Swiss for Beginners

Next month I'll attend the "Beginning Swiss Research" workshop at the FGS conference in Springfield Illinois. I'm really looking forward to this program because I know nothing of my Swiss second great-grandfather's life before he immigrated to the US.

Actually there are still a few things I don't know about Jacob K Mueller's life after he immigrated, but I digress.

By the 1880 census, Jacob Mueller and Elisabeth Schmitt were married and had a baby of their own. Otto (on line 3) is Elisabeth's son from a previous marriage.

When Jacob died in 1910, his daughter Alma provided the information that appears on his death certificate. What a treasure trove this document turned out to be! Notice the names she gave for Jacob's parents?

I looked for J Mueller and Anna Wigdri (and variations thereof) on FamilySearch and found this marriage record on film # 0995182. They are the third couple listed under the C three-quarters down on the right-hand page.

There is a very slim chance this couple is Jacob's parents, (wouldn't it be incredible if they were?), but I ordered the film anyway.

My hope is that, having seen a Swiss marriage record, I'll understand more during the FGS class.

In the meantime, I wonder what the letters and the headings over each group of names mean...

UPDATE: Many thanks to Wolf on the Swiss Rootweb list:

Promulgirt (announced) / copulirt (married) / year

A. Ehen zwischen Bürgern und Bürgerinnen der Evang. Gemeinde Steckborn
(Marriages of [male and female] citizens of the reformed community of
Steckborn)

B. Ehen hiesiger Bürger mit auswärtigen Töchtern  (Marriages of citizens
from here with daughters from outside - i.e. not citizens of Steckborn)

C. Ehen auswärtiger Bürger mit hiesigen Töchtern  (Marriages of citizens
from outside with daughters from here)

D. Ehen auswärtiger Bürger mit auswärtigen Bürgerinnen  (Marriages of [male
and female] citizens from outside)