Sorry, but I do not know if my husband's Egger family is connected with yours. However, his father, Anton Jospeh Egger, born in Vienna, Austria, pointed out on the map to my husband the Canton of Bern where his grandfather was supposed to have been the mayor (is that the same as a berger/burgher?) of some community in Bern. My husband cannot remember the name of this small community, however.

The story goes that this great-grandfather was also a farmer and was suffocated under a load of hay. His name was Jacob Egger, but that is all we know of him.

His son was Franz Josef Egger, my husband's grandfather, and he was married to Veronica (English spelling for her first name) Surmann. Franz Josef Egger was supposed to have been born either in Bern, Switzerland or Vienna, Austria, in 1863. Franz Josef Egger died in 1923 in Illinois, USA.

This is all very vague. We have tried for many years to try to trace the Surmann/Egger families, but with no luck.

If you would care to respond, my e-mail address is campsiehills@sbcglobal.net.

Sincerely,

Maisie Egger
(wife of Joseph Anton Egger, California, USA)