Back in 1973 when the region which spawned our branch of the Heiden family was behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, I took a chance and sent a letter to the Central Agency for Genealogy in the German Democratic Republic in Leipzig, Germany. To my pleasant surprise, they responded with some valuable information. The letters were in German but I quickly found someone who could translate them for me.

The six letters were as follows:

  1. Invoice asking for $15.00 for services rendered.
  2. Christening record for August Heiden showing his parents and godparents in 1838
  3. The marriage of Fredericka (Mrs August) Heiden's parents in 1834
  4. Christening record of Fredericka (Mrs August) Heiden's mother, Sophia Dreier in 1806
  5. Birth record of Fredericka (Mrs August) Heiden in 1841
  6. Christening record of Fredericka (Mrs August) Heiden's father, Johann Knaak in 1805