updated 5 Jan 09

Dear Mariachers and friends of Mariachers,

Let me briefly introduce myself and then explain how this family history narrative came into being.

My name is Donald Allen Mariacher, born in 1945 at Sharon, Pennsylvania. I was raised in Greenville, Pennsylvania, a town near the Ohio border, approximately the midpoint between Pittsburgh and Erie. During childhood, I learned only a few details from an aunt and grandmother about my great-grandparents coming from Austria to settle in Pardoe, Pennsylvania. Pardoe is about 15 miles from my hometown. Some descendants of the original Pardoe settlers continued to live in and around that area. Because our family didn't maintain ties with them, I was never taken there. My aunt believed that other Mariachers  remained in Austria, and perhaps elsewhere in Europe. She hoped that one day I would find our more about our family history.

From early childhood, I realized the Mariacher name was uncommon and, for most who tried, very difficult to pronounce. I often wondered how it originated and if our pronunciation was indeed correct.

My father described a W.W.II experience when he discovered a shoe store with the Mariacher name over the entrance somewhere in Austria. At the time, he wasn't able to stop and talk to the owners and later was unable to remember the exact location. He hoped that one day I might find it.

In 1986, my genealogical interest was stimulated by receiving a listing of  74 Mariacher households, scattered over fourteen states and two Canadian provinces. With great excitement, I sent a letter to all of the Mariacher households, asking for whatever family history they had. The responses were pleasantly surprising. Most were quick to respond, expressing great enthusiasm for my efforts. They offered whatever family history they knew. Some sent stories they had been told by their parents, grandparents, and other relatives. A few offered immigration documents and photos. I synthesized this information into a fourteen page family history narrative which was then sent to all the original correspondents and, later, to newly discovered households of Mariacher women whose name changed when they married. What you are about to read is an update--21 years later--of that original history. Thanks to the Internet, some contemporary American and European Mariachers we have been able to add some interesting new information. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did collecting it!

Over the past ten years, David Mariacher from Phoenix, Arizona, and Otto Schwartz from Mason City, Iowa, have prepared detailed family trees. They used some of my original information and then did their own extensive research. They relied on birth/death certificates, naturalization papers, census records, church and cemetery documents, newspaper obituaries, and other historical documents. Their family tree is quite impressive.

It is interesting to note that, despite their keen interest in the Mariacher genealogy, neither Otto nor David are biological Mariachers. Otto, for example, married a Mariacher, Hilda Mariacher, the youngest daughter of Joseph "Sankey" Mariacher. David is the adopted son of George W. Mariacher of Phoenix. Both affectionately describe how their Mariacher research honors their proud family connections.

There are a variety of pronunciations for our name: "Mary-ache-er," "Mary-archer," "Mary-awker," "My-ark-er," and "My-ock-er." Each clan is certain their version is the correct one. A German language expert I once met in England insisted that "My-ark-er" was phonetically correct. He explained that the German influence--the abruptness and almost harsh sound quality--dictated this pronunciation. Still other Mariachers wonder if the influence of other European countries such as Italy and Switzerland might also account from some of the variations.

Several American Mariacher correspondents believe the pronunciation changed for some of relatives upon our arrival here. Was it possible that a tired Ellis Island official mispronounced our name and the Mariachers who heard it, adopted the mispronunciation, thinking this would help them fit in easier? Or was it that descendants, once living here, grew tired of mispronunciations of our name and finally came to accept the most common American mispronunciation? There are countless examples of foreign sounding names that were modified in their pronunciation (and spelling!) as an attempt to Americanize them.

According to a contemporary Mariacher, Walter Mariacher at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, the proper pronunciation is Ma-ri-ach-er. We have asked Walter to send a wav file, which upon receipt, we will add to this site. Birgit Mariacher from Innsbruck agrees with Walter.

To pronounce the name: this is very hard for you. I have been in the United States before 4 years, and I heard the funniest versions. M = as in  My, A = as in  America, R = as in  Richard, I =  as in  India, A = as in  America, CH = It is so difficult for you because in English you can not pronounce the " CH ", it is pronounced like " LOCH " in Scotland, or like the "j " in " junta " in Spanish, E = as in  Espania, R =as in  Richard.

The correct Austrian pronunciation is with the accent on the 'i' (short vowel), and 'ch' as in 'ache,' but in Italy we put the accent on the second 'a.'

Listen for yourself  and compare your pronunciation! If you need a free player (PC), get 

OUR DNA MIGRATION TRAIL

Recently Terry Mariacher  had his DNA traced to our very first migration. Check out the results at Your Genetic Journey - The Genographic Project: <<

Walter Mariacher at the University of Innsbruck, Austria:

I have more information about the Mariachers, which is probably new for you. Most Mariachers came from Virgen, a village in East-Tyrol with about 2,000 inhabitants. Mariacher is mentioned here since 1770. Our name came from a small hamlet of Virgen, which was called Mariach, today it is called March. The valley of Virgen, called Virgental in central Virgen, was colonized by the Slavs, people from the South of Europe. The valley of Virgen is an east-west valley.  Late in the 19th and early in the 20th century, many people left the village and emigrated to North-Tyrol, from there to the USA and to South America. The reason was the lack of jobs. Relatives of mine went to the States.  (See live cam from Virgen.)

Today, we have approximately 400 households in Virgen, and about 25 of them have the name Mariacher. Also, many Mariachers from the Innsbruck phonebook come from this village. You can also find Mariachers in the Zillertal, which I mentioned before, and in Kitzbuehel--a world wide famous skiing area, both places are in Tyrol.

Hello from an original Mariacher from Tyrol in Austria! My name is Birgit Mariacher and my father, Joseph Mariacher, was born in Virgen in the Virgen-valley, my grandfather was born in MARCH, where the name MARIACHER seems to come from. I actually live in Innsbruck, but many members of our family still live in the Virgen-Valley and also still in MARCH!

I received your homepage from a cousin, whose  father lives with his family in Virgen. I have a "Stammbaum" ( I can't translate the word!) where you can see all your ancestors since 1580! If your ancestors, who emigrated to the United States, come from MARCH, you should find your  grand-grand father there.

Birgit's Stammbaum: Hierouvmur March (Mariach) married Gertraud

1) Lorenz (b.8/4/1602)
2) Ursula (b.6/27/1605)
3) Dionysius (b.1608)
4) Niweiblich (b.1615)

Dionysius married Barbara GreBle:

1) Christian (b.7/10/1632)
2) Simon (b.11/9/1634, married Maria Rainer)
3) Barbara (b.2/10/1637)
4) Gertruol (b.11/2/1639)
5) Christoph (b.7/3/1643)
6) Maria (b.6/28/1645, married Christoph Wurnitsch))
7) Rosina (b.2/25/1649, married Johann Braudstaffer on 7/7/1687)
8) Margaretha (b.6/29/1653)
9) Christoph (b.3/15/1660, d.10/24/1697, married Anna Katharin Hebenstreit (Pflegerstochter)
10) Thomas (b.12/15/1663)
11) Johann (b.6/22/1669)

Simon married Maria Rainer

1) Margareth (b.5/7/1662)
2) Simon (b.7/11/1663, d.7/4/96, married Agnes Ruggeutha Lerod.Tslitter)
3) Maria (b.5/3/1666, married Peter Bstieler)
4) Barbara (b.9/16/1668, married Lorenz Berger)
5) Urbien (b.5/23/1672, d.6/22/1699 married Elisabeth Schwab)
6) Rupert (b.9/2/1676, d.2/27/1740, married Agathe Unterwurzacher)
7) Elizabeth (b.6/8/1681)

Simon married Agnes Ruggeutha Lerod.Tslitter

1) Urban ((b.5/15/1697, d.2/20/1776, married Anges Mariacher, 2/16/1722,
 Maria Oberpichler)
2) Agnes (b.5/7/1700, married Melchior Bauernfeind 2/28/1720)
3) Gertruol (b.12/2/1704)

Urban married Melchior Bauernfeind, then Maria Oberpichler

1) Thomas (b.12/5/1717, married Helen Schmatzer on 2/15/1740)
2) Peter (b.4/15/1721, married Maria Beywrohr on 7/15/1748)
3) Franziska (b.3/9/1724, married Augustin Burger 2/19.1754)
4) Maximilian (b.610/6/1727, married Maria Resinger on 3/1/1764)
5) Michael (b.3/10/1731)
6) Maria (b.3/19/1734)

Peter  married Mria Beywrohr

1) Maria (b.8/2/1750)
2) Josef (b.2/26/1752)
3) Johann (b.6/8/1754)
4) Johann (b.3/16/1756, married Margaret Leitner, 3/21/1784)
5) Sebastian (b.10/11/1757)
6) Augustin (b.8/24/1759)
7) Paul (b.6/23/1767)
8) Kuniqunol (b.2/16/1763)
9) Petronilla (b.3/10/1765)
10) Anna (b.9/5/1767)

First I have to tell you some more about the Mariachers. The ending " er " means in old European languages " from there." So the people living in March were ( and they are still! ) the "Marchers" in Austrian language, which is a German dialect and is spoken here.  From the "Marchers " originated over the centuries the "MarIAchers." So this is the background of our name.

People lived and still live in a very steep countryside. Live was very hard for them, mewing must been done by hand still! for example. But everybody loves the place where he is born, so the people in the Virgen valley love their region. And I have to say it is very romantic, very beautiful and very sunny. Though Virgen lies over 1200 Meters, many things grow there. There are many huge mountains around, over 3000 Meters and this gives the place a beautiful scenic. To your question: I think I have pictures of March, I'll think I can send them to you. In a few days, when I got time

We knew that Mariachers emigrated to the United States, but since now we never knew where to find them. It's nice to get known to so many  relatives on the other side of the Atlantic!

So I hope that it is a little bit easier for you now. I work for the Austrian Broadcasting Company in Innsbruck as a  Journalist, my father is Latin-teacher in Kufstein, which is also in Tyrol. Virgen
 is 150 km away from Innsbruck, which is the capital city of this province in Austria. One thing I forgot: I was born in Innsbruck on the 22.9.1968, my father in Virgen on the 11.9.1940 and my grandfather in March(!) on the 30.5.1900, he died on the 25.2.1982.

Many Greetings from all Mariachers I know!    Birgit

On these photos you can see the original farm, where the Mariachers come from and where still live Mariachers. The left from the two buildings is the original and old one, where generations of Mariachers were born. (The one with the big building for the animals. ) The second one was build later. I also send you a photo from a little more far away, so you can see the Virgen-Valley and the huge mountains around it. Some are over 3000 Meter high. I hope you and your family is well an many Mariachers can see now the home of their ancestors! Birgit Mariacher

• A parish priest in Sharon, Pennsylvania, once said that Mariacher is obviously a church name. Maria referring to the Virgin Mary, and acher meaning the land, thus, Virgin Mary's land.
• A second explanation I had was that it had to do with Charles VI's daughter, Maria Therea. Charles VI, the last male in the Austrian Hapsburg line, wanted his daughter, Maria Theresa (1717-80) to inherit his throne. Because women could not inherit land or title, Charles VI wrote the Pragmatic Sanction for which he secured approval from all the other major heads of Europe. As a result, Maria Theresa, at age twenty-three, became the archduchess of Austria and queen of Bohemia and Hungary. She was immediately challenged by other powers, but, in the end, remained and even succeeded in gaining territory. During her reign over Austria from 1740 until her death, Maria Theresa was highly respected and loved by the common people, and was considered "the most human of the Hapsburgs." Some historians believe she was greater than Catherine the Great or Queen Victoria. She was remembered especially by many poor Austrians for her land reforms. She broke up the feudal controls and centralized the farm land, resulting in much greater prosperity for the farmers, some of whom were able to own tracts of land. (Her son continued her traditions, and went so far as to almost create the first "welfare state" long before its time.) Therefore, some wonder if our Maria isn't an honorary reference to Maria Theresa and acher isn't a reference to her land and the reforms she brought about related to land ownership.

I have no relations to Mariachers (at least none found yet) but my father comes from the SE end of East-Tyrol, Kartitsch-Sillian, S of Virgen.

About the Mariacher name: The authoritative Tiroler Familiennamenkunde, by Karl Finsterwalder (1951(l) 1974(2) 1994 (3rd and current Edition) ) states also that the name comes from the Hamlet Mariach/Virgen (1777). But the name comes again from an appellative Mariach - from Maria (Mary) and a SIAVIC ending -ach (similar to Jesacher).  Before being settled by Bavarians the area (in the name giving period) was settled by slavic Slovenians (Windische, Wenden), which mingled with the invading Bavarians.  Compare the name of the main settlement (originally) Windisch-Matrei (=Matrei in Ostttirol). All this certainly precedes Maria-Theresia.  If it is due directly to worship of St. Mary or some medieval person Mary remains open.

From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia:

Austria has a rich political history, which includes many years of being one of the greatest European empires. Today, Austria is a democratic nation nestled in the center of Europe that is about the size of Maine. Population is around 7,000,000. The primary language is German. Roman Catholicism is the dominate religion

This section of Austria was pared down to its present size by the victors of W.W.I in 1919. (The adjoining Bolzano-Bozen area was ceded to Italy from Austria as a part of the price Italy asked for entering W.W.I on the Allied side.) The Austrian Tirol was reduced to a narrow strip of land, 40 to 100 miles wide at various points. It stretched west to Switzerland and to Liechtenstein, a very small principality. On the northern side, it bordered Germany and on the south, Italy.

Tirol is a tourist Mecca, world famous for its beautiful, fertile farmlands, surrounded by scenic mountains. The mountains have always challenged the best mountain climbers and skiers. Three Winter Olympics were hosted there--Cortina in 1956 and Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976.

See the maps below (courtesy of Microsoft) and note that Virgen is in the center of the first one and March is the center of the second. 

While some Mariachers remained in the Tirol, others moved around Europe. In later sections, we will look at two of these areas where we find Mariacher family trees:  the Italians and the French-Swiss trees. Later, we will follow the Mariachers who immigrated to America: the Pardoe branch, the Chicago branch, the Colorado branch, and finally the Canadian branch. We also will learn how the Canadian Mariachers first traveled to New Zealand.

A current check for Mariachers, using online international phone directories, lists 226 Mariacher households in Austria, 8 in France, 29 in Germany, 10 in Italy, 1 in Spain, and 13 in Switzerland. (The international phone search I used is free now, but may be fee-for-service soon!) In my research years ago, I found an old Liechtenstein directory with one Mariacher, a Roman Catholic nun. During a trip I took eight years ago, I found one Mariacher was listed in London, none in Budapest, Prague, or in Paris. Let me know if you find Mariachers in other cities/countries around the world, and I will add the your findings to this section.

An associate recently traveling on the Royal Viking Star reports the ship's Chef was Franz Mariacher from Austria. Unfortunately, I was unable to get specific family history from him. Recently I heard that Franz is now be living in the New York City area.

Assuming that our early ancestors were mountain dwellers, it would follow that some were miners. Those who lived below in the valleys were probably cotton and vegetable  farmers, sheep herders, and dairymen,. Others possibly were weavers and glassmakers.

A few Mariachers were shoemakers. Later I will talk about a Mariacher famous for his orthopedic shoes, but first note this contemporary Internet reference:

The modern era of rock climbing began in Northern Italy over a decade ago. Out of the La Sportiva factory came a purple and yellow high top shoe called the Mariacher. The soles were sticky and the fit was completely new. For the first time, a rock shoe had at last been designed exclusively for pocket stuffing and edging. For the first time, footwork felt a little more precise and climbers felt a little more secure. Existing routes became easier. New routes became possible. Since then, climbers and La Sportive have continued to redefine the possible. Our rock shoes now have the stickiest, best edging rubber available. Our last designs are more specialized, ergonomic and more powerful than ever. Not surprisingly, today's routes are harder, and climbers are more powerful than ever. One thing that hasn't changed however, is La Sportive's commitment to making the best possible shoes for climbers.

Photos of a new pair of the Mariacher climbing shoes. Many thanks to Hillary Davis, a new friend of the Mariacher family.

Like their original Austrian countrymen, some Mariachers were quite musical. We know of an Italian Mariacher, Michele Mariacher, who was a world famous tenor from Venice. Another Italian Mariacher, Antonio, began a famous piano-making company which later won awards for its quality pianos.

Several Mariacher men left home for adventure, including some mercenary fighting in foreign wars. One Mariacher moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, to fight in the Boer War (late 1890s.) He later became mayor of a town in New Zealand. Another Mariacher who was 6' 3" was chosen to be a personal bodyguard for Wilhem II, the last of the German Kaisers (1888-1918). Evidently, early Mariacher men tended to be tall--and from reports of Mariachers today, this continues to be true.

An Italian Mariacher, Bruno Mariacher, was a very successful banker during the 1920's and wrote four books on banking, including one that is remains today a valued reference on Swiss banking and can be found in many U.S. libraries.

Another Italian Mariacher, Giovanni, wrote four respected reference books on art, including one on Medieval glassware. Many libraries, especially those specializing in art history, have his books. He also wrote prefaces for a number of other art history books. (In the next section, I will give more details of the Italian Mariachers.)

In 1960 Boris Mariacher from Munich wrote Die prozessuale Gleichstellung des nichtehelichen Kinda, a book on legal/social alternative solutions to the problems created by illegitimate children in West Germany at that time.

A Canadian Mariacher rowed in the 1924 Paris Olympics and won a medal! There will be more information on this in the Canadian section.

Although difficult to see in the photo below, "A. Mariacher" is the bottom alternate, second from the right.

From our research, it seems Mariachers have been and continue to be quite procreative--good Roman Catholics with large families. Some divorce has been a part of our heritage--not such good Catholics after all! But not to worry, we know of several Mariachers who were nuns, both Italian. Another Italian Mariacher, Cristoforo, married the duchess Marina Querci Della Rovere, relative of Pope Giulio II (Giuliano della Rovere, pope from 1503-1512).

From information volunteered in response to my 1986 mailing, we seem to have a low rates of suicide, mental illness, and alcoholism/drug addiction. (But who talks openly of these things--even to newly discovered "cousins"?) Like their countrymen, Mariachers have always enjoyed their beer.

While Mariachers tend to be blessed with longevity, the men appear to have a high rate of cancer and the women a high rate of strokes. Many of us have an abnormal curve to our third toe which causes it to turn slightly under the big toe. "Crow's toe" is the slang name for this.

All information in this section was sent to me by Gabriella Mariacher and her niece, Alessia, based on research done by Gabriella's father, Giovanni Mariacher. It provides us with some interesting very early Mariacher history.

Information about our ancestors is not precise; however, we are able to find roots back to the 1700's in Virgen, a village near Lienz. Michele Mariacher married Elisabette Pacherin and they had two children: Giuseppe and Michele.

There is no information available about Giuseppe. However, we know that Michele, born in Virgen in 1776, married Anna Maria Baldauf, daughter of Guiseppe Baldauf. The couple moved to Italy and settled in Venice, where they started a piano-making business. Michele died on July 31, 1858, at the age of 82! They had four sons: Antonio, Rosina, Cristoforo, and Maria.

Antonio (Venice, 7/31/1827-1905, died at 78 years old!) He married Teresa Vedovado (1825-1911, died at 86 years old!) Antonio managed the piano works founded by his father. During this time, Mariacher pianos won two medals: one of gold (I882), the other of silver (Tourin, l884). Antonio and Teresa had five sons:.

Adele born in Venice, unmarried
Vittoria born in 1862
Arpalice born in 1866
Elena born in Venice, 1859 and died in 1905, married Girolamo Piva. No children.
Michele born in Venice in 1864 and died 12/19/33.

More details on Michele Mariacher: He is very important in our family history as he was a very famous tenor throughout the world. He worked with his father, Antonio, in piano-making until 1898, when the works stopped. He was engaged by the most famous music label in Italy, RICORDI. Michele became "commendatore" (an honorific title in Italy). (We have a lot of notes about Michele--his contract with Ricordi, newspaper articles, a copy of a playbill that was posted in Padua when he played the "Asreal" on 6/3/1895. My grandpa made a list of all his concerts as Michele traveled from Italy to Brazil, from Russia to Portugal and Spain.)

He married Alice Martinelli (1865-1910) in 1868, but they had no sons. (The family of his wife Alice Martinelli is important because one of her nephews married a son of Giovanni.) During the trip from America to Europe after one of Michele's concerts, Alice fell sick with pneumonia and died shortly thereafter. Michele became the lover of a married woman (her married name was Canal). She was a chorister in the Venetian theatre "La Fenice." Michele was a great "Maecenas," and when he died he left a large amount of money for young music students. The rest of his properties was for his lover. He had two country houses, the biggest one was confiscated during W.W.II and the other still exists as "Villa Mariacher" although now it is a permanent-waving furniture exposition.

Now, back to the next child of Michele and Anna Maria Baldauf:

Rosina (Venice) married Francesco Grando and they had no sons.

Cristoforo (Venice, 2/11/1825 to 3/13/01) was a teacher. He wrote science articles for newspapers. He married the duchess Marina Querci Della Rovere, relative of Pope Giulio II (Giuliano della Rovere, pope from 1503-1512). Cristoforo and Marina had nine children:

Michele died in Lodi (Lombardy).
Marianna died in Lodi.
Bortolo born and died in Venice.
Luigia born in Venice in 1857 an died in Lodi in 1876, unmarried.
Carolina born in Milan on 2/11/1863 and died in Venice 3/?/1892, a piano teacher.
Alessandro born in Codogno, Milan in 1868 and died in Lodi in 1874.

Giuseppa born in Milan on 12/19/1864 and died in Venice, date unknown. Married cousin Giulio Paoletti on 10/14/1908, the son of Maria and Giuseppe Osvaldo.

Vittorio born in Dolo, Venice, on 4/16/1861 and died in Venice on 4/5/1945. He married Matilde Forti (7/2/1855 to 8/7/1939, Como). They had one son, Vittorino, stillborn in Jesolo, Venice, in 1886.

Giovanni (We will come back to Giovanni shortly.)

Maria (Venice, 5/5/1825 to 1/10/1898) married for the second time to Giuseppe Osvaldo Paoletti (Belluno, 3/19/1817 to 8/22/1895). They had twelve sons, all of whom were musicians: the only names we can find are Pietro and Giulio. Giulio, as mentioned earlier, married Giuseppa, daughter of his aunt and uncle, Cristoforo and Marina.

Giovanni, son of Cristoforo and Marina, was born in Venice on 7/22/1853 and died in Venice on 6/7/1908. He married Virginia De Lorenzi (She was born in Vinigo, Venetia, on 10/9/1850; date of her death unknown. Her parents were Antonio De Lorenzia and Maria Maddalena Pivirotto Vecchio.) They had five sons:

Marino--no birth/death/marriage information available.
Antonio born in Jesolo on 1/17/1881 and died in Verona on 10/10/1902
Marino I, born in Jesolo in 1882 and died in 1884
Virgilio born in Prato on 12/30/1884 and died during 1/1885 (twin with Marino II)

Marino II born in Prato on 12/30/1884 and died in Venice in 1957 (twin with Virgilio). Marino II married Maria Anna Rigotti (Verona, 9/25/1877, and died in Bolzano on 12/31/1920). Had two sons: Gabriele and Giovanni.

Gabriele born 4/30/14 and died in Verona on 6/23/1915

Giovanni born in Perugia on 9/28/1912 and died in Padua on 1/7/1994. (Giovanni is the Mariacher who provided this research. He was also a well-known, respected art historian and author of a number of art history books (Italian Blown Glass; If the Shoe Fits, 1500 Sculpture; Renaissance's Bronzes.) In Venice, he directed the Correr Museum Belle Arti. Giovanni played the piano and also was a painter. He married Antonietta Boggi (Como, 9/5/1920) and they had two daughters:

Gabriella was born in Venice on 9/27/1950 and she has one son, Alessandro, born in Padua on 9/7/1979.

 Anna was born in Venice on 4/21/1945. Her daughter Alessia, (one of the persons responsible for getting this section together!) was born in Padua on 3/18/1981.

In 1922, Marino II married for a second time to Maria Arnoldo (born in 1886 and died in 1973). Maria Arnoldo was the niece of Alica Martinelli (tenor Michele's wife) and they had two daughters: Margherita and Bianca.

Bianca born in Milan on 1/11/1924, became a nun with the name Maria Pia and lives in Rome today.

Margherita born in Milan on 9/30/1927 and also a nun with the name Maria Noemi. She lives in Tourin today.

Eric Mariacher, a software and hardware engineer from France, has provided information on the French/Swiss connection. His grandfather, Raphael and his brother, Paul, were born in Virgen, Austria. Raphael spent time in Switzerland and then moved to Paris where he married and had 4 children: Monique, Philippe (b. 1938), Gerard, and Jean-Paul. Monique has 4 children: Herve, Sophia, Beatric, and Laurence. Phillipe has 3 children: Eric (b. 1965), Carine, and Anne France. Gerard has no children. Jean-Paul has 4: Jerome, Guillaume, Vincent, and Florence.

Eric is married to Ester and they have 2 boys: Pierre and Ulysse. They now live in the south of France near Nice.

A 1/1/2000 message from Eric Mariacher:

Happy New Millennium! A short story of my grandfather is available in English for the next millennium! http://www.multimania.com/mariacr /raphaeleng.html
Les Francais http://www.multimania.com/mariacr/raphaelfr.html
We also plan with my father to contact the Swiss Mariachers so they can give us more family history about my great-uncle Paul.

On 12/10/00, we heard from Stefan Mariacher with information on Paul Mariacher's family:

I visited your homepage by chance, while trying to find in information on Mariacher on the internet. I read the French branch of the family-tree and has this information to add.

My grand grandfather was Raphael Mariacher, and my grandfather was Paul Mariacher, who lived more then 10 years in London and, in 1920, returned to Switzerland. He had a office to sell carpets. In 1922, he married and my father, Bruno Mariacher, born. My father was editor of Artemis Verlag und Verlag für Architektur at Zurich, but retired more then 10 years. He has a brother and a sister, Paul and Susi. My father is still in touch with his cousin, Philipp, in France, who lives close to Paris. I have two sisters: an older one, named Christa, and a younger one, named Judith. I'm in the middle. One of my sisters has a daughter, and the other one has three children--two boys and a daughter. I'm married and have one daughter. If you are interested in more details, please let my know. From one more Mariacher, from Switzerland - at the moment in Boston for one week - greetings! Stefan Mariacher

It would be safe to assume that Mariachers left Austria or other places in Europe to come to America for economic opportunity, similar to what  millions of others did during the late 1800s and early 1900s. How could the resist they dreams of unlimited prosperity in the "new world?"

Our research traces at least four groups of Mariachers who immigrated to America. Identified by where they settled, they are the Pardoe, Chicago, Colorado, and Canadian branches. No family connections have been established amongst the branches; however, we are certain that all are related, albeit somewhat distantly.

Very recently, the Ellis Island website has put all passenger information online within a searchable database for the above immigration period. Here are the results so far of what we found of Mariacher's coming to America. We have not been able to connect those passengers to the four branches, but at the bottom the below table will summarize some ideas.

PASSENGER RECORDS OF MARIACHERS ARRIVING IN THE US:

• We are assuming Dominikus may have sent for his wife or sister the following month after he arrived.
  
• We believe Victor, the US citizen who arrived in 1921 with Lutzi were probably husband and wife who were traveling from Chicago.
  
• We speculate the Victor was the Viktor who arrived at age 34 in 1908.
• We learned from Sue Smith, that her great grandmother was Margaretha Mariacher (DOB 7/28/1859) who married Edward Dausch in 1983 or 1895. Margaretha had a brother Josef, born 4/12/1854, and a sister Katharine, born 1856 who later married Raffler.Her father may possibly been Johann Mariacher, born 5/30/1814 and who died 5/29/1899 in Austria.  From Nancy Neal Raffler, Alberta Canada, we recently received more info about her great grandmother: Katharina Mariacher, b Jan 26, 1856 d Jan 01, 1927,  married Nov 20, 1883 to Josef Raffler, b Nov 14, 1855, d Nov 11, 1919. They had seven children, three of whom survived to marry and have their own children.  My grandfather, Sebastian Fabian Raffler, was the second child, first to survive.  He immigrated to the US in 1905, met and married Carrie Maud Wilson...their firstborn was my Dad, Leonard Arthur Raffler, who died in 1978 at the age of nearly 64. "I made my first trip to Obermauern-Virgen in Aug/03, met about 60 of the 120 or so cousins from Sebastian's two siblings that survived.  It was like a pilgrimage to me...I cried, laughed, danced with joy, enjoyed so much natural beauty, good food, good conversation, and shared in the love of a wonderful family.  I'm returning again this year, probably in Aug/Sep, to do some more research.  I saw the house where Katharina was born, stood in the room where my grandfather was born, roamed the mountains where they had walked and talked and dreamed.  It was perhaps the second-most beautiful experience in my life, second only to the birth of my three children." And from Karen Cotton, we learned more about Margaretha. She was a twin with Kathrinea, born to Joseph and Barbara Mariacher. She had five daughters and died in 1939 or 1940 and was buried in the Green Hill Cemetery in Bedford, Indiana. She was a member of the Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Bedford. Her twin sister Kathrinea married Edward's twin brother, John, and they settled in Chicago. Webmaster note: TheKaharina appears to be another branch but not yet included below. 
  

PARDOE MARIACHERS
CHICAGO MARIACHERS
COLORADO MARIACHERS
CANADIAN MARIACHERS

Now that you had read about our history, enjoy these...

In my e-mails over the last few years, I have heard from:

• A 13-year-old young man, Roland Mariacher in Lienz, east of Tirol, and whose grandfather Adolf is from Leisach, and whose father lives in Arosa, Switzerland, where he manages the Kulm Hotel.


• Matthias Mariacher, whose grandfather, Stolanus Mariacher, lived in Pragraten in Osttirol, near Karinthia and Salzburg, was married to Elisabeth Berger. They had 12 children: Josef, Karl, Sebastian, Tobias, Paula, Paul, Martin, Dominika, Rosa, Emanuel, Peregrin, and Franz. Most stayed in Tyrol. Only Peregrin moved to Hamburg in the GDR. Emanuel moved to Voralrberg and his father moved to Vienna, where Matthias was born, along with a brother and sister. Matthias is now in law school at the University of Vienna.

• Nicolas Mariacher wrote from a little town Kitzbuhel, called Ellmau.

• Hannes Mariacher, a musician and teacher of saxophone and clarinet from Innsbruck, wrote in appreciation for the history. More recently, he has given us more information: "I am a Mariacher from Kirchbichl, Tyrol, Austria. I am married to Brigitte and we have two children, Katrin and Thomas. My relatives live in Wörgl (Woergl), Tyrol, Austria, and my father worked as a locksmith there."

• Pit Mariacher from Austria has a web design business in Innsbruck:  Pitmar.

• Dieter Zoller from Austria let us know of one Mariacher in his family tree, Kathi Mariacher, who was born on 1 May 1876 in Woergl (a town in Tirol, just east of the Zillervalley-entrance). She married on 30 July 1906 to Josef Kalb (b. 8 Jan 1879 Rum, d. 1914 in Gallizien vermibt m.). Kathi and Josef had two children, Frieda Kalb (b. 9 Sept 1907, married Wilhem Hofer on 26 May 1931, d. 2 Jul 1963), and Ludwig Kalf (b.25 Aug 1909.)

• Thomas Mariacher from Graz, Styria, wrote that his father Leo Mariacher came from Pragraten. Thomas was studying computer science.

• Roland Mariach Campos from Boliva wrote: Well, it happens that yesterday, I was surfing over the internet and for some weird reason I entered my name on the browser. I´m 22 years old, and my father, Roland Mariach Wayner, died 5 years ago, and he was a really great man. I really don´t know if we are related, but as I told you, I was surfing on the web and saw your page and all the family trees you got there and it came to my mind to write you, because you never know, maybe we are related.... What can I tell you from my father's side? Well, my grandfather was from Austria, his name was Gregorio Mariach; and he came to South America, Argentina specifically because of the W.W.I . I don´t know much about him, I just know he came from Austria and worked in agriculture and stuff and that he was married to a Russian woman, my Grandmother, Tuva Lea Wayner Teichk, and they are my father´s parents, I also know that with my las tname also happenned that it suffered a lot of changes due to spelling and I have some relatives that spelled like Mariasch, so that made me think that maybe we are related somehow. Thanks to my parents, I have 3 more sisters, one of them lives in Italy, the other one lives in Ecuador, and one of them lives here in Bolivia. Please, I would be very very happy to hear from you, and to see if we are related some how, because it´s always good to have family near and in contact.

• My name is Mariacher Kathrin. I am form Austria. I live with my family in Debant, a village near Lienz. From east tyrol. I can tell you a little bit more about our familiy history. The father from my grandmother was called Johann Mariacher. He married in ca.1932 Maria Bacher (died in 1939) in Virgen. They had 4 children: 

1.  Mariacher Anna (*12.01.1933)- my grandmother who has two children: Lydia (*06.05.1962) and Andrea Mariacher (*22.01.1957). I am the daughter from Lydia. I was born in July the 13. 1984. My grandmother has never married. 
2. Ida Mariacher - 4 children: Berger Maria, Hansjörg Mariacher,Waltraud Mariacher, Bernhard Mariacher. 9 grandchildren. They all are still living in Virgen. Her man is Cölestin Mariacher.
3. Hansjörg Mariacher: He lives in Lienz. That's the capital of East Tyrol. He has 4 children ( Barbara Mariacher, who lives in Budapest, Thomas Mariacher, Hansjörg Mariacher and Ursula Mariacher).Hansjörg Mariacher is married with Paula. They have 4 grandchildren .
4. Adolf Mariacher - 3 children: Roland Mariacher, he lives in Switzerland, Herbert Mariacher and Norbert Mariacher. They all are living in Leisach, a village near Lienz. Adolfs wife is called Johanna.I don't know, how many grandchildren they have.

The greatparents from Anna, Ida, Hansjörg and Adolf were called Valentin and Maria Mariacher. I hope, that I could help you. I also hope, that you can understand my English, because it is not very good. I am better in Italian and French.

• My name is Teresa Weber Bala. My great-grandfather was named Josef Weber. Josef married Anna Wurnitsch. Both of my great-grandparents were from Virgen, Austria. While doing some recent genealogy work, I ran across the Mariacher name. Imagine my surprise when I found your web site, which by the way, is an awesome endeavor! Anyway, my tie-in is the following: I show that Michael Wurnitsch's (Anna's father) mother was Elisabeth Mariacher who was born Oct. 6, 1828 in Praegraten, Austria. She married Michael Wurnitsch, Sr. on January 29, 1883 in Virgen, Austria. As I was looking at the Ellis Island site, I noticed that Filomena Wurnitsch (Anna's sister) traveled to the States to meet Louis Mariacher, her brother-in-law, in Lead, SD. She was traveling with Maria Entrasser (age 6) and Maria Mariacher (age 35). I assumed, perhaps erroneously, that Maria was married to this Louis. Any information that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. There is a family rumor that Josef Weber changed his name in his effort to escape Hitler, so any information that we have is very limited. I've attached a very "rough" family information sheet, that is by no means complete. Thanks for your help.  weber.doc
  

Meanwhile, I hope you've enjoyed learning some of the Mariacher history.

Sincerely,

Don Mariacher

P.S. Please help me identify the people in several unidentified photos. Go to: unknown photos. Also, I am trying to get more information on Antone (Anthony?)Mariacher. The only reference I have is from the Washoe County, Nevada, Draft which lists him with 1 May 1877 birthdate. Finally, I am interested in learning more about Joseph Mariacher who died at age 50 in 1932 and was buried in the Yankton County, Utica Township, South Dakota, State Hospital Cemetery.