Emigration and Immigration

Although Theodore was born in Switzerland, he obviously had little desire to remain there permanently. He became a Merchant by trade and his work took him many places. According to family sources, Theodore attended the University of Paris in Sorbonne sometime around 1861. Although we have no clear idea of how long his stay in Sorbonne was, we do know that after a time he traveled to Brazil. Theodore spent 16 years in Brazil. Little is known about his life there. However, he probably spent his time working as a Merchant in the silk industry which is the occupation he followed when he arrived in the United States. Theodore arrived in the U.S. on September 12th, 1877. He traveled aboard the ship "Adelaide" which was making its usual run from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore, Maryland. Listing his occupation as Merchant on the ship's passenger list, Theodore also declared his intention to become an inhabitant of New York, a place where he briefly stayed before finally making his home in New Jersey.

Theodore Joseph Mattmann

Theodore Joseph Mattmann was a man of many names and few helpful records. This is due to several different factors. Firstly, Theodore was an immigrant from Switzerland. This meant a constant barrage of name variations and changes. This was a common occurrence for all immigrants in the United States. Secondly, Theodore immigrated from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to the United States on September 12th, 1877 and died a mere thirteen years later in North Bergen, Hudson, New Jersey on January 9th, 1890. This left a very short period of time in which to create an extensive paper trail that would give researchers the help they needed when it came to pinpointing his home-town and parents. Finally, it sometimes seems (to myself anyway) as if Theodore himself was reluctant to offer any clarifying label that would assist his descendants in their hunt for him and his predecessors. Happily, after extensive research and collaboration from different branches of the family tree, the majority of the questions surrounding Theodore's life have been answered. In order to bring organization to a muddled life, I mean to put forth the known events of Theodore's story chronologically.

Theodore Joseph Mattmann was born to Candid Mattmann and Salomea Ineichen on May 3rd 1844 in Hochdorf, Luzern, Switzerland. Theodore was obviously a name he took upon himself later on in life because he was christened Joseph Mattmann on May 5th 1844. Hochdorf is a small town located in the Canton (or county) of Luzern, Switzerland. The family had moved to Hochdorf from the neighboring town of Inwil just a few years before and both Theodore and his older brother were born in the family's new home-town. Other children had been born prior to the family's move. Both Candid and Salomea had they themselves been born in Inwil and it was somewhat uncommon for two individuals born in the same town to suddenly move to a new, unfamiliar city. It is still a mystery as to what circumstances caused them to make this change in their family's life. We do know however, that Theodore was born in Hochdorf and probably spent his childhood there.

Calling All Cousins

According to family history, Theodore Joseph Mattmann, an immigrant from Switzerland, married Selma Elsa Seimer sometime in the in early 1880's. Between that time and the time of his death in 1890, the couple welcomed two daughters into their home located in North Bergen, Hudson, New Jersey. One of these daughters, Sylvia, is my husband's second-great-grandmother. While much detail is known by our family about Sylvia and her mother Selma Elsa, Theodore has always been somewhat of a mystery. He seemed to have left very little evidence of his existence during what appeared to be a very short period of time spent in the United States. After long hours of research and much consultation and conferencing with extended family members far wiser than myself, I have had the blessing and opportunity to discover many heretofore unknown details concerning Theodore's life here in the United States as well as his family hometown in Switzerland. It is my intention that this blog be used as a way for other cousins who are descendants of the Mattmann family to connect and share information about our common ancestors.