This page will also give us information on the customs, the way of life and the village traditions during the century, in Saicourt. It will tell us who occupied the houses of the village of 1860 onwards for about 30 years. Some of these houses still remain in the possession of the families even today.

It is difficult to know the people without being from the village. Also, some of the people mentioned have been deceased for more than a century.

For those interested in the family of Paroz Choulat (Tchoula), it is possible to consult the family tree (incomplete) of Monsieur Sylvain Paroz of Valangin.

To go even further back to the roots of this family (1580), you can also consult the excellent work of the Australian branch of Paroz (Click here)

Another site which is dedicated to this family: http://www.paroz.com  also holds some information.

For those concerned with the Paroz Schpi, the Paroz Bacouna, the Feusier Gol, the Feusier Aubrumaire, the Desvoignes and Sautebin, all originally from this village, we do not know of an equivalent web site as yet.

This description begins at the top of the village, at Combe-Bourdon, the first house on the Fuet side.

This was the house of Aimé Paroz, (grand-uncle of Ernest Paroz), who was married for the second time to Amélie Feusier, sister to his first wife. From his first marriage there were two children: Elvina, married to Frédéric Desvoignes who left for America and left no trace, leaving his wife with their six children; and Ami, who died at the age of 20 years from the effects of tuberculosis.

Aimé Paroz was a cabinet maker by trade, but he also had some cows. He was very meticulous and at the same time, also quite a character : the canton route from Fuet to Reconvilier was to be constructed in 1886. To build this, they had to cross a part of his property, which met with much opposition on his part, all of which came to nothing in the end. Aimé Paroz swore that be would not put his feet on the new route. He continued to keep his word in this way for nine years, until his death in 1895.

Eugene Paroz was the brother of Aimé and owned the next house. He died in 1888. He had five children, thus: - Clement, who was a tailor and who never married ;Rachel, married to Alfred Paroz; Alice, married first to Jacob Moeri, and then to Adolf Muller; Hippolyte who married Adda Girod, and Ernest, the youngest, who was in an institution and who died very young of tuberculosis.

And closer to Fuet, the canton route bypasses the first two houses of the village, and it is near to the top at the third house , which could be said to be the proper entry to Saicourt.

This house belongs today to Cedric Paroz, but in earlier times it was the property of M. Aimé Desvoignes and before that of M. Fritz Châtelain. The latter had two sons and two daughters. Paul left for America; Fernand, a bachelor, visited the young daughter of "Zéline-de-la-Scie" (Zeline of the Saw), Leontine, but she died at the age of 19 years.)

One of the Châtelain daughters was named Flora and was married to Oscar Paroz. The other daughter, Adele, married Alfred Spichiger of Reconvilier. The father Châtelain, lamented on the fate of his family; "after me, my family will become extinct, since Paul is in America and is 45 years and still not married. Fernand, although married, his wife is 44 and they don't have any children." But there came a day when the village was told of the marriage of Paul with a lady named Tieche of Reconvilier , who was also of an advanced age. It was heard said that Pauline, the wife of Fernand, had given him a son and that Paul also had a son in the same year. In this way, the Châtelain family of Saicourt did not become extinct.

The next house is that of Edmond Paroz (Bacouna) who had a large family. He was a sawmiller and a small farmer. The sawmill, (just opposite), which was owned by him, also had a small dwelling occupied by Zéline. When they had water, the sawmill operated very quietly. There was also at the other end of the building, a small premises used to heat the steam for the mill and where the blades were set or raised for different types of work.

The house owned today by M. Kraehenbuhl, was, at the turn of the century, that of Mme Julie Desvoignes, divorced from Louis. She had four daughters: Julie, Aline, Rachel and Esther, wife of Emile Favret who bought back the house of his mother. Esther did not survive very long, but they had five children, which her husband raised alone, working as a watchmaker and small farmer.

The actual property of the Wyss family was owned in earlier times by M. Ami Feusier who pruchased it from M. Léon Challandes. M. Challandes had four daughters, Blanche, Juliette, Marguerite and Aline, and one son, Edmond. Léon Challandes was a clock and watchmaker in a factory at Sonceboz, but he also had some cows and goats and used the milk to make cheese. The new owner, M. Ami Feusier, transformed the house and the adjoining garage and made at the same time a woodworking studio. Later, he bought another studio opposite the house, which was very prosperous and which employed a dozen workmen. Ami Feusier was very cheerful and popular, but very authoritarian. He was the mayor for 15 years.

The house opposite, is that of Paul-Eugene Paroz (father of Ernest Paroz), who had bought it in 1902 from M. Rodolphe Schneider. The family of Paul-Eugene Paroz (Choulat) contained 12 children. Then in 1970, it was bought by one of his sons, Henri Paroz, who called it "des Lunettes".

A little lower down, we find the house of Marc Paroz. In earlier times, this belonged to his father Oscar Paroz, who called it "du Moulin". Oscar was an apprentice shoemaker. He was married in 1897 and opened a small grocery near the mill. Finding it too small, he decided to buy a family house. He obtained the post of forest warden and of postman. Of his first marriage, there were four children, but none survived. After some time as a widow, he married Mlle Louise Bassin of Saules, who had two children, Marc and Muguette who live today in this house.

Coming next is the house of the Rattin-Feusier family. This was the house of Henri Paroz, "Schpi", named after his nickname. When young, Henri Schpi left with Celestin Feusier called "Gol". They practiced the trade of mason. They left for Mulhouse and were married to wives from over there. This was the reason for the wives strong German accent. We do not know why the two families came back to the village, but Célestin Feusier-Gol was penniless and sick, and not having anyone to return to , had to live with public assistance in a humble smithy at the end of the village. Henri Schpi had never sold his house in Saicourt, and so, with his trade as a mason and a little agriculture, managed to keep his family which consisted of Albert, Phillippe, Adolphe, Hortence and Valérie. Henri Paroz-Schpi died aged more than 90 years. This house is the oldest in the village (1688).

The house still occupied by M. André Feusier was the property of Benz Büren and his wife who were farmers. They had only one daughter and this family is extinct. The house was sold to Léon Bassin, who raised a large family, but they have all left the village of Saicourt. The house was bought back by Achille Feusier, who after renovations, passed it on to his son André.

Achille Feusier inherited from his father the farm next door. Eugene Feusier, called Aubrumaire, had four children, a daughter, Dina and three sons, Edouard, Ami and Achille. The latter continued to cultivate the farm until the time when his children were all married. Then he left the estate, which always goes from father to son, to his son René who then sold it to M. Grossniklaus.

La Voûte, (The Arch), as it is called in our time by the inhabitants of the village, was, at the end of the 19^th century, the property of Jean-Pierre Feusier, who lived alone for many years in the large building. M. Feusier was a beekeeper, and owned 50 hives, all made of straw, which he manufactured himself. It was Albert Paroz, son of Henri Paroz Schpi, who

has acquired this house and who has also called his son Henri, called also, 'Schpi".

The old village school is situated practically opposite to “La Voûte”. It dates from 1823. Around 1900, there was not one single class in one single room. The benches were arranged in the larger classroom, with a corridor down the side for the pupil's desks. Instruction was given by a single teacher until the 9^th year. The class had only 60 pupils at the beginning of the century and was divided around 1915. On a postcard stamped around 1900, is written: ....."In front of the school house, grove from one abbot of Bellelay. We found superb teeth of fish in the sandstone of the quarry. Native land of the notary J. H. Jacquerez (born in 1715).."

Today, this building is owned by Madame Ruth Lindgren, a sculptor who displays her works in this location.

It is Monsieur Paolo Rada who actually owns the next house.

Abraham-Louis Paroz, (grandfather of Ernest Paroz), was a master carpenter and had a family of five sons. His wife, nee Grosjean, was from Saules. Abraham-Louis Paroz had many workmen, almost all from Saicourt. They worked at Tramelan and at Cortébert. The track was made on foot over Sous-Montbautier road. The road of Le Fuet- Moulin-Brûlé did not exist then. The workmen left from Saicourt on Monday morning and returned from Tramelan on Saturday evening. The workmen did not earn a lot of money and the employer did not pay them for all of six months....

It is the eldest son of Abraham-Louis Paroz, Alexis, who has continued the business. Very young, he is also mayor of Saicourt. Ariste, who worked with his father, left for America, where he is established. Camille, who also worked at this trade, continued the success of his father. Paul-Eugene learnt the trade of a shoemaker.. Finally, Alfred, the youngest, is a farmer in the house of his parents. Abraham-Louis Paroz died in 1894.

The house of M. Olivier Paroz was constructed in 1903 and it replaced a very ancient building which was coincidentally the entrance to the cantonal route and the river and belonged to his grandfather, Paul-Eugene Paroz. When the snow melts, the Trame overflows, and it floods over all of the lower village and this old house which had three bedrooms, a kitchen, cellar, stable, barn. They were all destroyed at the time and replaced by the current building, which was originally the propertyof of the father of Olivier, Jules-Eugene Paroz and his wife Louisa, nee Kraehenbühl, and their children: Olivier, Simone, Camélia, Claude and Liliane.

Rinaldo Tomaselli, Istanbul – Turkey 1999

Traduction : by Janelle Kafcaloudis, Rainy –Queensland, Australia

Saicourt today / Paroz’s family / Hockey Club Saicourt
Church of Chaindon / Ernest Paroz / Saules
The Simplon-Orient-Espress / Unusual Istanbul