Henry Schaffner from Anwil, Basil Landschaft in the present day district of Sissach, Switzerland emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1816. Please see previous post for more information regarding him and his family.
I had never tried to research this family to find Henry Schaffner/Shoffner's parents in Switzerland since the name Heinrich Schaffner is very common. I recently discovered that the church records for Basel-Landschaft (Basel Land or Basel Country) were online:
https://www.baselland.ch/politik-und-behorden/besondere-behorden/staatsarchiv/archivbestande/Kirchenbuecher/oltingen
All the church records of the parishes for Basel Landschaft are available through this site. Anwil is a small parish that is part of the larger parish of Oltingen. That is where I looked for the parents of Henry or Heinrich Schaffner. Henry Schaffner who immigrated to Pennsylvania was a Kufer or a cooper. The occupation is necessary to help distinguish him from other Heinrich Schaffner's. There is a family register for Anwil that lists the families in that parish. The immigrant and his wife Salome Thommen with his children that were baptized in that parish were listed in this register. His parents, Heinrich Schaffner and Elisabeth Gysi, were listed on the adjoining page along with their children. Heinrich Schaffner and Elisabeth Gysi, were married on 30 April 1770 and their nine children were baptized between 1771 and 1784 in Anwil.
Below Heinrich Schaffner's name on the left side of the page is the word kufers which means coopers and then two dates below the cross. These are death dates for two Heinrich Schaffners who were both Kufers. The person who compiled the family register was unsure which Heinrich Schaffner was the one who married Elisabeth Gysi and was the father of her children. The Heinrich Schaffner who died on 24 April 1791 was 65 years and 9 months old when he died (born 1725). The Heinrich Schaffner who died on 11 February 1821 was 74 years, 1 1/2 month old when he died (born 1746-47). Elisabeth Gysi was born in 1752 and died on 24 March 1816. Heinrich Schaffner (1746-1821) probably was her husband and the father of her children since he was much closer to her in age.
The birth, marriage, and death dates in the church books can be located from the family registers. If anyone wishes to know the book and frame number where these images can be found, I will email them to you if you contact me. Heinrich Schaffner had four daughters who all married men named Schaffner but none of them were closely related as far as I can determine. Schaffner was a very common surname in this parish.
Heinrich and Elisabeth Gysi's children were:
1. Heinrich Schaffner born 13 October 1771
2. Maria Schaffner born 25 October 1772
3. Hans Jakob Schaffner born 18 July 1774
4. Adam Schaffner born 23 July 1776
5. Heinrich Schaffner born 3 December 1777
6. Elisabeth Schaffner born 29 January 1779
7. Christian Schaffner born 23 October 1780
8. Anna Schaffner born 4 August 1782
9. Eva Schaffner born 28 January 1784
I have not attempted to go back another generation. The family register does not go back any further than this for this family. If anyone has any information on this family in Anwil, please contact me.
