The name
Where the Hegnauers are: distribution and branches
A research page of the Hegnauer Name Study.
This page shows where the Hegnauer name is found in the records, which families have been identified, and which Hegnauer profiles on WikiTree belong to each branch. It is updated as the study grows.
Records by country
As of September 2026 the study's index holds 4,072 occurrences of the name, from 1627 to the present. The figures below count records, not people: one person may appear in many records.1
| Country | Records | Main places |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | about 1,460 | Elgg and Uster (Zürich); Igis (Graubünden); later Basel, Zürich, St. Gallen, Bern and Biel. See Switzerland: Origins and Parishes. |
| United States | about 1,230 | New York, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio and Washington (below) |
| Germany | about 70 | Freiburg im Breisgau (Baden); Wilhelmsdorf and Gerlingen (Württemberg); Nuremberg (Bavaria) |
| United Kingdom, Canada, France | about 20 | Scattered |
Records by U.S. state
| State | Records | From | Main places | Branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 407 | 1857 | Rochester and Monroe County; New York City | Not yet identified |
| Missouri | 185 | 1859 | Gasconade County; Bates County (Pleasant Gap, Rockville) | Igis |
| Minnesota | 117 | 1917 | Wells (Faribault County); Minneapolis; St. Paul | Igis |
| Ohio | 101 | 1887 | Canton and Massillon (Stark County); Mansfield | Not yet identified |
| Washington | 99 | 1891 | Tacoma and Puyallup (Pierce County); Pullman; Spokane; Kelso | Mainly Igis |
| Oregon | 27 | 1900 | Portland; Marion County; Jefferson County (Metolius) | Igis (Christian's family) |
| Indiana | 26 | 1900 | Fort Wayne; LaPorte | Not yet identified |
| New Jersey | 24 | 1873 | Newark and Irvington (Essex County) | Not yet identified |
| Illinois | 21 | 1866 | Madison County (Highland, Grantfork) | Igis |
| California | 19 | 1900 | Banning (Riverside County) | Igis |
Smaller numbers are found in Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Kentucky and other states.1
Branches
1. Igis, Graubünden → Missouri (1856). The family of Luzius Hegnauer and Anna Margreth Bernet left Igis in 1856 and settled in Gasconade County, Missouri (see Igis to Missouri, 1856). From 1869 the family moved to Bates County. Later generations went on to Minnesota, Washington, Oregon and California. This is the only American branch so far proven to come from Igis.
2. Rochester, New York (from 1857). This is the largest American cluster by record count. Its Swiss origin has not yet been identified.
3. Canton, Ohio (from 1887), and Newark, New Jersey (from 1873). These clusters have not yet been reconstructed.
4. Germany. There are records in Baden and Württemberg from the 1600s, and a family in Nuremberg from 1910 to 1951. Whether these are Swiss emigrants or a separate German line is one of the study's questions.
Hegnauer profiles on WikiTree
The study reviews and sources these profiles. Profiles of living people are private and are not listed.
| Profile | Life | Branch and relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Igis branch | ||
| Jakob Hegnauer | 1783–1858, Igis | Son of Christian Hegnauer and Ursula Radig |
| Christina (Pleisch) Hegnauer | about 1785 – ?, Igis | Wife of Jakob |
| Luzius Hegnauer | 1819 – after 1890; Igis, then Missouri | Son of Jakob; the emigrant of 1856; Union soldier |
| Anna Margreth (Bernet) Hegnauer | 1819 – ?; Igis, then Missouri | Wife of Luzius |
| John Hegnauer | 1840–1917 | Son of Luzius; Union cavalryman |
| Leonhard Hegnauer | 1843–1916; Bates County, Missouri | Son of Luzius; Union soldier |
| Susanna Katharina (Hirschi) Hegnauer | 1846–1918 | Wife of Leonhard; born at Amsoldingen, Bern |
| Christina (Hegnauer) Krattly | 1845–1934 | Daughter of Luzius; wife of Sylvester Krattly |
| Martin Hegnauer | 1848–1927; Bates County | Son of Luzius |
| Christian Hegnauer | 1851–1935; Oregon | Son of Luzius |
| Barbara (Hegnauer) Kamm | 1859–1923; Bates County | Daughter of Luzius, born in Missouri; wife of Robert John Kamm |
| Mary Christina (Hegnauer) Hammer | 1866–1920 | Daughter of Leonhard |
| Leonard Hegnauer | 1872–1963; Spokane, Washington | Son of Leonhard |
| Bertha Hegnauer | born 1878, Missouri | Daughter of Martin |
| Robert Lucius Hegnauer | 1887–1969 | Son of Leonhard; Minnesota, then California |
| Lotta Alice (Donnell) Hegnauer | 1890–1973 | Wife of Robert Lucius |
| Robert Lucius Hegnauer | 1916–1999 | Son of Robert Lucius; Minnesota, then Washington |
| Adelaide Louise (Curtis) Hegnauer | 1920–1995 | Wife of Robert Lucius (1916–1999) |
| Leonard Donnell Hegnauer | 1919–1950 | Son of Robert Lucius (1887–1969) |
| Not yet placed in a branch | ||
| Anna Elisabeth Hegnauer | 1860–1933; Uster and Zürich | Uster family |
| Marie May (Hegnauer) Adank | 1841–1922; Switzerland, then Burlington, Iowa | Swiss origin not yet identified |
| Christina Johanna (Hegnauer) Herrman | 1800–1869; Mecklenburg-Strelitz, then Wisconsin | Born in northern Germany. Check the spelling against the original records |
| Mary (Barry) Hegnauer | born about 1821, Ireland | Wife of a Hegnauer; not yet identified |
| Peter Hegnauer | dates unknown | Not yet identified |
| William R. Hegnauer | born 1898 | Not yet identified |
If you manage or know about any of these people, or other Hegnauers not listed, please leave a comment below.
Sources
Notes
- Hegnauer One-Name Study, occurrence index (unpublished database kept by the study coordinator), counts as of 26 September 2026. Sources: FamilySearch historical records (the whole Hegnauer set, plus records naming a Hegnauer mother), Ancestry, Find a Grave (99 memorials), Fold3 and newspapers. Records with no clear country (about 1,300) are not counted here. ↩
People in this article
- Luzius Hegnauer 1819–aft. 1890
- Anna Margreth Bernet 1819–aft. 1884
- Jakob Hegnauer 1783–1858
- Christina Pleisch 1791–1862
- Johannes Hegnauer 1840–1917
- Leonhard Hegnauer 1843–1916
- Susanna Katharina Hirschi 1846–1918
- Christina Hegnauer 1845–1934
- Martin Hegnauer 1848–1927
- Christian Hegnauer 1851–1935
- Barbara Hegnauer 1859–1923
- Mary Christina Hegnauer c. 1866–1920
- Leonard Hegnauer 1872–1963
- Bertha Hegnauer 1878–1956
- Robert Lucius Hegnauer 1887–1969
- Lotta Alice Donnell 1890–1973
- Robert Lucius Hegnauer Jr. 1916–1999
- Adelaide Louise Curtis 1920–1995
- Leonard Donnell Hegnauer 1919–1950
- Maria Hegnauer 1841–1922
- Peter Hegnauer 1812–aft. 1880