While Joseph Hanggi's antecedents are currently shrouded in mystery, there are clues to the forebears of Anna Kuhn. Her father may be unknown, although her her marriage certificate named him as being a fictitious Frederick Kuhn, but it is possible to draw up a possible line for part of her mother's family going back some way in Germany.

Marie Kunigunde Kuhn, my great grandmother, was probably born in the area that is now the town of Bad Friedrichshall, south west of Heidelberg, in 1863. Her parents, as named in the transcribed baptismal record of her daughter, were Joseph Kuhn and Ludwina Hofstatter and, allowing for transcription errors, it seems that they were actually Franz Joseph Kuhn and Maria Ludwina Hofstetter. This couple probably married in Jagstfeld on 8th June 1856 and the record further states that Franz was born in Hagenbach on 3rd June 1829, his parents being named Ignatz Xaver Kuhn and Magdalena Gerard; Ludwina Hofstetter's birth date was recorded as 20th October 1828, but only her mother, Maria Anna Hofstetter, was named.

On the paternal side, the evidence available on the internet suggests that the parents of Franz Joseph Kuhn were actually named Ignatius Xavier Kuhn and Magdalena Gerhardt. Ignatius was probably baptised in Abtsgmund in April 1797, his parents being another Ignatius Kuhn and Barbara whose maiden name may have been Widemaenn. There is a potential marriage record for Ignatius Kuhn and Barbara Widemaenn in Abtsgmund in January 1792, this record naming Ignatius' parents as Ignatius Kuhn and Maria Anna (no surname) and Barbara's parents as Melchior Widemann and Barbara; Melchior may have married Barbara Rieck in Abtsgmund in 1770.

On the maternal side, it seems that Maria Ludwina Hofstetter was probably illegitimate as only her mother was named when she married. Her maternal grandparents could have been Bernhard Hofstetter and Susanna Barbara Bertsch, while Bernhard's parents might have been Leopold Hofstetter and Elisabeth Schuart; Susanna's parents could have been Jacob Bertsch and Barbara Danklin.

Of course, this is all speculation and cannot be considered to be research; nonetheless, the names, locations and dates make reasonable sense and the lines certainly are possible. However, it will take some real research, carried out in Germany, to determine whether or not these really are my antecedents; until I can get around to doing this, it will all remain no more than possibilities.

THE LEUENBERGERS

To return to the Leuenbergers, they continued to live and work in Great Titchfield Street, Marylebone, until Marie died from a combination of asthma and bronchitis in December 1924, aged 61. Her daughter, Nellie, had married Ernest Hayward in 1921 and they had a daughter, also named Nellie, who was born in January 1923, just a few days after my uncle Alfred was born to the Hangge family. Although it's been suggested that my grandmother did not have much contact with her mother over the years, it's also been said that Annie Hangge made a specific trip to take her new son to see Marie Leuenberger shortly before she died.

After Marie's death, Gottfried remarried only a few months later to Florence Marian Braun; it seems that her maiden name was Hempson and that she had probably been married at least twice before, firstly to Seymour Stephenson Hunt in 1878. This marriage ended in divorce in 1890 due to Florence's adultery with a man named Hermann Conradi, though her relationship with him also seems to have failed. It is presumed that she married a second time to a man named Braun though no relevant marriage record has been found. However, Florence's marriage to Gottfried Leuenberger did last, only ending when she died in 1947; Gottfried followed her in November 1948, aged 87.

My great aunt, Nellie Leuenberger, who had married Ernest Hayward, lived in Gosfield Street, Marylebone, from soon after her marriage until her death in 1961. I have vague memories of her as a very short and stout woman, though I remember little more. Her daughter, who was always known as Helen though actually named Nellie, worked in the Civil Service and married a policeman in the City of London force, John Bateman in 1951. They lived in Mortlake, Surrey, where Helen's father, Ernest Hayward, died in 1965 and, sadly, John Bateman died in 1974 aged only 54. He and Helen had no children and she subsequently retired to live in Selkirk, Scotland, near to her husband's sister. Helen eventually suffered with a variety of medical problems and died in hospital after an operation in March 2003, aged 80. I later discovered from a neighbour and good friend of hers that Helen had intended sending me a package of old family papers but, unfortunately, these never arrived and appear now to be lost irretrievably.

My other great aunt, Bertha Leuenberger, is something of an enigma. After her appearance living with her parents and sister at the time of the 1911 census, she disappears from view. All I know of her is that she was a red head and apparently lived with a man for a number of years, though did not marry. I've been told that sfter he died, she moved in with my grandmother for a short time, probably in the early 1950s, but I've been unable to find any trace of her in any records; she does not appear under her own name in any London area electoral roll and there is no obvious record of her marrying or dying. Bertha is simply another of those for whom I have to ask "Where did she go ?" What seems certain is that my Leuenberger line has now died out.

THE VUILLEUMIERS

As an aside, it is worth mentioning a few things about the Vuilleumier family. They were of Swiss origin, coming from Geneva, and one has to assume that their connection with the Hanggis was at least partly on account of this. The older members of the family were watchmakers and it's tempting to think that my grandfather Hanggi got his own gold pocket watch from them; this watch eventually came into my possession but was stolen in a burglary a number of years ago.

The younger Vuilleumiers moved away from watchmaking, one going into insurance and another becoming an actor; 2 died in the First World War. A daughter married an upholsterer named George Scarman and became the grandmother of Leslie George, Lord Scarman, a most eminent barrister and judge who served as a Law Lord from 1977 until his retirement in 1986. He is, perhaps, best known for chairing the public enquiry into the Brixton riots of 1981, aand those into Northern Ireland riots of 1969 and the Grunwick dispute of 1976-78.

Helen Stormont, who became Helen Vuilleumier on her marriage, had a daughter, Jessie, who married another immigrant, this time an Italian named Romolo Calori. Jessie subsequently had 5 children and all were known to the Hanggi family, my mother certainly being friendly with 2 daughters, Irene and Beatrice, and also remembering sons named Carlo and Dante. The families were close enough to attend each other's weddings and to exchange 'baby snaps' in the early 1950s though they seem to have drifted apart later on. I have a vague memory of visiting 'Granny' Vuilleumier, probably in the late 1950s, though that's about it; she died in 1963, aged 95, having been a widow for more than 60 years.

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