Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

Elise Hensler

La Chaux-de-Fonds, 22 May 1836 – Lisbon, 21 May 1929

7 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born22 May 1836, La Chaux-de-Fondsnot verified1 source
  • MarriedFerdinand II of Portugalnot verified1 source
  • Died21 May 1929, Lisbonnot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 22 May 1836

    Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds

  2. 21 May 1929

    Dies in Lisbon, aged 92

Family

See the tree

Partner

During her lifetime

She lived through 10 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around La Chaux-de-Fonds.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1830s · Elise is born in La Chaux-de-Fonds

Who governed

What people wore

Cotton accessories as social indicators

Women used printed cotton accessories like scarves and aprons as social markers, often wearing their finest examples on feast days.

Getting around

Faster travel over the Gotthard Pass

Following the 1830 opening of the Gotthard road to horse-drawn carriages, the famous mail coach cut the difficult journey across the pass to three and a half days. Previously, travel via mule track had taken at least six days.

At the table

Beverage habits of ordinary workers

Liquor consumption was common among the working population to quench thirst and hunger, though milk was also a standard part of the daily diet.

Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.Around the world · 1839

Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.

Unknown · public domain

In the news1832

Uster factory fire in 1832

In 1832, home workers burned down the new Corrodi & Pfister factory in Uster to protest the introduction of mechanical looms.

Music

The beloved herdsman's song, Ranz des vaches

The Kuhreihen, also known as Ranz des vaches, was a beloved traditional herdsman's song used to signal milking times or the movement of cattle; it was so deeply associated with longing for home that it was reportedly forbidden in Swiss regiments serving abroad to prevent desertion.

Daily life

Limited and basic schooling

Formal schooling was often irregular or non-existent, and many children never attended school, remaining illiterate. When schools did exist, they were frequently held in the schoolmaster's own cramped living quarters, and instruction focused heavily on memorizing religious texts without explanation.