Note:

The following text was provided by W. Horning, a fellow researcher of the Heineken Mayor's Branch, who received a copy of this important paper directly from the author, Dr. Heinrich von Spreckelsen.

These pages are dedicated to a man who means a great deal to genealogy in Bremen and whose personality and achievements can serve as an inspiration to us even today. As his name may not be familiar to all our readers, the Convention of German Genealogists being held in Bremen this year offers a fitting opportunity to report about him¹ and in so doing, to refresh the remembrance of this remarkable man in genealogical circles as well.

(1) Christian Abraham Heineken lived in profoundly turbulent times, far removed from what we know today. At his birth on December 10, 1752, Bremen, his home town, had a population of just over 20,000. The city resembled a fortress surrounded by earthworks and trenches. Only a few roads, mostly poorly constructed, led into its unimposing environs consisting of a few villages on either side of the Weser River. Surrounded and interspersed with wet meadows and marshland, this area was accessible only by way of the Weser or on one of four land routes. Like an island, it was situated between the County of Oldenburg, then under Danish rule, and the electorate of Hannover, governed by the British king, whose territorial jurisdiction penetrated Bremen's territory from several directions so that even in the center of the city itself, the Cathedral and the adjoining houses and streets belonged to Hannover.

Unlike in the two neighboring Lutheran states, the majority of Bremen's population embraced the Evangelical Reformed faith; heavy immigration, however, led to a continual increase in the number of Lutheran inhabitants. Low German was spoken. Most people made a simple, modest living from maritime and inland trade or from related crafts. A few affluent merchants and a small group of scholars stood out above the masses. Although they differed considerably from one another, the resulting social classes were not mutually exclusive.

At that time Bremen was a free imperial city owing allegiance only to the King with a constitution surviving from the Middle Ages. Government, administration and administration were all in the hands of the City Council ("Ratskollegium"), consisting of four mayors and 24 other councilmen. When a member died or retired, a committee of councilmen elected a successor for a life-long term. They were all of the Evangelical Reformed faith and some of them were linked by family ties. Their tasks were many and varied from year to year and were often alternately delegated amongst the Councilmen to be dealt with personally; except for two expert legal advisors they had very little outside help in this work.

In concert with the Council, but sometimes in opposition to it, there were the Elders elected by the merchants for the purpose of settling their own affairs and collaborating in shipping matters. Independent representation of the people was unknown. When especially important general issues were to be discussed, the Council occasionally summoned certain respected citizens to the so-called "Buerger-Kovent" (Civic Assembly).

(2) After having looked at significant features of life in Bremen at that time, let us turn to the ancestors of C.A. Heineken, who were without exception of the Evangelical Reformed faith. His parents were Philipp Isaac Heineken and Wommel von Rheden². The von Rheden³ grandparents both came from respected Bremen families (his grandmother was a mayor's daughter). Although they had been long dead when C.A. Heineken was born, he did know his grandparents on the Heineken side⁴. They lived in Magdeburg and were members of the Palatine colony there, which had been established in 1690 as an autonomous district for religious refugees from the Palatinate. His grandmother was from a Walloon merchant's family that had been driven out of Tournay (S.E. Belgium) in 1622. His grandfather Heineken, himself son of a merchant originally from Bremen, had come from the lower Rhine area as a boy. Here he learned the merchant's trade and moved to Magdeburg at an early age. There he was soon a respected businessman and eventually became a presbyter, or elder, of the German Reformed Congregation, as well as City Councilman and Mayor of the Palatine colony.

It was his wish that his son, Philipp Isaak, Christian Abraham's father, should become a theologian, however Philipp turned to the study of medicine and mathematics instead, and graduated with a Ph.D. in medicine from the University of Halle at the age of 24. After having visited Bremen in the course of the prolonged journey customarily undertaken by scholars in those days, he established his medical practice here. Due to his rapid success, he was later summoned on several occasions to practice elsewhere, but he declined.

In Bremen he was also member of the "German Society", the first scientific debating society, and was soon made Professor of Pharmacy and Mathematics. Later he was named municipal physician and was called on to serve as a physician at several hospitals. His two marriages resulted in 8 children, of whom only his first-born, Christian Abraham, and Johann (9 years younger) survived beyond childhood.

(3) Thus, C.A. Heineken is seen to have descended from an intellectually active family of high standing possessing myriad ties to their native city and to the religious orientation prevailing there. His childhood, during which Bremen's economy, too, suffered drastic effects due to Prussia's Seven Years' War, was darkened by a series of seven deaths amongst close family members. Of these, his mother's early death when he was only 9 years old struck him hardest. Left alone with four small children, his father remarried the following year². The new mother of the four siblings (3 of which, along with the only son born to this second marriage, soon died) was then 34 years old. Her father, a Bremen lawyer⁶, had already died. Her brother⁷ and father-in-law⁸ had been members of the Bremen City Council.

After preparatory studies at the "Paedagogium", Christian Abraham was enrolled at the "Gymnasium Illustre" in Bremen, an old classical school. Here he was soon influenced by the currents of Rationalism and Enlightenment which were reappearing there, and the propensity for scientific work he had inherited from his father quickly blossomed within him. As an 18-year old student he published⁹ a paper in Latin dealing with Surveyors in ancient Rome. This was followed by numerous other scientific publications¹⁰ in later life. After completion of his secondary schooling, he took up the study of law, supplemented by mathematics and physics, at the University of Goettingen. At the age of 22, he received his Ph.D. in law with a thesis of lasting value concerning Bremen's Dike Law¹¹. His motive for selecting this topic may lie in the fact that on several occasions he had himself witnessed massive destruction in the Bremen area after dikes had broken there.

(4) As a young doctor, H.¹² returned to Bremen, where, after acquiring citizen's rights, he became a lawyer. Shortly prior to this, death had claimed his grandfather in Magdeburg, one of his godparents¹³. Two years later, at nearly 24, H. married 20-year old Margarethe Schoene¹⁴ on December 3, 1776. Her father, Dethard Schoene, legal advisor of the Council, was no longer living. Her mother, Anna Margarethe von Post, the daughter of Council Archivist, Hermann von Post¹⁵, will be mentioned later-. Family ties had linked the newlyweds even prior to their marriage: one of C.A. Heineken's wife's uncles had also been one of his godparents¹³. Four sons¹⁶ were born of this marriage, of whom but two out-lived their father.

(5) At the age of 27, after 5 years of legal practice, H. was voted into the City Council. There had been councilmen as young as he before, but very rarely. According to an old custom, the newly elected member was obliged to host a celebration of the occasion for the Council and many well-wishers, and was initiated into the council with a formal speech by the Council's legal representative at their next meeting. Here sat the old mayors in their flowing French wigs; amongst the Councilmen were four of his wife's uncles. An authoritarian atmosphere prevailed in the Council, for it was the mayors, who each year decided anew how the tasks were to be distributed amongst the Council members.

At that time the councilmen received no regular salary, but rather had to be content with various fees for their official duties. Frequently a mayor made agreements on the matter in question with older councilmen, and younger members were averse to contradict his decision. At the beginning of their council service they were usually given the most tedious and least lucrative assignments, anyway. Thus, many a young councilman felt subordinate to the mayors. It is not known what H.'s stand on this question was. The first official duties assigned him were, in addition to the the demanding Office of "Acciseherr" (excise officer), the duties of assistant judge at inferior Imperial courts, as well as various kinds of minor business.

During Heineken's first 12 years in office, Bremen remained untouched by unforeseen external events. Public finances, so drastically affected by the Seven-Years'-War, were continuously improved. Bremen's foreign trade opened up new regions by undertaking voyages of its own to India and China and, as a result of the American War of Independence, to the United States and the West Indies as well. At the same time, trade with inland Germany increased substantially. During these years H. dealt mainly with municipal matters requiring legal expertise, such as the poor and orphans, schools, churches and road construction.

(6) Besides such official responsibilities, he also acquired a new private task, when, in 1780, the same year in which his second son, Dethard¹⁶, was born, his mother-in-law purchased a farming estate¹⁷ in the Bremen countryside that had already been in the von Post family for decades. At the wish of his mother-in-law, H. had begun to revamp a neglected decorative garden there along formal lines, giving it new geometrical form and symmetry, when she died, leaving the estate to his wife and himself. After visiting the ducal Garden in Rastede, Oldenburg the couple decided to forego a continuation of the renovation of the garden in the chosen style. The English park style of landscaping used there was completely new to them, but so delighted them that they decided to reconvert their own garden using that garden as a guide. Working according to plans of his own design, H. threw himself so completely into this task that in the course of many years he extended his garden several times, thus creating an impressive park and introducing the English park style of landscaping to the Bremen area. In addition to this estate, on which he also transformed an already existing building into a fine country residence, he later acquired through inheritance and purchase other extensive pieces of country property and so eventually became one of Bremen's biggest land owners.

(7) In 1787, H. was just in the process of buying a city house for his growing family, when his wife died at the age of 31. This placed him in the same personal situation his father had had to face before him. The youngest of the four sons had been born only two months before, the eldest had just completed his tenth year. Fortunately for the whole family, H. remarried about a year later. His new wife¹⁸, a cousin of his late wife, already knew the children.

She was 35 years old, had been a widow for 6 years, and she brought a son of 12¹⁹ and a daughter of ll¹⁹ into this new marriage. Both of her parents were closely linked with the Council. H. extended his city home²¹ for his family of now eight persons, redecorated the function room, and beautified the spacious front yard. Now there was also enough room for another son²², born in 1790. The joy about this new addition to the family, however, was dampened by the death of H.'s father two months later.

At this time, another major private project began whose results are admired even today. Together with his council colleague, Johann Gildemeister²³, he went out in every kind of weather to personally execute an exact survey of the entire extent of Bremen's land area. Using the fix points so determined in the open terrain, he himself drew survey maps for all sections of each parish. With the help of self-made copies of older maps, he pieced these together in his study at home, reducing the partial maps in size by recopying them again and again until a comprehensive map of Bremen's territory materialized. In 1798, after 8 years of toil, the result of his efforts was published²⁴ as a copperplate etching. Pursuant to Bremen's territorial expansion in 1802, H. made corresponding additions and published the new map in 1805. All told, he made a total of 116 drawings for this purpose.

This represents one of the earliest scientifically executed land Surveys in Germany and was highly praised by contemporary professionals for its uncanny accuracy. It is highly improbable that a government official anywhere else has ever undertaken making Such a map in this way, privately and on his own personal initiative. Indeed, at first glance it seems quite unbelievable. Even more credit is due H. here, since despite a lack of special training in surveying and mapmaking, he nevertheless attained this achievement through persistent hard work, masterly skill and scientific talent.

(8) At the time H. began this work, a popular movement was beginning to form in Bremen and elsewhere. The American battle for independence and the first stirrings of the French Revolution sparked a new feeling for freedom amongst the people of Germany, especially among the young. The spreading of "Storm and Stress" literature as well as the music of Mozart contributed to this movement and led to the development of a whole new style. By wearing clothing reminiscent of Goethe's literary figure, Werther, and dresses with low cut bodices, narrow waists and hoop-skirts, the Younger generation began to differentiate itself as far as appearance was concerned, from the more conservative older generation.

This likewise made itself felt amongst the youngest of the councilmen so that some of the old customs traditionally observed at the Council table could no longer be upheld; the French wigs were now only worn very rarely now. External circumstances changed as well. Trade swelled and blossomed unexpectedly over a period of several years; the resultant affluence brought change to what had previously been simple urban life. Externally, Bremen was affected to an ever increasing extent by political unrest. With the beginning of the first long coalition war against the revolutionary forces in France, the Council established a special committee to discreetly pave the way for expedient political decision making.

(9)  Such were the prevailing circumstances when, at the age of 40, after only 13 years in office, Heineken was elected mayor. Such a young councilman had never been elected so soon to that high office. He preceded four of his elder colleagues who had been council members longer than he in this office. Again, this serves to demonstrate how highly esteemed his personality and endeavors were. As one of the four mayors, he was to preside over the Council in the second half of odd-numbered years. Accordingly, 1793 marked his first term as presiding mayor. The traditionally solemn, formal speeches he gave at the beginning of each of his terms of office as president, display not only his high sense of justice, patriotism and responsibility toward the common good, but his own personal modesty as well.

During his time as mayor, H.'s own tasks in the Council again centered mainly on the areas of jurisdiction and school and church affairs. At the same time, he was concerned with the significant processes and events going on both within and outside of the city. In H.'s own words, despite the disruptions caused by the Wars of Coalition, Bremen's trade and shipping experienced "a golden age" up to the turn of the century. In addition to this, in 1802 Bremen finally acquired all of the sections within its territory, both urban and suburban, hitherto belonging to Hannover, a long-sought-after achievement in which H. also played a significant role. However, then trade was continuously throttled, first by a British blockade of German seaports, which provided the French economy with essential goods, and then by the French blockade of the continent, designed to curtail England's continental trade. As a result, Bremen was occupied by French and other foreign troops and, together with extensive areas of Northern Germany, was eventually annexed by Napoleonic France. In 1911 Napoleon repealed the constitution of Bremen and dismissed the Council, which for some time had come to be referred to as the Senate.

(10) Whereas some of the Senators took on badly paid positions in administration and jurisdiction now in French hands, Heineken and others took leave of public office. During his period of office he had dedicated a great deal of time to genealogical research, collecting numerous biographies, making copies of existent pedigrees of Bremen families and keeping them up to date, as well as establishing others. Due to the great importance of the material resulting from H.'s endeavors in this field for Bremen's genealogy, a comprehensive presentation will follow the concluding chapters of his life story.

After leaving office and with use of files and documents tie had collected for his official duties, H. immediately began compiling a history of Bremen from the mid 18th century until the French Period. In only a year's time, the manuscript was finished, but not with the aim of being published, rather it was meant for his descendants, and this, although personal material and subjective opinions with respect to the events he describes are scarcely mentioned, and the word "I" can be found only in an appendix.

This historical work¹ encompasses 532 pages and is a continuation of an unpublished paper on the history of the City of Bremen from 1680 to 1754 written by Hermann von Post¹⁵, which, in turn, had picked up the historical thread from an even older chronicle. Before he undertook this project, the period described by H. had only been mentioned in the form of a chronological Outline at the end of a 4-volume history of Bremen²⁵. For the first time, H. presents the events in their factual contexts, thus initiating modern historiography in Bremen²⁶, More than a third of the book deals with the time prior to his joining the Council, while the remainder concerns events which he personally experienced and participated in during his term of office.

(11) At the conclusion of his book, Heineken appears to have had practically no hope of living to see Bremen liberated from French rule. Thus, we can imagine how deeply moved and joyful he must have been, when he was actually able to witness its downfall. In late 1813 the Senate was reinstated, and H., then 61, took up his former official duties once again. It is not known to what extent H. was able to contribute toward getting the then completely devastated Bremen back on its feet again, for after having lost his second son in 1815, his health, and particularly his eyesight, began to steadily deteriorate. It was said that he had already damaged his eyes years before, by using extremely bright light while producing a copper etching for his map work.

Prior to reentering the presidency of the Senate, he advised his colleagues of his poor state of health, adding that though he was still able to set his signature under documents, he was no longer able to read them. Furthermore, he made it clear that failing health might prevent him from receiving clients. He was able to complete the 6-month presidency after all, only to die desperately ill but a few months later, on May 20, 1818.

(12) Along with his ample estate, his heirs inherited the genealogical pedigrees already mentioned, as well as a bundle of preliminary material related to his completed written work. Either during H.'s lifetime or shortly thereafter, the pedigrees were bound into a single Volume entitled "The Genealogical Register of Old and New Bremen Families", which at the latest by 1906 had come to be known by the shorter name of "The Golden Book." Although it is not known who chose this term and why, it can be safely assumed that this refers to its cover, which is supposed to have been embossed with gold, as was customarily done with valuable leather-bound books around the time of H. 's death.

The Golden Book remained in the family's possession for more than a century, during which time it was only rarely made accessible for use. In 1933 it was deposited along with the bundle of preliminary written material in the State Archives of Bremen, after which it was made generally accessible for genealogical research for several years, and gained a reputation for being the most informative and comprehensive secondary source for research concerning many of the Bremen families listed therein. During the war [WWII] it was removed from the State Archives for safekeeping, but since then no one has ever been able to determine its whereabouts, or if it even still exists at all. Until such time as the original book hopefully reappears, the results of H.'s enormous endeavor can only be gleaned from his preliminary notes kept at the Bremen State Archives, unless parts of the original can be found in records of their former users. In order to facilitate the use of the preliminary material, copies of all the pertinent pages have been bound in a single volume in alphabetical order of the families concerned. Today, when someone mentions the Golden Book it is usually this austerely bound substitute Volume to which he is referring. Although just how exactly its content and form correspond to the old Golden Book  is still open to conjecture, according to the late G. Wehner, who was intimately familiar with the original, the preserved preliminary material "can, with but few exceptions, be considered a fully valid substitute for the lost Golden Book."²⁷

The substitute volume contains pedigrees of more than 170 families belonging to Bremen's upper class who, from the end of the 16th century onward, were primarily of the evangelical-reformed faith. The majority of the pedigrees contain 5 or more generations. The names of the families concerned, along with indications of the approximate time span of each individual pedigree, are listed in the appendix to this report in the way that Wehner compiled them. Although some of the pedigrees go as far as the 13th century, most begin in the17th and 18th centuries. They terminate at different times, with some continuing on into the 19th century, the latest information documented in these pedigrees being from the year 1808.

C.A. Heineken's interest in documenting Bremen's genealogy appears to have first been inspired by Professor Gatterer's²⁸ lectures at the Univ. of Göttingen, and later by his father, who had himself already written up material on the Heineken ancestors. He probably began his work. on the pedigrees at a much later time, after having discovered a broad basis for research in the comprehensive Volume of pedigrees entitled "Familarum Bremensium Stematta", by Council Archivist Hermann von Post⁵, mutual grandfather of his two wives. Furthermore, as indicated by some of the notes in the preliminary material, he was able to utilize the wealth of  biographies³⁰ printed in Bremen, as well as genealogical information gathered from his extensive circle of acquaintances. Whether he also already used church records as sources of information is, however, not apparent. H. seems to have given up searching for further information for the pedigrees after suffering the grievous loss of his oldest son, Philipp Isaac, on November 11, 1808; for this is the most recent date of death noted in the drafts in Bremen's Archives.

H. spared himself no toil in compiling the scores of pedigrees. The actual writing alone took an enormous amount of time; for some of the pedigrees, several drafts exist in addition to the final version: an apt demonstration of his continual striving for perfection.

That part of H.'s extensive genealogical work in unfinished form still available for use is of particular value in respect to Post's "Stemmata", for this venerable work exists today only in the form of remagnifications³¹of a scarcely legible primitive microfilm of the original, significant portions of its contents, however, reappear in Heineken's precise handwriting. His frequent additions of supplementary material covering younger generations, as well of a number of completely new pedigrees he compiled himself, further enhance its value. 0f foremost importance, however, is that many genealogical relationships and facts have been preserved in this material, for which the original sources were either lost in the distant past or have been missing since the end of the last war. As demonstrated by this report, the profound variety and richness of Heineken's lifework attests to high intellectual development and a human spirit which can serve both as model and inspiration for us today.

 

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Appendix

Pedigrees in Heineken's Golden Book

Abrahams 1633-1706 v.                         Gröpelingen 1218-1509                   Prindenei 1316-1477
Abasverus 1657-1805                           Hake 1499-1764                          v. Raesfeld 1649-1773
Alers 1492-1768                               Harmes 1602-1792                        Regenstorp 1567-1708
Almers 1560-1704                              de Hase 1653-1797                       v. Rheclen 1464-1790
Am Ende 1617-1753                             Havemann 1482-1708                      Rhode 1637-1789
v. Aschen 1554-1805                           Heerde 1530-1710                        Rode 1257-1533
Bake 1549-1771                                Heilersieg 1606-1706                    Rothbar 1649-1706
Balleer 1418-1713                             Heilmann 1635-1760                      Scharhaar 1411-1620
Baring 1624-1802                            Heineken 1690-1808                      Schlater 1539-1681
Barkey 1560-1800                              Hemeling 1578-1704                      Schnedermann 1516-1778
Bertoch 1620                                  v. Hemeßen 1691-1788                    Schnelle 1609-1673
Bendeleben 1659-1788                          Hildebrand 1590-1710                    Schöne 1590-1790
v. Bentheim 1584-1753                         Hoet 1331- 1513                         Schomaker 1655-1762
v. Berchem (Berthoud)1096-1747                Hoienborg 1474-1539                     Schombart 1616-1748
Betken 1618-1692                              Holle 1611-1745                         Schumacher 1476-1803
Bobart 1470-1729                              Holler 1628-1808                        Schumacher 1476-1803
Bokelmann 1568-1691                           Hoyer 1484-1714                         Schulte 1532-1627
Bolemann l593 (only daughters'descendents)    Hünecken 1584-1757                      Schutt 1539-1724
v. Borken 1409-1584                           Hüpeden 1534-1759                       Schweling 1597-1765
Bothe 1592-1725                               Husman 1598-1667                        Schwechhusen 1578-1704
Brand 1305-1673                               Iken 1604-1806                          Smidt 1655-1803
Brede 1552-1642                               Kannengießer 1631-1775                  Snabelius 1602-1741
Bredeloh 1544-1679                            Katterbach 1605-1690                    Speckhan 1502-1687
Broyel(Broidel) 1623-1723                     Kenkel 1425-1774                        Steding 1397-1678
v. Büren 1325-1792                            Kesler 1641-1770                        Steincken 1592-1719
Büsing 1629-1791                              Klugkist 1577-1808                      Stenow 1447-1562
v. d. Büsch 1568-1805                         Köhne 1600-1793                         Surbick 1612-1724
v. Cappeln 1462-1766                          Köpken 1594-1688                        Terhelle 1641-1763
Chytraeus 1459-1660                           Krefting 1528-1651                      Thor Specken 1660-1736
Clamp 1549-1766                               Kreye 1388-1582                         Tileman (called Schenk) 1597-1753
Coch (Coccejus) 1486-1783                     Lading 1652-1689                        Tiling 1564-1794
 "  1642-1727                                 Lampe 1653-1808                         Trupe 1470-1688
 "  1593-1789                                 Laue 1482-1621                          Vaget 1587-1702
Coeper 1588-1748                              Lavaes 1528-1614                        v. Varle 1422-1481
Crocius 1479-1724                             v. Line 1219-1786                       Vasmer 1427-1569
Curtius (Korte) 1620-1779                     v. d. Lith 1208-1718                    v. Vrinz 1671-1778
Deneken 1566-1785                             Löning 1652-1802                        Vullgreve 1520-1589
Diekhof 1580-1679                             v. Mandelsloh 1575-1758                 Wachmann 1507-1703
Dirksen 1607-1681                             Meier (vom Grollande) 1558-1807         Wagener 1670-1804
Döhlen 1524-1678                                "   (Heinrich) 1639-1802              Wagenfeld 1584-1705
Doneldey 1233-1378                              "   (Johann) 1534-1739                v. Walle 1247-1397
Dotzen 1574-1670                                "   (Eltermann) 1522-1696             Weitsel 1656-1766
Dreyer 1552-1808                                "   (Ratje) 1639-1807                 Werenberg 1444-1566
Düsing 1598-1789                                "   (Gerd) 1589-1692                  Wichelhausen 1644-1807
Duntze 1603-1801                                "   (Alert) 1551-1702                 Willmans (Wildeman) 1510-1802
Dwerhagen 1569-1759                             "   (Erich) 1492-1714                 Wolpman 1580-1715
Ede 1617-1689                                 Meinerzhagen 1565-1807                  Wortman 1639-1776
Edzard 1577-1771                              Mindeman 1653-1808                      Zepper 1550-1749
Eelking 1662-1806                             Motte 1583-1673                         Zernemann 1576-1715
Eggeling 1531-1715                            Motz 1662-1807                          Zierenberg 1315-1736
Erberfeld 1627-1782                           Nagel 1603-1731                         Zobel 1534-1754
Esich 1225-1700                               Nettelnstruck 1544-1648
Fedeler 1642-1731                             Neve 1476-1602
Formanoir 1648-1729                           Nonnen 1570-1806
Freye 1429-1572                               Oelrichs 1648-1808
Garbade 1561-1736                             Payne 1657
Gildemeister 1680-1802                        Pestorp 1464-1650
Glandorp 1607-1696                            Pezelius 1539-1632
Gondela 1630-1790                             Pierius 1546-1662
Gröning (older line) 1247-1664                Pirens 1593-1711
   "  (younger.line) 1609-1302                de Pottre 1521-1682

Footnotes for the preceding pages
 

1. Literature concerning him is to be found in "Christian Abraham Heineken, History of the Hanseatic City of Bremen from the Mid-18th Century Until the French Period. Revised by Wilhelm Lührs", Bremen, 1983, page 15, annotation 1.
2. Philipp Isaac Heineken, b.Magdeburg Auqust 17,1727, d. Bremen, June 26,1790, m.a) Bremen, March 21, 1752 to Wommel von Rheden, b.Bremen June 11,1721, d.Bremen November 6, 1761, 7 children; m. b) Bremen July 26,1762 to Henrietta Maria Bendeleben, b.Bremen Feb.14,1728, d.Bremen June 3, 1797, 1 child.
3. Detmar von Rheden, Dr. of Law, Professor of Law, b.Bre- men August 23,1691, d.Bremen May 1,1723, m.Bremen Sept. 1, 1716 to Wommele Harmes, b.Premen January 26,1697, d.Bremen July 7,1721.
4. Jean Abraham Heineken, b.Wesel October 7,1695, d. Magdeburg February 4,1774, m.a) Magdeburg December 13, 1719 to Constantia Juliane Gramon from a Huguenot family which had immigrated to Fürth, m.b) Magdeburg May 27,1721 to Anna Clara Crayen, baptized Magdeburg August 19,1697.
5. Johan Heineken, Dr.med.and scientist, b.Bremen October 26,1761, d.Bremen January 17,1851, m.Dremen November 1 1786 to Johanna de Cuyper, daughter of a clergyman of the reformed faith in Bremen.
6. Heinrich Bendeleben, b.Bremen August 16,1694, d.Bremen Nov.11,174'4, m.Bremen Nov.8,1713 to Maria Sophia Terhelle.
7. Johann Bendeleben, b.Bremen May 25,1692, d.Bremen Jan.5,1751.
8. Diedrich Terhelle, b.Bremen May 25,1644, d.Bremen June 22,1709.
9. Exercitatio iuridico-antiquaria de agricomensoribus Romanorum, Bremen 1771.
10. See pg. 457 of the book referred to in annotation 1.
11. Tentamina iuris aggeralis Reipublicae Bremensis, Göttingen 1774.
12. In the following, 'H.'. always refers to Christian Abraham Heineken (1752-1818).
13. Further godparents were Mayor Christian Schoene, Pastor Petrus von Rheden, R.Amelung (brother-in-law), Isaac Crayen, businessman in Magdeburg (great uncle).
14. Margarethe Schoene, b.Bremen August 6,1756, d.Bremen December 19,1787
15. Hermann von Post, b.Bremen October 3,1693, d.Bremen November 14,1762, m.Bremen April 24,1718 to Rebecka von Line, B. Bremen Jan.24,1699, d.Bremen December 13,1756, 12 children.
16. 1. Philipp Isaac, Bremen September 3,1777, d.Bremen Nov 11,1808, m. Bremen Sept.30,1808 to Hermanna Hanewinkel, daughter of a Councilman, no children;

2. Dethard, b.Bremen Nov.17,1780, d.Bremen, Aug 15,1815;
3. Christian Abraham, b.Bremen September 9,1782, d.Bremen December 21,1798;
4. Friedrich Wilhelm, b.Bremen October 18,1787, d.Bremen April 2,1848, m.Bremen December 10,1816 to Theodore Delrichs, daughter of a Councilman, 9 children.
17. This estate, situated in the Oberneuland district, was then an outer fortification (outworks); today, its central portion is known as "Heineken's Park". A detailed history of its development is presented by Dr. Wilhelm Lührs in Bremen Yearbook, Val. 51, 1981, pp. 17-56.
18. Rebecka Margaretha von Post, b.Bremen Nov.17,1752, d.Bremen Nov.13,1830, M. a)Bremen February 20,1776 to Hermann Nonnen, b.Bremen March 2,1738, d.Bremen August 2,1781, ev.reformed clergyman, 2 children; m.b)Bremen April 28,1789 to Christian Abraham Heineken; 1 child.
19. 1. Simon Hermann Nonnen, b.Bremen Feb.4,1777, d.Bremen Jan.'c3,1847, Mayor.

2. Adelheid Nonnen, b.Bremen June 26,1778, d.Bremen May 22, 1852, m.Bremen Aug.19,1802 to Albert Hermann von Post (her uncle), b.Bremen Nov.15,1777, d.Bremen September 9,1850, Senator; 10 children.
20. Simon Hermann von post, b.Sept.20,1724, d.Bremen April 12,1808, Legal Advisor to the Council, m. Bremen November 9,1751 to Margarethe Schumacher, b.Bremen December 26,1733,d.Bremen February 11,1810, Mayor's daughter; 7 children.
21. Sandstrasse 3 (near the cathedral)
22. Hermann August Heineken, b.Bremen May 1,1790, d.Bremen July 10,1824, merchant, m.Bremen March 16,1815 to Helia Löning, 1794-1860; 5 children.
23. Johann Gildemeister, b.Bremen September 9,1753,d. Bremen Feb.9,1837. Literature about him: W.O.Focke in: 19th Century Biography of Dremeny, Bremen 1912, pp. 170-172.
24. hereto: "The territory of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen in 28 Maps According to an Original Survey by Joh. Gildemeister and C.A. Heineken", published by Hans Dbrries, Bremen 1928; report on a new map of the Imperial City of Bremen and Its Territory (by C.A.Heineken) in. "Hanseatic Magazine", Vol I., Nr.2, 1799, pp.241-257; E. Beisler,"The Surveying of the State of Bremen by Gildemeister and Heineken in the Years 1790-1798" in :"Essays of the Scientific Society of Bremen" Vol. VIII, Bremen 1884.
25. Christian Nikolaus Roller," An Attempted Presentation of the History of the Free Imperial City of Bremen", 4 Volumes, Bremen 1799-1803.
26. From Wilhelm Lührs' introduction to the book mentioned in annotation I frequently used for this report.
27. G. Wehner in: "Göttinger Mitteilungen für genealogische, heraldische und verwandte Forschung 1951", p. 301. This is also the source of the list of names.
28. Johann Christoph Gatterer, 1727-99, historian, became professor at the Univ. of Gottingen in 1759. Literature concerning him, cp. Wegele in:"Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie", Vol. 8, pp.410-413. He is regarded as the true founder of genealogy as a science.
29. Bremen State Archives 2 - ad P.I.S.13.b.2.a.
30. cp. H.J.v. Witzendarff-Rehdiger. Biographies of the Bremen State Library to 1800, Bremen 1960.
31. Bremen State Archives 2 - P.I.S.13.b. and 2 - P.I.S.13.b.Nr.l.




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Bulletins

New Information About C.A.Heineken's Golden Book

Addendum to NGS Vol. 13, pages 343-346 (1985)
Together with numerous other Archive materials which had been stored in Thuringia during the Second World War, the original of Christian Abraham Heineken's "Genealogical Register of Old and New Bremen Families", written 1808 and usually referred to as "The Golden Book", was returned to the Bremen State Archives in April 1987 from the GDR. The back of this leather-bound volume is richly embossed with gold and bears the name "Bremische Geschlechtsregister" (Genealogical Register of Bremen) in gold print on a red background. The inner edges of the book cover also display golden ornamentation and the pages are gilt-edged. The 448 pages of the book are fastened in bundles of eight double sheets each, on which the pedigrees appear in alphabetical order. As every pedigree covers both of the inside faces of two different sheets, it would seem certain that Heineken must have written down the pedigrees with this sort of bookbinding in mind. Accordingly, he presumably also had the magnificent cover made to his own specifications, probably shortly after completion of the final version.

The contents of the golden Book correspond substantially with the preliminary material of which the Bremen Archives made photocopies and fashioned the substitute volume mentioned earlier. Compared with the substitute, the original displays several significant improvements: two pedigrees of the Post/von Post family and additions to numerous pedigrees enrich the text; among these are also found details pertaining to individual biographies. Heineken rewrote some of the pedigrees either partly or completely, e.g. those of the Deneken, Dreyer, v.Rheden and Schumacher families. It is of interest to note that several marginal notes indicate that he occasionally confirmed his information by comparing it with church records.

The form of the pedigrees is also much better. In his final version, Heineken emphasized the people's names by writing them in even larger letters, while the text be- longing to some of the pedigrees was more attractively arranged than in his preliminary drafts.

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Dr. Heinrich von Spreckelsen's notes:

After 1808, he did add more information himself. Furthermore, we find additions from the time when he was no longer able to write because of his near blindness, and even after his death. These were written in the hand of his wife, who died only in 1830, and are very difficult to tell from his own. Very sporadically, information was added even later.

Together with Heineken's Golden Book, the original volumes of the genealogical register by Hermann Post (deceased 1762), as well as of the later supplemental volume, were also returned. Following the war, the Bremen Archives possessed only a scarcely legible microfilm of that comprehensive Latin genealogical work entitled "Familiarum Bremensium Stemmata." Thus, it is finally possible to compare it with the Golden Book which was written 50 years later. In the Golden Book, Post's pedigrees have occasionally been corrected, frequently given a clearer form, and extensively expanded by the addition of younger generations. Heineken added pedigrees of six families which Post had not listed, while excluding from his book the Merrem, Runge and Stubbemann families, as well as the noble families living outside of Bremen, which Post had listed.

The reappearance of the magnificent original of the Golden Book has presented us with the authentic version of the ultimate result of Heineken's genealogical research reaching beyond 1808: an unexpected stroke of luck for today's researcher.

Heinrich von Spreckelsen (Bremen)

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Translation:  November 1990 by Ingrid G Jaster, Oyle-Alte Rott 3, 3072 Marklohe, Germany