Select any of the following topics to begin.

The History of Names - What's in a name?  Much! The history of names is so ancient that no one knows the beginning of the story. This brief overview lays the foundation for understanding the origins and development of of names.

Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles - Titles of nobility exist today in many countries although it is usually associated with present or former monarchies.  Here is presented Mark Odegard's glossary of European titles.

Armorial Bearings - Heraldry has been variously described as "the shorthand of history" and "the floral border in the garden of history."  This link provides a brief overview of the practice of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats of arms and badges.  Also included is a description of the Heineman coat of arms registered with the American College of Heraldry and a collection of ancestral arms.

Heineman Family Genealogy - Family journal reports are the most popular form for publishing genealogy.  The report  begins with one person, in this report, Peter Lea Heineman, and traces the lineage back 85 generations.

Royal Ancestors of the Heineman Family - contains historic maps, a listing of all the rulers and the term of their reign, along with a short biography of each of the royal ancestor of the Heineman family.

Our Templar Knight Ancestors  - While our family had a number of ancestors who fought in the Crusades, only two are know to have been members of the Knights Templar - Earl William Marshall and Sir Hugh de Morwick.

Our Magna Charta Ancestors - The eight Surety Barons profiled in this report along with King John of England are all ancestors.  The lineage from each is shown to the side to make it easier for the reader to comprehend.

Our Huguenot Ancestor - In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France, or historically as the French Calvinists.  In reaction to the growing Huguenot influence, and the aforementioned instances of Protestant zeal, Catholic violence against them grew, at the same time that concessions and edicts of toleration became more liberal.  This is the story of our Huguenot ancestor, Captain Nicholas Martiau.

Our American Revolutionary War Ancestors - This publication is not a retelling of the history of the American Revolution.  It is the biographies of four Heineman Revolutionary War ancestors; Colonel Nicholas Lewis, Lieutenant Hudson Martin, Dr. Thomas Walker, and Private William T. Duggins.

Our Confederate Ancestor - contains the biography of our Confederate Ancestor, John William Duggins, Pvt, Company E, 5th MO Cavalry, Gordon's Regiment, Company H Shelby's "Iron Brigade.”

Our World War I Ancestor - provides an overview of WWI and the US Army Motor Transport Corps through the service record, letters and postcards home, and photographs of Quartermaster Sergeant Senior Grade Wilhelm "Bim" August Heineman serving with the American Expeditionary Forces.  Click here for a PowerPoint presentation of the history.  Click here to view a collection of photographs and here to view a collection of postcards Wilhelm sent home to his family and future wife.  Click here to view a collection of photographs of Wilhelm "Bim" Heineman.

Our World War II Ancestor - In World War II, over 250,00 men served in the United States Merchant Marine.  They transported troops, delivered 75% or all military equipment and supplies to and through battlefronts throughout the world, in the face of enemy attacks and violent seas.  This is the service record of my father - Peter Edward Heineman - in WWII as a United States Merchant Mariner from 1945 to 1946. 
 

After Merchant Marine service Peter joined the Iowa National Guard in 1947, Company "C", 68th Infantry Regiment and enrolled at Culver Stockton College in Canton Missouri in 1947 where he majored in Science.  During his college days he played in "jobber bands," the college marching and swing bands, and the Keokuk Municipal Band. Peter met his future wife Doris Jean Crum at an American Legion Club dance. They married on September 11, 1949, in Keokuk, before graduating from college in 1951.
 

Dear Doris is a collection of letters from Peter to Doris covering a period from February 1949 to April1949 from his college address, a series of letters from Fort Leonard Wood, MO in August 1949 while he was at National Guard camp, and another set of letters again from Guard camp after they were married and the birth of their daughter Sharen.