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Bruno Albert Wiser

Male 1841 - 1895  (54 years)


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  • Name Bruno Albert Wiser 
    • Also known as Bruno Weyser and Bruno Wyser
    Birth 6 Nov 1841  Solothurn, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Imigration 1877  Adelaide, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Official assisted passage passenger lists show arrival in South Australia on 23 Jan 1877 on the Herschel:

    Adolf (presumably Alfred) Wyser
    Emilie (presumably Emilia) Wyser
    Ida Wyser
    Marie Wyser
    Otto Wyser
    Bruno Wyser
    Elise (presumably Elisa) Wyser

    The voyage (sequence 77/6) apparently began in Hamburg. 
    Residence 1881  Adeliade, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    From the Sands Directory 
    Address:
    Regent Street
    Adelaide, South Australia 
    Residence 1882  Adeliade, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Occupation in the South Australia Directory shown as tanner (page 32). 
    Address:
    Ifould Street
    Adelaide, South Australia 
    Residence 11 Apr 1882  Adeliade, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Residence as shown on son Bruno's birth record. 
    Address:
    Grenfell Street
    Hindmarsh Ward
    Adelaide, South Australia 
    Occupation 29 Sep 1884  Glebe, N.S.W., Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Fanny Weyser's birth certificate shows Bruno Wyser is a Tanner. 
    Residence 29 Sep 1884  Glebe, N.S.W., Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Occupation (in Sands Directory): Tanner 
    Address:
    14 Mitchell Street
    Glebe, NSW
    Australia 
    Residence 1886  Sydney, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Occupation in 1886 Sands Directory: Tanner. Surname shown as Weiser 
    Address:
    Mayes Street
    Leichhardt
    Sydney, NSW
    Australia 
    Occupation 20 May 1887  Glebe, N.S.W., Australia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    On Ida Wiser's marriage certificate, Bruno is shown as a Carpenter. 
    Address:
    Franklyn Place
    Glebe, N.S.W.
    Australia 
    Residence 1888  Sydney, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Occupation in 1888 Sands Directory: Tanner 
    Address:
    21 Bunn Street
    Sydney, NSW
    Australia 
    Residence 1889  Sydney, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Occupation in 1889 Sands Directory: Tanner. Surname spelled Wycer. 
    Address:
    183 Elizabeth Street
    Sydney, NSW
    Australia 
    Residence 1890  Sydney, Australia Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Occupation in 1890 Sands Directory: Tanner 
    Address:
    193 Elizabeth Street
    Sydney, NSW
    Australia 
    Death 7 Dec 1895  San Francisco, California Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Cause of death: Cancer. Died at the Lane Hospital in San Francisco, California, attended by Dr L C Lane (Levi C Lane).
    Cremated 9 Dec 1895  Crematory at Odd Fellows' Cemetery Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Cremated (or "incinerated") at 3:00 PM on December 9, 1895. No autopsy performed. The ashes were received by Mrs E. Wyser on 29 Apr 1896. 
    Age: 54 y 9 mos 
    Cause: Cancer 
    Cremation Oahu Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • According to the Crematory records from the Odd Fellows' Cemetery (sheet 62), Bruno Wyser died from cancer on 7 Dec 1895 at Lane Hospital, San Francisco. His attending physician was L. C. Lane, and there was no autopsy. Bruno Wyser was 54 years 9 months old. His remains were received by the crematory on 9 Dec 1895 and were "incinerated" at 3:00 PM. The witness to the incineration was James W. Mallady. The arrangements were handled by Union Undertaking Company, and the ashes were "delivered to Mrs. Wyser 29 April 1896." She signed a receipt as "Mrs. E. Wyser, 31 Minna Street."

      We have received the cremation record from the California Genealogical Society, with special thanks to Nancy Peterson.
    Notes 
    • According to Beat Hodler:

      A Cousin of Bruno Wyser: Catharina Wyser (1826-1901): During many years, she ran the post-office in Niedergösgen. She wasn’t married. She wrote a very varied diary which is today an excellent historical source. In this diary, you find a lot of information about weather, politics, religion, prices, popular medicine and so on. There is also a poem which she dedicated to her cousin Bruno, when he left Switzerland in 1860. In this poem she remembers the good times they had spent together and she expresses also a blessing:

      Dem Bruno Wyser ins Stammbuch bei seiner Abreise nach Amerika 1860:
      Wenn auf dem Blatt nach langer Zeit
      dein Aug einst sinnend ruhen bleibt
      dann mög vor deinem Blick erscheinen
      das Haus, umgeben von den Bäumen;
      In dessen Schatten du einst spieltest
      Nach der Scheibe mit der Armbrust zieltest,
      Und manche liebe Ferienzeit
      So sorglos dich mit uns erfreut

      Du willst nun in die Fremde gehen
      Wir werden lange dich nicht mehr sehn.
      Möge nun in deinem Leben,
      Gott viel Glück und Heil dir geben
      Und dein guter Engel mit dir gehn

      Translated (by Ingeborg Gowans) into English:

      For Bruno Wyser : at his departure to America in 1860:

      When, after many years, you will return to this page
      and recall old times
      may you remember the house nestled among the shadegiving trees,
      where you used to play, trying bow and arrow,
      where you spent many a day, enjoying carefree hours with us..

      Now you are off to foreign lands
      And we shall not see you anymore
      May God grant you good health and wellbeing in your life
      May your Guardian Angel walk before you.

    • According to Beat Hodler:

      "I still don't know why Bruno actually travelled to Montevideo, but I guess that his emigration had something to do with the Bally enterprise. His family was related to the Bally family. Bally was at that time one of the very big European shoe producers. Around 1870, Bally tended to expand to South America, whith some difficulties at the beginning and quite a good success in the long run. In the 1870's Bruno Wyser returned to Niedergösgen, where he spent some years before emigrating again (as you know already). In 1873, Elisa Schönhals and Bruno Wyser had a child in Niedergösgen, whose godmother was Emilia Balli. (source: Kirchenbuch Niedergösgen).
    Person ID I21  Walsh - Wilson Family Tree | Craig
    Last Modified 15 Oct 2018 

    Father Alois Wiser,   b. 18 Jul 1797, Niedergosgen, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 28 Oct 1870, Solothurn, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 73 years) 
    Mother Katharina Herzog,   c. 17 May 1801   d. 16 Nov 1886, Solothurn, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 85 years) 
    Marriage 14 May 1832  Catholic Church of Solothurn, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Record ID Number MH:F14 
    Family ID F14  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elisa Schoenhals,   b. 20 Mar 1841, Simmersbach, Germany Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 19 Jul 1910, 573 Jones Street, Oakland, California Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 69 years) 
    Marriage 3 Feb 1869  Montevideo, Uruguay Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Type: German-Evangelistic Church 
    Marriage Witnesses 03 Feb 1869  Montevideo, Uruguay Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Louis Freyo and Leo Fugginer 
    Minister 03 Feb 1869  Montevideo, Uruguay Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Pastor Hopper 
    Children 
    +1. Ida Alice Wyser,   b. 30 Oct 1867, Montevideo, Uruguay Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 16 Feb 1941, On Board S.S. Mariposa at Sea, Between Samoa and Suva, Fiji Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 73 years)
    +2. Maria Constantina Wiser,   b. 31 Dec 1871, Aarau/AG, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 Mar 1961, Merritt Hospital, Oakland, California Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 89 years)
    +3. Emilia Katharina Wyser,   b. 5 Apr 1873, Niedergosgen, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Nov 1959, Eugene, Oregon Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 86 years)
     4. Alfred Alois Wiser,   b. 24 May 1874, Niedergosgen, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Mar 1881, Conningham Street, Young Ward, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 6 years)
     5. Otto Edwin Wiser,   b. 6 Oct 1875, Sao Paolo, Brazil Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Fanny Wiser,   b. 1878   d. 29 Mar 1879, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 1 year)
     7. Bertha Fanny Wiser,   b. 15 Mar 1880, Bailey's Garden, Adelaide, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 09 Jan 1881, Regent Street, Young Ward, Adeliade, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 0 years)
     8. Bruno Wiser,   b. 11 Apr 1882, Grenfell Street, Hindmarsh Ward, Adeliade, South Australia Find all individuals with events at this location
     9. Otto Wiser,   b. 08 Nov 1883, Sydney, Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 01 Dec 1947, Fairmont Hospital, San Leandro, California Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 64 years)
     10. Fannie Wyser,   b. 29 Sep 1884, Glebe, N.S.W., Australia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 28 Mar 1971, Oakland, California Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 86 years)
    Documents
    Bruno Wyser's Obituary - December 8 1895
    Bruno Wyser's Obituary - December 8 1895
    Marriage of Bruno Wyser and Elise Schönhals - German Evangelical Church [Lutheran] - Montevideo, Uruguay
    Marriage of Bruno Wyser and Elise Schönhals - German Evangelical Church [Lutheran] - Montevideo, Uruguay
    First name/family name of groom: Bruno Wyser, Solothurn, Switzerland
    Occupation and address of father of the groom: Armoury Manager; Solothurn, Switzerland
    Age of groom: 27 years
    First name/family name of bride: Elise Schönhals, Simmersbach, Grand Duchy of Hessen [Germany]
    Name, address and occupation of father of the bride: Johannes Schönhals, Pastor, Simmersbach
    Age of bride: 25 years
    Date of ceremony: 3 Feb 1869
    Name of pastor who performed the marriage ceremony: Pastor Hopper
    Witnesses: Louis Freyo and Leo Fugginer

    German-English translation by Ingeborg Gowans.
    Arrival of the Wyser Family in Adelaide, South Australia - 23 Jan 1877
    Arrival of the Wyser Family in Adelaide, South Australia - 23 Jan 1877
    This passenger manifest, from the collection of State Records of South Australia, shows the arrival in Adeliade on 23 Jan 1877 of: Bruno Wyser (age 35), Elisa (age 32), Ida (9), Marie [?] (4), Emilie (3), Adolph (2), and Otto (3/4).

    According to the Palmer List of Merchant Vessels: "The British ship EDITH BYRNE (Official No. 16216) was built by the Canada Works, Birkenhead, in 1856 (first registered, Liverpool 9 June 1857). 729.44 tons register; 165.4 x 30.2 x 19.7 ft (length x beam x depth of hold); 2 decks.

    "In March 1865, the EDITH BYRNE was purchased from Byrne, of Liverpool, for £8,250 by the Hamburg shipowner, Robert Miles Sloman, who renamed her HERSCHEL, after an earlier vessel that he had sold in Indonesia in 1859. Measurements (Hamburg): 333 Commerzlasten /787 tons; 50,3 x 9,1 x 5,79 meters (length x beam x depth of hold)."

    The master from 1875-1878 was J. J. Kammann. The vessel's voyages in the 1870's:

    1871/73 - Brisbane/intermediate ports/Amsterdam/Cuxhaven
    1873/74 - Queensland/intermediate ports/Cardiff
    1874/75 - Brisbane/intermediate ports/Greenock
    1875/76 - Wellington/Peru
    1876/78 - Adelaide/intermediate ports/Huanillos
    1878/80 - Queensland/intermediate ports/Corinto, Nicaragua

    According to the South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society, Inc. fact sheet, this voyage of the Herschel originated in Hamburg. Sequence 77/6 -- see http://www.saghs.org.au/ships/shipsH.htm

    On On 1 June 1891 the HERSCHEL was sold to Hartvigsen, of Arendal, Norway. There is no record of her final fate.

    Please see: http://www.geocities.com/mppraetorius/com-ed.htm#edithbyrne1856

    GRG35/48 – Assisted Passage – Consignment/Sub-series 1, Unit 22; Volume 22 1877 – Adolph Wyser through Elsie Wyser.
    Birth record for Bertha Fanny Wyser (15 Mar 1880) and Bruno Wyser (11 Apr 1882)
    Birth record for Bertha Fanny Wyser (15 Mar 1880) and Bruno Wyser (11 Apr 1882)
    Birth records published by the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society, 1997, page 3377. Bertha Fanny Wyser = book 234, page 456; Bruno Wyser = book 278, page 217.
    Histories
    S.S. Arawa - Built for Shaw, Saville & Albion in 1884
    S.S. Arawa - Built for Shaw, Saville & Albion in 1884
    Family ID F11  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 20 Sep 2009 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - Type: German-Evangelistic Church - 3 Feb 1869 - Montevideo, Uruguay Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage Witnesses - Louis Freyo and Leo Fugginer - 03 Feb 1869 - Montevideo, Uruguay Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMinister - Pastor Hopper - 03 Feb 1869 - Montevideo, Uruguay Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    The S.S. Australia - Built on the Clyde in 1892, Wrecked in Melbourne 1904.  Single screw, 17 knots.
    The S.S. Australia - Built on the Clyde in 1892, Wrecked in Melbourne 1904. Single screw, 17 knots.

    Documents
    Ship's Manifest for S.S. Australia - Honolulu to San Francisco - Departing June 14, 1895
    Ship's Manifest for S.S. Australia - Honolulu to San Francisco - Departing June 14, 1895
    The manifest shows Bruno Weyser (age 55 yrs 6 mos), a Swiss farmer who had last been in San Francisco in 1892), his wife Elisa (age 49 yrs 7 mos), daughters Marie (age 18 yrs 9 mos, possibly crossed out), Fanny (age 9 yrs 11 mos), and Lena (age 7 yrs 10 mos). The ship left on June 14, 1895, and arrived on July 1, 1895.
    Marriage Certificate - Ida Wyser and Albert Widmer
    Marriage Certificate - Ida Wyser and Albert Widmer
    20 May 1887 in Glebe, New South Wales, Australia
    Odd Fellows' Cemetery Crematory Record for Bruno Wyser
    Odd Fellows' Cemetery Crematory Record for Bruno Wyser
    Bruno died of cancer (age 54 years 9 months) at the Lane Hospital in San Francisco on 7 Dec 1895. He was cremated on 9 Dec 1895 (3:00 PM), and his ashes were collected by his widow on 29 April 1896. She was then living at 31 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
    Passenger Manifest of S.S. Arawa - Depart San Francisco 12 Jan 1895, Arrive Honolulu 19 Jan 1895 - Bruno Wyser and Family, from Switzerland, 'seeking employment'
    Passenger Manifest of S.S. Arawa - Depart San Francisco 12 Jan 1895, Arrive Honolulu 19 Jan 1895 - Bruno Wyser and Family, from Switzerland, "seeking employment"
    Sheet 2 of the passenger manifest, for steerage passengers, shows Bruno Wyser, age 53, a tanner from Switzerland, arriving in Honolulu "seeking employment." With Bruno are wife Eliza (48) and children Mary (23), Lily (22), Bruno (10), Fanny (8), and Lena (6). [We believe Lena is Amy Winifred, daughter of Ida Alice Wyser.]

    Manifest courtesy of the Hawaii State Archives, Honolulu.
    Bruno Wyser - Page 149 from <i>Niedergösgen - Eine Reise durch die Geschichte</i> by Beat Holder, 2008
    Bruno Wyser - Page 149 from Niedergösgen - Eine Reise durch die Geschichte by Beat Holder, 2008
    Translation by Ingeborg Gowans:

    (1) Example: Bruno Wyser

    Concerning a son of Alois Wyser (1797-1870), Cantonal Councillor, (Regierungsrat) and armoury administrator (Zeughausverwalter) in Solothurn, Bruno Wyser emigrated to Uruguay in 1860 at the age of 18.
    His cousin Katharina Wyser (1826-1901) dedicated the following poem to him at his departure for America: (29)

    When, after many years you will return to this page and recall old times
    may you remember the house nestled among the shade giving trees,
    where you used to play, trying bow and arrow,
    where you spent many a day,
    enjoying carefree hours with us..
    Now you are off to foreign lands
    and we shall not see you anymore
    May God grant you good health and well being in your life
    May your Guardian Angel walk before you..


    It is not clear whether Wyser served in the army, whether he found a new home in the newly established Swiss colony "New Helvetia" or even worked for the shoe enterprise Bally. We know for certain that he married in 1869 in Montevideo, (30) as can be seen in the church registry of Niedergösgen:

    Wedding ceremony:Feb. 03, 1869
    published by the German-protestant parish in Montevideo
    Name of couple:Bruno Wiser Alois, Catholic, 27 years of age
    Elisa Schönhals, Protestant , 25 years of age
    daughter of Pastor Johann Schönhals of Montevideo
    Witnesses:Louis Erni and Leo Tugginer
    A few years later the young family returned to Niedergösgen
    In 1873 Elisa Schönhals and Bruno Wyser had a child in Niedergösgen
    Birth:April 13, 1873
    Name of child:Emilia Katharina
    Witnesses at baptism:Johann Schönhals and Emilia Balli (Schönenwerd)

    Not only did he emigrate again, but also considerably enlarged his family. The testament of his brother Otto Wyser (who died in 1914) mentions six children (Ida, Marie, Emilie, Otto, Bruno and Fanny). Some of them lived in San Francisco and in Honolulu. (31)

    It is remarkable that the descendants of the family keep the family history of Niedergösgen alive. (32)
    Letter of Aunt Wiser-Herzog in Solothurn, dated 30 Dec 1875 - From <i>Niedergösgen - Eine Reise durch die Geschichte</i> by Beat Holder, 2008
    Letter of Aunt Wiser-Herzog in Solothurn, dated 30 Dec 1875 - From Niedergösgen - Eine Reise durch die Geschichte by Beat Holder, 2008
    Translated by Ingeborg Gowans:

    [...]

    Bruno's (17) last news sound quite favourable.

    [51]

    reporting that.. he has a fairly profitable income, lives in a place where there are many Germans, and even found someone from Solothurn, his family is enjoying good health, and added a boy to the clan (since he wrote last). However, months have passed again since he last wrote this letter, who knows how he is doing now? I had to struggle with my strong desire to see him and the dear children. I found it often unbearable to live without my dear Marie who is close to my heart and each time when I think of this precious child, I have to fight back tears.

    [...]
    New South Wales Police Gazette - 8 Apr 1891 - Otto Wiser
    New South Wales Police Gazette - 8 Apr 1891 - Otto Wiser
    On page 121: "Sydney - A warrant has been issued by the Central PoliceBench for the arrest of Otto Wiser, charged under the Industrial Schools Act. He is about 15 years of age, short and stout build, fair complexion, brown hair, blue eyes: dressed in a short-cut dark-gray sac coat and gray trousers: very shabby and dirty looking. Complainant, Bruno Wiser, 193 Elizabeth Street."
    Sands Directory - 1881 - Bruno Wyser
    Sands Directory - 1881 - Bruno Wyser
    The 1881 Sands Directory (1881, page 41) shows Bruno Wyser living on Regent Street in Adeliade, South Australia.
    Bruno Wyser - South Australia, 1882
    Bruno Wyser - South Australia, 1882
    The 1882 South Australia Directory shows Bruno Wyser, a tanner, living at Ifould Street. (Page 38)
    'They Swear Fealty - Hawaiians and Others Who Will Support the Republic'
    "They Swear Fealty - Hawaiians and Others Who Will Support the Republic"
    Pacific Commercial Advertiser - 30 January 1895 - Page 6
    Bruno Wyser (and others) take the Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of Hawaii
    Bruno Wyser (and others) take the Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of Hawaii
    The Hawaiian Star - 29 Jan 1895. Bruno arrived in Hawaii, from San Francisco, on 19 Jan 1895 "seeking employment," and takes the oath within his first ten days in the Republic.

    Headstones
    Gravestone in Oahu Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii
    Gravestone in Oahu Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii
    It is unclear if Bruno's remains are buried here: the office at the cemetery says that they are, but this is inconsistent with his obituary from the California newspaper.

  • Sources 
    1. [S5034] State Records of South Australia, 1877, Series GRG35/48, Volume 22.

    2. [S4960] Sands Directories: Sydney and NSW Australia, 1884, Page 779 (Reliability: 3).

    3. [S4960] Sands Directories: Sydney and NSW Australia, 1886, Page 802 (Reliability: 3).

    4. [S4960] Sands Directories: Sydney and NSW Australia, 1888, Page 837 (Reliability: 3).

    5. [S4960] Sands Directories: Sydney and NSW Australia, 1889, Page 894 (Reliability: 3).

    6. [S4960] Sands Directories: Sydney and NSW Australia, 1890, Page 972 (Reliability: 3).