H0492

The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.

· A life in the study

Wilhelm Hegnauer

Born about 1842 and last recorded at Neuchâtel in 1918.

Born: about 1842
Married: 15 Mar 1873 Maria Zwinkel Newark, Essex
Last known alive: Sep 1918

Neuchâtel and Newark, New Jersey How is someone related to Wilhelm? →

Also written William Nicolas Hegnauer

Moments

2 from the records

Wedding · 15 Mar 1873 Wilhelm the engraver marries at Newark In 1873 Wilhelm Hegnauer, an engraver, married at Newark, New Jersey; by 1880 the family was at La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the Swiss watch country. New Jersey marriage, Newark, 15 Mar 1873 (FamilySearch index; the return read on Ancestry)
Death · Dec 1948 James Ernest Hegnauer dies suddenly in a Newark factory Born at La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1880, James Ernest Hegnauer was probably in Nebraska in 1910 and Washington in 1920, and at San Francisco in 1918; he died at Newark in 1948. Woodland Cemetery, Newark, records index, entries of 1925 and 1948 (FamilySearch Full-Text, machine transcription)

Not to be confused with Wilhelm Hegnauer (1827–c. 1868) or Wilhelm Hegnauer.

Sources

Sources 1–3

1 New Jersey State Archives, Return of Marriages, 1872

2 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

3 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1962

Sources 4–6

4 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1880

5 Woodland Cemetery, 1925

6 United States, Census, 1910

Source 7

7 U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1873

Source 8

8 United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1874

Source 9

9 New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1892

Wilhelm Hegnauer, whom his son later named as William Nicolas, was an engraver at Newark, New Jersey, when he married there in 1873; by 1880 his family was living in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel, and he was still at Neuchâtel in 1918.^1–3 He was born about 1842, a son of a Rudolph Hegnauer; where he was born is not known.¹ He was the father of the Hegnauers of Newark: his son James Ernest, born at La Chaux-de-Fonds, was living at Newark when he died in 1948, and Louis Arnold, very probably his elder son, spent his adult life there and at Irvington.^4–6

Newark

On 15 March 1873, at Newark, Wilhelm married Maria Zwinkel, whose father's name was John. He was thirty-one and single, and he gave his trade as engraver; the city's return of marriages gives no birthplace for either of them. The wedding was also entered in the register of the First German Presbyterian Church of Newark.^{1, 7} Eleven months later, on 28 February 1874, a son, Louis Arnold, was born in New Jersey; he was very probably theirs.^{6, 8}

Neuchâtel

The family did not stay in America. By September 1880 it seems to have settled at La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel, where Wilhelm and Maria's son James Ernest was born on 16 September 1880.^{2, 4}

Both sons made their lives in America. A Louis Hegnauer of eighteen, a Swiss, who landed at New York from Le Havre in March 1892, was very probably Louis Arnold, back in the country of his birth; James had crossed by 1918.^{3, 9} When James registered for the American draft at San Francisco in September 1918, he named as his nearest relative his father, William Nicolas Hegnauer, then living at Neuchâtel.³ Nothing later is known of Wilhelm, and his death has not been found.

Louis died in 1925 and James in 1948, and both were buried in Woodland Cemetery at Newark.⁵

Family

The line: Neuchâtel and Newark, New Jersey →

Married

Wife Maria Zwinkel married 15 Mar 1873, Newark

Their 2 children

Down to the present

Louis Arnold Hegnauer 1874–1925
Thelma H. Hegnauer b. c. 1907

How is someone related to Wilhelm?

Life and places

9 events · 3 places, in order

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

1842 Birth about 1842 proven

How we know

Aged 31 at his marriage on 15 Mar 1873. No record found gives his birthplace.

The Newark return of marriages gives his age as 31 on 15 Mar 1873, so he was born between March 1841 and March 1842; FamilySearch's index computes 1842. No record of his birth has been found.

Source 1
1873 Residence 15 Mar 1873 Newark, Essex proven

How we know

Of Newark at his marriage.

The Newark return of marriages, read on the image, gives his residence as Newark.

Source 1
1873 Occupation 15 Mar 1873 Newark, Essex proven

How we know

Engraver.

His occupation on the Newark return of marriages, read on the image.

Source 1
1873 Marriage, with Maria Zwinkel 15 Mar 1873 Newark, Essex proven

How we know

Also recorded by the First German Presbyterian Church, Newark. The groom was 31, single, of Newark, an engraver, the son of Rudolph; the bride, written "Gwinkel" on the city's return, was the daughter of John. No birthplaces are given.

The City of Newark's return of marriages for 1872–1873, read on the image, records the marriage on 15 Mar 1873 of Wilhelm Hegnauer, 31, single, engraver, son of Rudolph, and Maria "Gwinkel", daughter of John; FamilySearch indexes the bride as Maria Zwinkel. The First German Presbyterian Church of Newark recorded the same marriage (index only). Their son James gave his mother's maiden name as Zwickel in his Social Security application.

Sources 1, 4, 7
1874 Son born: Louis Arnold Hegnauer family event

Their page →
1880 Residence Sep 1880 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel probable

How we know

Probable: his son James Ernest was born there on 16 Sep 1880.

James's 1942 draft registration (index) gives his birth at La Chaux-de-Fonds on 16 Sep 1880, and his Social Security application names his parents as William N. and a mother born Zwickel. The birth places the mother at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Sep 1880; that Wilhelm was living there too is an inference.

Sources 2, 4
1880 Son born: James Ernest Hegnauer family event

Their page →
1914–18 First World War
1918 Residence Sep 1918 Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel proven

How we know

Named by his son James as his nearest relative, living at Neuchâtel, on his draft card at San Francisco.

James's own draft registration card, read on the image, names "Father, William Nicolas Hegnauer, Neuchâtel, Switzerland".

Source 3
1918 Last known alive after Sep 1918 proven

How we know

Living, so far as his son knew, in September 1918. His death has not been found.

His son James named him as his nearest relative, at Neuchâtel, in Sep 1918. No later record of him has been found.

Source 3

proven
probable
family event
the history around the life
What the grades mean

Records

All 2 of his records in the archive →

15 Mar 1873 Marriage “Wilhelm Hegnauer” · Newark, Essex County · FamilySearch O02688 proven
1887–89 Naturalization index “Hegnauer”, mentioned · Middlesex County, New Jersey · FamilySearch Full-Text O04140 possible

Also cited as evidence: 16 records filed under relatives

21 Mar 1892 Immigration “Louis Hegnauer”, filed under Louis Hegnauer · FamilySearch probable
1895 Census “Jacob Hegnauer”, filed under Jacob Hegnauer · FamilySearch probable
1905 Census “Jacob Hegnauer”, filed under Jacob Hegnauer · FamilySearch probable
1910 Census “Jacob Hegnauer”, filed under Jacob Hegnauer · FamilySearch probable
1910 Census “Edna Hegnaner”, filed under Edna Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
1910 Census “Minnie Hegnaner”, filed under Wilhelmina Fischer · FamilySearch proven
1910 Census “Thelma Hegnaner”, filed under Thelma H. Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
1910 Census “Arnold Hegnaner”, filed under Louis Arnold Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
from 1917 to 1918 Military draft registration “Louis Arnold Hegnaner”, filed under Louis Arnold Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
30 Oct 1925; 4 Dec 1948 Cemetery records index “Hegnauer”, filed under Louis Arnold Hegnauer · FamilySearch Full-Text proven
1933 Italian marriage banns “Hegnauer”, filed under Ida Hegnauer · FamilySearch Full-Text proven
1942 Military draft registration “James Ernest Hegnauer”, filed under James Ernest Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
undated Municipal census “Leonie Hegnauer”, filed under Leonie Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
undated Burial “Louis A Hegnauer”, filed under Louis Arnold Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
undated Burial “James Hegnauer”, filed under James Ernest Hegnauer · FamilySearch proven
undated Draft registration “Minnie Hegnauer”, filed under Wilhelmina Fischer · FamilySearch possible

The evidence

how the study knows, and what it doesn't

7 facts: 6 proven 1 probable What the grades mean

What's still open

Death. When and where he died is not yet known. The last record of him alive is from Sep 1918.
Birth and origin. He was 31 at his marriage, so born between March 1841 and March 1842.
His wife's surname. written "Gwinkel" on the Newark return (image), indexed Zwinkel by FamilySearch and "Twickel" in the index of the church register, and given as Zwickel in James's Social Security application.

Help wanted: 5 open questions about him →

Facts and their grades 7

Fact	Date	Place	Grade	Sources
Birth	about 1842		proven	1
Residence	15 Mar 1873	Newark, Essex, New Jersey, United States	proven	1
Occupation	15 Mar 1873	Newark, Essex, New Jersey, United States	proven	1
Marriage with Maria Zwinkel	15 Mar 1873	Newark, Essex, New Jersey, United States	proven	1 , 4 , 7
Residence	Sep 1880	La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland	probable	2 , 4
Residence	Sep 1918	Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland	proven	3
Death	after Sep 1918		proven	3

Sources 15

1

New Jersey State Archives, Return of Marriages, City of Newark, Essex County, June 1872–June 1873: 15 March [1873], Wilhelm Hegnauer, age 31, single, of Newark, engraver, father Rudolph, and Maria "Gwinkel" [Zwinkel], father John; no birthplaces given; database with images, Ancestry.com, collection 62483, record 201986, image 004208620_00328 (image read 27 September 2026). Also "New Jersey, Marriages, 1678–1985," FamilySearch (groom born 1842; groom's father Rudolph; bride Maria Zwinkel). FamilySearch record FZGM-5VJ

In the archive: O02688 Ancestry
2

"U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," database with images, Ancestry.com, James Ernest Hegnauer [his son], born 16 September 1880, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland; residence Essex Township [Essex County?], New Jersey (index read 27 September 2026). Also "United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942," FamilySearch (born 16 September 1880; Newark). FamilySearch record XRNV-N5Q

In the archive: O03550 Ancestry
3

"U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918," database with images, Ancestry.com, James Ernest Hegnauer [his son], Local Board 13, San Francisco, California, September 1918: 1962 Powell Street, San Francisco; age 38; born 16 September 1880; alien, non-declarant, citizen of Switzerland; not employed; nearest relative "Father, William Nicolas Hegnauer, Neuchâtel, Switzerland"; tall, slender, brown eyes, brown hair; image 005241082_00752 (image read 27 September 2026).

Ancestry
4

"U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007," database, Ancestry.com, James Hegner [James Ernest Hegnauer, his son], born 16 September 1880, Switzerland; father William N. Hegner; mother's maiden name Zwickel; name listed July 1937 (index read 27 September 2026).

Ancestry
5

Woodland Cemetery (Newark, New Jersey), records index: "Hegnauer Louis A., October 30th, 1925, 51 years, 34 Fern Avenue, Irvington, lobar pneumonia" and "Hegnauer James, December 4th 1948, 83 Green St, Newark, age 68, sudden death in factory"; FamilySearch Full-Text (machine transcription), images familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34J-4SGC-Z and familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34J-4S1B-Q (transcription read 27 September 2026). Also "New Jersey, Newark, Woodland Cemetery Records, 1895–1980," FamilySearch. FamilySearch record Z77G-W9MM; FamilySearch record Z77G-WMT2

In the archive: O04141 , O03571 , O03572
6

"United States, Census, 1910," database, FamilySearch, Newark Ward 16, Essex County, New Jersey: Arnold "Hegnaner" [Louis Arnold Hegnauer] (born about 1874, New Jersey), his wife Minnie and their daughters Edna and Thelma (index entries; the image has not been read). FamilySearch record MKTT-PZV

In the archive: O05723 , O05721 , O05720 , O05722
7

"U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701–1970," database with images, Ancestry.com, First German Presbyterian Church, Newark, New Jersey, marriage of Wilhelm Hegnauer, 31, father Rudolph, and Maria "Twickel" [Zwinkel], 15 March 1873 (index read 27 September 2026; the register page has not been read).

Ancestry
8

"United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918," database, FamilySearch, Louis Arnold "Hegnaner" [Hegnauer], Newark, Essex County, New Jersey; born 28 February 1874; a Minnie Hegnauer also named on the card (index entries; the card has not been read). FamilySearch record 76DS-XQPZ

In the archive: O05536 , O03622
9

"New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820–1957," database with images, Ancestry.com, manifest of the steamer La Bretagne, Le Havre to New York, arrived 21 March 1892, line 152: Louis Hegnauer, 18, male, occupation read as "confectioner" (uncertain), Swiss, destination New York; citing NARA M237, roll 583; image NYM237_583-0681 (image read 27 September 2026). Also "United States, Germans to America Index, 1850–1897," FamilySearch (born 1874, Switzerland). FamilySearch record KD31-F51

In the archive: O02778 Ancestry
10

Rainer J. Schweizer and Christina Müller, "Bürgerrecht," Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), version of 2000 (print-edition article, updated 11 January 2021), hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/008969/2021-01-11 (accessed 27 September 2026).
11

Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz (Répertoire des noms de famille suisses), entry "Hegnauer": old (pre-1800) citizenships Elgg ZH and Seengen AG only; Igis not listed. Consulted online, 27 September 2026.
12

"Netherlands, Archival Indexes, Population Registers," database, FamilySearch, Leonie Hegnauer, Rotterdam; born 3 October 1876, "Chauxderfonds" [La Chaux-de-Fonds] (index entry). FamilySearch record QGLR-XY5K

In the archive: O03120
13

Marriage banns of Luigi Bianchi and Albertina Flückiger, 1933 (Lausanne and Trieste): the bride "figlia di Fritz e della Ida Hegnauer, nata a La Chaux-de-Fonds il 7 gennaio 1891", of Lützelflüh; FamilySearch Full-Text (machine transcription), image familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRH2-D69 (transcription read 27 September 2026).

In the archive: O04139
14

Naturalization index, Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1887–1889: "Wilhelm J Hegnauer"; FamilySearch Full-Text (machine transcription), image familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Q4-CN4Z (transcription read 27 September 2026).

In the archive: O04140
15

"United States, Census, 1910," database, FamilySearch, Jacob Hegnauer, born about 1854, Switzerland, East Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey (index entry). FamilySearch record MKBQ-PWG Also "New Jersey, State Census, 1895," FamilySearch, Franklin Township, Somerset County, FamilySearch record QL8Y-X9GX, and "New Jersey, State Census, 1905," FamilySearch, Mercer County, FamilySearch record KM4S-VFP.

In the archive: O02954 , O03177 , O02803

Research notes the reasoning, record by record

Sources: The Newark return of marriages (1873) and James's draft card (1918) were read on the images on 27 Sep 2026. The church register of 1873, James's Social Security application and his 1942 draft card are known from indexes only.
Name: Wilhelm at his marriage, his only record of his own found so far. His son James named him "William Nicolas Hegnauer" on his draft card (1918) and "William N. Hegner" in his Social Security application (1937).^{1, 3, 4}
Birth and origin: He was 31 at his marriage, so born between March 1841 and March 1842.¹ Neither the return nor the church index gives a birthplace. His son James was a citizen of Switzerland in 1918, and a Swiss child took its communal citizenship from its parents, so Wilhelm was very probably a Swiss citizen (an inference).^{3, 10} His commune of citizenship (Heimatort) is unknown. The Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz records only Seengen (Aargau) and Elgg (Zürich) as Hegnauer citizenships older than 1800;¹¹ nothing yet ties him to either.
His wife's surname: written "Gwinkel" on the Newark return (image), indexed Zwinkel by FamilySearch and "Twickel" in the index of the church register, and given as Zwickel in James's Social Security application.^{1, 7, 4} The study uses Zwinkel; the church register should decide it.
Louis Arnold (probable): He is taken to be Wilhelm and Maria's son because he was born in New Jersey on 28 Feb 1874, eleven months after their marriage at Newark; because the Louis Hegnauer, 18, a Swiss, who landed from Le Havre in March 1892 fits a New Jersey-born son of a family that had moved to Switzerland; and because he and James, a proven son, were buried in the same cemetery at Newark. No record names Louis's parents; the argument is set out on his profile.^{8, 9, 5}
Other Hegnauers at La Chaux-de-Fonds: a Leonie Hegnauer, born at La Chaux-de-Fonds on 3 Oct 1876, is in the population register of Rotterdam,¹² and an Ida Hegnauer, wife of Fritz Flückiger, had a daughter born there on 7 Jan 1891.¹³ Leonie was born between Louis and James, and either woman may belong to this family; neither is linked.
Middlesex County, 1887–1889 (not used): a "Wilhelm J Hegnauer" is in a naturalization index of Middlesex County, New Jersey (machine transcription).¹⁴ Wilhelm's family was in Switzerland by 1880 and he was at Neuchâtel in 1918, while a Jacob Hegnauer, born in Switzerland about 1854, lived in central New Jersey from 1895 and in Middlesex County in 1910;¹⁵ the entry may belong to that family.
To read: the register of the First German Presbyterian Church of Newark (1873), which may give birthplaces; the civil register of La Chaux-de-Fonds for James's birth (1880), which should give his parents' ages and commune of citizenship; the registers of Neuchâtel after 1918, for Wilhelm's death.
This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

Father Rudolph (marriage index); m. Maria Zwinkel 15 Mar 1873 Newark
PROVEN father of James Ernest (SS-5 parents; 1918 draft card 'William Nicolas Hegnauer of Neuchâtel'); family at La Chaux-de-Fonds by 1880; engraver; father Rudolph; home town still unknown
A "Wilhelm J Hegnauer" naturalized Middlesex Co., N.J., 1887-89 (possible); Ida Hegnauer (Mrs Fritz Flückiger) had a daughter at La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1891 - possibly a relative (FamilySearch full text)

Cite this page H0492

Evidence Explained

Hegnauer One-Name Study, “Wilhelm Hegnauer (H0492, c. 1842–aft. 1918),” hegnauer.family (https://hegnauer.family/people/h0492-wilhelm-hegnauer/ : accessed 28 September 2026).

Chicago (notes)

“Wilhelm Hegnauer (H0492, c. 1842–aft. 1918),” hegnauer.family, Hegnauer One-Name Study, accessed September 28, 2026, https://hegnauer.family/people/h0492-wilhelm-hegnauer/.

H0492 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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