H1029 The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.
· A life in the study

Leonhard Hegnauer

Born at Igis in 1812.

born before 14 Jun 1812 at Igis, Graubünden

Igis from the air, 1 Sep 1947. Werner Friedli, ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Stiftung Luftbild Schweiz, LBS_H1-010091, CC BY-SA 4.0

Life story

Leonhard Hegnauer was baptised at Igis, in the Rhine valley of Graubünden, Switzerland, on 14 June 1812, the second son of Jakob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch.1–2 He was named after his mother's father, Leonhard Pleisch, just as his elder brother Christian bore the name of their father's father.3–5

After him came two sisters, Maria, who died as a baby early in 1815, and Elsbeth, baptised on Christmas Day that year, and two brothers, Luzius, born in 1819, and Jakob, the youngest, born in 1824.6–10 Luzius took his own family to America in 1856.11

What became of Leonhard himself is not known. His baptism is the only record of him that has been found.

What we know

Proven

  • Birth at Igis, 1812
  • Baptism at Igis, 1812

What's still open

  • Sources. FamilySearch's index of the Igis Reformed parish registers; the image of his baptism has not been viewed.

Sources

Sources 1–2

1 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1812

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Leonhard Hegnauer, 14 June 1812, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-5FWF; also (mother "Christina Flüsch") FamilySearch record 66VM-PTWY

2 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1808

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, marriage of Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch, 18 October 1808, Igis, Graubünden. FamilySearch record 6F84-F9CG; also indexed with the bride as Christina Flaisch, FamilySearch record 66VW-PY6Q

Sources 3–5

3 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1862

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Christina Hegnauer, 20 September 1862, Igis, Graubünden; died 17 September 1862; aged 70 [the index computes born 1792]; parents Leonhard Pleisch and Maria Nett. FamilySearch record 6F8D-93LL (indexed "Christian"); a second Igis entry gives the burial as 21 September 1862, FamilySearch record 6F8D-3PBK; the death was also entered in the register of Luzein, her home parish, FamilySearch record 6FZ1-Y5LQ

4 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1810

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Christian Hegnauer, 2 August 1810, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-N58P; also indexed as Christian "Heggauer", 12 August 1810, FamilySearch record 66VM-NMNT

5 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1783

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Jakob Hegnauer, 5 September 1783, Igis, Graubünden; parents Christian Hegnauer and Urs Radig. FamilySearch record 66VM-K176

Sources 6–10

6 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1815

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Maria Hegnauer, 23 January 1815, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-N6FM; also indexed as Maria "Hegmnauer", FamilySearch record 6F8C-TB2G

7 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1815

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Maria Hegnauer, 5 February 1815, Igis, Graubünden; age "0 days", born 1815 [computed]; father Jacob Hegnauer. FamilySearch record 6F88-5JL1

8 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1815

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Elsbeth Hegnauer, 25 December 1815, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-5XG7; also (mother "Christina Fleisch") FamilySearch record 6F8C-1PTL

9 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1819

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Luzius Hegnauer, 8 December 1819, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jakob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-1QQT; also (mother "Christina Plisch") FamilySearch record 6F8Z-MNJX

10 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1824

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Jacob Hegnauer, 7 June 1824, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-TNT1; also (Jakob, mother "Christina Fleisch") FamilySearch record 6F8C-5XNG

Source 11

11 New York, Passenger Lists, 1856

"New York, Passenger Lists, 1820–1957," database with images, Ancestry, ship Chase from Havre, arrived New York 30 September 1856 (NARA M237, roll 167), lines 155–161, family of Luzius Hegnauer indexed as "Hegemann". ancestry.com/search/collections/7488/records/1377441; arrival 29 Sep 1856 in the New York Herald and New-York Daily Tribune, 30 September 1856.

Life in time

before 14 Jun 1812

Birth , Igis, Graubünden, Switzerland

proven Source 1

How we know

Only his baptism is recorded, so he was born on or shortly before 14 Jun 1812.

The Igis baptism register (FamilySearch index, two entries) gives his baptism on 14 Jun 1812; the index gives no birth date.

  1. 1812 Birth before 14 Jun 1812 · Igis, Graubünden · proven

    Only his baptism is recorded, so he was born on or shortly before 14 Jun 1812.

    The Igis baptism register (FamilySearch index, two entries) gives his baptism on 14 Jun 1812; the index gives no birth date.

    Source 1

  2. 1812 Baptism 14 Jun 1812 · Igis, Graubünden · proven

    Igis Reformed parish register (FamilySearch index, two entries; the image has not been viewed). Parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch (indexed "Flüsch" in the second entry).

    Both index entries give 14 Jun 1812 and name the parents as Jacob (Jakob) Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch, the couple who had married at Igis in 1808 and are named at the baptisms of their seven children from 1809 to 1824.

    Source 1

  • proven

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Places in this life

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1
  1. 1 Igis, Graubünden Birth before 14 Jun 1812 · Baptism 14 Jun 1812

Family

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The evidence 2 facts with their grades, 12 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Birth before 14 Jun 1812 Igis, Graubünden, Switzerland proven 1
Baptism 14 Jun 1812 Igis, Graubünden, Switzerland proven 1

Research notes

  • Sources: FamilySearch's index of the Igis Reformed parish registers; the image of his baptism has not been viewed.1
  • His name: His mother's burial of 1862 names her parents as Leonhard Pleisch and Maria Nett. Leonhard and his sister Maria (1815) bear their names, and his brother Christian (1810) and sister Ursula (1809) the names of their father's parents.3, 5
  • Later life: not found. A search of the FamilySearch index on 27 Sep 2026 found no burial of a boy Leonhard Hegnauer at Igis between 1812 and 1835, although the Igis burial index for those years includes children's burials and usually names the father. None of the 138 Igis index records of a Leonhard is a Leonhard Hegnauer after his baptism, so no marriage or burial of his at Igis is indexed (the burial index runs to 1887). Nothing was found under any spelling of Hegnauer elsewhere in the Swiss index, and in the American records the only Leonhard Hegnauer is Luzius's son (1843–1916). The Igis Bürgerregister (register of citizen families), which should list every child of the family with its fate, has not been seen.
  • The 1884 directory: Newsom's 1884 directory of Bates County, Missouri, lists "Hegnauer L., Ger., 1813" next to Luzius's son Leonhard. The year would fit this Leonhard better than Luzius, but the entry gives the wife's maiden name as "M. Barnett" (Luzius's wife was Margreth Bernet), and no Leonhard Hegnauer born about 1812 has been found in America, so the entry is taken to be Luzius's (see his profile).12
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

  • Parents: proven - baptized 14 June 1812, both parents named in the entry
  • Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 : no later record in the Swiss or US indexes; no American Leonhard Hegnauer born about 1812 found, so he gives no support to the '1813' of the 1884 Bates County directory (that entry is Luzius H0001)

Sources

  1. 1

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Leonhard Hegnauer, 14 June 1812, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-5FWF; also (mother "Christina Flüsch") FamilySearch record 66VM-PTWY

  2. 2

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, marriage of Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch, 18 October 1808, Igis, Graubünden. FamilySearch record 6F84-F9CG; also indexed with the bride as Christina Flaisch, FamilySearch record 66VW-PY6Q

  3. 3

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Christina Hegnauer, 20 September 1862, Igis, Graubünden; died 17 September 1862; aged 70 [the index computes born 1792]; parents Leonhard Pleisch and Maria Nett. FamilySearch record 6F8D-93LL (indexed "Christian"); a second Igis entry gives the burial as 21 September 1862, FamilySearch record 6F8D-3PBK; the death was also entered in the register of Luzein, her home parish, FamilySearch record 6FZ1-Y5LQ

  4. 4

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Christian Hegnauer, 2 August 1810, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-N58P; also indexed as Christian "Heggauer", 12 August 1810, FamilySearch record 66VM-NMNT

  5. 5

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Jakob Hegnauer, 5 September 1783, Igis, Graubünden; parents Christian Hegnauer and Urs Radig. FamilySearch record 66VM-K176

  6. 6

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Maria Hegnauer, 23 January 1815, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-N6FM; also indexed as Maria "Hegmnauer", FamilySearch record 6F8C-TB2G

  7. 7

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Maria Hegnauer, 5 February 1815, Igis, Graubünden; age "0 days", born 1815 [computed]; father Jacob Hegnauer. FamilySearch record 6F88-5JL1

  8. 8

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Elsbeth Hegnauer, 25 December 1815, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-5XG7; also (mother "Christina Fleisch") FamilySearch record 6F8C-1PTL

  9. 9

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Luzius Hegnauer, 8 December 1819, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jakob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-1QQT; also (mother "Christina Plisch") FamilySearch record 6F8Z-MNJX

  10. 10

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Jacob Hegnauer, 7 June 1824, Igis, Graubünden; parents Jacob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch. FamilySearch record 6F8C-TNT1; also (Jakob, mother "Christina Fleisch") FamilySearch record 6F8C-5XNG

  11. 11

    "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820–1957," database with images, Ancestry, ship Chase from Havre, arrived New York 30 September 1856 (NARA M237, roll 167), lines 155–161, family of Luzius Hegnauer indexed as "Hegemann". ancestry.com/search/collections/7488/records/1377441; arrival 29 Sep 1856 in the New York Herald and New-York Daily Tribune, 30 September 1856.

  12. 12

    Newsom's County Directory for Bates County, Missouri (1884), Pleasant Gap Township: "Hegnauer L., Ger., 1813, Papinville, farmer; [wife's maiden name] M. Barnett, Ger., 1815", followed by "Hegnauer L., Switzerland, 1843, [Papinville], farmer; S. Hershi, Switzl., 1846"; in "U.S., City Directories, 1822–1995," database with images, Ancestry.com, image 41199_1220706242_4152-00086 (ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/41199_1220706242_4152-00086).