Heckenbach Family History

Geschichte des Deutsches/Amerikanisches Familiennamen Heckenbach nur in Englisch

The Heckenbach Website has grown to 22 Pages with help from contributors.
Index to Heckenbach webpages:
Heckenbach Family History (this page) The Heckenbach Surname Our Ancestry Chart  
The Village of Heckenbach Scenes from the Village Maps of the Area  
Lineage of the Heckenbachs of Brohl     Lineage of the Heckenbachs of Niederzissen
Biographies of Dr. Adam Heckenbach (1831-1913), Christian Heckenbach (1841-1920), and their father
Christian Heckenbach Family Pictures     Sophia Wiltgen's Story   Jake and Annie Drees' Story
7 Paintings by Werner Heckenbach of Brohl    More Paintings by Werner (new page Mar 2007)
The FUERTSCH page FÜRTSCH family from Bohemia new page Feb 2008
The pages in this section have to do with certain families from Luxembourg, and are unrelated to the pages above
The Mill at Boulaide and the story of the SCHLEICH, SPARTZ, SCHULLER, BIERCHEN, AND MICHELAU Families
Bierchen-Schuller pedigree chart new page Nov 2007 The BIERCHEN Family page now includes BIRCHEN and BIRGEN
The interest in searching for ancestors and a connection to the past by climbing the family tree has never been stronger. Until recently the best resources to assist in the quest were documents and oral traditions. Today genealogists have another, very powerful tool to use in their search - DNA. The field of genetic genealogy has grown dramatically in the last few years, through the study of direct male line Y chromosome DNA and direct female line mitochondrial DNA, instead of autosomal DNA (DNA from the mother and father combined) exploring the human genome for ancestral informative markers. This "junk" DNA copies directly from one generation to the next, mutating slightly along the way, leaving its trace more accurately than human records can.

The new tools can prove relationships where no records exist. If any visitors to this site belonging to one of the pertinent families have delved into their DNA history and would like to share their results, I think the details would be of interest to all of us. Far from being a "pure" genestock, we are really a collection of influences from far and wide..

Heckenbach Family History is a summary of geneological, historical, and geographical information about the Heckenbach surname beginning in the twin villages of Niederheckenbach and Oberheckenbach in Prussia, and extending to the present in the USA. The Heckenbach name is distinctive enough, that every encounter with it suggests a sense of kinship. And there have been encounters, surprisingly often, maybe partly because we are concentrated around the Chicago area. Almost every Heckenbach in the US is descended from the two brothers Christian and Johann Adam, who were born in the village of Brohl, and came to the US in the 1860s. The first two generations of their descendants are listed below.

Descendants of Dr. Johann Adam Heckenbach

Johann Adam Heckenbach
born Aug 9 1831, Brohl-am-Rhein, Prussia
died Dec 9 1913 Chicago IL 		married
Jan 21 1865
to 		Franciska Sophia Fisher
born Jan 27 1838 Brohl-am-Rhein (or Koblenz?) Prussia
died Oct 16 1878 Mayville WI
  name date of birth place of birth date of death married to
1 Johann Heckenbach Nov 14 1865 Brohl-am-Rhein, Prussia 1866 (age 10 months)  -
2 Heinrich Johann Heckenbach Aug 12 1867 Mayville WI Mar 29 1936  Johanna Vierke
3 Anna Franciska (Annie) Heckenbach Jan 15 1869 Mayville WI Mar 16 1945  Louis Blitz
4 Maria Amalia (Molly) Heckenbach Aug 30 1870 Mayville WI Feb 16 1942  George Haar
5 Joseph Johann Heckenbach Mar 13 1872 Mayville WI Dec 1 1941  Barbara Dewald
6 Christian Aloysius Heckenbach Feb 4 1874 Chicago IL Nov 5 1932  Sophia Koch
7 Margaretha Augusta Heckenbach Jun 21 1876 Kenosha WI Apr 3 1959  Peter John Hinkes
8
 (mother and child died in childbirth) (Oct 16 1878) Mayville WI Oct 16 1878 -

note: The first six children died in Chicago, IL and #7 died in Leroy, WI.  After the death of his wife, John Adam married Johanna Droge in Chicago IL on July 15, 1879. She was born in 1838 in Hannover, Germany.

John Adam's Grandchildren
2
 A   Walter Heckenbach 1892-1893

B   Arthur Heckenbach 1893-1977

C   Florence Alyea 1895-1984

D   Clarence Heckenbach 1899-1991

       
3
 A   Loretta Artery ?-?

B   Irene Blitz ?-?

       
4
 A   Raymond Haar 1895-1965

       
5
 A   Carolyn Heckenbach 1896-1896

B   Pearl Vogel 1899-1939

C   Marion Heckenbach 1902-1924

D   Frances Hauser 1908-1980

       
6
 A   Chris Heckenbach 1895-1951

B   Herold Heckenbach 1899-1971

C   Mildred Heckenbach 1903-1914

D   Dorothy Oehlberg 1907-1983

       
7
 A   Peter Hinkes    1895-1960

B   Edmund Hinkes 1896-1984

C   Henry Hinkes 1898-1960

D   Theodore Hinkes 1900-1933

E   Mary Hinkes 1901-1984

F   Margaret Kuen 1904-1998

G   Anthony G. Hinkes 1905-1906

H   Anthony A. (Fr. Gabriel) Hinkes 1909-1998

I   Alois Hinkes 1911-1968

J   Theresa Vollmer 1912-

Descendants of Christian Heckenbach

Christian Heckenbach
born Sep 13 1841 Brohl-am-Rhein, Prussia
died Jan 30 1920 Chicago IL 		married
Jan 21 1866
to 		Maria Sophia Spicker
born Aug 20 1842 Willheiss (Kreis Crefeld), Prussia
died May 2 1915 Chicago IL
  given name familiar name date of birth place of birth date of death married to
1 Johanna Katherina Heckenbach Kate Ledenbach Jun 1 1866 Essen-an der-Ruhr, Prussia 1929 John Ledenbach
2 Franciska Sophia Heckenbach * Sophie Wiltgen Jul 21 1868 Fond du Lac WI Mar 5 1964 Martin Wiltgen
3 Maria Eva Heckenbach * Eve Mach Parshall May 27 1870 Forest County WI Sep 4 1949 John Mach,William Parshall
4 Anna Maria Heckenbach * Mary Schillo Jan 31 1872 Mayville WI 1962 George Schillo
5 Johann Heckenbach John Oct 25 1873 St Hillary, Chicago IL Oct 1 1941 Maria Schwall, Louise Mach
6 Johann Adam Heckenbach Adam Jan 16 1876 St Michael, Chicago IL May 29 1948 Gertrude Both
7 Franz Xavier Heckenbach Frank Apr 30 1878 St Joseph, Chicago IL Mar 4 1953 Katherine (Fuertsch) Hubrich
8 Wilhelmina Louisa Heckenbach Lou Berry Jun 22 1880 St Joseph, Chicago IL Oct 30 1965 Charles Berry
9 Maria Anna Heckenbach Ann Drees Sep 9 1882 St Henry, Chicago IL May 21 1947 Jacob Drees
10 Franz Joseph Heckenbach Joe Dec 23 1885 St Henry, Chicago IL Jul 4 1947 Lucia Doetsch


* According to the Illinois State Marriage Archives website, the three sisters were all married in the same month, and in the order of their ages. Notice the dates and marriage license numbers. Sophie and Mary evidently went to the Clerk's Office together to get their licenses. It's also interesting that "Mary" and "Annie" as they evidently called themselves as teenagers, are now remembered as Eve and Mary, while their little sister became known as "Annie Drees."
GROOM BRIDE COUNTY DATE LIC #
WILTGEN, MARTIN HECKENBACH, SOPHIE COOK 11/13/1889 00146129
MACH, JOHN HECKENBACH, MARY E COOK 11/19/1889 00146130
SCHILLO, GEORGE A HECKENBACH, ANNIE M COOK 11/28/1889 00146890
Christian's Grandchildren
1 A   Sophie Stuedeman 1885?-1947

B   Christ Ledenbach 1887?-1933

C   Evelyn Jaehnke 1887-1959

D   Frances Dreier Farmer 1890-1964

E   Kate Leineweber 1892-1957

F   Jane Gale 1895-1978

G   Susan Johnson Carlsten 1896-1972

H   Louise Dyer Spieden 1898-1949

I   Mary Netwig Allen 1901-1972

J   Frank Ledenbach 1903-1971

K   Matthew Ledenbach 190?-1950

L   Bernard Ledenbach 1908-1955

       
2 A   Sophie Welter   1891-1955

B   Martin Wiltgen 1892-1965

C   Eugene Wiltgen 1894-1957

D   Mike Wiltgen 1896-1966

E   Louise Einsweiler 1897-1975

F   John Wiltgen 1899-1985

G   Catherine Meyers 1901-1990

H   Frank Wiltgen 1903-1993

       
3 A   John Mach 1890-1953

B   Marie Gusterine 1892-1945

C   Luisa Mach 1894-1894

D   Anne Stone 1895-1973

E   George Mach 1897-1969

F   Frank Mach 1900-1902

G   Frank Parshall 1908-1908

H   Bert Parshall 1910-1977

       
4 A   Mae Mink 1888-1989

B   George Schillo 1892-1958

C   Sophie Keeler 1893-1918

D   Esther Freer Wagner 1894-?

E   John Schillo 1895?-1965

       
5 A   Eva (Mach) (Sr Mary Stanislaus) (stepdaughter) 1894-1996

B   Christian Heckenbach 1902-1965

C   Raymond Heckenbach 1904-1904

D   Louise Anderson 1912-

E   George Heckenbach 1914-1983

F   Marie Meyers
 1900-1996

       
6 A   Margaret Anderson 1903-1933

B   Catherine Varley 1905-1988

C   Marion Varley 1907-1933

D   Evelyn Heckenbach 1912-1935

       
7 A   Ernest Heckenbach 1901-1983

B   Laurence Heckenbach 1903-1965

C   Frank Heckenbach 1914-2001

       
8 A   Donald Berry  1903-1976

B   Gladys Borreson 1906-1991

C   Paul Berry 1908-1960

D,E   (twins) (died at birth)

F   Charles Berry 1916-1929

G   Dorothy Sebeck 1919-2006

       
9 A   Irene Bennett 1904-1994

       
10 A   Dorothy Ebner  1913-1996

B   Roland Heckenbach 1915-1987

C   Raymond Heckenbach 1915-1975

D   Joseph Heckenbach 1917-1997

E   Eileen Retzke 1923-1992

click here for pictures of Christian and his family. If you have any pictures from John Adam's side of the family, please contact me.

 

E-MAIL   Please send comments, ideas, questions, corrections, and updates to: heckenbach@ameritech.net.  I'm always looking for more information. I will not post information on living persons.

© 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by Jim Heckenbach
First published May 5, 1999
Last updated March 1, 2008
Counter started Nov 30 2004, but was broken for some time. unique visits