hegnauer.family
H1453 The study's number for this person. Cite it and it will always lead here, whatever the spelling.
· A life in the study

Jacob Hegnauer

Born in 1534 and last recorded at Elgg in 1559.

born before 1534 died after 29 Apr 1559

Elgg
Also written Jacob Hegnouwer

Jacob Hegnauer married Anna Knobel at Elgg, in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland, on 15 July 1554.1 Theirs is the earliest Hegnauer wedding known at Elgg, where the family first appears in the church books the year before.2

Marriage and family

Jacob and Anna very probably had a daughter, Catharina, baptised at Elgg on 29 April 1559; the entry names her parents as Jacob and Anna Hegnauer.3 No other child of theirs has been found.

Elgg was then a small town at the centre of a large parish, and its church had been Reformed since 1524, when Zürich imposed the Reformation there against considerable resistance.4 In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the town's linen making and linen trade flourished.4

Later years

Jacob is not recorded after Catharina's baptism in 1559. His death has not been found; the Elgg burial register survives only from 1591.5

What we know

Proven

  • Birth, 1534
  • Marriage to Anna Knobel at Elgg, 1554
  • Death, 1559
  • one home, from the census and other records

What's still open

  • Death. When and where he died is not yet known.
  • Fehraltorf. a Jacob "Hegnoren" or "Hegnorer" had children baptised at Fehraltorf, between Elgg and Hegnau, in 1548 and 1550 (index only; the surname is still to be checked on the images).
  • Parents. Not yet identified.

Sources

Source 1

1 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1554

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, marriage of Jacob Hegnouwer [Hegnauer] and Anna Knobel, 15 July 1554, Elgg, Zürich. FamilySearch record 66VW-8L34

In the archive: O04547

Source 2

2 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1553

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Anna Hegnoüwer [Hegnauer], 3 September 1553, Elgg, Zürich; parents Hans Hegnoüwer and Margreta Wister. FamilySearch record 66VS-87W8; father's entry FamilySearch record 66VS-87WF

In the archive: O04411 , O04412

Source 3

3 Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1559

"Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Catharina Hegnouwer [Hegnauer], 29 April 1559, Elgg, Zürich; parents Jacob Hegnouwer and Anna Hegnouwer [the mother under her married surname]. FamilySearch record 66VS-2PQP; father's entry FamilySearch record 66VS-2PQT; mother's entry FamilySearch record 66VS-2PQ1

In the archive: O04384 , O04385 , O04383

Source 4

4 Elgg, 2002

Ueli Müller, "Elgg," Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), version of 2002 (print-edition article, updated 5 October 2020), hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/000144/2020-10-05 (accessed 27 September 2026).

Source 5

5 Kirchenbuch, 1551–1933, 2026

Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche Elgg (Zürich), "Kirchenbuch, 1551–1933," FamilySearch Catalog 309107, filmed 1955–1961 from the originals in the Staatsarchiv Zürich: film 996838, items 1–3 (DGS 8014314), marriages 1551–1588 and 1589–1657, baptisms 1551–1592 and 1584–1657 (with separate lists by hamlet, 1560–1594 and 1594–1657), burials 1591–1657; images viewable only at a FamilySearch Center. familysearch.org/search/catalog/309107 (catalogue entry viewed 27 September 2026).

Life in time

before 1534

Birth

proven Source 1

How we know

Estimated from his marriage in 1554. His baptism and birthplace are unknown.

No record of his birth or age has been found. A man who married in 1554 was very probably born before about 1534.

  1. 1534 Birth before 1534 · proven

    Estimated from his marriage in 1554. His baptism and birthplace are unknown.

    No record of his birth or age has been found. A man who married in 1554 was very probably born before about 1534.

    Source 1

  2. 1554 Residence between 15 Jul 1554 and 29 Apr 1559 · Elgg, Zürich · proven

    Married at Elgg in 1554; very probably the father at a baptism there in 1559.

    His marriage (1554) and, very probably, the baptism of his daughter Catharina (1559) in the Elgg church book (FamilySearch index).

    Sources 1, 3

  3. 1554 Marriage, with Anna Knobel 15 Jul 1554 · Elgg, Zürich · proven

    The Elgg marriage register (FamilySearch index) records Jacob Hegnouwer and Anna Knobel on 15 Jul 1554.

    Source 1

  4. 1559 Death after 29 Apr 1559 · proven

    Last recorded, very probably, at the baptism of his daughter in April 1559. His death has not been found; the Elgg burial register survives only from 1591.

    A Jacob Hegnouwer is named as the father at the Elgg baptism of 29 Apr 1559, with a wife Anna; Jacob and Anna Knobel are the only Jacob and Anna couple at Elgg then, so he is very probably this Jacob. No later record can be tied to him with certainty.

    Sources 3, 5

  5. 1559 Daughter born: Catharina Hegnauer family event

    Their page →

  • proven
  • family event

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Places in this life

one place
1
  1. 1 Elgg, Zürich Residence between 15 Jul 1554 and 29 Apr 1559 · Marriage 15 Jul 1554

Family

This page Jacob Hegnauer bef. 1534–aft. 1559
Wife · m. 15 Jul 1554 Anna Knobel bef. 1536–aft. 1559
Daughter Catharina Hegnauer b. 1559
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Records

Search the archive →
Marriages 1 record · 1554
  • 15 Jul 1554 confirmed Marriage “Jacob Hegnouwer”, groom Elgg, Zürich FamilySearch · O04547
Other records 1 record · undated
  • date unknown probable Church record “Jacob Hegnouwer”, father FamilySearch · O04385
Also cited as evidence: 8 records filed under relatives
The evidence 4 facts with their grades, 8 sources, and the research notes

Facts

Fact Date Place Grade Sources
Birth before 1534 proven 1
Residence between 15 Jul 1554 and 29 Apr 1559 Elgg, Zürich, Switzerland proven 1 , 3
Marriage with Anna Knobel 15 Jul 1554 Elgg, Zürich, Switzerland proven 1
Death after 29 Apr 1559 proven 3 , 5

Research notes

  • Sources: FamilySearch's index of the Elgg church book: the marriage (1554) and the baptism of 1559, with separate entries for both parents. The images (DGS 8014314) have not been seen.1, 3
  • Name: indexed Jacob Hegnouwer in both records. The profile uses the modern spelling, Hegnauer.
  • Catharina (probable): the 1559 baptism names the parents as Jacob Hegnouwer and "Anna Hegnouwer", the mother entered under her married surname. Jacob and Anna Knobel, married in 1554, are the only Jacob and Anna couple in the Elgg index at the time, so Catharina is taken to be their daughter (probable, as in the study's Elgg reconstruction).
  • Another Jacob: Jacob Hegnauer married Beatrix Pitz at Elgg on 9 May 1563 and had children baptised there from 1564 to 1568.6 He may be this Jacob, married again after Anna's death, but no record says so, and the study keeps them apart (possible).
  • Fehraltorf: a Jacob "Hegnoren" or "Hegnorer" had children baptised at Fehraltorf, between Elgg and Hegnau, in 1548 and 1550 (index only; the surname is still to be checked on the images).7, 8 Nothing links him to the Jacob of Elgg.
  • This profile is part of the Hegnauer one-name study.

Working notes

  • Family line: Elgg ZH; m. Anna Knobel 1554; probably the Jacob × Anna of the 1559 baptism; perhaps the same man who married Beatrix Pitz in 1563 as a widower (possible, not linked); index only (FamilySearch), images not seen; records: O04385 O04547

Sources

  1. 1

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, marriage of Jacob Hegnouwer [Hegnauer] and Anna Knobel, 15 July 1554, Elgg, Zürich. FamilySearch record 66VW-8L34

    In the archive: O04547

  2. 2

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Anna Hegnoüwer [Hegnauer], 3 September 1553, Elgg, Zürich; parents Hans Hegnoüwer and Margreta Wister. FamilySearch record 66VS-87W8; father's entry FamilySearch record 66VS-87WF

    In the archive: O04411 , O04412

  3. 3

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Catharina Hegnouwer [Hegnauer], 29 April 1559, Elgg, Zürich; parents Jacob Hegnouwer and Anna Hegnouwer [the mother under her married surname]. FamilySearch record 66VS-2PQP; father's entry FamilySearch record 66VS-2PQT; mother's entry FamilySearch record 66VS-2PQ1

    In the archive: O04384 , O04385 , O04383

  4. 4

    Ueli Müller, "Elgg," Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), version of 2002 (print-edition article, updated 5 October 2020), hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/000144/2020-10-05 (accessed 27 September 2026).

  5. 5

    Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche Elgg (Zürich), "Kirchenbuch, 1551–1933," FamilySearch Catalog 309107, filmed 1955–1961 from the originals in the Staatsarchiv Zürich: film 996838, items 1–3 (DGS 8014314), marriages 1551–1588 and 1589–1657, baptisms 1551–1592 and 1584–1657 (with separate lists by hamlet, 1560–1594 and 1594–1657), burials 1591–1657; images viewable only at a FamilySearch Center. familysearch.org/search/catalog/309107 (catalogue entry viewed 27 September 2026).

  6. 6

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, marriage of Jacob Hegnouwer [Hegnauer] and Beatrix Sigreist Pitz, 9 May 1563, Elgg, Zürich. FamilySearch record 66VW-WBB2

    In the archive: O04570

  7. 7

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Joannes Hegnoren, 6 August 1548, Fehraltorf, Zürich; father Jacob Hegnoren. FamilySearch record 6F8H-S3SK

    In the archive: O05132

  8. 8

    "Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records, 1418–1996," database, FamilySearch, baptism of Margaretha Hegnorer, 2 March 1550, Fehraltorf, Zürich; father Jacob Hegnorer. FamilySearch record 6F84-R1JR; father's entry FamilySearch record 6F84-R1JT

    In the archive: O05063 , O05064