THE FLURIS OF MATZENDORF, SWITZERLAND

 

       Probably the largest concentration of Flory families in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries was in the Canton (state) of Solothurn in Switzerland nestled near the border with France.  Here the name was spelled generally as "Fluri" (occasionally "Flurin" for both men and women), a spelling which later gave way to "Flori" in Germany.  Especially rich in Fluri families in and around the Canton of Solothurn were the areas in and around Haegendorf, Aedermannsdorf, Herbetswil, Matzendorf, and the town of Solothurn.  Even today, there is Fluri influence in the region as the Stadtpresident of Solothurn is Kurt Fluri.  Solothurn was probably the geographical origin of many if not most of the Flory families in Germany.  While the region is close to France, it is not clear what the relationship is between the French patronym of Fleury, which comes from "flower," and the Swiss Fluri, which may come from a German word meaning "of the land."  There are records of Fluris migrating from Solothurn to France, where their name was most certainly spelled as "Fleury," but the Fluri bloodline of Switzerland may ultimately be independent of the Fleury bloodline of France.

      What further complicates the issue is that to the west of the Canton of Solothurn was an area that was part of "The Bishop's Territory," a segment of which now forms the Canton of Jura. Several Fluris are known to have either migrated or fled to this area from Solothurn. Moreover, there are several towns and villages in this "Bishop's Territory" that contained Fluri families at an early date. Whether they all migrated from Solothurn is not known. During the "Napoleon Phase" from 1793 to 1815, the Bishop's Territory was occupied by French troops, and the entire area was named "Departement du Mont Terrible ["Department of the Terrible Mountain"].  In peripheral parts of the region, some Swiss-German traditions gave way to French language and education.  For instance, in the parishes of Vermes and Montservelier, both close to the Canton of Solothurn, the name of "Fluri" was modified to the more French sounding "Fleury."  It appears, then, that many families from the Bishop's territory, whose name is now "Fleury," may have evolved from the Fluris of Solothurn.

       Most Flory families in America have assumed that they were descended from French Huguenots.  However, it is apparent that most of the early Fluris of Solothurn were not Huguenots but were, instead, orthodox Catholic as was most of the region.  Moreover, the Fluris of Solothurn  seem to have been  established in that Canton prior to the formation of the French Reformed Church (Huguenots) by John Calvin in 1550.  The  massacre of St. Bartholomew, which occurred in France on August 23/24th 1572, was the precipitating event that caused many French Protestants to flee the country.  While church records in Solothurn generally go back only as early as 1626, they record the fact that a number of Fluri families were having children at this time indicating an earlier family presence in the region than 1572.  In 1626, for example, the following Fluris had children: Johannes (Jacob), Niclaus (Jacob), Conrad (Melchior), Jacob (Anna), and another Johannes (Lauretig). The Kirchenbuch listings for the  years of 1628 through 1632 refer to additional Fluri parents (Hans, Jacob, Heinrich, Ursus, and Arnold, among others). 

    There are so many Fluri families in the region that, according to James Flory who has visited the area, local genealogists have difficulty sorting them out.  Because of the difficulties involved in preparing a family tree of all of the Fluri families of Solothurn, what is presented below is a small sampling only, and it is restricted to the parish of Matzendorf.  There are four lines, not necessarily unrelated.  They represent but a small percentage of Fluri names from the Canton from that index for the period covered.   Our intent here is not to provide at the moment anywhere near a comprehensive genealogy.  We hope, rather, that the information presented here will encourage others to come forward with more complete information.

     In the fourth family presented below, there is a Joseph Fluri, born in 1682.  He probably is not the Joseph Flory who came to America in 1733, but he is included as an illustration of the fact that three or four Fluri's were born in the area about the same time that the  Rapho Township immigrant was.

     All genealogies below are taken from the Matzendorf Church records, which include the towns of Matzendorf, Aedermannsdorf, Herbetswil, and the Solterschwand (a region in the mountains belonging to Aedermannsdorf).  There are other towns and villages in Solothurn that contain Fluri names.  As soon as these are researched, this Solothurn section will be broken into towns.

 

   

FLURI FAMILY I

Descendants of Hans Fluri

Generation No. 1

1. HANS1 FLURI. He married MAGDALENA RUETTI Bef. 1626.

Children of HANS FLURI and MAGDALENA RUETTI are:

i. URSULA2 FLURI, b. October 14, 1626, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. ELISABETH FLURI, b. October 19, 1627, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. URSUS FLURI, b. February 18, 1628/29, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iv. GEDEON FLURI, b. March 16, 1632/33, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

2. v. PETER FLURI, b. August 10, 1635, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vi. JOHANNES FLURI, b. April 09, 1639, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vii. ANNA FLURI, b. May 10, 1643, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

viii. JAKOBUS FLURI, b. March 10, 1644/45.

ix. MAGDALENA FLURI, b. June 23, 1647, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

x. MARCUS FLURI, b. June 03, 1650, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

Generation No. 2

2. PETER2 FLURI (HANS1) was born August 10, 1635 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married ANN CHRISTEN August 28, 1670 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of PETER FLURI and ANN CHRISTEN are:

i. JOSEPH3 FLURI, b. April 10, 1671.

3. ii. URSUS FLURI, b. January 06, 1673/74, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. ELSBETH FLURI, b. March 04, 1674/75, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

4. iv. JOSEPH FLURI, b. February 07, 1677/78, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

Generation No. 3

3. URSUS3 FLURI (PETER2, HANS1) was born January 06, 1673/74 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married ANNA FRANK May 14, 1696 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of URSUS FLURI and ANNA FRANK are:

5. i. URSUS4 FLURI, b. February 01, 1696/97, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. MAGDALENA FLURI, b. June 12, 1699, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland; d. Bef. 1703, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. CATHARINA FLURI, b. April 13, 1700, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iv. MAGDELNA FLURI, b. November 03, 1703.

v. UDALRICUS FLURI, b. November 02, 1705, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vi. JOHANNA FLURI, b. April 21, 1709.

4. JOSEPH3 FLURI (PETER2, HANS1) was born February 07, 1677/78 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married ANNA STAEMPFLI October 02, 1704 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of JOSEPH FLURI and ANNA STAEMPFLI are:

i. URSUS4 FLURI, b. October 17, 1706, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. ELISABETH FLURI, b. August 26, 1714.

 

Generation No. 4

5. URSUS4 FLURI (URSUS3, PETER2, HANS1) was born February 01, 1696/97 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married ANN GREUTER September 07, 1722 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of URSUS FLURI and ANN GREUTER are:

i. GEDEON5 FLURI, b. July 14, 1723, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. JOHANN JACOB FLURI, b. December 30, 1724, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. ELISABETHA FLURI, b. December 21, 1727, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iv. ANNA MARIA FLURI, b. June 01, 1729, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

v. URSULA FLURI, b. May 29, 1730, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vi. JOHANN JACOB FLURI, b. January 27, 1731/32, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vii. ANNA CATHARINA FLURI, b. November 06, 1734, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

FLURI FAMILY 2

Descendants of Ursus Fluri

Generation No. 1

1. URSUS1 FLURI. He married CATHARINA FUCHS.

Children of URSUS FLURI and CATHARINA FUCHS are:

i. ELIZABETH2 FLURI, b. May 08, 1690, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. URSULA FLURI, b. June 06, 1691, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. URSUS FLURI, b. June 06, 1691, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iv. WILHELM FLURI, b. March 06, 1692/93, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

2. v. VICTOR FLURI, b. September 30, 1694, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vi. CATHARINA FLURI, b. October 01, 1696, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

Generation No. 2

2. VICTOR2 FLURI (URSUS1) was born September 30, 1694 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married ANNA MEYER April 24, 1724 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of VICTOR FLURI and ANNA MEYER are:

i. URSUS3 FLURI, b. August 16, 1724, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. ELISABETH FLURI, b. January 12, 1726/27, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. MARGARETHA FLURI, b. December 19, 1728.

iv. JOHANN JACOB FLURI, b. December 08, 1731, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

v. ANNA MARIA FLURI, b. November 26, 1734, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland; d. June 21, 1735, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vi. URS JOSEPH FLURI, b. November 26, 1734, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland; d. November 27, 1734, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vii. ANNA MARIA FLURI, b. October 28, 1737, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

viii. GRUTABUS FLURI, b. February 05, 1740/41, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

FLURI FAMILY 3

Descendants of Jacob Fluri

Generation No. 1

1. JACOB1 FLURI. He married ANN ISSEN Bef. 1629.

Children of JACOB FLURI and ANN ISSEN are:

2. i. JACOB2 FLURI, b. March 25, 1629, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. URSUS FLURI, b. February 08, 1631/32, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. JOHANNES FLURI, b. June 14, 1637, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

Generation No. 2

 

2. JACOB2 FLURI (JACOB1) was born March 25, 1629 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married CATHARINA CHRIST October 17, 1656 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of JACOB FLURI and CATHARINA CHRIST are:

3. i. URSUS3 FLURI, b. November 02, 1657, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. LAURENTIUS FLURI, b. January 04, 1659/60, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

Generation No. 3

3. URSUS3 FLURI (JACOB2, JACOB1) was born November 02, 1657 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland. He married MARIA BLOCH July 09, 1685 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of URSUS FLURI and MARIA BLOCH are:

i. JOHANNES4 FLURI, b. September 30, 1686, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. MARIA FLURI, b. September 19, 1688, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

4. iii. JOHANN JAKOBUS FLURI, b. March 01, 1689/90.

iv. URUSUS FLURI, b. March 05, 1691/92, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

 

Generation No. 4

4. JOHANN JAKOBUS4 FLURI (URSUS3, JACOB2, JACOB1) was born March 01, 1689/90. He married ANNA ROETELI January 28, 1708/09 in Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

Children of JOHANN FLURI and ANNA ROETELI are:

i. MARIA5 FLURI, b. May 17, 1709, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

ii. BARBARA FLURI, b. April 11, 1714, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

iii. ELISABETHA FLURI, b. June 17, 1716.

iv. JOHANN JACOB FLURI, b. June 23, 1718, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

v. CATHARINA FLURI, b. November 08, 1720, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland.

vi. VICTOR FLURI, b. Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland; m. (1) CATHARINA JAEGGI, April 26, 1751, Matzendorf, Solothurn, Switzerland; m. (2) MADLEN STEINER, May 27, 1754.

 

FLURI FAMILY 4

Descendants of Jacob Fluri

Generation No. 1

1. JACOB1 FLURI. He married MARIA Bef. 1673.

Children of JACOB FLURI and MARIA are:

i. CLAUS2 FLURI, b. December 10, 1673.

ii. JOGGI FLURI, b. July 1675.

iii. ELSBETH FLURI, b. October 1676.

iv. JOHANNES FLURI, b. April 08, 1678.

v. MARIA FLURI, b. September 15, 1680.

vi. JOSEPH FLURI, b. November 29, 1681.

viii. MAGDELENA FLURI, b. 1688.

ix. JOHANN JACOB FLURI, b. January 14, 1689/90.

Died at age 1

x. JOHANN JAKOB FLURI, b. June 02, 1693.

xi. URS VICTOR FLURI, b. March 05, 1695/96.

xii. MARIA FLURI, b. December 27, 1699.

 

 

Home