Kleinaspach Parish in Württemberg, Germany: Home of the Schmückle Family compiled by John S. Schmeeckle
[email protected] revised June 2013 The Schmückle family came from Switzerland The Schmückle family appeared in the Toggenburg Valley in St. Gallen Canton, Switzerland in the early 15th century.1 Schmückle records (with variant spellings of the name) appear in over 30 towns and parishes in the Toggenburg Valley. 2 This map of present-day St. Gallen Canton, Switzerland, shows the Toggenburg Valley (with the Thur River) in pink. 1 Per the following Swiss website: http://www.zehnder- vescoli.ch/stammbaum/faminfo.php?info=Schmuckli*30&f1=&f2= 2 The website in footnote #1 cites research by Alfons Schmückle, whose article “Die Schmucki und Schmuckli im Toggenburg” was published in the Toggenburger Heimat-Jahrbuch (p. 122) in 1953. 1 This portion of a historical map of Switzerland3 shows St. Gallen canton in the upper left. Above St. Gallen (at the top edge) is “Schwabia,” which is the general area of Württemberg. Switzerland wasn’t directly affected by the 30 Years War (from 1618 to 1648). After the war, many Swiss families emigrated and re-settled in areas of Germany that had been depopulated by the war. This is presumably the origin of Martin Schmückle, the progenitor of the family in Kleinaspach parish, Württemberg, who arrived in 1650, shortly after the end of the war. 3 The entire map can be found at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Old_Swiss_Confederation.jpg 2 Kleinaspach parish, Württemberg In the 15th Century, Germany (including Württemberg) was part of the Holy Roman Empire, which included of hundreds of semi-independent little states and cities.