Zurich family history – Transcribing the ‘Keller-Escher’

In Zurich, there is a long line of bourgeois families whose members shaped the history of the city since the Middle Ages.

Zurich’s citizens therefore endeavoured from an early stage to research the history of individual families and their members. The Zurich cantonal pharmacist Carl Keller-Escher (1851–1916), from the long-established Keller vom Steinbock family, made particularly great strides in this regard.

Alongside printed monographs on the history of individual families, such as the Grebel and Escher vom Glas families, he left behind a monumental overview of the members and origins of more than 258 Zurich families in the form of seven hefty and painstakingly handwritten tomes: the ‘Promptuarium genealogicum’, better known as the ‘Keller-Escher’.

The ‘Keller-Escher’ is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in Zurich’s cultural and social history, as well as those doing research into their family tree. 27 Citizen Scientists have completely transcribed the seven volumes totalling 2810 pages. The results are available on e-manuscripta.ch:

– Volume 1 (A to B)

– Volume 2 (C to F)

– Volume 3 (G to Holzhalb)

– Volume 4 (H to Lavater)

– Volume 5 (Leemann to Nüscheler)

– Volume 6 (O to Schulthess)

– Volume 7 (Sp to Z)

The project is part of the strategic initiative Citizen Science from the Zentralbibliothek Zürich.