THE FLURIS OF OBERDORF PARISH, SWITZERLAND

 

     In the Roman Catholic parish of Oberdorf in the Canton of Solothurn resided as early as the 1590's's and possibly earlier a significant number of Fluris. Oberdorf parish was German speaking and encompassed the towns of Oberdorf, Lommiswil, Langendorf, and Bellach. While there is evidence of a Fluri presence in all four towns, the largest concentration, by far, was in Lommiswil, where the number of Fluri families closely approximates that of the town of Matzendorf, which was not all that far away. Most of the Fluri names in Oberdorf and Langendorf were female, suggesting that these Fluri women probably moved to these towns upon marriage. Some male Fluris do appear in Bellach.  So numerous were these early Fluris in Oberdorf parish, primarily Lommiswil, that without the help of a trained genealogist spending significant time with local records it is impossible to sort them out. The Christian names of both the male and female Fluris are so similar to that of their Matzendorf counterparts (Jacob, Johann, Barbara, Maria, Ursus, Magdelana, Conrad, and Joseph) that it is tempting to see some sort of relationship.  These, admittedly, are all common Swiss and German names, however.

     Other early family names appearing in Oberdorf parish, some of which show up in Matzendorf, are Holzhaus, Hug, Höggerin, Hofsteller, Fralicker, Miller, Greder, Bosch, Schad, Schürer, Von Burg, and Rokeli. 

     The name "Joseph Fluri" in this parish appears with some frequency around the time that Joseph Flory, who sailed to America in 1733, was born. However, none of the Oberdorf Fluris has children to match that of the American Joseph, and none seems to match his exact birthdate, so  Oberdorf parish must be ruled out as Joseph Flory's birthplace.

       The records themselves go back to 1593, and the first Fluri name to appear was that of Anna Fluri, who was born to Peter Fluri and his wife, Anna, on February 16, 1596 in Lommiswil. Another Anna Fluri, wife to Johannes Von Burg, gave birth to a son, Johannes, on August 18th of that year, also in Lommiswil. There are also early references in the parish to Jacob Fluri, Bartli Fluri, Hans Fluri, and Casper Fluri, either as parents or as godparents, in the next decade or so. Below are some beginning genealogies of later Fluri families, presumably descendants of the above, who first begin to appear in the church records around 1651. There are at least 5 to 6 other Fluri families from the 1650's, who are not represented below. In later marriages, the Fluris seem to have been especially connected to the Schad and, to a lesser extent, the Von Burg families.

      Anton Fluri notes that:

(1) Early "Flöris" were known in Selzach and Bettlach from  about 1430 to 1500
(2) There is a record in 1469 of a Heinrich Flury from Selzach who became a citizen of the town of Solothurn (as opposed to the Canton).
(3)The first "Flurys" are known in Lommiswil in 1560; it can be assumed that they are descendants of the early "Flury/Flöris" from Selzach or Bettlach.
(4) In 1685 Jakob Flury from Lommsiwil becomes a citizen of the town of Solothurn ("Stadtbürger")

 This information is provided only as a brief sketch with the hope that someone can fill in at least some of the threads.

 

 

 

FAMILY 1

Johan Caspar Fluri and Elizabetha  Married 1651

Children

Magdelana Fluri    Born October 1652 in Lommiswil
Wulfgang Fluri   Born October 27, 1658 in Lommiswil
Anna Maria Fluri  Born September 1663 in Lommiswil
Krislauf Fluri   Born May 24, 1665 a twin in Lommiswil
Conrad Fluri   Born May 24, 1665 a twin in Lommiswil

FAMILY II

Johann Jacob Fluri and Elizabetha  Married in Lommiswil on Jan. 26, 1655

Children

Jacob Fluri   Born before 1664 in Lomm. Godparents Jacob Fluri and Veronica
Maria Fluri  Born Feb 1664 in Lomm. Godparents Johann Jacob Fluri & Maria
Johann Jacob Fluri Born Sept. 4, 1667 in Lommiswil. Godparents Johann Jacob Fluri and Catherina Fluri
Unknown Fluri  Born August 28, 1670 in Lommiswil

FAMILY III

Ursus Fluri and Ursula  Married in 1650

Wilhelm Fluri  Born March 13, 1653
Ursus Fluri  Born February 24, 1655 in Lommiswil
Johannes Casper  Born March 20, 1661  Godparent Johannes Casper Fluri
Maria Magdelena Fluri  Born September 2, 1664

 

 

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