What a challenge she would have faced. Her children probably felt anger that their mother had divorced their father - hoping that he would soon be back to his old self. The guilt she felt within herself at not being able to do more could have driven her near the edge of sanity. The pain that she would have suffered each time she saw Andreas in person, and the longing for the life they had lived together would have been unbearable. People in this situation also suffer from survivors guilt, wishing their life could be different and wondering why it had not happened to themselves; often asking themselves why this had to happen to them. Guilt is the hardest part of seeing someone who really isn’t there - wishing things could be different, and regretting that you cannot do more to fix the problem.

The refusal of marriage would bring it’s own problems. No longer would she and her family feel comfortable working in the home, and Anna once again packed up her three girls and moved to a new location. We assume that this is the move which took her to Oftringen, Niederwyl but she may have already been here, or may have moved more times in between. We calculate that the move to the Oftringen area happened around the year of 1878.

Anna Maria, the oldest child, was now 16 years old. She was old enough to gain employment and help would with the family expenses. Anna again went to work helping in a home, this time working for a couple which appears to us to have been very good to her, and their was a close emotional connection between them. It is believed that the family’s name was Buhler, but is unknown at this time.