This baptismal font, built in 1577 is
still in use in the Aarwangen Church today.
Most of Anna and Andreas children were
christened here, as I presume Anna was.

The Huber naming of children is a curiosity to me. It is easy to see where some of the children’s names come from, as Anna Maira, Maria and Elisa were Anna’s siblings names and she would have honored them by naming her children after them. Johann is also a family name, named for her husband, it is also the first name of her two brothers; Karl is the name of Andreas brother. To date, we have not found a family tie to the name Amalie. The confusing part of the way they named their children is that two of her children were named Maria Elisa. In the christening records it shows that both were named identically. The oldest Maria Elisa went by the name of Maria and the younger answered to Elise.

Inside the Aarwangen Church house in 2005.
The stain glass windows are all dated about 1577-1790.

Shortly after Elise was born in 1867, Andreas fell from a 5-story building. The lives of everyone in his family were changed forever. It was necessary for Andreas to remain in the hospital for the next two years trying to regain his health. His condition was very serious and the family hoped that he would be restored to full health and vigor.

Anna became the sole-support for her family when Andreas had his accident. Anna had a brand new baby, a two-year old, a four-year old, and a five-year old and it would have been all but impossible for her to work and still raise her family. With such an undaunting task before her, though we are sure she handled it the best way she could, she would have had to rely on her young children to help her. The older children would help care for the younger, and do some household chores but eventually she had to rely on her extended family for help because her children were just too small for such a big responsibility.

Eventually Andreas come home from the hospital and they tried to put their family back together. Shortly after Andreas returned from the hospital baby Amalie was born. After bravely facing the trials facing them for the past two years, they realized that they must face a new challenge, one they had hoped would be resolved with time. The trauma from the fall had caused Andreas personality to change and he became very irresponsible, and child-like. Instead of raising a family of five children alone, she now had the added responsibility of raising a child-like adult. The injury had taken her beloved husband from her, and she now faced the reality that the new Andreas was simply unable to help her with the family. One of the hardest things she would have had to face is the loss of a companion, and the love between a husband and a wife. Her children would age with each birthday, but her husband would never mentally age. This would have to be a very difficult time for Anna. She would have missed her Andreas greatly, even though he was still alive. The man she loved was gone, but this person that looked like him, was here in front of her, but he would never again act like her Andreas.

Anna asked the doctors if they thought he would ever regain his faculties and be able to be a helpmate again. The doctors were unable to give her any hope for a complete recovery, and suggested that if he were forced to support himself he would do so, but that he would never again be the supportive husband he had once been.

As hard as it would have been for Anna to decide to permanently divide her family, she would have realized that it was necessary for the survival of the rest of them. Anna packed up the children and moved out. We think that she tried to keep the family together in the beginning, but it was impossible to find work that would afford her the luxury of keeping them all under the same roof. Eventually, the children were taken in by Anna’s brothers families and she went to work with the goal of getting the children back as soon as possible.

Traditional Sunday Dress of a woman
 in the 1800's living in Bern Canton.

Anna went to work in a home keeping house. After a time, the man of the home allowed her to bring some of her children to live with her. Most of the children had adapted well to the hardship of being separated from their parents and each other, with the exception of the oldest. Anna Mary, although still a child, was expected to help more with housework and caring for the younger children in the home. When she failed to live up to their expectations, she would be passed on to another home. This had happened a few times before she was finally brought back to live with her mother. Two of the children, Amalie and Karl, were not allowed to move back with Anna, their mother. They had adapted well to their new life and their new family and their guardians felt they would be better off left where they were. Although it would have broken Anna’s heart, she would have also realized that they were probably correct. Also, if she were only allowed to bring some of her family to live with her, this would make choosing the children that returned a possible choice, as no mother would find it easy to choose between children.

Reunited with three of her children, Anna Mary, Maria and Elise, Anna continued working in the home she had employment. She worked hard keeping house and doing the chores that fell to her. We do not know for whom she worked. Was this a single man that needed help with his house, or was it a family that she helped. If it was a family, the wife must have died, because the time came when the man of the house asked Anna to marry him. She brought the proposition to her three girls, but they were adamant that their mother not marry him. We do not know their objections, but Anna was very aware of their objections and she refused.