Around 1608, Uli Hirt from Vorderrein bought the tavern in Stilli, Switzerland. This purchase indicated that he came from a wealthy family and belonged to the rural upper class. Uli married Madlen Lehner from Still on May 2, 1612. Their son, Hans also became the offical baliff of Schekenberg. From this he took the Stilli mill into his posession in 1652 and established the actual ‘Miller Dynasty”. The Hirt family operated this mill for over nine generations. The last miller daughter died in 1974.

Casper Hirt was born August 3, 1820 to Heinrich and Elizabeth Hirt, in Stilli, Canton Aargau, on the Aare River in Switzerland. Stilli is a small, quaint village approximately the size of Erlin, Ohio in the North Central part of Switzerland; a short distance north of Brugg near the German border. He was the 11th of 12 children born to millers, Heinrich and Elizabeth. As a young hired hand, Casper soon realized that his homeland offered him few opportunities for the lifestyle that he desired.

Casper became engaged in the struggle of the Helvetic government against her rebellious Canton of Sonderbund. In March 1848 many young men were migrating to the Americas. Casper joined this group of men and settled in Sandusky County, near Fremont, Ohio for approximately 2 years. Once again, dissatisfied with his lifestyle, he joined in the gold rush in California. It was an adventurous trip from Fremont, Ohio to Sacramento, California, on foot, over vast plains and deserts. The trip took approximately 90 days. Within a short period time he had earned a great deal of money as a “gold digger”. When Casper had learned that gold had been discovered in Australia, he once again decided to begin his travels. Eventually he lost all of his money and decided to return to California. That trip took 165 days. Food and water supplies were quickly consumed and members of the expedition were forced to draw lots to determine who was going to be meat for the next meal. Shortly after the captain drew the unlucky lot, land was sighted, preventing the unfortunate man’s death. Once Casper was back in California, he eventually earned enough money in the gold mines to return to Ohio.

In May 1854, unable to settle down for good, Casper decided to return to his homeland, Switzerland. In Stilli, he appeared to be a very successful gentleman. He told people about America and his glorified new country. At that time, the economic situation in Switzerland was very poor and a group of people decided to immigrate to America in search of a better life. The ship bringing these emigrants to America was called the Canvass-Back. Along with Casper, the Jacob Baumann family, the Hans Heindrich Karle (Carley) family, and Verena Fannie Vogt from Villigen, Canton, Aargua traveled to America. Hans Heinrich Hirt, Casper’s brother also was aboard the Canvass-Back.

The Canvass-Back landed in Philadelphia in October or November of 1854. It was there that Casper Hirt married Verena Fannie Vogt. Casper was 34 years old and Fannie was 28. Casper wanted to travel to the state of Ohio where he had worked from 1848 to 1850. Therefore, by overland route they traveled through Pennsylvania to Cleveland, on Lake Erie and eventually arrived in Fremont, Ohio.

Verena Fannie Vogt was born November 24, 1826 in Villigen, Canton, Aargau, Switzerland approximately two miles from Stille. In preparation for her journey to America, she needed 352 francs. 90 of these were used for her clothing, 52 francs were to go into her purse and 210 francs were used for her trip to the new world. To arrange for this money, her father took a loan out from the Villigen Charity Relief Fund.

When Casper and Verena arrived in Fremont, they purchased an 80-acre farm in Riley Township in 1855. They lived in a simple stone house, but later built a customary country house there. Casper’s brother, John Henry came to Fremont and the brothers decided to make their living together in Riley. After a few years, they enlarged their farm and finally, by 1876 the Hirt farm was approximately 310 acres. Casper became a United States citizen on March 28, 1856, receiving his Naturalization Certificate.

In 1878, when Casper was 58 years old, he returned to Switzerland for the last time. Together with John Keller, a Swiss butcher and farmer of the same area, they traveled to the World’s Fair in Paris, France and then on to Switzerland, to visit relatives and friends. At the end of October, they returned to Ohio. Upon his return, Casper had successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean 5 times and the Pacific Ocean twice.

Casper and Fannie Hirt were respected and reliable members of their community. Through their hard work and industry, they acquired a sizable estate, always faithful to the democratic principles upon which their country was based. Casper was active in both religious and political affairs. He was very active in the German Reformed Church, which reflected a strong religious faith. He was also active in politics, as a township trustee, as well as a staunch Democrat, showing his belief in a democratic, equitable and charitable way of life. It was said of Casper that he had been a thoughtful husband and father, true to his name and word. The name “Hirt” is said to mean “Shepherd”. It seems that Casper Hirt had been the kind of man who filled the potential of his name to the fullest possible sense.

After many years of prosperity, hard times fell on the Hirt family. In 1880 three brothers of Casper’s passed away. Among them were John Henry, Casper’s life-long companion, and two brothers in Switzerland. In the harsh winter of 1881, Casper contracted a severe chest cold and on February 3rd, he passed away. Fannie joined Casper on November 3, l884, three years later during an epidemic of Typhoid Fever. She, along with two sons, Charles and Henry died of the dreaded disease. At the time of his death, Charles was survived by a one-year-old son, William. Henry was not married at the time of his death. Another son of Fannie’s, Adolph, had preceded his brothers in death, April 21, l882, of what was called an inflammation of the bowels.

Only one son, Frederick Franklin (Frank) was spared from the fever. Edward and Lewis were the most seriously ill. They lost their hair and their diet was very restricted. They had to learn to walk and talk completely over again. Recovery was a slow, lengthy process. It was not until they were both recovered that they were told of their mother and brothers deaths.

Karl Hirt, one of Casper’s nephews, also came to the United State. He took his primary schooling at the “Jacob’s School” in Riley Township, being taught by Samuel J. Hirt, a son of Casper’s. Karl managed a tavern in Fremont, Ohio but eventually returned to Switzerland, where he married Marian Autenheimer, sister of his brother Jacob’s wife. Karl and Marian had three children; Carl, Fred and Marie. Fred came to the United States and finally settled in Concord, California, married late in life and had no children. He died on December 27, 1967. Marie came to the United Sates in 1908 and married Charles F. Kistler in December 1909. They settled near Fremont, Ohio. Their children were: Walter, deceased, Helen (Kistler) Beier of Fremont, Lester, deceased, Mary (Kistler) Hutchinson of Perrysburg, Ohio and Ruth a daughter, who died in infancy. Verena Fannie Vogt had one sister and one brother. Her brother, Abraham Vogt settled just west of the Hirt homestead in Riley Township, Sandusky County. He married Mary Wolf and they had three children; Elizabeth, Mary and Charles. Mary died in infancy. Elizabeth and Charles continued to live in the Vogt homestead and neither married. Abraham and Verena’s sister, Elizabeth, married Abraham’s great-great nephew, Douglas Hirt, married Anna Marie Wolf’s great-great niece, Jean Wolf 87 years later.

The descendant of Casper (Kasper) and Verena Fannie Hirt increased to around 705 by 1991. At the occasion of the 50th Hirt Reunion in 1966 a “Hirt Anniversary Song” was sung for the first time. We are all so grateful that Casper and Fannie Hirt came to America to make their home and raise their children.

Chester & Clarence Hirt

Back Row: Julius Hirt, Jess Hirt, Lawrence Hirt, Russell Hirt Middle Row: Ruth Peffly, Helen Hiebel, Marian Diedrich, Frieda Brugger, Grace Zilles Front Row: Clara Hirt, Lewis Hirt              (dated circa 1945)

Casper Hirt Estate Sale of 1885