Heinhorst, Herman Friedrich Wilhelm 1a 2a

Birth Name Heinhorst, Herman Friedrich Wilhelm
Gender male
Age at Death 47 years, 3 months, 18 days

Narrative

Wilhelm Heinhorst was born in Gehlbergen in Hanover near Bruchhausen.
He seems to have been fairly prosperous. He apparently decided to come
to the United States because of difficulties with his wife's family.

Wilhelm's wife, Louisa M ller, was from Kampscheide, also in Hannover.
They were married in the church in Asendorf in 1836. Louisa was
decended from lesser nobility as well, but her immediate family was
apparently impoverished.

Wilhelm and Louisa left Gehlbergen for the United States with their
family on July 10, 1854. They apparently spent the night of July 10
with family in Vilsen since two of their children Margaretha and
Heinrich were baptised there on July 11. They spent several days
traveling to Bremerhaven, including a two day stay in Bremen.

On July 20 or 21, 1854, they sailed on the Elizabeth for New York. They
arrived in New York on September 2 and left for Chicago by train at 6:00
p.m. the next day. The family arrived in Chicago on September 11 and
spent a day and a half there before going on to their destination,
Capers Grove (now Tinley Park). (They may have lived near Argo and
Summit.)

The family was in Capers Grove barely a week when the children
contracted cholera. A doctor advised Louisa not to give the children
water. She followed this advice, despite the children's suffering,
until two of the children died. She then gave the other children water.
All but one survived.

Wilhelm and Louisa attributed their children's illness and deaths to the
swampy character of the land around Capers Grove and decided to find a
healthier area to move to. They met the Karch family from near
Frankfurt, Illinois, who owned a tract of land in Mason county between
Topeka and Bishop - an area with sandy soils which appealed to Wilhelm
and Louisa. They bought land there and moved to Mason County, arriving
at their new farm March 6, 1856.

Ann Schwab understood that they bought their farm from the Karches.
Florence Hovey believed that Wilhelm bought the farm from some one else.
This farm was just east of the woods east of the Biship Cemetery near
Bishop Junction a short distance west of Topeka. His son Friedrich
later bought a farm from the Karches on the east side of the road going
north from the Bishop road, west of the Bishop Cemetery. Friedrick's
house still stands on that farm about 1/4 mile north of the Bishop road.

Florence also believed that the family first moved to Long Point before
moving to the farm near Bishop Junction.

The Heinhorst and Karch families became good friends. One of Whilhelm
and Louisa's grandchildren, Arthur F. Heinhorst, married one of the
Karch family.

Wilhelm lived only two more years after moving to Mason County. Louisa
lived until 1870. They are buried in the old Evangelical Cemetary north
of Bishop.

In 1987, Jennifer Heinhorst visited Gehlbergen, Asendorf, and
Kampscheide. While she was there, she was able to do some genealogical
research - visiting with a geneaologist in Bruchhausen-Vilsen and
examining old church records. She found a house in Gehlbergen which had
been owned by a Heinhorst family until 1912, but she did not find any
Heinhorst families still living in Gehlbergen.

Events

Event Date Place Description Sources
Birth 1811-05-09 Gehlbergen near Bruchausen-Vilsen, Hannover, GERMANY    
Death 1858-08-27 Old Evangelical Cemetary north of Bishop, Illinois    
Emigration 1854-07-10 Gehlbergen near Bruchausen-Vilsen, Hannover, GERMANY    
Immigration 1854-09-02 New York Sailed on the ship Elizabeth on July 20 or 21  

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Heinhorst, Johann Konrad Heinrich1785-08-041812-08-12
Mother Bohlmann, Anna Katherine Margarethaabout 1780about 1843
         Heinhorst, Herman Friedrich Wilhelm 1811-05-09 1858-08-27
    Sister     Heinhorst, Anna Katherine Margaretha 1811-05-09 about 1878

Families

Family of Heinhorst, Herman Friedrich Wilhelm and Müller, Katharina Louisa Margaretha

Married Wife Müller, Katharina Louisa Margaretha ( * 1812 + 1870-06-03 )
   
Event Date Place Description Sources
Marriage 1836-05-06 Asendorf, GERMANY Marriage of Heinhorst, Herman Friedrich Wilhelm and M ller, Katharina Louisa Margaretha  
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Heinhorst, Diedrich Heinrich Conrad1837-01-291910-04-10
Heinhorst, Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm1838-10-211900-03-25
Heinhorst, Katrine Marie1841-01-161882-12-31
Heinhorst, Johann Wilhelm1843-06-171854-09-22
Heinhorst, Heinrich Diedrich1845-02-151845-12-07
Heinhorst, Anna Margaretha Dorothea1846-09-111854-09-26
Heinhorst, Heinrich Freiderich Christian1849-07-311854-09-22
Heinhorst, Rebecca Sophie Adelheit1852-02-081938-10-31

Attributes

Type Value Notes Sources
_UID A04DAC82B373D811921200AA0048380E0699
 

Source References

  1. John H Munz johnmunz@pacbell.net: No title - ID S27
      • Page: email from John H Munz
  2. Robert C Sonders: Mom, Dad, and Their Ancestry
      • Date: 2012-12-12
      • Page: 6
      • Confidence: High
      • Source text:

        How Wilhelm Heinhorst (1812- ) managed during his early childhood is not known. He resided in Gehlbergen Hanover, Germany near Bruchhausen, and became a fairly prosperous
        person. Wilhelm married Louisa Muller (1812- ), the daughter of Fred Muller, in Asendorf
        Germany in 1836. Louisa was born in Kampscheide Hanover in the same year as her husband,
        1812. They had eight children: Conrad, Friedrich, Katrine Marie, Johann, Heinrich Diedrich,
        Anna Dorothea, Christian, and Rebecca Adelheit. Because of difficulties with his wife's family,
        the Wilhelm family left their home to live in the United States on July 10, 1854. They sailed on
        the ship Elizabeth on July 20 or 21 and arrived in New York on September 2. The next day, the
        family traveled to Chicago and stayed in Capers Grove, an area now called Tinley Park. Barely
        a week later, three oftheir children contacted cholera and died: Johann was 11 years old, Anna
        Dorothea was to, and Christian was 6; a disastrous beginning in a New World. According to a
        news article that year, 90,000 Chicagoans died of typhoid fever and cholera. On March 6, 1856,
        the family bought a farm in Mason County located between Quiver (now known as Topeka) and Bishop, Illinois.