Anna Mary Gubler was born in Mueliheim, Thurgan, Switzerland, 26 December 1851. She was the daughter of Maria Ursula Muller and Johannes (John) Gubler. Her mother and father lived in a large two-story house, part of which was a store. Grandmother took care of the store, selling dry goods and materials, and Grandfather took samples of materials and goods from the store, going from door to door to sell.

One day while he was selling, he heard about the Mormon missionaries. Later, he was invited to go to one of their meetings. He was very impressed with what he heard, but he didn’t tell Grandmother as he was afraid she would not approve.

While Grandfather was on one of his selling trips, Grandmother also heard about the Mormon missionaries and attended a cottage meeting. She, too, was very impressed with their message.

When Grandfather came home, they invited the missionaries to their home to teach them the Gospel. Grandfather snuffed tobacco until the Mormon missionaries told him about the Word of Wisdom. He had a bad running sore on his leg that would not heal. The missionaries told him that if he would leave his tobacco alone, his leg would be made well. He did as he was advised and his leg became well and strong again. This was a testimony to him.

Grandmother’s father, Urich Muller, was a baker. When Grandmother was very young, he taught her how to cook. Many of the things she learned to make have been handed down to her children and grandchildren as noodles, dinella, apple cakes, egg bread and many other goodies.

In August 1859 the family took the train to the sea coast. There they boarded a boat and were on the ocean for forty days. Each family supplied their own beds; Grandmother had enough feather beds for her family. They sailed on a sail boat and at times the wind blew them the wrong way. While on the ocean Anna Mary became very ill. She often heard them say, "Mary can’t last until morning. She is so very sick." However, through their faith and prayers, she was healed. At this time she was nine years of age. The family consisted of Grandfather and Grandmother, Louisa, Anna Mary, John and Herman.

The first winter in the United States was spent in Williamsburg, New York. There the children picked up lumps of coal along the railroad tracks to provide fuel for the family. On the trip westward, they stopped at Florence, Nebraska where they bought two cows, two oxen, a big Shettler wagon, tools, etc. One tool was a drawing knife for smoothing lumber.

The cattle had to be trained to pull the wagons. Ropes were fastened around their horns to guide them, but sometimes the cows ran away and upset the wagons. On the journey west the company usually averaged ten to twelve miles per day by foot. Some of the cows were balky and wouldn’t pull so it usually took two men to drive a yoke of oxen. Much of the time they only had two meals a day. From Nebraska to Utah they had many trials and experiences When the company arrived at Ogden, Utah they were given land to plant a garden. No charge was made for the use of this land, but the land had to be cleared first. They sold much of the surplus and gave away what was left. Grandmother was somewhat experienced in gardening as she had had a garden in Switzerland.

The later part of November 1861, they were advised by President Young to move to the southern part of Utah. When the family arrived in Santa Clara, they lived in a 12’ by 12’ dugout, using poles for supporting the roof. They had one window in the gable end; later a sod house was built.

It took Grandfather and the boys two years to clean and prepare two acres of land for cultivation. Grandmother and Grandfather raised cane which was made into molasses. They also raised different kinds of fruit.

In the fall of each year Grandfather went north with his produce to trade for grain, flour and other things the family would use. He could not speak English very well so Anna Mary, being the oldest child, went with him for company and to translate from Swiss into English. In those days they often met hostile Indians, but Grandfather would pray in silence to his Father in Heaven that they would not be harmed, and they knew their prayers were answered because they always returned home unmolested.

Mary Wittwer Tobler tells the following story about her mother: "Once when Grandfather and mother were going to Parowan with grist to be made into flour, they saw a large cloud of dust which proved to be a band of Indians. Grandfather and mother prayed, then Grandfather put mother out of sight. As the Indians came closer, they could see that they were on the war path. Their faces were painted; as they approached, they lined up on both sides of the wagon. Grandfather was impressed to make his horses go as fast as he could. The Indians just stood there. They were still standing when they got out of sight. They went on their way and returned home in safety with grist, flour and bran."

For amusement, they enjoyed quilting bees, corn husking, and rag bees. They danced barefooted in log buildings and boweries.

When mother, Anna Mary Gubler Wittwer, grew to maturity she helped her mother card, spin and weave cloth, blankets, sheets, etc. Wild roots of various kinds were used to color the woven articles.

When Anna Mary was nineteen years old, she married Samuel Wittwer, the only child of Christian and Magdalena Pfister Wittwer, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on November 22, 1869.

Samuel Wittwer was born on 10 March 1847 at Shangau, Bern, Switzerland. His early childhood was spent in this beautiful narrow valley located in the majestic Swiss Alps. Some fruit trees were grown there and also hemp to make cloth, but it was mostly pasture land and fields of hay and grain for feed for their dairy cattle. From this valley came the big round cheese as large and as big as wagon wheels, weighing 500 pounds. So we can imagine that Samuel’s childhood was spent in helping with chores, herding cows, and helping make cheese. He had fun, played games, and explored the hillsides the same as other Swiss lads. We can imagine, too, that there was harmony and love in the home—love for each other and for their Father in Heaven-and great was the joy in their hearts when the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came into their valley and to their home telling of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With the acceptance of the Gospel and their baptism, there came also the desire to be with the main body of the Latter-Day Saints that had made their historic trek to Utah. They sold their property and, taking with them the necessities and a few treasured belongings, they joined a group of Swiss converts who were sailing to America.

In 1864, Brigham Young called for teams to go to the Missouri River to help bring the converts to Utah. This trip required men to be gone for six months and there were to be 28 outfits. Each town was to furnish teams, wagon, and necessary supplies. Samuel Wittwer was chosen as the teamster from Santa Clara. To cross the Missouri River, they made a raft with poles that were held together by chains. From what is available to read, Samuel made four trips to the Missouri River to help bring the emigrants to Utah.

Samuel and Anna Mary were blessed with twelve children: John Samuel, Harmon, Mary Magdalene, Joseph, Anna Rosella, John Hyrum, Henry, Theodore, and George (others below).

Samuel married a second wife, Bertha Tobler, in the Saint George Temple on November 1, 1881. Three months after his second marriage, he was called on a mission to the North Eastern states. Here he labored for about two years without "purse or scrip" as all missionaries did in those days. At this time there were seven children left home with Anna Mary, his first wife. Six months after he was on his mission, Albert was born to the second wife, Bertha. During the time Samuel was on his mission, both wives with their families lived in the same house. Anna Mary, being the first wife, had a great responsibility. She always acknowledged the hand of the Lord in all her work, and because of her great faith, the help of her older children and of the second wife, Bertha, they all were able to carry on successfully while Samuel fulfilled his mission. When he returned, they all game thanks for the protecting care that they had received while he was away.

As the years passed, three more children were born to them: Josephine, Alice and Julius Clarence. This brought the total number of children to twelve with ten living. All of the ten children were married in an L.D.S. Temple. Three sons, Harmon, Joseph and John Hyrum, filled two year missions to Switzerland. Four grandsons, Melvin Wittwer, Fae Reber, Elwood Reber and Sam Hughes also went on missions. At the time of this writing (1972) twelve great grandsons have also gone on missions. One son, Julius, and a grandson, Melvin Wittwer, served in World War I. Four grandsons served in World War II. One grandson, Fae Reber, gave his life in the service of his country.

Samuel and Anna Mary lived in the United Order for a few years in Price city, a few miles south of St. George. Anna Mary was one of the head cooks for the company. She was a good friend to the Indians and did quite a lot of exchanging food for baskets which the Indian squaws made. She also taught one squaw how to knit. The United Order was also practiced in Santa Clara when it was first settled. This law was not lived as it should have been and was, therefore, discontinued.

The people in Dixie were advised to raise grapes and make wine. President Young owned a grape vineyard, also two wine cellars. The wine was made and shipped to Salt Lake City to be used for sacrament purposes. This was done for several years.

Samuel and Anna Mary planted beans, peas, carrots and tomatoes. Tomatoes were new to them and they, as a family, didn’t enjoy them very much at first but learned to like them. They sold for 25f a pound. The first seeds were brought from California by Leonard Conger.

Cotton was planted both in Littlefield, Arizona and Muddy Valley, which is known as Clark Co., Nevada today. When they harvested the cotton, they made it into big rolls or balls. Then, tied them with ropes made of rice stalk. The ropes were made by pressing the rice stalks through the rollers of the molasses mill which crushed the stems into a flat surface. Then, they were boiled in water to separate the fibers, and the fibers were then spun into ropes.

Samuel and Anna Mary taught their children to have family prayer at night and each morning and to hold their own private prayers before they went to bed. They were taught to attend Primary, Sunday School, M.I.A., and Sacrament Meeting. They were taught to observe fast day and to keep that special day sacred and to pay an honest tithing. In those days fast day was held on Thursday afternoon. People would take produce such as flour, potatoes, etc. to pay their fast offerings. Later on, fast day was changed to Sunday.

Anna Mary was President of the Primary in the Santa Clara ward for ten years. Because of her loving and kind disposition, she won the respect of all the children. She was also second counselor in the Relief Society for many years. It was their responsibility to take care of the grain. During that time, the Relief Societies throughout the Church were advised to store up grain in case of famine. She also taught Sunday School for several years. She helped with the sick, taking care of her invalid mother for fifteen months in addition to caring for her large family. She was a great lover of music and flowers and shared her flowers with people all over Santa Clara.

The children were given many opportunities to develop their talents. Some members played organ, piano, mandolin and guitar. Sam and Harmon went to school at St. George one year. Joseph attended Branch Normal school at Cedar City, then taught two years. John and Josephine also taught school for many years. Later John became County Agent for Lincoln and Clark Counties in Nevada.

Anna Mary also helped raise a number of her grandchildren who were left motherless. She died 15 June 1926 in Santa Clara, Utah. She remained true to the faith; her testimony grew with her years; she has truly earned a great reward.

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Source: Gubler families in America 1857-1973, edited by Laura G. Hendrix and Donworth V. Gubler, 1973, pg 219-224.