Since 763 A.D., the Heydecker family has upheld a proud tradition of Keepers — lately, the matriarchs of each generation — responsible for preserving artifacts, documents, and other treasures that showcase the rich and diverse legacy of the Heydecker Dynasty.
Whilst a direct line of descent across all bearing these names cannot be definitively traced, these tidings concerning the Heidecker family, their genesis and subsequent expansion, have been faithfully recorded from unimpeachable sources within the Vienna Bible itself.
It is therein chronicled that the family of Heidecker traces its origins to the Netherlands, where the very first mention of this name is found within the annals of Adam of Bremen. This progenitor was known as Ettel or Zttel, and he dwelt in the forest of Ardennes, around the year of our Lord 763, within the fortress of Heideck, where he took Elsbeth Gobbelsehroy as his bride. Upon a craggy cliff, he raised a formidable fortress to shield himself from the incursions of the heathen Frisians, naming it Heideck, meaning Heathencliff. In his conflicts with these Frisians, he captured their Duke Withorn, meaning White Horn. As a reward for this valorous deed, the Franconian King Charlemagne bestowed upon him the feudal ownership of the castle and the estate of Ohtenhid, upon the Frisian border. It is for this very reason that his helmet was adorned with a white buffalo horn, the Withorn, and his shield bore a willow tree, alongside the ancient emblem of his house, a buffalo head. These symbols were adopted by his descendants as their coat of arms and were secured to them by a heraldic patent granted by the German King, Conrad the Third.
In the year 1007, Count Sandolo of Windisch brought the noble squires of Heidegk under his sway. Frederick’s son, also named Frederick Heidecker, suffered the loss of the greater part of his lands in a fire in the year 1007. His wife was Maria Grossenhain, who bore him seven children, of whom only one son, Conrad Heidecker, is known to us.
Conrad Heidecker took the path of a soldier and journeyed to Lombardy, where he won the hand of the merchant Luzzarini’s daughter, from Mailand (Milan). His father-in-law persuaded him to embrace the life of a merchant, whereupon he returned with his wife to Merseburg. From there, he established an extensive trade with his wife’s father and brothers-in-law, dealing between Germany and Lombardy. He left three sons; the eldest, Ulrich Heidecker, had no male heir. The youngest became Abbot of St. Mauritius, near Merseburg. The second son, named Frederick Heidecker, went to Leipzig, where he, too, became a merchant.
In 1141, Friedolin, a Baron, held the Abbacy of Reichenau, and his brother, Ulrich, succeeded him in 1162.
In 1167, Adelpolders Urberus served as bishop of the churches of Satz in Domlesch, Schaemis in Gaster, and St. Marini in Viestgow, and gained considerable renown.
In 1185, the Heideggs were among the founders and patrons of the Convent of Capelen.
The medieval tournament was a spectacle for European knights, a stage upon which they displayed their martial prowess in jousting and mêlée, indulged in grand pageantry, exhibited their chivalrous virtues, and vied for riches and glory. Tourneys were the very embodiment of aristocratic ideals – chivalry and noble lineage – where family arms and honor were at stake, ladies were courted, and local pride was fiercely contested. In 1197, Baron Mang graced the Tourney at Nuremberg; in 1232, William competed at Wurzburg.
In 1245, Conrade was knighted and became a magistrate at Ebiker, as well as the founder of the convent for women at Rathausen, in the Canton of Suzern.
By 1250, the Heideggs held possession of the Dominion of Kienburg in the Province of Solothurn.
In 1271, Marcus Heidegger joined Marco Polo on his momentous journey to meet with Kublai Khan, having persuaded the new Pope, the former archdeacon of Acre, to pen letters for the “Great Khan,” inviting him to dispatch his emissaries to Rome.
In 1297, Bernhardt jousted at the Tourney of Schwinfurt, and in 1360, George competed at the Tourney held at Bamberg. In 1351, Walter and Henry were citizens of Suzern.
In the year 1360, William, the brother of the aforementioned George, was living and had three sons: George, John, and Heerbrand. The last of these wed a Lady von Sickinger, and their son was Frederick VI, whose wife was Beatrix, a Duchess of Teck. He was also the ancestor of John, whose son, also named John, became the ecclesiastical provost of Embrach in 1374. This John had a brother named Henry, who owned the Castle of Wagenburg.
In 1386, Arisan, upon the River Reuss, saw the castle of Walter von Heidegk invaded and burned by the people of Suzern and Zug. In 1394, Hans served as an Austrian magistrate in Windek and Gasten. By 1413, Hans was also a citizen of Solothurn and a free-president of Regensburg.
In 1413, Rudoply, a citizen of Augursburg, received the office of city magistrate for Augsburg from Emperor Sigismund, and in 1415, he was present at the Council of Constance. John, a staunch adversary of the Hussites, was in the same year (1415) a bishop in Aichstadt and died in 1429.
In Leipzig, in 1445, we find three descendants of Frederick Heidecker VI (presumed grandchildren or great-grandchildren): Berthold, Conrad, and Frederick Heidecker. The former two were respected merchants; the third was a jurist. The lines of Berthold and Conrad have since died out, but from Frederick Heidecker came a grandson, Albert Heidecker, who is mentioned around the year 1496 as a physician to Emperor Maximilian, whom he accompanied on all his travels. Albert’s son, Ulrich Heidecker, also served as a physician to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, attending him on his journeys to Italy, Spain, and other lands. He married Anna Hornandez of Seville, and it is she who diligently recorded this ancestral information and deposited it in the archives of Vienna. However, due to his extensive travels, the final settlement of Ulrich remains unknown.
In the year 1449, Baron Conrade resided in Nuremberg. It is recounted that he endangered the life and limb of Count Albrecht and, against the Count’s wishes, endeavored to construct a mine at Laibstatt, which led to war being waged against the city of Nuremberg.
In 1451, Hermann, who lived at Kienburg, sold his dominion of Lusingen, in the Canton of Zurich, to the Abbot of St. Blasi, and in 1452 received the town of Wagenburg in fief from the Count of Kyburg.
In the year 1512, Baron Wolfgang moved from Franconia to Prussia and established his residence there.
In 1530, George held the rank of colonel and served as a counselor of war to Count Palatine Frederick in his conflict against the Turks. By the year 1539, this same George was a royal Danish minister.
In 1549, Laurenz, the Abbot of Muri, passed away.
In 1562, Otto appeared in Frankfurt at the election and coronation of Maximilian II, as part of the retinue of Emperor Ferdinand. Job and Wolfzang von Heidegg were also present, in the suite of the Duke of Wurttemberg.
Hans (Henry), Chamberlain to the Archduke Ferdinand at Ensisheim, died at Waldshut in 1584.
In 1587, Christopher is documented as an Austrian counselor, supervisor of the forest of the dominion of Howenstein, and mayor of Waldshut.
In 1588, Wolf served as a ducal Prussian minister.
Henry, a doctor of military (or municipal) law, Mansfeldian chancellor, and canon at Magdeburg, died in 1603.
John Henry Heideggerus was born in the village of Barentseheveil on the first of July, 1633, entered the academy in Heidelberg in 1654, and died as a professor of theology in Zurich on the 18th of January, 1698.
Both the Kempten church register at his marriage and the family history penned by Marcus Heydecker place Joachim Heydecker’s origin in “Willstatt near Strassburg.” This could only refer to Ortenau, which was later known as Willstatt in the district, a mere twelve kilometers from Strasbourg. The local evangelical parish office, in their letter of April 25, 1977, notes:
“Here we find again the nickname Hans Bernhard and the profession of roper. I concur with the assumption made by the city archivist Fuchs that this is a son of Bernhard Heydecker, who died in Willstatt in 1632. Thus, this individual would be a brother of Joachim.
Another connection in the generational chain has come to light. While the documentary evidence remains somewhat incomplete, I am confident in asserting that Bernhard is the father of Joachim Heydecker. This conclusion is supported by two compelling factors: first, the rope-making trade, which seems to have been a hereditary profession within the early family, and second, the nickname Bernhard, which consistently appears across previous generations.”
Thus begins our journey in identifying our confirmed direct ancestors.