American and Swiss descendants of 31 French-Swiss families from Knoxville will gather on Saturday, August 1st, for the 2026 Knoxville Swiss Celebration and Reunion. This event celebrates their shared Swiss heritage and commemorates the contributions of both ancestors and descendants to the City of Knoxville.
Organizers of this event hope to attract representatives from all 31 families featured in the late David Babelay’s book, They Trusted and Were Delivered, and to bring descendants back to Knoxville from across the country for a weekend reunion. A delegation from the Vallée de Joux region of Switzerland will also attend, maintaining ties between Knoxville and Switzerland.
Saturday’s main event will include a lunch and program on the French-Swiss of Knoxville. The event will also feature a photo and memorabilia gallery and an afternoon bus tour of sites around Knoxville, significant to the city’s Swiss heritage.
This event is open to anyone who may be descended from French-Swiss immigrants who came to Knoxville from the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, in the mid-1800s through the early 1900s.
Descendants would be related to one or more of the following families: Andre, Babelay, Beney, Berney, Blanc, Bolli, Buffat, Burdet, Chavannes, Dovat, Ducloux, Dufour, Esperandieu, Falconnier, Felix, Freymond, Getaz, Gouffon, Guignard, Guyaz, Jouvenat, LeCoultre, Marguerat, Mouron, Pellaux, Porta, Rochat, Seilaz, Sterchi, Tauxe, and Truan.
Event co-chairs, Gayla Guignard and Jenny Guignard Pitts invite descendants to inquire further about this event via email at knoxswiss26@gmail.com.
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