 His father, Martin Tritschler, grew up on a farm in Schwärzenbach, Germany, in what was then a region of the Duchy of Württemberg.His father came from an old family of German farmers, whose roots date back to the earliest settlements in the Black Forest, and who were feudal servants of the monasteries of Friedenweiler, Reichenau Island, and Saint Gall.His paternal ancestors first moved into the area in 1437, and settled an area called Ebenemooshof.