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AMBROSE HEIDEL (ALSO HAYDEL)
of the
German Coast of Louisiana

​Ambrose Heidel and his twin brother Kaspar were born and baptized on November 15, 1702, in Neunkirchen, Wurzburg, Germany.  Their godfather was Ambros Horn, a blacksmith, and their godmother was not recorded.

 

Ambrose and Kaspar were born to Johann Adam Haydel [Heidel] [Aydel]born 1670 Saxe or Saxony, died Sept. 12, 1720 Lorient, France, their mother was Eva Anna Schnarberg born Neukirchen Bavaria.  It is assumed that Kaspar died between 1702 and 1707 when Johann and Eva had another son who they named Johann Casparus.

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Ambrose's father, Johann who was a baker and was living in the town of Neunkirchen.  He was recruited by John Law and the East India Company to go to Louisiana where he was promised prosperity. 

 

Johann and his family trekked across France along with many others hoping to make a new start in Loisiana.  They making a stop in......... before making their way to L'Orient, France.  Before the family could board the ship, Johann became ill and died in L'Orient and was buried in a mass grave with other's who became ill and died.  It is thought that he and many others died of the bubonic plague which was running rampid at that time.

 

On November 14, 1720, Ambrose boarded the ship, Les Deux Freres, at Lorient in France, along with his Mathieu, his brother and his sisters Barbe and Catherine, his other sister. On this list, the place of Origin of the family is given as Saxe, or Saxony.

 

Ambrose's mother, Eva Schnarberg Heidel, was for some unknown reason separated from her children and embarked to Louisiana on the ship La Charente. WHERE IS CASPAR?

 

Ambrose arrived in 

 


At the time of the 1724 Census in Louisiana,, this information was noted.

 

Ambros Heidel (Haydel), of Neukirchen, electorate of Mayence. Catholic; 22 years old. Baker. His wife; his brother, 18 years old; his brother-in-law, aged 13, crippled. One and a half year on the place. "Good worker, very much at ease." One pig.

 

Ambros Heidel's younger brother is mentioned for the last time in 1727. It is possible that he was murdered by the Natchez Indians with the family of his sister. See No. 11. From the entry there it does not appear whether the brother murdered was the husband's or the wife's brother. 1731: Ambros Heidel, wife, two children. One engage. Three negroes and two cows.

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By 1752, Ambroise had enough wealth to purchase the tract of land that would become Whitney Plantation,  This land on the west bank of the river would be home to the Haydel family for generations and generate tremendous wealth for them. As the Haydels became acculturated to Louisiana, the spelling of the family name changed from the more German Heidel to the more French Haydel.

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The exact date of Ambrose's death is unknown as the church where his death was documented was burned along with all records.  The last documentation of Ambrose being alive is............  His heirs sold his property on May 31, 1774 to Louis Girard Pellerin, so we know that by that date he had already passed away.   He was buried in Edgard, Louisiana at Saint John the Baptist Cemetery. 

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Name: Ambrose Heidel (Haydel) (Aidel)
Occupation: Baker

Born: November 15, 1702
Son of: Johann Adam Heidel and Eva Anna Schnarberg
Husband of:
Anna Margueritte Schaaf
Marriage Date: about 1721
Marriage Site: unknown
Parents: Hans Jacob Schaaf and Anna Marie Voltzenlogel
Died: before May 31, 1774 when his wife and children sold hs property
Place of Death: Edgard, St. John, Louisiana
Burial Site: St. John the Baptist Cemetary, Edgard, Louisiana
Siblings: Kaspar (his twin), Johann Matthias, Johann Casparus, Barbara, and Catherine
Arrived in Biloxi on: 1721
Aboard : Les Deux Freres
Which Departed: Lorient, France on November 14, 1720 - check this


Children of Ambrose Heidel and Anna Margueritte Schaaf:
Regina Reine, Marie-Francoise, Mathias, Jean Georges, Jean Christophe, Nicholas, Jacques, Anne Marie Jean Jaques, and Jean








 

NEUNKIRCHEN.GER,MANY ON GOOGLE MAPS

OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF NEUNKIRCHEN, GERMANY

PICTURES OF NEUNKIRCHEN, GERMANY

Sources:

heidel-coat-of-arms-heidel-family-crest-2.gif

 Heidel Coat of Arms / Heidel Family Crest

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The surname of HEIDEL was from the German medieval given name HEIDENTREICH, ostensibly composed of the elements HEINDE (heathen, infidel) and REICH (power, rule). The name was extremely popular at the time of the Crusades in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, the sense 'power over the heathens' being attributed to it. The name has numerous variant spellings which include HETTERICH, HEIDREICH, HEYDENRYCH, HADRICH, HIEDLE, HEIDECKE, HEYDICK and HARICKE. The name was also a topographic name for someone who lived on a heath, or by a place where heather grew. Surnames are divided into four categories, from occupations, nicknames, baptismal and locational. All the main types of these are found in German-speaking areas, and names derived from occupations and from nicknames are particularly common. A number of these are Jewish. Patronymic surnames are derived from vernacular Germanic given names, often honouring Christian saints. Regional and ethnic names are also common. The German preposition 'von (from) or 'of', used with habitation names, is taken as a mark of aristocracy, and usually denoted proprietorship of the village or estate from where they came. Some members of the nobility affected the form VON UND ZU with their titles. In eastern Germany there was a heavy influence both from and on neighbouring Slavonic languages. Many Prussian surnames are of Slavonic origin. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. An infamous member of the name was Reinhard HEYDRICH 'the hangman' (1904-42) the Nazi politician and deputy-chief of the Gestapo, born in Halle. The lion depicted in the arms is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour.

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SOURCE:  http://www.4crests.com/heidel-coat-of-arms.html

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