hegnauer.family
H1031 The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.
· A life in the study

Elsbeth Hegnauer

Born at Igis in 1815.

born before 25 Dec 1815 at Igis, Graubünden

From Igis to the Pacific

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

Elsbeth Hegnauer was baptised at Igis, in the Rhine valley of Graubünden, Switzerland, on Christmas Day, 25 December 1815, a daughter of Jakob Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch, who had married there in 1808.1–2 Both her sisters, Ursula and Maria, had died as babies, Maria earlier that same year.3–4

Elsbeth was still a baby when famine came to Switzerland in 1816 and 1817.5 Her brothers were Christian and Leonhard, older than she, and two younger ones: Luzius, born in 1819, who took his own family to America in 1856, and Jakob, born in 1824.6–8

What became of Elsbeth is not known. She may be the Elsbeth Hegnauer who had a daughter at Igis in 1838, but another Elsbeth Hegnauer of the village fits that record as well (see the Research Notes).9

What we know

Proven

  • Birth at Igis, 1815
  • Baptism at Igis, 1815

What's still open

  • Sources. FamilySearch's index of the Igis Reformed parish registers; the images have not been viewed.
  • Later life. A search of the FamilySearch index on 27 Sep 2026 found no marriage or burial of hers at Igis, where the marriage and burial entries of the 1830s to 1880s name the parents, and nothing under any spelling of Hegnauer elsewhere in the Swiss index.

Sources

Sources 1–2

1 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

In the archive: O01563 , O01531

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

In the archive: O01392 , O01130

Sources 3–4

3 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1809

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Ursula Hegnauer, 19 March 1809, Igis, Graubünden; age "0 days", born 1809 [computed]; parents not given in the index. FamilySearch record 66V7-J8GQ; also indexed as FamilySearch record 6F8D-31ZJ

In the archive: O00604 , O01784

4 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

In the archive: O01489

Source 5

5 Hungersnöte, 2000

Fridolin Kurmann, "Hungersnöte," Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), version of 2000 (print-edition article, updated 16 February 2011), hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/016226/2011-02-16 (accessed 27 September 2026).

Sources 6–8

6 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

In the archive: O01533 , O02043

7 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.

8 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

In the archive: O01756 , O01565

Source 9

9 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1838

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Elsbeth Gadient, 30 July 1838 (born 25 July 1838), Igis, Graubünden; parents Christian Gadient and Elsbeth Hegnauer. FamilySearch record 6F8C-B9C3; also indexed as FamilySearch record 6F8C-13TK and FamilySearch record 6F8C-PD6V

In the archive: O01578 , O01677 , O01694

Life in time

before 25 Dec 1815

Birth , Igis, Graubünden, Switzerland

proven Source 1

How we know

Only her baptism is recorded, so she was born on or shortly before 25 Dec 1815.

The Igis baptism register (FamilySearch index, two entries) gives her baptism on 25 Dec 1815; the index gives no birth date.

  1. 1815 Birth before 25 Dec 1815 · Igis, Graubünden · proven

    Only her baptism is recorded, so she was born on or shortly before 25 Dec 1815.

    The Igis baptism register (FamilySearch index, two entries) gives her baptism on 25 Dec 1815; the index gives no birth date.

    Source 1

  2. 1815 Baptism 25 Dec 1815 · Igis, Graubünden · proven

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

    Both index entries give Christmas Day, 25 Dec 1815, and name the parents as Jacob (Jakob) Hegnauer and Christina Pleisch, the couple who had married at Igis in 1808.

    Source 1

  • proven

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Places in this life

one place
1
  1. 1 Igis, Graubünden Birth before 25 Dec 1815 · Baptism 25 Dec 1815

Family

Father Jakob Hegnauer 1783–1858 Mother Christina Pleisch 1791–1862
This page Elsbeth Hegnauer b. 1815
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Records

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Births and baptisms 1 record · 1815
Also cited as evidence: 17 records filed under relatives
The evidence 2 facts with their grades, 14 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Birth before 25 Dec 1815 Igis, Graubünden, Switzerland proven 1
Baptism 25 Dec 1815 Igis, Graubünden, Switzerland proven 1

Research notes

  • Sources: FamilySearch's index of the Igis Reformed parish registers; the images have not been viewed.1
  • Later life: A search of the FamilySearch index on 27 Sep 2026 found no marriage or burial of hers at Igis, where the marriage and burial entries of the 1830s to 1880s name the parents, and nothing under any spelling of Hegnauer elsewhere in the Swiss index. An Ancestry member tree gives her death as 17 Jan 1888, with no place and no husband, citing only "Igis church records". The Igis burial register for 1888, after the end of the FamilySearch index, would confirm or refute it; until then the date is a lead, not a fact.10
  • The mother of Elsbeth Gadient (possible, not linked): On 30 Jul 1838 a daughter Elsbeth, born 25 Jul, was baptised at Igis to Christian Gadient and Elsbeth Hegnauer.9 Christian Gadient had a son by Ceda Jenni baptised at Igis in October 1839, so the child was probably born outside marriage.11 A child Elsbeth Gadient, aged one, was buried at Wartau, St. Gallen, on 26 Jan 1840, with only her mother, "Elisabeth Gegeauer" [Hegnauer], named; she is probably the same child.12 Two Elsbeth Hegnauers of Igis were of an age to be the mother: this Elsbeth (born 1815), and Elsbeth, daughter of Jakob Hegnauer and Maria Ladner (born 1810), who died at Igis on 24 Jun 1839, aged 29, with no husband named.13 The older Elsbeth's sister Maria had married Heinrich Rusch at Wartau in 1834, which would explain the child's being at Wartau after her mother's death; but nothing in the index decides between them.14 The register images, which may give the mother's age or parents, are needed. Until then the study keeps the mother as a separate, unidentified person.
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

  • Parents: proven - baptized 25 December 1815, both parents named in the entry
  • Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 : no marriage or burial indexed; one of two candidates (with Elsbeth b. 1810, H1084) for Elsbeth Hegnauer H1102, mother of Elsbeth Gadient b. 1838 - undecided, not linked

Sources

  1. 1

    "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

    In the archive: O01563 , O01531

  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

    In the archive: O01392 , O01130

  3. 3

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Ursula Hegnauer, 19 March 1809, Igis, Graubünden; age "0 days", born 1809 [computed]; parents not given in the index. FamilySearch record 66V7-J8GQ; also indexed as FamilySearch record 6F8D-31ZJ

    In the archive: O00604 , O01784

  4. 4

    "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

    In the archive: O01489

  5. 5

    Fridolin Kurmann, "Hungersnöte," Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), version of 2000 (print-edition article, updated 16 February 2011), hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/016226/2011-02-16 (accessed 27 September 2026).

  6. 6

    "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

    In the archive: O01533 , O02043

  7. 7

    "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.

  8. 8

    "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

    In the archive: O01756 , O01565

  9. 9

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Elsbeth Gadient, 30 July 1838 (born 25 July 1838), Igis, Graubünden; parents Christian Gadient and Elsbeth Hegnauer. FamilySearch record 6F8C-B9C3; also indexed as FamilySearch record 6F8C-13TK and FamilySearch record 6F8C-PD6V

    In the archive: O01578 , O01677 , O01694

  10. 10

    "newkoch" family tree, Ancestry Member Tree (tree 207846516), person Elsbeth Hegnauer, born 25 Dec 1815, Igis: death 17 Jan 1888, no place, no spouse; its only source is "Igis church records", with no detail. ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/207846516/person/382726183842/facts (viewed 27 September 2026). A compiled tree, not a record.

  11. 11

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Johann Georg Gadient, 21 October 1839 (born 10 October 1839), Igis, Graubünden; parents Christian Gadient and Ceda Jenni. FamilySearch record 6F8C-5F98

  12. 12

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Elsbeth Gadient, 26 January 1840, Wartau, St. Gallen; died 22 January 1840, aged 1 year; mother "Elisabeth Gegeauer" [Hegnauer]; no father named. FamilySearch record 66VD-4N6F; mother's entry FamilySearch record 66VD-4N6J

    In the archive: O05931

  13. 13

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, burial of Elsbeth Hegnauer, 26 June 1839, Igis, Graubünden; died 24 June 1839; aged 29; parents Jakob Hegnauer and Maria Ladner; no spouse named. FamilySearch record 6F8D-4VDV; also indexed as FamilySearch record 6F8D-7XSB and FamilySearch record 6F8D-WFV6

    In the archive: O01804 , O01823 , O01891

  14. 14

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, marriage of Heinrich Rusch and Maria Hegnauer [born 1804, daughter of Jakob Hegnauer and Maria Ladner], 6 October 1834, Wartau, St. Gallen. FamilySearch record 66J1-6PMQ

    In the archive: O00332