Christian Winkler (16 September 1766 – 11 January 1839) was a Swiss-born baker for whom C. Winkler Bakery, in

Old Salem Old Salem is a historic district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, which was originally settled by the Moravian community in 1766. It features a living-history museum which interprets the restored Moravian community. The non- ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, is now named.

Early life

Winkler was born in

Blumenstein Blumenstein is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Blumenstein is first mentioned in 1305 as ''Bluomenstein''. Tannenb ...

, Switzerland, in 1766. By 1792, he had joined the Moravian congregation of

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

, Germany. Sailing from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, he emigrated to the United States around the turn of the 19th century, initially to

Nazareth, Pennsylvania Nazareth is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 a ...

. In 1807,Local Historic Landmark Program"
– City of Winston-Salem the year of his marriage, he was brought in by the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

community in

, to become their baker, replacing Thomas Butner Jr.

Personal life

His wife was

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

native Elizabeth Dantz (possibly ''Danz''). The couple had six children: Carl, Christian Jr., William, Matilda, Ludwig and Henrietta.

Death

Winkler died in 1839, after a long illness, aged 72. He was interred in Salem Moravian God's Acre, alongside his wife, who preceded him in death by three years. Winkler's son, William, continued the bakery. William's son, Charles, succeeded him. After Charles's death in 1893, his wife, Alice, took over until 1915.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Christian 1766 births 1839 deaths Bakers Swiss emigrants to the United States Swiss people of the Moravian Church People from Salem, North Carolina