The Zimmerman Family

With Faith and Dedication

David Zimmerman Sr. and Maria Stauffer, who married in 1830, were members of two Swiss families who met in Pittsburg and forged strong relationships that eventually led some of them to join Dr. Wilhelm Keil’s Bethel Colony in 1845. This alliance continued as well in Aurora. Since Dr. Keil originally managed a drug store in Pittsburg, and also first started to preach with the Methodist church there, we are now exploring the important influence of the Swiss heritage in the formation of Dr. Keil’s colony in and around that city. These first Swiss supporters, including the Giesy’s, provided some of the most fervent support for Dr. Keil.  Without their enthusiasm it seems unlikely that the communal society could have been formed and then later maintained.

The David Zimmerman Sr. Family

Between 1830 and 1838 David Zimmerman Sr. and Maria Stauffer had five children.  In 1842 Maria died and in 1845 David brought his children to Bethel.  The colony’s support for families that had lost one or both parents was one of its true Christian hallmarks, as none were turned away and some of the finest and most productive members came out of these potentially tragic situations and developed skills that helped them contribute to the colony as well support themselves in the wider world if they later chose to leave the group. David Sr. worked on his own farm.  He did not marry again.  His son David Jr. learned the skills of a tanner while his son Christian became a carpenter. 

Work at Aurora

David Zimmerman Jr. married Elizabeth Wolfer at Bethel in 1860.  He came to Aurora with her and Kate, the first of their six children, in the 1863 wagon train, and with the Wolfer’s was sent to the Needy area four miles from Aurora where they worked at the newly established Colony tannery.  (See the Wolfer family under past exhibits). 
As a carpenter Christian Zimmerman helped build the Aurora village.  In 1872 he received title to his own land, the current lot in the museum block, and the next year he married Catherine Will.  The couple had seven children. The three sisters (Elizabeth, Mary and Margaret) provided domestic support for colony families and all later worked in the Aurora hotel.  Only Margaret Zimmerman married, and this was not until after the colony ended when she was joined to Jacob Stauffer of the Donald area Stauffers. 

Preservation

Several descendants of the Zimmerman family saved original colony records and artifacts, and some have worked hard to clarify the genealogical line.  Jack Fosmark, in particular, has been the most important force behind this effort.  Beginning in 1984, Jack systematically began collecting family stories.  He has donated his research to the museum and encouraged his fellow descendants to support preservation also.  Our exhibit has also received information and artifacts from several unexpected sources.  All of this material is now being made available for research.