This section delves into the rich history of the Heydecker family, celebrating four centuries of traditions, values, and enduring legacy preserved by all the Keepers.
Bernhard Heydecker
d. 1632, in Willstatt/Baden
The only record of birth is Joachim Heydecker below.
Joachim Heydecker
In his “Record of the Heydecker Family”, Edward Le Moyne Heydecker writes:
“The birthplace of Joachim Heydecker is Willstatten near Strasburg, which is about mid-way between Switzerland and the Netherlands. It is apparent, however, that Marcus Heydecker considered himself kin to the Swiss stock. Joachim Heydecker was a younger son, who left home to seek his fortune and found his way to Kempten, where he entered the services of a rope-maker, named Renner. Renner appears to have died, leaving a widow Katharina and Joachim married the widow on February 20, 1643 and succeeded to the business. Katharina died soon after. Katharina Platzerin was the daughter of Mattas Platzers, a German schoolmaster. In the oldest proclamation book of the St. Mang Church, it says that Joachim Haidecker married Ursula Kiselin on August 31, 1646, three and a half years after his first marriage.”
A certificate issued by the church says:
“Joachim Heydecker and Ursula Kiesel were married on August 31, 1646, in the local St. Mang church according to the Evangelical Lutheran rite.”
The exact date of his death cannot be ascertained, since the burial books up to and including 1685 are missing. Lastly, Joachim is mentioned as godfather on December 13, 1676, after that no more; he must therefore have died between 1676 and 1686. Ursula is last mentioned as godmother in March of 1666, after that no more. She must have died between that date and the resumption of burial records in 1686.
Joachim had two children with Katharina:
- Christophe Heydecker, b. 1643
- Maria Heydecker, b. 1646
He had four more children with Ursula:
- Hans Bernhard Heydecker, b. 1647. Rope-maker and saloon keeper of the “Golden Lion”.
- Veronica Heydecker, b. 1649
- Ursula Heydecker, b. 1651
- Joachim Heydecker, b. August 12, 1657; d. January 2, 1722
Joachim Heydecker II
JOACHIM HEYDECKER was born in Kempten, Germany on August 12, 1657, and married Susanna Schachenmeyer (b. November 27, 1664) on January 28, 1684. He was a rope-maker. They had nine children.
Children:
- Markus Heydecker, b. 1685
- Ursula Heydecker, b. 1686
- Magdalena Heydecker, b. 1688
- Veronica Heydecker, b. 1690
- Joachim Heydecker III, b. 1692. Rope-maker.
- Susanne Heydecker, b. 1694
- Marcus Heydecker, b. April 19, 1697
- Anna Maria Heydecker, b. 1701
- Name Unknown
After Susanna died, Joachim was remarried on October 9, 1708 in Kempten, Germany. Her name was Dorothea Wenglin (b. February 22, 1677; d. June 23, 1748). They had four children born in Kempten.
Children:
- Georg Heydecker, b. 1710
- Maria Catherine Heydecker, b. 1712
- Anna Barbara Heydecker, b. 1715
- Johann Leonhard Heydecker, b. 1718. Glazer and teacher at a girl’s school.
Joachim passed away on January 2, 1722, in Kempten, Germany.
Marcus Heydecker
Joachim Heydecker, the older brother, was born in 1692. He continued the family business as a rope-maker. A younger brother, Marcus Heydecker, was born on April 19, 1697. He was a paper maker. (It is presumed that the earlier child named Markus died during childhood.) Marcus married Lucia Ursula Fenut on May 16, 1729.
Children:
- Daniel Heydecker, b. 1730
- Joachim Heydecker IV, b. February 26, 1731; d. April 28, 1806
- Ursula Heydecker, b. 1732
Joachim Heydecker IV
JOACHIM HEYDECKER, born in 1731, was a merchant and clerk. He married Catharina Sigmund, a knitter, on October 26, 1761 and had 14 children. He died in Kempten, Germany on April 28, 1806 at the age of 75.
Children:
- Lucia Ursula Heydecker, b. 1764
- Marx Heydecker, b. 1765
- Maria Heydecker, b. 1766
- Sigmund Heydecker, b. 1767
- Maria Regina Heydecker, b. 1769
- Catherina Heydecker, b. 1770
- Ursula Heydecker, b. 1771.
- Sebastian Heydecker, b. 1773.
- Joachim Heydecker V, b. February 2, 1774; d. November 26, 1839.
- Sara Maria Heydecker, b. 1775.
- Maria Heydecker, b. 1776.
- Anna Maria Heydecker, b. 1777.
- Daniel Heydecker, b. 1778.
- Johannes Heydecker, b. 1782.
Joachim Heydecker V
JOACHIM HEYDECKER was born February 2, 1774, in Kempten, Germany. He was a merchant and a cooper, who followed that business throughout his entire life, and lived and died in that city. He married Anna Maria Kuhne on August 28, 1797.
The original of this seal was once owned by Christian T. Heydecker of Waukegan, Illinois, in the American lands, and was the family seal passed down from this Joachim Heydecker, who died on the 26th of November, 1839, and was buried in Kempten, Germany. This seal was inherited by Charles F. Heydecker and was bestowed by him upon Christian as the family seal. At the time this seal was crafted, the German script often used the letters “I” and “J” interchangeably.
Joachim had 11 children with Anna:
- Joachim Heydecker, b. April 13, 1798; d. December 3, 1859.
- Katharina Heydecker, b. April 19, 1799; d. May 8, 1799.
- Maria Susanna Heydecker, b. April 19, 1799; d. May 9, 1799.
- Ursula Heydecker, b. March 20, 1801; d. October 1880.
- Johann Georg Heydecker, b. June 18, 1802; d. July 17, 1802.
- Maria Heydecker, b. September 27, 1803; d. December 29, 1879.
- Anna Magdalena Heydecker, b. December 16, 1804; d. January 17, 1805.
- Daniel Heydecker, b. January 27, 1806; d. June 16, 1806.
- Christoph Heydecker, b. March 7, 1807; d. March 28, 1884. Carpenter and cabinetmaker.
- Matthias Heydecker, b. May 28, 1808; d. August 18, 1808.
- Johannes Jakob Heydecker, b. November 8, 1809; d. December 29, 1809.
Anna passed away on June 19, 1810. After Anna’s death, Joachim married Euphrosina Abrell (b. October 28, 1785; d. March 20, 1847) on July 29, 1811. They had an additional 13 children:
- Christian Heydecker, b. July 11, 1812; d. 1891.
- Carolina Heydecker, b. June 6, 1813; d. September 16, 1813.
- Charles Freidrich Heydecker, b. July 27, 1814; d. April 16, 1896 in Milburn, IL.
- Regina Heydecker, b. September 20, 1815.
- Gustav Adolph Heydecker, b. September 20, 1816; d. October 9, 1816.
- Ernst Heydecker, b. November 18, 1817; d. May 14, 1892.
- Magdalena Heydecker, b. January 6, 1819; d. March 24, 1893.
- Carolina Whilemina Heydecker, b. July 9, 1820; d. August 14, 1821.
- Augusta Mathilda Heydecker, b. November 19, 1821.
- Adolf Heydecker, b. February 3, 1823; d. September 21, 1870 in Galveston, TX.
- Juditha Mathilda Heydecker, b. March 20, 1824.
- Edward Heydecker, b. October 17, 1826; d. in Wadsworth, IL.
- Theodor Heydecker, b. April 1, 1828; d. September 3, 1829 (drowned in a well).
According to a “List of those operating in Kempten after the unification of the imperial city with the Kingdom of Bavaria” dated 1807, one can appreciate the difficult circumstances in which the generations of that time lived. The magistrate notes there were poor ancestors peddling rose brandy.
Britannica states:
“Germany in the middle of the 18th century was a country that had been drifting in the backwaters of European politics for more than a hundred years. The decisive roles in the affairs of the Continent were played by the great powers—France, England, and Spain—whose economic resources and commercial connections provided a solid foundation for their military might. The German states, on the other hand, floundered in a morass of provincialism and particularism. All the forces that had contributed to the rise of powerful national monarchies west of the Rhine were lacking in the east. In the Holy Roman Empire the central government was losing rather than gaining strength. The princes were enlarging their authority at the expense of the crown, and business initiatives were being discouraged by the lack of political unity and by the remoteness of major trade routes.
Political power increasingly fell to small regional governments controlled by aristocratic overlords, ecclesiastical dignitaries, or municipal oligarchs. The history of Germany between the Thirty Years’ War and the French Revolution is largely the sum total of the histories of dozens upon dozens of small political units, each enjoying virtually full rights of sovereignty. The rulers of these gingerbread principalities, copying the example of the royal court of France or Austria, built costly imitations of the palaces of Versailles and Schönbrunn, which today are the delight of tourists but which were once the curse of an impoverished peasantry. The tradition of princely authority, an instrument of national greatness in western Europe, encouraged divisiveness in Germany. The country’s petty rulers legislated at will, levied taxes, concluded alliances, and waged wars against each other and against the emperor.”
At some point AFTER 1828, Joachim moved to the United States.
Joachim died in New York City, NY, USA, on November 26, 1839. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. Euphrosina passed away on March 20, 1847.
Notes on a Few of Joachim Heydecker V’s Other Sons
Christian Heydecker
CHRISTIAN HEYDECKER was a merchant in New York from 1835 until his death. He left two children; there were grandchildren by each of his daughters. The daughters’ names were Emily and Mary.
Ernst Heydecker
ERNST HEYDECKER, b. November 18, 1817; d. May 14, 1892. He was a cabinetmaker.
Adolph Heydecker
ADOLPH HEYDECKER He was born in Kempten, Bavaria and settled in Galveston in 1850. At the onset of the American Civil War, he returned to Europe, remaining there until the end of the rebellion. He returned as Belgian Consul and discharged the duties of the office until his death. He died in Galveston, Texas, as the Belgium Consul, of yellow fever and chronic diarrhea, on September 21, 1870 at the age of 47. He never married and left no family.
EDWARD HEYDECKER died in 1854 of cholera, never having been married. He worked as a goldsmith in Waukegan, IL.
Joachim Heydecker’s Brother Charles Crosses the Pond in 1838
Charles Friedrich Heydecker
CHARLES FRIEDRICH HEYDECKER was born in Kempten, Germany, on July 27, 1814. He was Joachim V’s half brother. Charles received a liberal education until fourteen years, when he began learning the occupation of botanical and landscape gardener, graduating under the Prince of Zeil in 1830. He then completed his education through three years of travel, crossing the Alps to Italy, where he took up and learned the trade of baker, then crossing the Alps later again on foot to his old home. He then came to America in 1838, settling near Richmond, VA, during which time he became an ardent abolitionist. In 1844, he left Virginia and came to Lake County, Illinois, and in October, 1844, purchased from the government the farm on which he erected a log house.
He was one of the early settlers of Lake County, Illinois, engaged in farming at Newport Township. On the first of May, 1845, Mr. Heydecker married Mary Ann Townsend, a native of Penn Yan, N. Y. She died January 24, 1884, leaving seven children.
Standing: Charles William, Edward John Row, Cyreneus Adolph, Christian Townsend. Sitting: Clara Parmelia, Mary Mathilda, Emma Anna.
In connection with his other business interests, Mr. Heydecker engaged as a dealer in agricultural implements from 1872 to 1876 in Wadsworth. He never sought public office, yet took great interest in political affairs and in the success of his party. In early days, he was a staunch Whig, and was one of the first to join the Republican party, of which he became a stalwart advocate. During the time of the war he was an active member of the Union league, and a staunch friend of the administration. He often attended the conventions of his party, where he was regarded as an influential adherent of Republicanism. He was a Lutheran, and liberal in the support of the churches and schools. Mr. Heydecker spent more than forty-seven years of his life in Lake County, and was an eyewitness of its growth and prosperity almost from the days of its infancy, when the Indians had not yet left their hunting grounds on the shores of Lake Michigan, and the deer still roamed over the prairie. He bore the usual hardships and experiences of frontier life and identified himself with the best interests of the county, thus winning the esteem of all. He possessed a rugged constitution and enjoyed excellent health for many of his years.
He died on April 16, 1896 and was buried at Millburn Cemetery, Lake County, Illinois.
Children:
- Christian Townsend Heydecker (1846–1926)
- Charles William Heydecker (1847–1925)
- Edward John Row Heydecker (1855–1929)
- Clara Parmelia Heydecker Short (1857–1937)
- Emma Anna Heydecker (1858–1934)
- Cyreneus Adolph Heydecker (1861–1928)
Christian Townsend Heydecker
CHRISTIAN TOWNSEND HEYDECKER was born in the town of Newport, then Mill Creek precinct, on the 4th day of September, 1846, and is a son of Charles F. Heydecker and Mary A. (Townsend) Heydecker. His youth and early manhood were passed at hard labor on the farm and whose early educational advantages consisted of a few winter terms of attendance at the log school-house. Christian enjoyed the experience, and at the age of 21 entered upon the study of law in the law offices of the Hon. E. P. Ferry of Waukegan, who later became the first Governor of the State of Washington. Later, he worked for the Hon. E. M. Haines of the same place. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1870 and engaged in practice at Waukegan.
In 1871, he became Engrossing Clerk of the Lower House of the Illinois Legislature, and in 1875 and 1885 was Speaker’s Clerk. Attorney Heydecker served successively as City Attorney of Waukegan, Alderman, Public Administrator of Lake County from 1872 to 1891, and was elected State’s Attorney of Lake County, Illinois, on July 15, 1890, commissioned by Joseph W. Fifer, Governor of the State of Illinois,. He was reelected November 8, 1892, and commissioned by Joseph W. Fifer, Governor. Later, he was again reelected November 3, 1896, and commissioned by John P. Altgeldt, Governor of the State of Illinois, for four years. He also served as a member of the Waukegan City Council, where, as in the other offices, he displayed a commendable trustworthiness and fidelity to duty. In politics, he has always been a Republican on state and national issues, but locally is independent. His first presidential vote was cast for Grant and he carried a torch in the parade when Lincoln visited Waukegan in the 1860’s.
Mr. Heydecker was married to Miss Lourina Townsend, a daughter of David Cole Townsend, in Waukegan, in May, 1872. The lady enjoyed but a short period of wedded life and died in November, 1873. In April, 1875, Mr. Heydecker was married to Carrie Gourley. Mrs. Heydecker was born in Springfield, Ill., and was the daughter of James Gourley, late Deputy United States Marshal of Springfield. The wife was a member of the Baptist church.
Fraternalism was the veteran attorney’s hobby. He was a member of sixteen lodges, including the Sons of the American Revolution, and was especially prominent in the Woodmen, in which organization he held many offices of importance. Mr. Heydecker was a Knights Templar Mason, belonging to Antioch Lodge, No. 127, of Millburn; Waukegan Chapter, No. 41, R. A. M., and Waukegan Commandery, No. 12, K. T., and held principal offices in all those organizations.
Christian Townsend Heydecker died on February 25, 1926 at age 79, in San Diego, California. He is buried at Oakwood Cemetery, Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, USA.
Children:
- Coral T. Heydecker
- Nina Louise Heydecker
- Bessie Irene Heydecker
- Alice Emma Heydecker
Mr. Heydecker’s Published Work
Genealogy of the Heydecker Family: Containing the Historical Accounts of the Family, as Found in the Records at Vienna and Kempten, Germany, Together … With the Year 1634, to the Present Time
Christian’s book delves into the history of his lineage, beginning with Charles Friedrich Heydecker. It offers a rich account of this branch and their notable accomplishments in the Illinois and Wisconsin regions of the United States.