hegnauer.family

H1314 · A life in the study

Leonhard Pleisch

Born in 1770.

born before 1770

From Igis to the Pacific

Leonhard Pleisch is known from the records of his daughter Christina, who married Jakob Hegnauer of Igis, in the Rhine valley of Graubünden, Switzerland, in 1808; through her he was the grandfather of Luzius Hegnauer, who took his family to America in 1856.1, 2, 3 When Christina was buried at Igis in September 1862, the register named her parents as Leonhard Pleisch and Maria Nett.4

Christina was a citizen of Luzein, in the Prättigau valley to the east of Igis,5 where the Pleisches had held citizenship since before 1800.6 A Swiss child takes its parents' citizenship, and under the old customary law a woman who married a man from another commune lost her own,7 so Leonhard was very probably a citizen of Luzein too. Christina was very probably his and Maria's daughter baptised at Luzein on 3 December 1791, which suggests that he was living there then.8

Leonhard was probably born before about 1770; that is an estimate, not a recorded date. His own baptism has not been identified with any confidence, and his marriage and his death have not been found (see Research Notes).

Life in time

before 1770

Birth

proven Sources 4 , 5 , 8

How we know

Estimated from the birth of his daughter Christina, probably baptised at Luzein on 3 Dec 1791. His own baptism and birthplace are not known; he may be the Leonhard baptised at Luzein on 16 Mar 1763 (possible only; see Research Notes). His daughter was a citizen of Luzein in the Prättigau, so he was probably a citizen of Luzein too.

No record of his age has been found. His daughter Christina was probably baptised at Luzein on 3 Dec 1791 (her burial computes 1792 from her age at death), so her father was probably born before about 1770. This is an estimate, not a recorded date.

Hover or tap a point, or use the arrow keys. The colour of each point is its grade.

Family

This page Leonhard Pleisch b. bef. 1770
Wife Maria Nett b. bef. 1770
Daughter Christina Pleisch 1791–1862
Pan, zoom and follow the family through the whole study.
Family tree Open this person's page

Loading the tree…

Records

Search the archive →

Births and baptisms 2

Other records 1

Also cited as evidence: 6 records filed under relatives
The evidence 2 facts with their grades, 10 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Birth before 1770 proven 4 , 5 , 8
Marriage with Maria Nett proven 4 , 8

Research notes

  • Evidence: Index only. Christina's death in 1862 is recorded in three FamilySearch index entries, two in the Igis burial register and one in the Luzein register, and all three name her parents as Leonhard Pleisch and Maria Nett; no register image has been viewed.4 In one Igis entry, dated 21 Sep 1862 (the other two give 20 Sep), the indexer gave him his daughter's married surname, "Leonhard Hegnauer". He was not a Hegnauer. The notes on citizenship are from the Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz and the Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.
  • His daughter's probable baptism (found 27 Sep 2026): Christina was very probably the "Tschina" Pleisch baptised in the Luzein register on 3 Dec 1791, whose parents the index reads as "Bernhard" Pleisch and Maria Nett (see her profile for the identification).8 No other Bernhard Pleisch occurs anywhere in FamilySearch's Swiss church-record index, and the Luzein index renders the name Lienhard elsewhere as "Liehard", "Liechart" or "Linhart", so "Bernhard" is probably a misreading of Lienhard (Leonhard). Only the register image (FamilySearch Center or affiliate library; DGS 8126170, folder 003) can settle it. No other child of a Leonhard (or "Bernhard") Pleisch and Maria Nett is indexed at Luzein for 1788–1800.
  • His own baptism (possible only): The only Leonhard Pleisch of the right generation in the Luzein index is Leonhardt "Plaisch", born 14 Mar 1763 and baptised 16 Mar 1763, son of Heinrich Pleisch and Lena Dönz (indexed "Töntzin").9 The name was a persistent one in that family: Heinrich and Lena had already lost three sons named Lienhard (baptised 1746, 1748 and 1752; a Lienhard or Liehardt was buried in 1746, 1750 and 1754), and a Leonard son of a Heinrich (1686) and a Lienhart who was a father in 1725 appear earlier in the Luzein index. The couple's other children were Hans (1742), Menga (1754, buried 1757), the twins Christina and Jann (1759), Jöri (1761) and Christen (1765). A Leonhard born in 1763 would have been 28 when Tschina was baptised. But nothing yet connects this Leonhard with Maria Nett or with Christina, so the identification is possible only, and Heinrich and Lena are not entered as his parents. No burial of a Lienhard or Leonhard Pleisch after 1754 is indexed.
  • The alternative, Heinrich Pleisch and Maria Nett (not adopted): A different Maria Nett, baptised 22 Jul 1748, daughter of Flury Nett and Nesa Täscher, was the wife of a Heinrich Pleisch; she died on 18 Sep 1839, aged 91.10 Their children appear in the Luzein index from 1768 to about 1790 (among them Flori 1768, Margret 1776, Nesa 1780, Catrina 1785 and Anna 1788), and a Tschina of Dec 1791 would fit the sequence as the last child. Against it: the burials of that couple's children (1851–1871) all name their father Heinrich, while both records of Christina's death name hers Leonhard, and none of Christina's children was named Heinrich. Luzein had at least four Heinrich Pleisches at the time (with wives Lena Dönz, Elsbeth Christ, Elsa Kaspar and Maria Nett), so the burial of a Heinrich Pleisch born about 1740 (21 Jan 1804) cannot be assigned to any of them.
  • Marriage: Not found. The Luzein marriage index stops at 1 Dec 1790 and has no entries for 1791–1792, so the marriage may fall in a gap in the index; no marriage of a Leonhard (Lienhard) Pleisch and a Maria Nett is indexed anywhere in the collection.
  • Luzein: The Bürgergemeinde Landquart's abstract of the Igis citizens' register calls Christina "geb. Pleisch von Luzein".5 The Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz lists the Pleisch family as citizens of Luzein, and of Saas, before 1800.6 A child takes its parents' communal citizenship (Bürgerrecht), and under the old customary law a woman who married a man from another commune lost her own,7 so Christina's citizenship was very probably her father's, and Leonhard a citizen of Luzein.
  • Dates: Birth estimated (before about 1770) from his daughter's probable baptism in 1791; no record of his own age has been found. His death is not known.
  • Surname: Pleisch; his daughter's Igis entries also read Plisch, Fleisch and Flaisch (P/F reading errors in the old script), and the Luzein index also has the forms Plaisch and Pläsch.
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

  • switzerland mapping 27 Sep 2026, key CH-IGIS-088; records: O01790
  • father of Christina Pleisch H0156 (her 1862 burial) - direct ancestor of the owner

Sources

  1. 1

    "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

  2. 2

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

    In the archive: O01533

  3. 3

    "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

  4. 4

    "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, with the same death date, birth year and parents but the father indexed as "Leonhard Hegnauer", FamilySearch record 6F8D-3PBK; father's entry in it FamilySearch record 6F8D-3PB2; the same death, with burial 20 September 1862, aged 70, parents Leonhard Pleisch and Maria Nett, was also entered in the register of Luzein, her home parish (index place "Schweiz"; Luzein church book, FamilySearch DGS 8126170, folder 004), FamilySearch record 6FZ1-Y5LQ

    In the archive: O01829 , O02099 , O01791 , O01790

  5. 5

    Bürgergemeinde Landquart, "Die Igiser Bürgergeschlechter," entry Hegnauer (online, viewed 26 September 2026): "Stammeltern 1 nach BR: Jakob Hegnauer (gest. 1858) u. Christine, geb. Pleisch von Luzein (gest. 1862)", i.e. according to the Igis Bürgerregister (register of citizen families). A secondary abstract of that register; the register itself not yet seen. bglandquart.ch/die-igiser-buergergeschlechter.html

  6. 6

    Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz (Répertoire des noms de famille suisses), 3rd edition (Zürich: Schulthess, 1989), online edition of the Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, entry "Pleisch": citizenships acquired before 1800 at Luzein and Saas GR; the book lists the families that held a Swiss communal citizenship in 1962. familiennamenbuch.ch (accessed 27 September 2026).

  7. 7

    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).

  8. 8

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of "Tschina" [Christina] Pleisch, 3 December 1791, Luzein, Graubünden (index place "Schweiz"; Luzein church book, FamilySearch DGS 8126170, folder 003); parents "Bernhard" [Lienhard?] Pleisch and Maria Nett; no birth date indexed. FamilySearch record 6FZB-ZQCF; father's entry FamilySearch record 6FZB-ZQCN; mother's entry FamilySearch record 6FZB-ZQCV

  9. 9

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Leonhardt "Plaisch" [Pleisch], 16 March 1763, Luzein, Graubünden (Luzein church book, FamilySearch DGS 8126170); born 14 March 1763; parents Heinrich Plaisch and Lena "Töntzin" [Dönz]. FamilySearch record 6FZB-KBR2

  10. 10

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, Luzein church book (FamilySearch DGS 8126170): baptism of Maria Nett, 22 July 1748, Luzein, Graubünden; parents Flury Nett and Nesa Täscher (FamilySearch record 6FZB-PNLW); burial of Maria Nett, 20 September 1839, Luzein; died 18 September 1839, aged 91; spouse Heinrich Pleisch; same parents (FamilySearch record 6F8M-M63V).