Conrad or Konrad Birchmeier was born in the municipality of Obersiggenthal, in the canton Aargau, Switzerland on Feb 7 1823 and was one of the twelve children of Peter Birchmeier and Maria Anna Meier. So far as can be determined Conrad was the only one that came to America. One the twelve children four or five died in their first year as indicated by the their birth and death records. Obersiggenthal in 1850 had a population of perhaps 1200. The lack of land and limited opportunities provided Conrad the incentive to migrate to Salem, New Jersey some time before the Civil War. This was the time of German and Swiss immigration to this country and numerous Birchmeiers came to this country, some settled in New Jersey and others settled in Iowa. Many came from the same small town in Switzerland although there are no records suggesting they are related one way or the other. In fact, the 1860 census shows Conrad living with a family of Birchmeires although Conrad is not listed as a direct relative. Perhaps this younger family of Birchmeires were living with Conrad who was 37 at the time. At this time in America, single people did not live alone, they stayed home until they married or lived with some other family as borders if employment took them elsewhere.
In Conrad’s case, no record of his entry to this country has been found, nor has any record of his arrival in Salem, New Jersey been found. Conrad became a citizen on September 30, 1855 aged 30 suggesting he arrived no later than 1850 at the age of 27 or slightly before then. The various records of the day list his occupation as being a gardener
We don’t know when Conrad now aged 40, met a young Quaker widow named Julia Anna Schnell (Nenstiel) but they were married on August 16, 1864. She was 25, had immigrated from Germany, and had two children: John Jacob Schnell Jr aged 4 and Henry Schnell aged 1 from a previous marriage. After the marriage, the couple resided at 51 Olive St in Salem, NJ. Conrad and Julia had three children: William in 1867, Amelia in 1870, and Preston in 1877. Only William went on to marry and have children of his own. The fact there was a seven year gap between Amelia and Preston indicates there may have been other children who died at birth or after a month or so and were not recorded in the official records. Genealogy of the day suggests a woman under forty had a baby every two to three years. In the census of 1870 when little Willie was three, there is an entry for baby Lillie aged 2 months. Is this an example of an unrecorded death as baby Lillie is not mentioned again in other official documentation.
In the 1860s, the houses in Salem depended upon shallow wells for water and outhouses for sanitation. Heating was done by fire place and the kitchen probably had a cast-iron range and if the the house was situated just right, the kitchen had a sink with hand operated water pump. Chamber pots furnished indoor relief in the evening and when the weather was too bad to visit the outdoor privy. A large dining room and numerous bedrooms was necessary to accommodate the growing family and borders. As you might suspect this combination of poor sanitation and overcrowding made disease outbreaks frequent occurrences.
Early in the evening in December, just after Christmas, Conrad had taken a coal oil lamp and had gone upstairs. Shortly after this, the household was alerted by the neighbors, there was a fire upstairs! Just how Conrad had upset his lamp is not known but he was dead and the room was badly damaged. As was common in those days, the service was held at the home on Olive Street. The family’s burial plot was in East View cemetery in Salem and this became became Conrad’s final resting spot on Friday December 31 1897. Surely, the new year began sadly.
After Conrad’s death Julia continuing to live at Olive street taking in boarders until it became too much for her. Arrangements were made for her to move and be with her son John Schnell who lived with his family in nearby Columbia, Pennsylvania. Alas, this was not to be. Once again the new year brought tragedy. Even though she was considered to be in good health, Julia collapsed and died at only age 62 while preparations for the move were being made. Perhaps the stress of leaving her home of 36 years and a lifetime of memories was too much. Julia joined Conrad is East View Cemetery on January 3 1902. Children Amelia who had died at age 24 in 1894 and Preston who had died at age 19 in 1891 were also buried in the family plot
