Sometime around 1852, John Charles Gyger arrived in the United States. At present, it is unclear which village in Switzerland he was from, although Adelboden is the most probable.  It is also unknown why he came to the States.  Although, from speaking to several Gygers in the U.S. as well as Switzerland, it appears that the Gygers did not follow the same religious beliefs as the majority of the country.  In the mostly Catholic Switzerland, the Gygers were Mennonites and were either "asked" to leave the village or left on their own accord.  The United States was the country of choice to emigrate to.

Once in America, John headed west.  Bureau County, Illinois was his final stop.  There, he set up shop as a barber.  He became an American citizen in 1860 and fought for the Union Army from September 1864 to May 1865, when he was discharged in Nashville, TN.  He took a wife, Priscilla Rhodes, before he went off to fight in the Civil War.  The two married in July 1861 in Hennepin, IL, the first child being born 1864.  The couple had eight children, with six reaching adulthood.  They were Isadora, Rudolph, Augustus, Edwin, Frank, Alfred, Gertrude and Grace

Isadora was a teacher and an accomplished musician, according to the newspapers in the area.  One of the boys, either Rudolph or Edwin, opened a photography studio.  Alfred sold farm machinery.  Not much has been learned about Gertrude or Grace, yet.

Isadora married Charles Tebow and moved to Missouri.  Gertrude married Charles LaReau, a minister, and wound up in Detroit, Michigan in her later years.  Grace married Wade Smith, a M.E. Minister and was last found in LaHarpe, IL.  They all had children, of which descendants are around today.

Rudolph had a son, Pearl.  Rudolph moved to Kansas where he died in 1934.  Pearl worked for the General Accounting Office in Massachusetts and then was transferred to Washington, D.C..  It appears he had at least one descendant, but it is unclear where or if any are around today.

Edwin, deceased at the age of 26, left a son and widow.  It is unknown what the son's name was, or where the wife went after Edwin's death.

Alfred and his wife, Mabel, had four sons.  Out of the four boys, only one had any off-spring.

John, Priscilla, and several of their children are buried in Mt. Bloom Cemetery in Tiskilwa, IL, not far from Priscilla’s parents and some siblings.  Alfred and family are buried in Oakland Cemetery in Princeton, IL.  Presently, the known Gygers indicated here are scattered from Maryland to Washington State.

It's a thin line from John Charles Gyger to the present.  But, a line that has us all wondering about the past and anxious for the future.

1  John Charles GYGER  1836-1916
   +  Priscilla RHODES  1845-1915  m 7 July 1861 Hennepin, IL
       2  Isadora  GYGER  1864-1947
          +  Charles C. "Jerry" TEBOW  1864-1944  m 15 Jan 1889 Tiskilwa, IL
              3  Isaac K.K. TEBOW  1889-?
              3  John Donald TEBOW  1893-1962
                 +  Esther Pheiffer
                    4  Living Descendants
       2  Rudolph GYGER  1866-1934
          +  Laura Thompson Harris  abt 1866-1899  m 4 Aug 1890 Tiskilwa, IL
              3  Pearl R. GYGER  1892-1974
                 + Ruby ?
             3  Hazel GYGER  1893-1896
          +  Amelia ?  1866-?  m abt 1895
       2  Augustus GYGER  1867-1868
       2  Edwin H. GYGER  1869-1896
          + Eva J. Martin  1869-?  m 24 Sept 1890
          + Lina H. Olmstead  ?-?   m 3 Jan 1893
             3  boy GYGER  abt 1893-?
       2  Frank GYGER  1890-1890
       2  Alfred Castan GYGER  1872-1943
          + Mabel A. Abbott  1876-1956  m 15 Nov 1895
            3 Raymond S. GYGER  1897-1920
            3 Laurence Dean GYGER  abt 1900-1980
              + Julia ?    m ?
            3  Kenneth  McVay GYGER  1902-1986
                +  Jesse Adelade McCOLL  1906-1960  m abt 1928 Princeton, IL
                    4 Raymond Stuart Gyger  1929-2005

                        +  Living Spouse and Descendants
                +  Living Spouse
             3  Charles Robert GYGER  1909-1948
       2  Gertrude Blanche GYGER  1876-abt 1946
           +  Charles E. LaREAU  1870-1948  m 7 July 1898 Bureau Co., IL
               3  Bernice Elaine LaREAU  1902-?
                  +  Howard Joseph Manogg  1902-?  m 20 Sept 1928  Detroit, MI
                      4 Shirley Jean Manogg  1934-?
                        +  Lawrence W. Bottorff  1934-?  m 27 Aug 1954 Detroit, MI
                           5  Living Descendants
                3  Edward Verne LaREAU  1904-?
                   +  Leora H. Oberther  1911-?  m 4 Aug 1931
                      4  Living Descendants
       2  Grace Mae GYGER  1880-1959
           +  Wade SMITH  1873-1967  m 22 March 1900  Tiskilwa, IL
                3  Wade E. SMITH  1912-1973
                  + Living Spouse
                     4 Living Descendants
                3  George A. SMITH  abt 1915 - ?
                  + Living Spouse

MORRIS Page Starting in 1801
BICKETT Page  Did they REALLY live here in Maryland?
McCOLL Page Scotty!  Beam me back!
Other SurnamesYep.  We have a SMITH!

Special thanks to Paul Lareau for the info on the Lareau Line

Special thanks to Dan TEBOW and Dean TEBOW.  Thanks, Guys!

Anything look familiar above? Contact Me!!
 

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