With just this information it will be impossible to do any effective search - due to the spread of the surname (and its spelling variants). I have compiled some basic information on Occurences Aerne / Aerni / Aerny / Erne / Erni / Erny in Switzerland. Neither spelling are citizens of the city of Bern - so we have to look for the canton of Bern. Again - neither Erny nor Erni have held citizenship prior to 1933. On the other hand, it is well known that name spellings have changed after emigration - especially with umlauts (like ae) involved: most likely we are looking for Aerni in canton Bern - with several potential places of citizenship.I would appreciate knowing where to go to find my ancestors (great-grandparents) who were from Bern, Switzerland.
John Henry Erny (Erni)
- Born: ? Died: 1905 in Pittsburgh, Pa. USA
Emma Ries (Riis)
- Born: ? Died: 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pa. USA
They came from Bern and John Henry had a "Letter of Recommendation" from the Mayor of Bern, written in German.
Where should I start?
Thank you from the USA
Conclusion: your "Letter of Recommendation" needs to be evaluated before anything else would make sense.
Marianne (Erny) Wagner aus den USA sucht Angaben zu ihren Urgrosseltern John Henry Erny und Emma Ries, die 1905 bzw. 1918 in Pittsburgh verstorben sind und aus Bern stammen. Die Angaben zu den Vorkommen Aerne / Aerni / Aerny / Erne / Erni / Erny in der Schweiz legen die Vermutung nahe, dass in der Schweiz nach der Schreibweise Aerni gesucht werden sollte. Am Anfang muss jedoch die Auswertung eines aus Bern stammenden Empfehlungsschreibens stehen.