HASSLER GENEALOGY
(version 7/6/11)
Please email corrections to Mike Clark

Hassler is a common family name in the southern Black Forest region of Germany, and it is also found in many German-speaking communities located just across the nearby French and Swiss borders. One branch of this family resides in the town of Donaueschingen, which is located in the southernmost part of the German State of Baden, and is so named because the town sits at the confluence of the two main tributaries of the Danube River (the location of the town is shown on the map at right). The birth, marriage and death records of several generations of Haesslers are preserved in the Catholic Church of Donaueschingen, and serve as the primary source for the early part of this family history.

The town of Donaueschingen in 1827

1. Bernhard Haessler was probably born somewhere in Baden, Germany in the late 1700s or early 1800s, and married Maria Anna Simon. Many girls in Donaueschingen in the early 1800s had the same name, so it is impossible to identify a record for Maria prior to her marriage. Also, there does not appear to be a baptismal record for Bernhard in the town church, which indicates he may have been born in another village. However, Bernhard and Maria were evidently residents of Donaueschingen by 1823 when their son Joseph was born.

   children - HAESSLER

   Joseph Haessler (1823-before 1868) who follows:

    

2. Joseph Haessler, the son of Maria Anna Simon and either Anton or Bernhard Haessler, was christened in Donaueschingen, Baden on Feb. 10, 1823; and married Maria Anna Fink there on Oct. 13, 1853. Maria who was born April 28, 1822, probably in Donaueschingen, was the daughter of Gallus Fink and Elisabeth Wagner, who had been married June 2, 1817 in the nearby town of Futzen in the Waldshut district of Baden. Maria and Joseph had four children before Joseph died, sometime between 1864 and 1868. After his death, Maria decided to seek her fortune elsewhere, and immigated with her children to the United States, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and arriving in California in 1868. Maria dropped the first "e" in her last name upon arriving in the States, and changed both hers and her children's first names to american versions.

   Mary Hassler, the widow of Josef Haessler settled with her family in Diamond Springs, not far from the gold fields of Placerville. She met and married a Swiss miner in Placerville named Felix Mulli on Aug. 28, 1874. Felix had bought in 1865 from the Marple brothers a plot of land known as the Johnson Ranch (SE/4, sec 27, T11N, R11E), a 160-acre homestead located six miles north of town and next to the Toombs ranch in White Rock Canyon. Although Felix and Mary set up house there after their marriage, Mary appears to have kept her Diamond Springs place, probably so that her son Antone, who was working at the Caldor factory in Diamond Springs, could continue to live close to his job. As a side note, the Johnson Ranch that Felix bought had originally owned by John Calhoun Johnson, who played a prominent role in the El Dorado Indian War of 1850-51, and was responsible for blazing a trail connecting Placerville with the Carson Valley in Nevada. This trail, known first as Johnson's Cut-off, later became the first State Wagon Road, and largely follows the route of modern Highway 50.

   Felix Mulli, the second husband of Mary Hassler, had been born in Switzerland about 1820 and arrived in the United States on July 31, 1846 aboard the ship Susan Drew, which sailed from Le Havre, France. He appears in Pennsylvania in the U.S. census of 1850, and then apparently made his way to Sacramento, California where he married his first wife Magdelana Sieber (b. about 1816) on January 1, 1859. The 1870 census, which lists Felix and Magdalena with the last name of Maley, indicates they may have had a son named Henry Mulli, who would have been born around 1855. However, there is no further mention of him, which indicates he may have died, or left town for parts unknown. Magdalena died Dec. 5, 1873, and is buried in the Placerville Union Cemetery.

   Felix died on May 24, 1879, and was buried in the Placerville Union Cemetery. His second wife Mary Hassler inherited his property, the Johnson Ranch, but only after the inheritance issue was settled in the Placerville Superior Court on July 21, 1884. Felix' Mulli's will, the original of which is in the El Dorado County Museum, was written on the day of his death, signed by Felix with three X marks, indicating that he did not read nor write, and witnessed (and was possibly written) by William "Honest Billy" Toombs, who was related to Felix's widow Mary by marriage. When Felix's brothers Heinrich and Matthias in Switzerland (Zurich?) learned the details, they contested the will, disputing both the validity of the will and the legality of Felix's marriage to Mary Hassler. His widow Mary, in return, contested that Heinrich and Matthias were actually Felix's brothers. Ultimately, the court decided in Mary's favor - one suspects due to the involvement of "Honest Billy", who testified during the proceedings. Mary then sold the house to her son John (from her first marriage to Josef). However, legal issues regarding the property continued until at least 1915.

   Mary died without leaving a will on November 10, 1886, probably at the Johnson/Mulli ranch, and was buried in the old Placerville Union Cemetery, where her tombstone reads, "Mary Hassler | Mother of Antone, John, Mary and Joe". The children of Mary Hassler and her first husband Josef are listed below.

   children - HAESSLER

   Johann Evangelist Haessler was born Nov. 29, 1854 and christened Dec. 11 that same year in Donaueschingen, Baden. He changed his name to John Hassler when he immigrated in 1868 to the United States. He married a neighbor girl, Florence May Adams (b. 1868), the daughter of Louisa Pryde Adams of the Adams Ranch (a portion of NW/4, sec 35, T11N, R11E), in Placerville on Jan. 17, 1888; and became a fruit grower, planting one of the first orchards in the county. He and Florence later inherited the Adams Ranch, along with its family cemetery, from Louisa. He became the first Horticultural Commissioner for El Dorado County, and served in that office from 1906 to 1913. His nephew, Harvey Spence of Danville, built a large home for John on Hassler Road in Placerville, in 1929 that replaced a house originally owned by his step-father Felix Mulli, and sold to him by his mother. Back then, Hassler Road ended at the house, but today the road continues on until reaches North Canyon Road. John died May 15, 1932 in Placerville, and Florence died Oct. 10, 1934 in Del Norte County, California. Although several of their children are buried in the Adams Ranch Cemetery, John and Florence are in the Placerville Union Cemetery. He and Florence had several children, all born in Placerville, who are listed below.

   • Florence (Flossie) Eloise Hassler was born Oct. 30 1888; and married John Crumley in 1911. She died in Placerville on June 5, 1958.
   • John Earl Hassler was born, July 4, 1891; and married Gladys Birmingham in 1922. He died in Placerville on Aug. 17, 1951.
   • Frank Millard Hassler was born April 16, 1894; and was in the 104th Aero Squadron in WWI. He moved to Sacramento, California after he married Maude Marsh on June 4, 1921; and he died there on Aug. 7, 1949.
   • Alma Hassler was born Oct. 2, 1894; and married Howell Murphy on July 4, 1921. Howell farmed around Medford, Oregon, and there developed the "El Dorado" variety of pear, which competes with the better-known "Bartlett" variety. Alma died in Simi Valley, California in Feb. 1979. She and Howell had one daughter, Marilyn Louise Murphy who was born in Sacramento, California on Oct. 5, 1931.
   • Joseph Russel Hassler was born Nov. 28, 1901; and married Jane. He died in Placerville on June 17, 1984.
   • Susan Claire Hassler was born May 17, 1903; and married Milo Carr (b. 1895) on May 16, 1926. She died in Placerville on Aug. 18, 1957.
   • Juanita (Nita) Hassler was born Feb. 6, 1906; and married August (Gus) Carrel Winkelman on May 16, 1926. Gus and Nita lived on the Hassler Ranch in Placerville, and Gus for many years ran a sawmill on the adjacent Adams ranch, which he and Nita probably inherited from her family. Nita died on the Hassler ranch on July 30, 1993. She was literally the last of her generation, all her siblings and cousins having passed on before her. Gus and Nita are buried in the Hassler family cemetery on the old Adams ranch. She and Gus had two children - Richard Winkleman, who still owns parts of both the Hassler and Adams ranches, and Juanita M. Winkleman, who was born about 1935 and married James D. Ward.
   • Bernhard Hassler was born Nov. 20, 1909; and died in Sacramento, California on July 19, 1971.

    

   Antone Haessler was christened March 4, 1856 in Donaueschingen, Baden and changed his name to Anton "Tony" Hassler when he immigrated in 1868 to the United States. He went to work as a teenager for the California Door Company (Caldor) in 1873 at their factory in Diamond Springs, and remained with the firm the rest of his life. He married an Irish girl named Theresa McGowan (b. c.1864) in San Francisco on Dec. 10, 1883, and probably moved to the Caldor headquarters in Oakland around that time. When Caldor built a new lumber mill in 1902, at a site southwest of Placerville that became the town of Caldor, Anton moved there as the new mill superintendant. Later, the company built a 34-mile rail line manned by Shay locomotives to haul lumber from the Caldor mill to the Diamond Springs plant, and Anton eventually became superintendant of the Diamond and Caldor Railroad, a subsidiary of California Door. He lived most of his life in Oakland, and he was undoubtedly part of the reason his sister Mary moved to the Alameda district of Oakland around 1900 (brother Joseph lived in Oakland also). Anton died on January 12, 1928 in Alameda, and Theresa died there May 19, 1932. Both are buried in the St. Marys Catholic Cemetery in Oakland. Their children are listed below.

   • Mary C. Hassler was born Dec. 2, 1884; and died without issue on March 1, 1904 in Oakland. She is buried in St. Marys Cemetery.
   • John Francis Hassler was born Oct. 14, 1886; and married Marjorie Elizabeth Lewis on Jan. 14, 1914 in Oakland, Calif. He served as City Manager of Oakland from 1933-1954, except for a stint in the military from 1943-1946. He died on Aug. 19, 1954 in Alameda, and is buried with his wife in St. Marys Cemetery in Oakland. They have descendants.
   • Anton J. Hassler was born March 21, 1889 in San Rafael, Calif., and married Antoinette Zavaterro. He died Oct. 29, 1973 in Emeryville, Alameda County, Calif. He and Antoinette have descendants.
   • A stillborn infant, who was born May 6, 1890, and is buried in St. Marys Cemetery.
   • Thomas Vincent Hassler was born Feb. 28, 1893; and died Nov. 29, 1930 in Alameda. He is buried in St. Marys Cemetery with other members of his family.

    

   Mary (1857-1933) who follows:

   Josef Haessler, was born June 1, 1864, then christened June 5 in Donaueschingen, Baden. He changed his name to Joseph Hassler when he immigrated with his family in 1868 to Placerville, where he grew up. He was living in Oakland in 1890, where he may have been working in a candy shop, but he was back in Placerville in 1896, when he bought a candy business there and renamed it Hassler's Candy Kitchen. However, he was back in Oakland by the US Census of 1900, which shows him living as a boarder with Lucinda Shead at 1519 Webster Street and working for her in a grocery store with Lucinda's sister-in-law Anna. Joseph and the Shead's probably lived in quarters on the second floor of the store. The U.S. Census of 1910 then shows him living around the corner with his sister Mary at 714-A Lincoln Street, Lincoln being one of the larger streets in town with a trolley car that ran up the center of the street. He and Mary at the time ran a grocery store that Mary owned on Webster Street - most likely, the same store that Joseph had worked at in 1900, which would indicate that Mary had probably bought the store from Lucinda Shead. Joseph was still living with Mary during the 1920 census, but the 1930 census shows him living at 716 Lincoln Street with a number of boarders, right next door to Mary. Joseph pursued many occupations in addition to candy maker, including professional photographer and helping with his sister's grocery store. His shop for many of these endeavors was in the back of the Lincoln Street house. Joseph was also a personal friend of John Muir, whom he photographed. Joseph never married, nor had children, and he died on January 28, 1948 in Alameda. Joe is interred at the Chapel of the Chimes Mausoleum in the same annex as his sister Mary and nephew Kenneth Toombs.

    

3. Maria Agatha Haessler, who was the daughter of Josef Haessler and Maria Anna Fink, was born Nov. 12, 1857 in Donaueschingen, Baden and christened there Nov. 19. She changed her name to Mary Hassler when she immigrated in 1868 with her family to the United States. She married a miner in Placerville, California in 1879 named William Louis Toombs, whose father William "Honest Billy" Toombs had come to California during the Gold Rush of 1849 and settled at White Rock Canyon in Placerville. Interestingly, Mary was counted twice in the U.S. Census of 1880, once with William at his Placerville house, and again at her mother's place in Diamond Springs. She raised a family with William at the Toomb's ranch for several years. However, she eventually desired a better place to raise her family, and left him about 1901 to move their children to Alameda, on the bay side of Oakland. She ran a grocery store on Webster Street that she probably bought from Lucinda Shead, and later she ran a boarding house. Her partner in these ventures for several years was her unmarried younger brother Joseph, who had previously boarded with Lucinda Shead and worked as a clerk in Shead's grovery store. Mary and Joseph probably chose Oakland, because their older brother Anton was living there as a superintendant for the California Door Company (Caldor). Mary's husband William remained in Placerville and continued to eke out a living panning the same gold streams that his father had worked since the Gold Rush of 1849. Mary had one quarter interest in some of William's mining ventures, but it is unlikely that she realized much income, if any, from that interest. Mary died in Oakland on July 31, 1933, and is interred at the Chapel of the Chimes Mausoleum in Oakland in the same annex as her bother Joe and grandson Kenneth Toombs. William died in Placerville on May 2, 1938. For the children of Mary and William, please see the Toombs Genealogy.

   
    
   William L. Toombs and Mary Agatha Hassler

REFERENCES:

1. Donaueschingen Catholic Church Records - Kirchenbuch, 1594-1893, Katholische Kirche Donaueschingen (A. Donaueschingen), Film Number 0890574 - LDS Church Genealogy Resources located online at Familysearch.org

2. Birth, Death and Marriage Indexes for California (available online at Ancestry.com, and Familysearch.org).

3. U.S. Census Records, 1860-1930 (available online at Ancestry.com).

4. U.S. Social Security Records (available online at Ancestry.com).

5. Toombs & Hassler Family Tombstone Inscriptions. Also, tombstone photos at

6. Family Memories of Robert James Carty.

7. Toombs & Hassler Family Tombstone Incriptions

8. Toombs & Hassler Family Newspaper Articles - Placerville, California

9. Archives of the El Dorado County Museum

by Janet & Michael Clark

Please email corrections to Mike Clark