Peter Wingeier
Peter Wingeier (* 1828 ; † 1898 as Dr. Theofilo Romang ) was a Swiss emigrant . He was the founder of the Argentine city of Romang .
Life
Peter Wingeier (in Argentina also Peter Wingeyer) ran a watch shop in Trubschachen in the middle of the 19th century . Since he was an honorable craftsman, the authorities entrusted him with ward money . When he got into financial difficulties with his business, he resorted to this cash register. When controls were announced in 1860, he left his wife and two small children overnight and emigrated to Argentina.
On the crossing, he met the doctor Theofilo Romang from Langnau . When he suddenly died on the ship, he was able to buy the travel document from his widow. From then on he called himself Dr. Theofilo Romang. He even practiced as a doctor afterwards. He reached Montevideo , Uruguay and was the first to register in the Swiss colony of Esperanza in Argentina.
Another emigrant caught up with him. After a violent argument, he became his friend and assistant. Together they moved to Helvecia, another Swiss settlement.
In 1864, by agreement with the government, he received land to establish a foreign agricultural colony. Most of the new settlers were Swiss. On April 23, 1873, the Romang settlement was founded. His 14-year-old son August traveled from the Emmental to Argentina and there he consciously met his father for the first time. He stayed in Argentina and studied in Buenos Aires . He then became an advocate and notary . After the death of his father, he almost lost his inheritance because his name was still Wingeier. He was able to settle his father's old debts in the Emmental and on July 21, 1905 the Swiss government allowed his descendants to continue to use the name Romang. In the city of Romang, which now has almost 10,000 inhabitants, there is a monument to Dr. Theofilo Romang, alias Peter Wingeier.
His son August Romang told the story of his father to a Swiss journalist whom he had met by chance in Buenos Aires.
literature
- Pedro Lenz : I have more than one. Book and audio book with Patrick Neuhaus at the piano, Cosmos-Verlag, Muri 2013.
photos
Memorial plaque on the birth house in Spanish
Memorial plaque translation in German
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wingeier, Peter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wingeyer, Peter; Romang, Theofilo |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss emigrants, founder of the Argentine city of Romang |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1828 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1898 |