John G.E. Heckewelder

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John G.E. Heckewelder

German: John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Bedford, Bedford, England
Death: January 31, 1823 (79)
Place of Burial: Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of David Heckewelder and Christina Boehner
Husband of Sarah Heckewelder
Father of Anna Salome Rice; Joanna Maria Heckewelder and Susanna Luckenbach
Brother of Anna Maria Heckenwalder; Christian Renatus Heckewelder and David Heckewelder

Occupation: Indian missionary, linguist, archaeologist, founder of settlements, government agent
Managed by: Erica Howton
Last Updated:

About John G.E. Heckewelder

Born at Bedford, England, the son of Rev. David Heckewelder. He became a distinguished missionary of the Moravian Church among the Indians, beginning his service in 1762 as the assistant of Post and Zeisberger; later he had charge of mission stations in Ohio and of the work in general, but on account of his wife's ill health was compelled to retire from the mission-field. He also wrote a history of the Indian Mission. In 1780 he was married to Susan Ohneberg in the chapel of the mission station Salem in Ohio, this being the first wedding of a white couple in the State of Ohio. His eldest daughter Sarah married Joseph Rice, his second daughter Susan married Christian Luckenbach. He lived to see 13 grandchildren and died at the age of 80. [Note: his bio is missing his daughter Johanna.]


The spelling of the Heckewelder family name varies in the available documents. Czech records show Heickenwalder. Elsewhere, Häckenwälder, Häckenwalder, Häckenwelder, Heckenwälder, Hackenwelder, Heckenwalder and Heckenwelder all appear. John’s grandfather, Georg, signed a letter Heckenwälder and on Georg’s grave marker in Herrnhut, Germany is Häckewälder. A letter from John’s father, David, to the Hauptmans in 1748 is signed either "Heckenwalder" or "HeKenwalder". David's appointment to be Rogers' assistant at Bedford, England gives his name as Heckenwelder. R.B. Willey refers to David as Häckenwälder, but notes "various spellings: Häckenwälder, Häckenwelder or the anglicized Heckenwelder". James LaTrobe's list of Bedford ministers from 1745-1895 lists "Br. Hackenwalder". The Bedford Church Diary refers to "Sisr. Heckenwelder". The Birth and Baptism Record at Bedford gives the family name as "Hackenwelder". The grave marker at Bethlehem, PA of David's son, David, used HaeKewælder. David's older son, John, generally used Heckewelder and that spelling appears on his grave marker, his wife's grave marker and the grave marker of his unmarried daughter, all also in Bethlehem, PA. Paul A.W. Wallace in his Thirty Thousand Miles with John Heckewelder gives an extensive list of his source materials, including twelve manuscript journals. The earliest, in German, uses the name John Heckewælder. The next one, in English, is Heckewelder. The third is Johann Heckewälder, in German. The later ones, whether in German or English, use Heckewelder. When writing in English, it is common to render German vowels which have an umlaut (two dots over the vowel) as followed by an "e". An example of this is Schoenbrunn Village, which in German was "Schönbrunn". R.B Willey's "anglicized" version of "Heckenwelder" does not follow that rule, but the Heckewelder family name variants are still an example of persistently anglicized spelling of German pronunciation..


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John G.E. Heckewelder's Timeline

1743
March 12, 1743
Bedford, Bedford, England
1781
April 16, 1781
Salem, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States
1784
August 13, 1784
New Gnadenhutten (Near Detroit), Michigan, United States
1786
December 31, 1786
1823
January 31, 1823
Age 79
1823
Age 79
Moravian Cemetery (Plot Section B Row 7), Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States