hegnauer.family
hegnauer.family
H0023 The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.
· A life in the study

Marie A. Hegnauer

Probably born in Missouri in 1900 and died before 6 September 1957.

born Mar 1900 in Missouri, United States died before 6 Sep 1957

From Igis to the Pacific
Also written Mary Hegnauer, Marie Whitener

Marie A. Hegnauer was born in March 1900 in Missouri, the youngest of the seven children of Christian Hegnauer and Anna Wirz, and grew up on their farm in Pleasant Gap Township, Bates County.1 The census taker who called that June wrote her down as Mary, a baby of a few months; in 1910 she was Marie A., aged ten, at home with her brothers Leonard and Christian and her sisters Rosa and Lizzie.1–2

On 12 June 1919, at Butler, Marie married Sterling W. Whitener.3 He became a minister, and the couple went out to China as missionaries. Early in 1927, in the upheavals of the Nationalist revolution, the family was "driven out by the hostilities in China", and at the end of March "Rev. Whitner and family" (evidently including children) were staying with Marie's parents in Rockville.4

Marie died before her father, who died in 1957; when and where has not been established.5 Her husband died at Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1950 (see his profile).

What we know

Proven

  • Marriage to Sterling Wilfong Whitener at Butler, 1919
  • Occupation in China, 1927
  • Death, 1957
  • 3 homes, from the census and other records

Probable

  • Birth in Missouri, 1900

What's still open

Nothing the notes flag. Which is not the same as nothing left to find.

Sources

Source 1

1 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Pleasant Gap Township

Source 2

2 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Pleasant Gap Township

Source 3

3 Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1919

Source 4

4 Appleton City Journal, 1927

Source 5

5 Appleton City Journal, 1957

Life in time

Mar 1900

Birth, Missouri, United States

probable Source 1

How we know

  1. 1900 Residence Pleasant Gap Township, Bates · proven

    Daughter, an infant of two or three months, in the household of her parents Christian and Anna Hegnauer.

    Her parents and brothers and sisters identify the household.

    Source 1

  2. 1900 Birth Mar 1900 · Missouri, United States · probable

    Probably in Pleasant Gap Township, Bates County, where her parents were farming. Indexed as "Mary" in the 1900 census.

    The 1900 census, taken in June 1900, gives Mar 1900, Missouri, for Mary [Marie], the youngest child of Christian and Anna Hegnauer. No birth record has been found.

    Source 1

  3. 1910 Residence Pleasant Gap Township, Bates · proven

    Daughter, 10, in her parents' household, as Marie A.

    Index entry attached to the family tree, in her father's household; the image has not been read.

    Source 2

  4. 1919 Marriage, with Sterling Wilfong Whitener 12 Jun 1919 · Butler, Bates · proven

    Bates County marriage record of Marie A. Hegnauer and Sterling W. Whitener (FamilySearch index; the record itself has not been read). The family tree gives Rockville, without a source.

    FamilySearch's index of the Bates County marriage records gives the marriage of Marie A. Hegnauer and Sterling W. Whitener at Butler on 12 Jun 1919. In 1927 the Rockville column reported "Rev. Whitner and family" staying at "the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer", and her father's 1957 obituary names his late daughter Mrs. Marie Whitener.

    Sources 3, 4, 5

  5. 1921 Son born: Sterling Hegnauer Whitener family event

    Their page →

  6. 1923 Son born: Donald Leonard Whitener family event

    Their page →

  7. 1927 Occupation before Mar 1927 · China · proven

    Missionary in China with her husband, the Rev. Sterling W. Whitener, until the family was "driven out by the hostilities in China" early in 1927.

    The Rockville column of 31 Mar 1927 reports that "Rev. Whitner and family have returned from China where they were missionaries" and are at the home of "her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer". Where in China and under which mission board is not stated; when they went out is not known.

    Source 4

  8. 1927 Residence Mar 1927 · Rockville, Bates · proven

    Staying with her husband and children at the home of her parents in Rockville, after leaving China.

    The same newspaper item.

    Source 4

  9. 1957 Death before 6 Sep 1957 · proven

    She died before her father, who died on 6 Sep 1957. The family tree gives 9 Jun 1947 in China, without a source (see Research Notes).

    Her father's obituary lists Mrs. Marie Whitener among his three children who had died before him; the year printed for her, 1958, is impossible. No record of her death has been found.

    Source 5

  • proven
  • probable
  • family event

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Places in this life

5 places, in order
1 2 3 4 5
  1. 1 Pleasant Gap Township, Bates County Residence 1900 · Residence 1910
  2. 2 Missouri, United States Birth Mar 1900
  3. 3 Butler, Bates County Marriage 12 Jun 1919
  4. 4 China Occupation before Mar 1927
  5. 5 Rockville, Bates County Residence Mar 1927

Hollow markers are placed approximately, at the town, county or region.

Family

Father Christian Hegnauer 1868–1957 Mother Anna Wirz 1860–1943
This page Marie A. Hegnauer 1900–bef. 1957
Husband · m. 12 Jun 1919 Sterling Wilfong Whitener 1894–1950
Son Sterling Hegnauer Whitener 1921–2017 Son Donald Leonard Whitener b. c. 1923
Compare with… Pan, zoom and follow the family through the whole study, or see how Marie A. Hegnauer is related to anyone else in it.
Family tree

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Records

Search the archive →
Deaths and burials 1 record · 1957
  • 12 Sep 1957 proven Obituary of father Christian “Marie (Mrs.) Whitener”, daughter (deceased) Appleton City, St. Clair County Newspapers.com · O06232
Census, land and residence 3 records · 1900–1910
  • 1900 probable Residence “Marie A. Hegnauer” Pleasant Gap, Bates County Ancestry · O00164
  • 1900 proven Census “Mary Hegnauer” Pleasant Gap Township, Bates County FamilySearch · O02874
  • 1910 probable Residence “Marie A. Hegnauer” Pleasant Gap, Bates County Ancestry · O00165
Newspapers 1 record · 1913
  • 12 Jun 1913 possible Social item (visit) “Marie (Miss) Hegnauer”, granddaughter Appleton City, St. Clair County Newspapers.com · O06612
Other records 2 records · 1919
Also cited as evidence: 1 record filed under relatives

In the papers

The newspaper room →
  1. Social item (visit)

    Appleton City Journal · as granddaughter

  2. “Christian Hegnauer Dies in Butler”

    Appleton City Journal · as daughter (deceased)

The evidence 7 facts with their grades, 5 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Residence 1900 Pleasant Gap Township, Bates, Missouri, United States proven 1
Birth Mar 1900 Missouri, United States probable 1
Residence 1910 Pleasant Gap Township, Bates, Missouri, United States proven 2
Marriage with Sterling Wilfong Whitener 12 Jun 1919 Butler, Bates, Missouri, United States proven 3 , 4 , 5
Occupation before Mar 1927 China proven 4
Residence Mar 1927 Rockville, Bates, Missouri, United States proven 4
Death before 6 Sep 1957 proven 5

Research notes

  • Identity: The "Mary" born in Mar 1900 in the 1900 census and Marie A. in 1910, youngest child of Christian and Anna, is the Marie A. Hegnauer who married Sterling W. Whitener at Butler in 1919.1, 2, 3 The 1927 newspaper item places "Rev. Whitner and family" at "the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer", and her father's obituary names his late daughter Mrs. Marie Whitener.4, 5 The facts come from the Ancestry tree's attached census records and FamilySearch's indexes; no image has been read.
  • Death (unproven): The family tree gives 9 Jun 1947 in China, without a source; that would mean that the couple went back to China after 1927. Her father's 1957 obituary prints a year for her death that reads 1958, which is impossible.5 Her husband's death certificate (North Carolina, 1950), mission-board records and the missionary press are the places to look.
  • China: The 1927 item does not name the mission, the denomination or the station.4 Missionaries were evacuated from much of China in the first months of 1927, during the Northern Expedition; the family's return fits that.
  • Children: The family tree gives two sons, born in the early 1920s, the elder in China. No record of either has been found in this study, so both are treated as living, with private profiles, and are not named here.
  • Marriage place: Butler in FamilySearch's index; Rockville in the family tree, without a source.3
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

  • Missionary in China with husband H0069 until 1927; tree's d. 9 Jun 1947 China unsourced; d. before Sep 1957
  • M. Rev. Sterling W. Whitener 26 Jun 1919 (Reformed Church history index; Bates Co. licence 1919) (FamilySearch full text)

Sources

  1. 1

    1900 U.S. Federal Census, Pleasant Gap Township, Bates County, Missouri, E.D. 18, sheet 1, Mary [Marie] Hegnauer (daughter, born Mar 1900, Missouri) in the household of Christian Hegnauer (born May 1868, Illinois; farmer), with her mother Anna and her brothers and sisters Lena, Clara, Leonard, Rosa, Lizzie and Christian; NARA T623, roll 839; database with images, Ancestry.com. Also "United States Census, 1900," FamilySearch. FamilySearch record M3HK-SV9 (index read; image not read).

    In the archive: O00164 , O02874 Ancestry

  2. 2

    1910 U.S. Federal Census, Pleasant Gap Township, Bates County, Missouri, E.D. 18, sheet 3B, Marie A. Hegnauer (daughter) in the household of Christian Hegnauer (farmer), with her mother Anna and her brothers and sisters Leonard, Rosa, Lizzie and Christian; NARA T624, roll 768; FHL microfilm 1374781; database with images, Ancestry.com (index entry attached to the family tree; image not read).

    In the archive: O00165 Ancestry

  3. 3

    "Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800–1991," database, FamilySearch, Marie A Hegnauer and Sterling W Whitener, 12 June 1919, Butler, Bates County, Missouri. FamilySearch record QKZ7-FDK7 (index entry; the record has not been read).

    In the archive: O03168

  4. 4

    "Rockville Department," Appleton City Journal (Appleton City, Missouri), 31 March 1927, p. 6: "Rev. Whitner and family have returned from China where they were missionaries, and are at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hegnauer. They were driven out by the hostilities in China."; image, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com/image/863945723).

  5. 5

    "Christian Hegnauer Dies in Butler," Appleton City Journal (Appleton City, Missouri), 12 September 1957, p. 8: obituary of her father; of his seven children three had died before him, Mrs. Marie Whitener ("1958" [sic]), Lizzie Durst (1950) and Christian (1951); image, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com/image/863906271).

    Ancestry

Cite this page H0023

Evidence Explained

Hegnauer One-Name Study, “Marie A. Hegnauer (H0023, 1900–bef. 1957),” hegnauer.family (https://hegnauer.family/people/h0023-marie-a-hegnauer/ : accessed 28 September 2026).

Chicago (notes)

“Marie A. Hegnauer (H0023, 1900–bef. 1957),” hegnauer.family, Hegnauer One-Name Study, accessed September 28, 2026, https://hegnauer.family/people/h0023-marie-a-hegnauer/.

H0023 is this person's permanent number in the study. Names get respelled; the number never changes, so the link and the citation keep working.

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