Johann Rudolf Bernegger | MyFamilyHistory

Life Story

Johann Rudolf Bernegger was born on 16 May 1856 and baptized at St. Gallen, Switzerland, on 1 June 1856.¹ A family-held confirmation certificate gives the same birth date and records his confirmation at Altstätten in 1872.² The broader church-record evidence identifies his parents as Joh. Jakob Bernegger and Margretha Kauf, who married at St. Gallen on 5 July 1853.³

Rudolf’s childhood was marked by repeated loss. Indexed St. Gallen registers record several children of Joh. Jakob Bernegger and Margretha Kauf who died young, including Eduard in 1854,⁴ Elisabetha in 1858,⁵ Maria Catharina, baptized in 1858,⁶ and Bertha Catharine in 1862.⁷ His father died in 1870, when Rudolf was fourteen.⁸ His mother remarried Johann Georg Deser in 1872⁹ and died at Rheineck in 1885.¹⁰

On 11 November 1878, Joh. Rudolf Bernegger married Anna Ursula Akermann at St. Gallen.¹¹ A family-held German-language invitation to the couple’s silver wedding, held in New York on a Wednesday, 11 November, is consistent with a twenty-fifth anniversary celebration in 1903.¹²

Before emigrating, Rudolf was connected with the St. Gallen inn known as the Wilhelm Tell. His father Jakob had advertised from the Wilhelm Tell in 1866,¹³ and later notices described Joh. Rudolf Bernegger as its former innkeeper. A public legal summons of 10 December 1880 named him as former innkeeper of the Wilhelm Tell, “von Sennwald,” and stated that his whereabouts were unknown.¹⁴ In January 1881, his real property at Winkeln was advertised for judicial auction.¹⁵ The notices place him in legal and property proceedings at almost exactly the time his later American naturalization record says he arrived in the United States.

Rudolf’s New York naturalization record states that he arrived in the United States in December 1880. He was admitted to citizenship in the Court of Common Pleas, New York County, on 30 September 1886, recorded as Rudolf Bernegger, a furrier formerly owing allegiance to Switzerland.¹⁶ A naturalization index also records the citizenship entry.¹⁷ By 1885, a New York City directory already listed Rudolph Bernegger as a furrier.¹⁸

Rudolf remained in the fur trade for decades and was active in the Furriers’ Union. Newspaper notices named him as the union’s financial secretary in 1890,¹⁹ 1892,²⁰ and 1894,²¹ and an 1895 labour item described him as general secretary of the Furriers’ unions of the United States and Canada.²² His union work placed him near labour action connected with the eight-hour workday: in April 1892, he was listed as financial secretary when the union reported its finances and announced that it would take part in an eight-hour demonstration, and in June 1892 he was appointed to a committee to collect loans made to members during the recent eight-hour lockout.^{20, 23}

Rudolf and Anna raised their family in New York. Their known children were Rudolph, later also found as John; Georg, born in Manhattan on 8 August 1882; and Edward Charles Bernegger.^{24, 25, 26} By 1900, Rudolf, Anna, and sons Rudolph and Edward were living in Manhattan. The census recorded Rudolf as a Swiss-born naturalized furrier, Anna as the mother of three children with two then living, Rudolph as a Swiss-born bookkeeper, and Edward as a New York-born schoolchild.²⁴

By 1915 and 1925, Rudolf and Anna were living at 163 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx.^{25, 27} The 1925 state census recorded Rudolf as a Swiss-born citizen, naturalized in New York City in 1886, and still working as a furrier.²⁷

Rudolph Bernegger died at 163 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, on 22 April 1930, aged seventy-three years and eleven months. His death certificate identifies him as a married, Swiss-born furrier and records his cremation at Fresh Pond on 25 April 1930.²⁸ His widow, Anna Ursula Bernegger, remained at 163 Southern Boulevard and died there in 1936.²⁹

Rudolf’s life followed a wide arc: from a St. Gallen childhood marked by repeated family loss, to marriage and business life connected with the Wilhelm Tell, to an abrupt departure from Switzerland during legal proceedings over his property. In New York he rebuilt his life as a furrier, became active in the organized fur trade, raised a family with Anna, and lived long enough to see more than four decades of immigrant life become settled citizenship and old age in the Bronx.

Research Notes

Name and identity

Swiss records use forms such as Joh. Rudolf, Johann Rudolf, and Johann Rudolph Bernegger; American records generally use Rudolf or Rudolph Bernegger. The surname also appears in indexed records with variant spellings or misreadings, including Berniger, Dernagger, and Berneggar.

The profile subject should be distinguished from his son of the same name. The 1915 New York State Census explicitly lists Rudolph Bernegger as head and Rudolph Jr. Bernegger as son; the younger Rudolph later appears in family context as John Bernegger.²⁵

Swiss family group

Indexed St. Gallen church records identify several children of Joh. Jakob Bernegger and Margretha Kauf. Original register images should still be reviewed, but the current indexed records support the following family group: Eduard Bernegger, born 31 May 1854 and died 19 July 1854; Elisabetha Bernegger, born 21 April 1855 and died 28 October 1858; Johann Rudolf Bernegger, born 16 May 1856; Maria Catharina Bernegger, born 4 July 1858 and likely died in November 1858; and Bertha Catharine Bernegger, born 26 September 1859 and died 17 May 1862.^{4, 5, 6, 7, 30} No surviving sibling has yet been identified in the records reviewed for this profile.

Parentage and indexing problems

The best current reconstruction identifies Rudolf as the son of Joh. Jakob Bernegger and Margretha/Margaretha Kauf. The 1853 marriage, the baptisms and burials of several children, Jakob’s 1870 burial, Margretha’s 1872 remarriage, and Rudolf’s own 1878 marriage index all support this parent pair.^{3, 8, 9, 11}

Some FamilySearch index entries for St. Gallen church-book records give conflicting readings of Margretha’s surname. Rudolf’s baptism appears with his mother read as Margreth Haus in one entry and Margreth Koch in another, and Elisabetha Bernegger’s 1855 baptism index gives the mother as Margaretha Rauch.^{1, 30} These are likely index or handwriting-reading problems rather than evidence of separate mothers, but the original St. Gallen register images should be reviewed before the parent details are treated as fully settled.

Rudolf’s 1930 death certificate names his father as Rudolph Bernegger and his mother as Anna.²⁸ These entries are likely erroneous: they match the deceased and his wife, Anna/Annie, rather than the Swiss parentage indicated by the church records. The death certificate is strong evidence for Rudolf’s death, residence, occupation, and cremation, but it should not be used as controlling evidence for his parents.

Swiss legal notices and emigration

A 10 December 1880 public legal summons described Joh. Rudolf Bernegger as former innkeeper of the Wilhelm Tell in St. Gallen, “von Sennwald,” with present whereabouts unknown.¹⁴ An 11 January 1881 notice in Die Ostschweiz announced a judicial real-estate auction of his property in Winkeln.¹⁵ These notices closely correlate with the naturalization record’s statement that Rudolf arrived in the United States in December 1880.¹⁶

The notices support the conclusion that Rudolf left Switzerland around the time legal proceedings were underway concerning his property. They do not, by themselves, prove the exact legal cause, his motive for leaving, or the final disposition of the property.

Furriers’ Union and the eight-hour lockout

Newspaper items place Rudolf/Rudolph Bernegger in the Furriers’ Union during labour action connected with the eight-hour workday. In April 1892, he was listed as financial secretary when the union reported on a lockout and announced participation in an eight-hour demonstration. In June 1892, he was appointed to a committee to collect loans made to members during the recent eight-hour lockout.^{20, 23} These notices document his union office and administrative involvement, but they do not state his personal views or the full scope of his activity.

Immigration and census discrepancies

Rudolf’s reported immigration year varies across records. His 1886 naturalization gives arrival in December 1880.¹⁶ The 1900 census gives 1883 for Rudolf, Anna, and son Rudolph, which is inconsistent with Georg Bernegger’s Manhattan birth in August 1882.²⁴ The 1910 census gives 1881,³¹ the 1920 census gives 1880 for Rudolf and 1881 for Annie,³² and the 1925 state census gives forty-four years in the United States for Rudolf and forty-three for Annie.²⁷ The strongest evidence for Rudolf’s own arrival remains the 1886 naturalization record, supported by the December 1880 Swiss summons stating that his whereabouts were unknown.

Family evidence

Records currently identify at least three children of Rudolf Bernegger and Anna Ursula Akermann: Rudolph/John Bernegger, Georg Bernegger, and Edward Charles Bernegger.^{24, 25, 26} Georg is likely the child no longer living by 1900, when Anna was recorded as mother of three children with two living, but a death record has not yet been attached.^{24, 26}

Edward appears to have been enumerated twice in the 1915 New York State Census: once in the Bronx household of his parents, and once in Queens as a son-in-law in the household of Elizabeth Frank, with his wife Agnes K. Bernegger.^{25, 33}

Census and directory caveats

The 1905 New York State Census appears to enumerate the family under the spelling Berniger, lists Anna as Emma, and records the Swiss-born family members incorrectly as born in Austria. The ages and household composition match Rudolf, Anna, son Rudolph, and son Edward, but the birthplace and given-name errors make it less reliable than the surrounding records.³⁴

The 1910 U.S. census is indexed under Dernagger, but the household clearly matches Rudolf, Annie, and Edward Bernegger, with the wife’s name reading as Annie on the image.³¹

New York City directories repeatedly list Rudolph Bernegger as a furrier from at least 1885 into the mid-1890s.^{18, 35} Because the annual entries are largely repetitive, only representative entries and address changes need be cited.

Rejected passenger-list candidate

A passenger list for the S.S. Westmoreland, arriving at New York in April 1881, includes a Joh. Bernegger, age forty-nine, farmer. This record is not likely to be Rudolf: the age, occupation, and arrival date do not fit Rudolf Bernegger the furrier, whose naturalization record states that he arrived in the United States in December 1880.¹⁶

Evidence Timeline

16 May 1856

Birth at St. Gallen

Swiss baptism and family-held confirmation evidence give Rudolf's birth date.
1870-1872

Family loss and confirmation

Rudolf's father died in 1870; Rudolf was confirmed at Altstaetten in 1872.
11 Nov. 1878

Marriage to Anna Ursula Akermann

The St. Gallen marriage record supports the marriage directly.
1880-1881

Swiss legal notices

Notices describe Rudolf as former innkeeper of the Wilhelm Tell and advertise his Winkeln property for judicial auction.
Dec. 1880

Arrival in the United States

Rudolf's 1886 naturalization record gives December 1880 as his arrival date.
30 Sept. 1886

Naturalization in New York

The Court of Common Pleas record identifies Rudolf as a Swiss-born furrier.
1890-1895

Furriers' Union activity

Newspaper notices place him in administrative roles in the Furriers' Union during labour action around the eight-hour workday.
1900-1925

New York households

Census records place Rudolf, Anna, and family in Manhattan and later the Bronx.
22 Apr. 1930

Death in the Bronx

Rudolf died at 163 Southern Boulevard and was cremated at Fresh Pond on 25 Apr. 1930.

Family Group Sheet

Spouse / family connection: Anna Ursula Akermann Bernegger, married 11 Nov. 1878 in St. Gallen, Switzerland
Children and direct-line notes: Rudolph / John Bernegger
Georg Bernegger - likely the child no longer living by 1900; death record not yet attached
Edward Charles Bernegger - direct-line child

Places in Johann Rudolf Bernegger's Life

These markers are curated historical place references. Most are city-centre, town-centre, street-approximate, address-approximate, or crematory-context markers rather than exact household, property, office, or burial locations.

Photographs

Photograph Index

Images embedded in the story are gathered here with the additional family photographs connected to this profile.

circa 1905 Rudolf and Anna Bernegger in a studio rowboat portrait labeled Mayflower, likely about 1905. Photo details

mid to late 1920s Anna Ursula Akermann Bernegger and Johann Rudolf Bernegger, likely taken in the mid to late 1920s. Photo details

Documentary Base

Sources

church record

[1] 1856 Baptism — Johann Rudolph Bernegger, St. Gallen

Needs caution Back to first citation

Citation: "Schweiz, Katholische und Reformiert Kirchenbücher, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:66VC-6PR3 : accessed 6 June 2026), entry for Johann Rudolph Bernegger, born 16 May 1856, baptized 1 June 1856, St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland; parents indexed as Jb Bernegger and Margreth Haus.

Access: FamilySearch database entry.

Supports:

Rudolf Bernegger’s birth date and baptism at St. Gallen.
Indexed parent names, with mother surname requiring caution because parallel index entries differ.

family record

Research Notes

Name and identity

Swiss family group

Parentage and indexing problems

Swiss legal notices and emigration

Furriers’ Union and the eight-hour lockout

Immigration and census discrepancies

Family evidence

Census and directory caveats

Rejected passenger-list candidate

Evidence Timeline

Birth at St. Gallen

Family loss and confirmation

Marriage to Anna Ursula Akermann

Swiss legal notices

Arrival in the United States

Naturalization in New York

Furriers' Union activity

New York households

Death in the Bronx

Family Group Sheet

Places in Johann Rudolf Bernegger's Life

Photograph Index

Sources