One branch of the Hauris came from Beromünster to Reinach about 1400. Beginning in the 1500s, members of the family were frequently mentioned as farmers and millers. Some of them were members of the local “college of judges.” Heini Hauri was Untervogt of Reinach in 1512. An Untervogt was a “Deputy Bailiff,” approximating a district governor. The Untervogts of Reinach governed as deputies of the Vogt of Lenzburg.
Heini Hauri’s descendants often held the office of Untervogt until 1605, then continuously until the French conquest of Switzerland in 1798.
One Untervogt, Hans Hauri, built Haus zum Schneggen(“House of the Snail”) in 1586, with major additions in 1604/05, a residence named from its unique staircase (pictured right). Schneggen is now a hotel (Address: Gasthof zum Schneggen, Hauptstrasse 72 5734 Reinach). A smaller house called Schneggli (“Smaller Snail”) lies diagonally opposite. It was built in 1688, also by the Hauris.
About 1660 one branch of the Reinach Hauris went to the Palatinate. Although it has not been proven, I believe that the Jacob Hauri who came to Pennsylvania about 1737 was member of the Reinach family via the Palatinate.