About the family

Logo from the Heinl Flower Shop in Terre Haute

Terre Haute, Indiana

Our last name, Heinl, came about through adoption. Otto John (some list is as Jahn or Jahns) was born to Edward and Louisa John in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1868. Edward and Louisa were born in Prussia. After migrating to the United States, their first child, Bertha, was born in Wisconsin. Before Louisa died of jaundice in 1869 at 43 years of age, they had four children: Bertha, Albert, Amelia and Otto. In 1871, Edward drowned when Otto was just two or three.

The 1880 census listed Lawrence and Francis (Fannie) Heinl, with a boarder Otto John. He was adopted sometime after this, although adoption records were not kept at that time. Lawrence Heinl and his brother John G. grew to be quite prominent figures in the Terre Haute area. They studied floriculture and opened a flower shop, which closed recently in 2013. You can find it currently on Facebook and throughout the internet. It was a very prominent business in the community.

The Indiana newspapers are currently open to all on line and you can search these for ads from the Heinl flower shop and articles that include members of the Heinl family. One particular story that was prominent in the news in the late 1890’s was about Otto Heinl. He reported the abuse of children in a reform school he worked at for a brief period. It stirred up alot of controversy and was covered by several newspapers and led to a Governor’s Committee that investigated the school. This must have been a difficult period of his life, as his character was called into question but it resulted in some positive changes in the reform school’s discipline policies which was fortunate for the children in that school. (Your editor is extracting those articles and will circulate them some day. They will be another reason to be proud of the Heinl name.)

Emma Meyer Heinl 8/28/1869 – 1/19/1965

Emma Meyer’s (Grandma Heinl) parents, F.L. Meyer and his wife Cardine, had seven children; Albert, Carrie, Julia, Fredrick, Emma, Amelia and Frankie. Her father was born in Hanover and her mother was from Prussia. Emma was born on August 28, 1869 in Terre Haute. We do not have much of the history on Grandma Heinl. She was a devout Christian Scientist and an important part of the early lives of Dorothy, Doug and David. Dorothy recalls that she knit many sweaters for servicemen during World War II. The Heinl (decorated) Christmas cookies that our family still makes today, the springerles and mud hens, were her recipes. Perhaps someday through some research, we will learn more about Emma’s earlier life in Terre Haute.

Otto and Emma met and married in Terre Haute on October 20, 1897. Nearly 11 years later they had one child, Lawrence, born in Terre Haute on October 4, 1908. Lawrence was the only child they had and the 1910 UW Federal Census listed them as living in Sugar Creek, Vigo, Indiana. The census listed Otto as 42, Emma as 40 and Lawrence as 1. The 1920 Census listed Otto and Emma living in Umatilla, Oregon when Lawrence was 11. It also listed a George H. Adams in the household (age 24). Census, birth and death records often had the names misspelled and you will find them listed as Heine and Heimel and Lawrence listed as Larence in some instances. The 1930 census had them listed in McMinnville, Oregon with their occupations listed as gardeners. Records do show that Otto was involved in the flower business in Terre Haute as well.

There is an interesting legend about an English bulldog named Stiffy Green, who had a stiff hind leg and deep emerald green eyes. The dog was owned by Otto’s uncle John G Heinl and you can find many references to this legend on line [Here is one link: The Legend of Stiffy Green].

(Thank you to Rich and Diane for their research on this history.)

Lawrence F. Heinl

Lawrence F. Heinl was born on October 4, 1908 In Terre Haute, Indiana and was the only child of Otto and Emma. They eventually moved to Oregon where Lawrence graduated from Hermiston High School. After high school, the family moved to Lebanon, Oregon where they had opened a floral shop. Lawrence entered Oregon State University to study Mechanical Engineering, but had to drop out after two years to earn the money to finish. He graduated in 1934 and joined a club for engineers while in college. Dorothy recalls that he did not have a positive toward the “Greek” life on campus and steered clear of fraternities. While working for Crown -Willamette in West Linn, Oregon, he met Louise Finley. He was a devout Christian Scientist and she had been raised in the Methodist Church. Her father was also a physician and was against her marrying this man. They were married on August 14, 1937 in the Findley family home in Salem. The purchased an apartment house in Oregon City and lived there in the main apartment, with Otto and Emma Heinl in the adjacent one.

Salem, Oregon

Louise Findley Heinl was born to Marcus Cooper Findley, MD and Anna May Hair Findley on June 10, 1906 in Salem, Oregon and passed away on June 20, 1944 in Seattle, Washington of a post partem hemorrhage after giving birth to David Lawrence Heinl on June 19, 1944. Marcus Findley was born in Lyndon, Kansas in 1871 and died in Salem, Oregon in 1958. Anna Hair was born in Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1871 and died in Salem, Oregon in 1954. Marcus and Anna were married in 1898 in Baldwin, Kansas. They had seven children…Mary, Bayard, Genevieve, Dwight, Louise, Pauline and Edith.

Louise was about 5 feet, 2 inches tall…rather small with blue eyes, slightly curly brown hair and a pretty, friendly face ( per Aunt Edith). She was a good student and kept very busy on the piano accompanying many singers and other musicians. She also played the organ in church. Aunt Edith said that she could never remember a time when Louise was cross or uncooperative. Louise graduated from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon majoring in music. She taught music in high schools in both Washington and California. She returned to Oregon and taught at West Linn, Oregon where she met and married Lawrence Heinl…Daddy….where she wore her mother’s (Grandma Findley’s) wedding dress. She was the only daughter small enough to wear the dress. They were married in 1937.

Aunt Edith said that Louise was a romantic person – gaily imaginative, poetic, artistic and somewhat literary.

One interesting point was when Louise won a contest in writing the words and music for the Willamette University fight song. She also played on the varsity tennis team at Willamette University as did her sisters…Mary, Pauline and Edith.

[Thank you to David for providing this information. To get more information on Louise, contact David.]

From Llanelli, Wales to Broken Bow, Nebraska

William Jenkins
(1883 – 1966)

William Jenkins and Katherine Ida Taylor, were married in Broken Bow, Nebraska in 1907. We have little history on the Jenkins side of the family

but what we do know is that William came to this country with his family from Llanelli, Wales, when he was 10 years old. He and his family landed on Ellis Island from Liverpool aboard a ship called The Umbria on September 2, 1893. There were the following members of the family making that trip: Mary L. Jenkins (20), spinster (most likely William’s father’s sister); Thomas Jenkins (39), fitter; Hannah Jenkins (32), wife; William (10), child; Lewis (8), child; Thomas (6), child; Sarah (4), child; and Mary (2), child. The family eventually settled in Gas City, Indiana and William’s father Thomas, went into partnership with a friend in a steel factory.

When William was 13, his father Thomas, was killed in an explosion and his mother died of grief a few months later. The boys were turned over to guardians who were employed by Howe Military Academy, where they completed their education. The girls were adopted into three families and William kept track of where everyone and kept in touch. It is not known why William moved to Broken Bow, but he was a salesman and there he met his wife, Kathryn Ida Taylor.

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