MONROE - It was Swiss love at the Swiss Roots tent this weekend.
The Swiss Roots project was developed two years ago as a place of connections, for people of Swiss heritage and those with an "affinity to Switzerland," said Lukas Fitze, from the marketing and communications office for the Consulate General of Switzerland.
Cheese Days visitors crowded the tent, buying up red T-shirts silk screened with the famous Swiss white cross in words, like chocola+e, swi+zerland, and naugh+y. They also got free Swiss folk music CDs, bumper stickers, maps, key chains and more.
But many people just wanted to check the Web site, www.swissroots.org., to find ancestors who immigrated to this county and perhaps to reconnect with relatives who remained in Switzerland.
Richard Budsberg, Monroe, waited in line Friday for help finding any connections to his grandfather Emil Schiess. Budsberg said his grandparents died before he got to know them, and his parents never talked about them. The only hint he had to go on was that he'd heard the Swiss in or near cantons Appenzell or Berne were short, and he's rather short, too.
Richard and Marjorie Judy of Streator, Ill., came to the tent searching for connections to the Tschudy family. Some Tschudy families changed their name to Judy in America, he said. His family came through Ellis Island near the end of the 1800s and settled in Kentucky.
The Web site is the Swiss Roots centerpiece and the ultimate place to learn everything about Swiss culture, history, food, events and famous Switzers. There's even a kids' section.
"It's the main cultural gateway to promote active dialogue between Switzerland and the U.S." Fitze said.
Members from the United States (about 70 percent), Switzerland (about 30 percent) and others from around the globe sign up to be part of the international and interactive Web community.
But use of the vast libraries of Swiss historical documents online is open to all.
Some historical documents were simply scanned into the site as is, others were transferred to PDF format, and some are linked through universities and public libraries. Together, they create one of the more extensive genealogical collections available on line.
"But it takes some time," Fitze said. "People have to sit down and really go through the documents." And it helps to know as much as you can about ancestors, even if it is from family stories handed down.
The site includes documents such as the "List of Swiss Emigrants in the Eighteenth Century to the American Colonies," published in 1920 by the National Genealogical Society. It contains extracts from the archives of Zurich (1734-1744), Bern (1706-1795), and Basel (1734-1794) with a total of about 2,300 names.
A list of Swiss immigrants through Ellis Island, most from the early 1900s, can also be found online.
Searching genealogies is a detective endeavor, and some unique genealogical research tools are available on the site. For instance, a familiarity with Gothic handwriting or printing in most early German documents is helpful, and the site includes a chart of this style of writing for deciphering German records.
For those who think Switzerland is the place to be, even if they never leave their living room chairs, the Swissroots.org "travel" section will help with every detail of a real or virtual trip. It links visitors to the interactive site MySwitzerland.com to see, learn and discover more about Switzerland's people and geography, and to Swissinfo.ch for business, news and entertainment. For example, did you know:
• George Lucas, producer of the Star Wars saga, was Swiss? His father had mainly Swiss and British roots.
• Green County Cheese Days is featured on the Community page? Only members of SwissRoots.com can submit events to be featured.
• 23 Wisconsin Swiss clubs and associations are registered on the site.
• Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz underwent surgery in Bern after a heart attack on Saturday night.
• Between 1423 and 1666, the small town of Sursee in central Switzerland hosted 59 witchcraft trials. Most defendants were found guilty, beheaded or burnt at the stake.
• The community of Helvetia, founded by the Swiss in 1869 in West Virginia, celebrated its annual fair complete with Swiss costumes, flags, cowbells and alphorns on Sept. 15. Helvetia keeps its traditions flourishing despite having a population of only about 100 and being described as "isolated" in a high mountain valley.
The Swiss Roots project was developed two years ago as a place of connections, for people of Swiss heritage and those with an "affinity to Switzerland," said Lukas Fitze, from the marketing and communications office for the Consulate General of Switzerland.
Cheese Days visitors crowded the tent, buying up red T-shirts silk screened with the famous Swiss white cross in words, like chocola+e, swi+zerland, and naugh+y. They also got free Swiss folk music CDs, bumper stickers, maps, key chains and more.
But many people just wanted to check the Web site, www.swissroots.org., to find ancestors who immigrated to this county and perhaps to reconnect with relatives who remained in Switzerland.
Richard Budsberg, Monroe, waited in line Friday for help finding any connections to his grandfather Emil Schiess. Budsberg said his grandparents died before he got to know them, and his parents never talked about them. The only hint he had to go on was that he'd heard the Swiss in or near cantons Appenzell or Berne were short, and he's rather short, too.
Richard and Marjorie Judy of Streator, Ill., came to the tent searching for connections to the Tschudy family. Some Tschudy families changed their name to Judy in America, he said. His family came through Ellis Island near the end of the 1800s and settled in Kentucky.
The Web site is the Swiss Roots centerpiece and the ultimate place to learn everything about Swiss culture, history, food, events and famous Switzers. There's even a kids' section.
"It's the main cultural gateway to promote active dialogue between Switzerland and the U.S." Fitze said.
Members from the United States (about 70 percent), Switzerland (about 30 percent) and others from around the globe sign up to be part of the international and interactive Web community.
But use of the vast libraries of Swiss historical documents online is open to all.
Some historical documents were simply scanned into the site as is, others were transferred to PDF format, and some are linked through universities and public libraries. Together, they create one of the more extensive genealogical collections available on line.
"But it takes some time," Fitze said. "People have to sit down and really go through the documents." And it helps to know as much as you can about ancestors, even if it is from family stories handed down.
The site includes documents such as the "List of Swiss Emigrants in the Eighteenth Century to the American Colonies," published in 1920 by the National Genealogical Society. It contains extracts from the archives of Zurich (1734-1744), Bern (1706-1795), and Basel (1734-1794) with a total of about 2,300 names.
A list of Swiss immigrants through Ellis Island, most from the early 1900s, can also be found online.
Searching genealogies is a detective endeavor, and some unique genealogical research tools are available on the site. For instance, a familiarity with Gothic handwriting or printing in most early German documents is helpful, and the site includes a chart of this style of writing for deciphering German records.
For those who think Switzerland is the place to be, even if they never leave their living room chairs, the Swissroots.org "travel" section will help with every detail of a real or virtual trip. It links visitors to the interactive site MySwitzerland.com to see, learn and discover more about Switzerland's people and geography, and to Swissinfo.ch for business, news and entertainment. For example, did you know:
• George Lucas, producer of the Star Wars saga, was Swiss? His father had mainly Swiss and British roots.
• Green County Cheese Days is featured on the Community page? Only members of SwissRoots.com can submit events to be featured.
• 23 Wisconsin Swiss clubs and associations are registered on the site.
• Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz underwent surgery in Bern after a heart attack on Saturday night.
• Between 1423 and 1666, the small town of Sursee in central Switzerland hosted 59 witchcraft trials. Most defendants were found guilty, beheaded or burnt at the stake.
• The community of Helvetia, founded by the Swiss in 1869 in West Virginia, celebrated its annual fair complete with Swiss costumes, flags, cowbells and alphorns on Sept. 15. Helvetia keeps its traditions flourishing despite having a population of only about 100 and being described as "isolated" in a high mountain valley.