Joseph Hizer

Image from Wikipedia: French Imperial Guard. A Grenadier from the Imperial Guard.

Joseph Hizer was born about 1787 – census and immigration data indicates dates from 1778 to 1790 - the son of Barnabas Hizer and Agatha Ball Hizer who we believe were about 20 years old when he was born.

An Alsatian woman in traditional garb c. 1870 He may have been raised in or near , Bas-Rhin, Alsace, as the Ball family name in Alsace seems to originate there. Stundwiller, in German Stundweiler, is located in the northeastern tip of Alsace. In 1780 it had a population of around 250 people, by 1800 that population had swelled to over 400. In the mid-1700s Stundwiller, along with Oberroeden and Aschbuch, formed the community of Obergericht. They separated and came back together again in 1974, then separated again. Today the population of Stundwiller is around 500. In 1800 the village was 100% Catholic.

The upper red square depicting the general location of Stundwiller.

Road map placing Stundwiller and affiliated villages in yellow.

An aerial view of Stundwiller as it appears today. Stundwiller in its topographical setting. The area is very similar to southeastern Minnesota.

The Steinbach House: A 1608 typical Alsatian home moved to Castroville, Texas “Little Alsace in Texas”. His father may have been Bavarian in ancestry as he identified the family as being Bavarian when they emigrated to America.

The American Revolution, separating the American Colonies from the great super power of the day, The British Empire, had just taken place and had been our primary ally. The Revolutionary War with Britain started in 1775 and lasted until September of 1783. American independence was declared on July 4th, 1776.

It can not be overemphasized the impact of the American Revolution on Europe and the world as we know it today!

Countries around the world were still being ruled by absolute monarchies privileged from birth, embroiled in the feudal system, aggressive colonization of under-developed nations/areas, with NO human rights and NO freedom of religion. The successful American Revolution and the establishment of Democracy led to revolutions throughout Europe and the world, and the end of absolute monarchies and the feudal system. For the next 140 years, at least, Europe and the rest of the World, would be embroiled in the Wars for Freedom.

1787 map of the United States of America

Note that current day Minnesota and Trout Valley was in Spanish Territory in 1787, but historically it was French and eventually purchased from France. The French Revolution 1789 -1799

France was our greatest ally during the American Revolution. Our Revolution led to The French Revolution which spread to many European countries. However, the French Revolution was a debacle that Joseph Hizer grew up in.

Whether the family lived in Stundwiller or not, the Bas-Rhin area of Alsace suffered a similar fate as this village during the French Revolution. To bring this into perspective, here is an excerpt from the Parker Ancestry on RootsWeb.com that would have been a common experience during this difficult time. Stundwiller during the French Revolution By K.M. Parker – Parker Ancestry RootsWeb.com

“These villagers were virtually all Catholic, and the revolutionary changes which had perhaps the greatest impact on them were those which affected the practice of their religion. Most of the villagers were extremely devout and felt deeply threatened by the republican government's attacks on their religion. The people of Alsace, more than those in any other part of France, resisted the anti-clerical actions of the government. [Catholic Persecution] On November 2, 1789, land owned by churches or by various noblemen, which included a lot of arable land, was confiscated and put up for auction. The Catholic Church ordered the faithful not to participate in these auctions, so most of the church holdings in the Stundwiller area were purchased by outsiders. On 12 July 1790, the Assembly passed laws purporting to make all clerics subject to the state. All clergy were to be paid by the state, and elected by state or district electors. They were to swear an oath of allegiance to the Revolution, and the government would regulate their conduct. Any priest who refused to swear the Oath of Allegiance to the Revolution was forbidden to perform any of his priestly duties, and was subject to arrest and punishment if he were found to be ministering to his people. Whether this constituted as much of a difficulty for the Protestant clergy in France, I do not know, but since the Pope was the head of the Catholic Church, French Catholics were placed in an impossible situation. In France as a whole, about half of the clergy swore the required Oath of Allegiance to the Revolution, but in Alsace, only 8 percent did. For the purposes of the following discussion, those who swore the required oath of allegiance to the Revolution will be called "government" clergy, and those who refused to swear that oath will be called "refractory" clergy. The parish of Stundwiller included the villages of Oberroedern and Aschbach, and its pastor, Father Anthon, was among the many Alsatian priests who refused to take the oath. The government bishop tried to recruit replacements in Germany, some of whom had very little clerical training, but the people would not accept the government priests. By July of 1791 the pressure on the refractory priests was increased, and when they were given 8 days to take the oath or face banishment, many of the priests went into hiding. The people of the Stundwiller parish petitioned the government to let Father Anthon, who had been their pastor for 17 years, return to his parish and to his duties, but their efforts were unavailing. The government appointed a German pastor of the parish, but the people of the parish had almost nothing to do with him; the people conducted their own baptisms, marriages, and funerals. Once the government priest took over, Mr. Schimpf, the schoolmaster, refused to serve Mass or serve on the parish council. Mr. Schimpf took the position that he was only hired to instruct the children, but the authorities disagreed and ordered him to serve mass and serve on the parish council on penalty of dismissal. Mr. Schimpf bravely persisted in his refusal to assist the government priest, who accordingly secured Mr. Schimpf's dismissal and got his preferred candidate, Mr. Thomann, hired in Mr. Schimpf's place. The Directory not only fired Mr. Schimpf, but informed him that if he instructed any children, he would be prosecuted for treason. The death of Mr. Thomann at the age of 58 was entered into the parish registry only a matter of weeks later. A statement in the "Neueste Religionsbelegenheiten" of 27 April 1792 indicates that he was the victim of violence. In any event, the position was not filled, and Mr. Schimpf, though no longer a schoolmaster, remained in Stundwiller. [The Massacre at Stundwiller] Jacob Starck, a choir boy from the neighboring village of Trimbach, told of the day he disobeyed his mother's orders and accompanied the government priest to Stundwiller. When they got there, they were stoned. The next day (the feast of the Ascension in 1791), the government priest went back to Stundwiller with an escort of 27 national guard troops from Niederroedern, most of whom were massacred at Stundwiller. Government troops were called in to protect the government priest at Stundwiller, who very reasonably feared for his safety. Villagers shot at the soldiers, and beat to death anyone they suspected of helping the government priest. In April, 1792, the government priest quit, and it wasn't until July of 1793 that another government priest, another German, was appointed. This one was only 22 years old, but he was hired at a significantly higher salary than his predecessor. It isn't clear whether he ever actually arrived to take over his duties, though. In any event, shortly after he was hired, he took a non-clergy position elsewhere.

De-Christianization As if things weren't bad enough already, they soon became much worse. On September 21, 1792, the Republic was established, along with a new calendar with 10 different days, every tenth day being designated a day of rest. Radical officials in some departments began a program of De- Christianization, which spread at various rates and in varying degrees to other departments. Religion was declared to be superstition, all religious things were either put to secular use, confiscated, or destroyed (if they could be found, that is; the villagers of Stundwiller hid the relics of St. Lucius). Priests were forbidden to say Mass or perform any clerical duties, and secular holidays were instituted to take the place of religious holidays. On May 30, 1795, as the result of a complaint filed by the municipal attorney of Stundwiller, an arrest warrant was issued for Father Spisser, who had been saying Mass and otherwise ministering to the people in the area of Stundwiller, and some months later, a reward was offered for his capture. Father Spisser was apparently a master of disguise, however, and wisely kept on the move, and with the help of the faithful, he managed to elude the authorities...

War against the Austrians and the Prussians Other European monarchies, fearful that revolution would spread beyond France, became alarmed and, after Louis XVI [16th] was apprehended while he was trying to leave France, the Hapsburg Emperor Leopold II and King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia threatened military intervention. [The Occupation of Stundwiller] On April 20, 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, and very shortly thereafter, an army of about 15,000 men, which lived almost entirely off the inhabitants, was sent to the area near Stundwiller. They requisitioned from the local populace all the food, horses, and carts they needed. They camped in the fields, ruining the crops and ensuring subsequent crop failures. Thus they further impoverished an already suffering populace. After Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793, acts of terror increased, and many people were executed. In October of 1793 the Austria-Prussian army, ironically under the command of an Alsatian, General Wurmser, drove out the French forces and occupied the area in northern Alsace from to Hagenau. Our villagers were less afraid of the Austria-Prussian army than they were of the French army, and they were overjoyed that the Austria-Prussian forces brought with them some of their beloved priests who had earlier been driven out. The French army reorganized and regrouped, however, and in November launched a counter-offensive which drove out the invaders. At Niederbronn they threatened Wurmser's flank, and won great victories at Woerth, Froeschwiller, and Hagenau. From Soultz-sous-Forêt and , they advanced on the Lauter valley, and liberated Wissembourg on December 27.” Sources René Clauss, Raymond Schwengler, and Joseph Walter: Oberrœdern Stundwiller: Deux Villages, Une Paroisse. : Editions Coprur, 1993. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kmparker/gen/Places%20in%20Time/stundfrrev.htm

November 9, 1799 General Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup and declared himself “First Consul” of France. This event marked the end of the French Revolution and led to the Napoleonic Era in which France came to dominate much of Continental Europe. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I

“Napoleon Bonaparte... (1769 – 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution... As Napoleon I, he was Emperor from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815...One of the greatest commanders in history...he remains one of the most celebrated and controversial political figures in Western History. In civil affairs...he implemented fundamental liberal policies in France and throughout Western Europe. His lasting legal achievement, the Napoleonic Code , has been adopted in various forms by a quarter of the world's legal systems, from Japan to Quebec. “ Wikipedia – Napoleon I

The Napoleonic Code

Foundation to One Quarter of the World's Legal Systems

“The Napoleonic Code (French: Code Napoléon, and officially Code civil des Français) is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified...

The Code, with its stress on clearly written and accessible law, was a major step in replacing the previous patchwork of feudal laws. Historian Robert Holtman regards it as one of the few documents that have influenced the whole world...

The categories of the Napoleonic Code were not drawn from earlier French laws, but instead from Justinian's sixth-century codification of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis and, within it, the Institutes.[2] The Institutes divide law into the law of: 1. persons 2. things 3. actions. Similarly, the Napoleonic Code divided law into law of: 1. persons 2. property 3. acquisition of property 4. civil procedure (removed into a separate code in 1806)... The development of the Napoleonic Code was a fundamental change in the nature of the civil law system, making laws clearer and more accessible. It also superseded the former conflict between royal legislative power and, particularly in the final years before the Revolution, protests by judges representing views and privileges of the social classes to which they belonged. Such conflict led the Revolutionaries to take a negative view of judges making law...

With regard to family, the Code established the supremacy of the man over the wife and children, which was the general legal situation in Europe at the time. A woman was given fewer rights than a minor. Divorce by mutual consent was abolished in 1804.”

Excerpts from Wikipedia

Hildegarde Hendrickson, granddaughter of Michael Heaser (1832-1902), in her genealogical work on the Heaser family in 1971 recorded that “He had red hair...and was a body guard to Napoleon Bonaparte.”

We believe he served in Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I French Army (1804-1815) in the prestigious Imperial Guard. The Imperial Guard was Napoleon Bonaparte's body guard and tactical reserve. Joseph would have been 17 years old in 1804 and 28 when Napoleon I was finally exiled. An ideal age to be in an elite fighting unit. It is likely that he was educated, skilled, well spoken and of excellent physical stature with a bold and fearless personality.

French Imperial Guard

Napoleon's Guard is "One of the most celebrated military formations in history." - David Chandler . There was a special aura surrounding the words " Napoleon's Guard". To serve in the Imperial Guard was to serve in an organization that demanded excellence beyond all others. Service in the Guard left a lasting impression upon the innermost being of everyone who was privileged enough to serve.

http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/IMPERIAL_GUARD_infantry_1.htm At Ligny the advance of Imperial Guard was accompanied by artillery cannonade and thunder lightnings. They entered the village and swept everything before them with the bayonet, moving like a raging bull with lowered head. Ligny was taken to the refrain of their song Chant du Depart.

“The Imperial Guard (French: Garde Impériale) was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. The Guard was divided into the staff, infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, as well as battalions of sappers and marines. The guard itself as a whole distinguished between the experienced veterans and less experienced members by being separated into three sections: the Old Guard, Middle Guard and Young Guard.” Wikipedia – French Imperial Guard

We do not know if he was a horse infantry grenadier. Napoleon's Guard was mounted on only best horses of French and German lineage, always black and strong. Or perhaps he was with the Artillery grenadiers, even on officer in Napoleon's Guard. The Young Guard – Napoleon's Shock Troops: “[They]...were the strongest and best educated men....the height requirement was 163 cm [5'3”]...The taller men went into the Tirailleurs-Grenadiers (Tirailleurs) while the shorter ones entered the Tirailleurs-Chasseurs (Voltigeurs). They were strong, healthy young men, with great stamina...in 1812 the 4th Voltigeurs and 4th Tirailleurs marched 468 miles in 23 days.”

Napoleon's Cross Beresina by January Suchodolski Joseph Hizer married Theresa Soldiner (1800-1845) in 1819 when she was 19 years old and he was about 32 years old. They had five children together that we know of:

Joseph (1820-1894) was born on May 2, 1820, in Lorraine, France. Lorraine is just north of Alsace bordering both Luxembourg and Belgium. The Lost Daughters (1821 to 1831 to about 1900) Their brother Anton corresponded with his sister(s) and it was passed down that they moved to Texas. They were not heard from after the devastating hurricane/flood of 1900 that killed over 6,000 people on the island of Galveston, Texas. We do not know if there was one sister or more that moved to Texas. However, in 1844 Henri Castro established a settlement approximately 15 miles from San Antonio, TX known as Castroville “The Little Alsace of Texas”. It appears that he was offering free passage to Texas for Alsatians and this is quite likely where the “Texas Lost Sisters” may have gone with their husbands. For more information go to: www.castroville.com Catherina (1826-1850) Michael (1832-1902 ) was born January 20, 1832 near Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Anthony "Antone" (1836-1911 on the New York Passenger Lists he is listed as “Francis” so his whole name may have been Franz Anton – German - or Francois Antoine - French) was born on July 25, 1836, near Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Anthony's obituary states that he was born in Wickelfheim (we are going to assume Alsace). I was not about to find Wickelfheim in Alsace or Germany, but since the family identified with Strasbourg I found these communities in the Strasbourg area that could be likely candidates: Wickersheim, , , , , Willgottheim, . Note: There may have been more daughters, and some that may not of emigrated to America. His wife, Theresa (also spelled Theresia), passed away in 1845 near Strasbourg, Alsace, France, at the age of 45. They had been married 26 years. Joseph Hizer died in Trout Valley in 1870 at the age of about 83. He was first buried on the Joseph Schurb farm in a private cemetery. After the St. Mary's cemetery was purchased, located between Minneiska and Trout Valley, his body was moved there to an unmarked grave.

Traditional Alsace wear by families in villages. Alsace Genealogy Site: wiki-en.genealogy.net/Alsace