eiser
Family Origin and Deepest Root
The most distant confirmed ancestor of Rege's Heiser line is Daniel Heiser. Daniel was born between 1800 and 1810 and lived in Juniata and Perry Counties. He died about 1879, most likely in Greenwood Township, Perry County.
There is strong circumstantial evidence (Ref. 1) that suggests that Daniel had at least three siblings, and that their father was Henry Heiser. The siblings are Jane Heiser (b.1810 in Juniata County, Pennsylvania) Christian Besom/Basom (Ref. 2); Sarah, who married Frederick Rinehart, and James.
In the 1850 census for Liverpool Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, there was a Henry Heiser living with Frederick and Sarah Rinehart, who was old enough to be Sarah's father. (As yet, we have no additional evidence that Sarah's maiden name was Heiser.) Living next door to Sarah and Frederick in the same census was Fred and Mary Rinehart, and living with Fred and Mary was Sarah Basom age 14. Fred is probably the son of Frederick and Sarah Heiser Rinehart. Sarah Basom is most likely Fred's cousin and the daughter of Jane and Christian Besom, and she was probably there to help a the household with a 4 month old baby and 3 other young children.
The other sibling, James Heiser, was living next to Daniel in the 1850 census for Greenwood Township, Juniata County. In the 1840 census for Liverpool, Perry Township, a James Heiser is living near Frederick Rinehart, who is presumably the same individual married to Sarah Heiser. The 1940 James has one female under age 5, which matches the age 12 daughter of James in 1850. Daniel and James both had sons named Henry.
In the 1820 Census, there is a Henry Heiser age 26 to 45 in Mifflin County, which is the right age range for the Henry Heiser who lived with Frederick and Sarah Rinehart. (Juniata County was still part of Mifflin County 1820.) Living with him are a girl age range 0-10 years, who could be Jane Heiser Basom; one boy age range 0-10, who could be James; and another boy age range 10-16, who could be Daniel. Sarah Heiser Rinehart would have already been old enough to have been married and living with her husband.
There are some hints for yet another Heiser generation. There is another Henry Heiser, who is age range 45 and up, in the same area of Mifflin County in the 1820 census. Next door to the elder Henry Heiser is Christian Besom/Basom who is probably the father of Christian Basom who married Jane Heiser. Buried in Graybill Cemetery, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, there is a Christian Heiser, 16 Jun 1790-21 Nov 1832, "son of Henry" and Anna Rudolph Heiser, 7 Dec 1757-8 Dec 1820, "Wife of Henry" (Ref.3). The cemetery is just north of Richfield, Juniata County, which is where Christian Basom was born, and there are several Basoms buried there. The older Henry in the 1820 census for Mifflin County could be the father of both Christian Heiser and the younger Henry.
Immigrant Ancestors
The immigrant ancestor for this Heiser family has not been identified, but there are several candidates, since there were many Heisers that immigrated to America. Among those arriving at Philadelphia 1727 to 1775 (Ref. 4) were:
Adam, October 12, 1738 on "Fox"
Conrad and Johannes, October 23, 1754 on "Good Intent"
Henrick, October 6, 1767 on "Hamilton"
Joh. Jacob, October 5, 1767 on
"Sally"
Johann Adam and Peter, September 16, 1751 on "Brothers"
Carol, September 3, 1739 on "Loyal Judith"
Caspar, September 26, 1737 on "St. Andrew"
Henry, October 9, 1749 on "Lydia"
J., November 2, 1752 on "Phoenix"
Family History
The oldest records we have for this Heiser family place it in Greenwood Township, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania (later, Juniata County) in the early 1800's. Daniel Heiser first lived in Greenwood Township, Juniata, then moved to Greenwood Township, Perry County around 1864 or 1865. Daniel died around 1879, probably in his Perry County home. The 1880 census shows Daniel's wife, Mary Hoffman Heiser, living with daughter Mary Jane, who was by then married to Joel Paul, in Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Sons Tobias and Daniel had moved to Shamokin by then, also.
During his life, the younger Daniel worked as a coal miner and as a baker. He married Mary Klinger and died in 1928.
Name Origin
The meaning of the name "Heiser" is uncertain, and its origin is unknown. The German word "heiser" means hoarse or husky, as in a hoarse or husky voice.
A "Heizer" is a person who lights fires, such as a stoker on a railroad. This sounds like a more reasonable connection to the name Heiser since it refers to an occupation and is related to the word "hieß" meaning hot.
Another similar word is "heißen", which is a form of "hissen" which means to hoist or pull up.
Bibliography
1. Communications with Elaine Long. Elaine is the one who first
posed these possible generations beyond Daniel to us, and most of these details
are credited to her.
2. Biographical Encyclopedia of Juniata Valley, p.1298
3. Early Pennsylvania Births, 1675-1875,
compiled by Charles A. Fisher, (1947), p. 44
4. Strassburger, Ralph Beaver. Pennsylvania German Pioneers. Ed.
William John Hinke. Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1992 (originally published by the
Pennsylvania German Society, 1934)
Obituaries
Heisers in the U. S. Federal Census
Perry County, PA
Taxes
Pictures
- Family of Daniel E. Heiser provided by Mark Beach
- Elizabeth & Minerva Heiser , daughters of Tobias Heiser
(provided by John Emerick)
- Jennie Heiser and her husband Wilson Berger
Will & Estate
Records
Off-Site Links
Frederick
Heiser of Frederick and Carroll Counties, MD
Our contact information here.
This page was last updated on:
Thursday, August 16, 2012.
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