1836 at Amsoldingen, in Canton Bern, Switzerland, the eldest daughter of Christian Hirschi and Magdalena Stocker. She went to Illinois with her family in 1850, married Jacob Kamm in Madison County, and spent the rest of her life at Highland.1, 2, 3, 4
Amsoldingen
Her parents had married at Thun in October 1833 and settled in the parish of Amsoldingen, where she was baptised on Sunday, 21 February 1836. Her godparents came from both sides of the family: her mother's brother Johannes Stocker, a Susanna Stutzmann of Uebeschi, and her aunt Magdalena Hirschi, born Oesch.1 Among the brothers and sisters who followed were Margaritha Rosalia in 1844 and Susanna Katharina in 1846.5
Highland
In the summer of 1850, at fourteen, Magdalena sailed from Le Havre with her parents, her grandfather Peter and her brothers and sisters on the ship Belmont, which landed at New York on 1 August; the clerk entered her as "Madeline", aged nine.2 The family settled at Highland, in Madison County, Illinois. On 30 December 1854 she married Jacob Kamm in Madison County.3, 4 When her father's estate was divided in 1889, "Magdalena Kamm" received a seventh share.6
She died at Highland on 18 June 1903, aged sixty-seven, and was buried in the Highland Cemetery, in the same lot as her parents, under a headstone she shares with her husband.4
Life in time
4 Feb 1836
Birth , Amsoldingen, Bern, Switzerland
How we know
Born at Amsoldingen, where her parents were living; baptised there on 21 Feb 1836. Her place of citizenship was her father's, Schangnau.
The Amsoldingen baptism register (Staatsarchiv Bern, K Amsoldingen 5, p. 52, no. 11; original, image read) records Magdalena, born 4 Feb and baptised 21 Feb 1836, daughter of Christian Hirschi, Peter's son, of Schangnau, at Amsoldingen, and Magdalena Stocker, daughter of the late Johannes, of Boltigen. The register gives the parents' home rather than a separate birthplace. Find a Grave gives the same day and place. The FamilySearch tree's Schangnau is the family's place of citizenship.
21 Feb 1836
Baptism , Amsoldingen, Bern, Switzerland
How we know
Baptised on a Sunday at Amsoldingen; godparents her mother's brother Johannes Stocker, Susanna Stutzmann née Simon, of Uebeschi, and her aunt Magdalena Hirschi née Oesch.
The Amsoldingen baptism register, 1836, no. 11 (original, image read).
1 Aug 1850
Immigration , New York, New York, United States
How we know
Arrived at New York on the ship Belmont from Le Havre with her parents, her grandfather and her brothers and sisters; listed as "Madeline" Hirschy, 9 (she was fourteen).
The manifest lists thirteen "Hirschy" passengers in the birth order of Christian and Magdalena Hirschi's family; "Madeline", second of the children after Christian, is she. The children's ages on the list run two to six years low.
18 Jun 1903
Death , Highland, Madison, Illinois, United States
How we know
From her Find a Grave memorial; no death record has been seen.
Find a Grave memorial 18910561 gives 18 Jun 1903 at Highland, aged 67; the FamilySearch tree agrees. She was living in 1889, when she received her share of her father's estate as Magdalena Kamm.
Hover or tap a point, or use the arrow keys. The colour of each point is its grade.
Places in this life
3 places, in orderThe map appears as you reach it.
- 1 Amsoldingen, Bern Birth 4 Feb 1836 · Baptism 21 Feb 1836
- 2 New York, New York Immigration 1 Aug 1850
- 3 Highland, Madison Death 18 Jun 1903 · Burial
Hollow markers are placed approximately, at the town, county or region.
Family
Records
Search the archive →Births and baptisms 3
Also cited as evidence: 1 record filed under relatives
The evidence 5 facts with their grades, 6 sources, and the research notes
Facts
| Fact | Date | Place | Grade | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 4 Feb 1836 | Amsoldingen, Bern, Switzerland | proven | 1 , 4 |
| Baptism | 21 Feb 1836 | Amsoldingen, Bern, Switzerland | proven | 1 |
| Immigration | 1 Aug 1850 | New York, New York, United States | proven | 2 |
| Death | 18 Jun 1903 | Highland, Madison, Illinois, United States | proven | 4 |
| Burial | Highland, Madison, Illinois, United States | proven | 4 |
Research notes
- Sources: Her birth, baptism and godparents rest on the Amsoldingen baptism register, read on the image that the Staatsarchiv des Kantons Bern publishes online (27 Sep 2026).1 Her marriage is known from FamilySearch's index; her death and burial from Find a Grave (derivative) and not yet from a record.3, 4
- Identification: The baptism names her parents as Christian Hirschi and Magdalena Stocker, married at Thun in 1833, the parents of Susanna Katharina (baptised 1846). Magdalena Kamm is named as a surviving child in her father's probate file, and Find a Grave gives her the same birth day and place as the register.1, 6, 4 The "Madeline, 9" of the Belmont list is the second child in birth order; the list's ages run low.2
- Marriage: Madison County marriage index, Jacob Kamm and Magdalena "Hersche", 30 Dec 1854.3 Find a Grave's text reads "30 Dec 1954", an obvious slip for 1854. The marriage record itself has not been viewed.
- Children: Find a Grave says "Mother of twelve children" and links ten, from Mary Magdaline (1855–1936, Mrs. Streiff) to George (1878–1937).4 They have not been researched by the study. Her son Robert K. Kamm (1872–1957) may bear on the Kamm family into which Leonhard Hegnauer's sister Barbara married (unproven).
- Godparents: Magdalena Hirschi née Oesch, "the child's aunt", was very probably the wife of her father's elder brother Peter, who married Magdalena Oesch at Amsoldingen in 1826 (see Peter Hirschi's profile). Susanna Stutzmann née Simon of Uebeschi was from the village and family of her grandmother, Maria Stutzmann.1
- Birthplace: The FamilySearch tree gives Schangnau, the family's place of citizenship; the register shows the family living at Amsoldingen.1
- This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study, as a sister of Susanna Katharina Hirschi, wife of Leonhard Hegnauer.
Working notes
- sister of Susanna Katharina Hirschi H0038; born 4 Feb, bapt. Amsoldingen 21 Feb 1836 (StABE K Amsoldingen 5 p. 52 no. 11; godparents her mother's brother Johannes Stocker and her aunt Magdalena Hirschi nee Oesch); 'Magdalena Kamm' in her father's probate (1885-1889); m. Jacob M. Kamm; d. 18 Jun 1903 Highland per Find a Grave 18910561
- M1 (28 Sep 2026): Schangnau copy of her baptism (K Schangnau 8 p. 90, O06732); sponsor 'Miss Magd. Hirschy' at her sister Maria's baptism, Highland 16 Apr 1854 (O06758); m. Jacob Kamm, Madison Co., 30 Dec 1854 by J. Suppiger J.P. (licence 18 Dec 1854 no. 997; O06759)
Sources
- 1
Staatsarchiv des Kantons Bern (StABE), K Amsoldingen 5, Taufrodel [baptism register] 1832–1862, p. 52, no. 11 of 1836 (online PDF image 27 of 187): baptism of Magdalena, Sunday 21 February 1836, born 4 February; parents Christian Hirschi, son of Peter, of Schangnau, at Amsoldingen, and Magdalena Stocker, [daughter] of the late Johannes, of Boltigen, married at Thun 26 October 1833; godparents Johannes Stocker, the child's mother's brother, Susanna Stutzmann née Simon, of Uebeschi, and Magdalena Hirschi née Oesch, the child's aunt. query.sta.be.ch/detail.aspx?ID=241384 (register image read 27 September 2026).
In the archive: O06089
- 2
"New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820–1957," database with images, Ancestry.com, manifest of the ship Belmont, Le Havre to New York, arrived 1 August 1850, lines 70–82, "Hirschy": Christian 71, Peter 36 [the two men's given names transposed], Madeline 36, Christian 10, Madeline 9, Johanna 8, Friedrich 7, Elizabeth 6, Rudolph 5, Rosine 4, Susanna 3, Gotfried 11 months, Jacob 6 months, Swiss; citing NARA M237; image NYM237_91-0216 (ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_91-0216).
- 3
"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810–1940," database, FamilySearch, Jacob Kamm and Magdalena Hersche, 30 December 1854, Madison, Madison County, Illinois. FamilySearch record QK9L-7SVK
- 4
Find a Grave, memorial 18910561, Magdalena Hirschi Kamm, born 4 February 1836, Amsoldingen, Bern; died 18 June 1903, Highland, Madison County, Illinois, aged 67; Highland Cemetery, Block 4, Lot 14, #4, sharing a headstone with her husband Jacob; "Married on 30 Dec 1954 [sic, 1854] in Highland IL. Mother of twelve children."; linked to her husband Jacob M. Kamm Sr. (1827–1887) and ten children (her parents lie in the same lot, graves 5 and 6: memorials 52693825 and 52693920); originally created by DPlus9, maintained by Goatrope (findagrave.com/memorial/18910561) (read 27 September 2026).
- 5
StABE, K Amsoldingen 5, Taufrodel 1832–1862, p. 167, no. 16 of 1846 (online PDF image 85 of 187): baptism of Susanna Catharina, 5 June 1846, born 15 May 1846; parents Christian Hirschi, [son] of Peter, of Schangnau, at Lilachen, and Magdalena Stocker, [daughter] of Johannes, of Boltigen, married at Thun 26 October 1833. query.sta.be.ch/detail.aspx?ID=241384 (register image read 27 September 2026).
In the archive: O06087
- 6
Madison County, Illinois, Probate Court, estate of Christian Hirschi [Sr.] of Highland, deceased, case file (box 152): will of 3 June 1874 (a share to his daughter Magdalena); affidavit of the executor Fridrich Hirschi, 4 December 1885, naming the surviving children "Magdalena Kamm, Frederick, Rosina Tontz, Susanna Hegnauer, Gottlieb"; final account and distribution, 13 March 1889 ("Mag[dalena] Kamm 1/7"), approved 11 April 1889; in "Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772–1999," database with images, Ancestry.com, images 007658310_01384–01411.