[52b-43] HON. CHRISTOPHER HEYDRICK, LL.D, d May 19, 1830; d Oct. 9, 1914; s Charles H. and Mary Ann (Adams) Heydrick [52b-16a]; m June 20, 1860, FRANCES HELEN IRWIN, b Jan. 23, 1837; d July 17, 1919; dau Richard and Hannah (May) Irwin. Lived in Franklin, Pa.
Children (6): [52b-65] 1. Carl I., 6 June 3, 1863; d June 15, 1907; m Anna Donaldson:
For nearly a century, the Heydrick family has been a distinguished one in northwestern Pennsylvania. It was on the banks of the French Creek in Venango County that Christopher Heydrick was born, May 19, 1830. His grandfather, Dr. Christopher Heydrick, a native of Springfield Township, Philadelphia, now Montgomery County, was graduated with high honors from the medical department
of the University of Pennsylvania in 1792, at the early age of 22 years. After having followed a very successful practice in medicine at Chestnut Hill, he moved with his family in 1819 to Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Subsequently, in 1826 he took up his abode on a farm in the valley of French Creek, Venango County. Thenceforth he followed the occupation of general farming in which he was succeeded by his son, Charles Henry Heydrick, the father of Christopher.
When the Heydrick family first visited French Creek in 1819, the Indian village of Custalogastown was located on the farm which they later occupied. It was on this farm that Christopher Heydrick was born and reared. It was here likewise on long winter evenings during his boyhood years that he early learned the traditions concerning his Schwenkfelder ancestry. His father was a man with a retentive memory and a great facility for relating the traditions and stories of his ancestors. He diligently strove to impress his children with the account of the trials and tribulations endured by the fathers and mothers of old. It was at the fire-side of his parents that Christopher Heydrick obtained his early education at the hands of his erudite father.
Following the years of his early home training and the completion of his primary education in the local schools, Mr. Heydrick continued his studies at the Grand River Institute at Austinburg, Ohio. Thereupon he entered Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, being graduated from the same in the year, 1852. Subsequent to his graduation from college he taught school for several years in his native county and in the state of Kentucky; it was while so occupied in Kentucky that he read law and there obtained his first license to practice. On January 27, 1854, he was admitted to the bar of Venango County. From that time forward Mr. Heydrick practiced in all of the northwestern counties ofthe commonwealth and also in the Superior Courts. At a later date, Governor Pattison of Pennsylvania appointed him to serve for a term in the Supreme Court of the state. Thenceforth he was known as “Judge Heydrick.’’ His wide reputation as lawyer and jurist caused him to receive frequent calls to other states, and in this capacity he appeared in the Courts of Justice in New York, Nebraska, Kentueky, and the United States Circuit Courts. In the History of Venango County, published in 1890, Judge Heydrick is spoken of in the following language:
“He is naturally careful, and possessed with a mathematical and logical mind, reinforced in this line of his profession by practical knowledge of surveying, and surveyor’s methods of doing work on the ground, which art he learned from his father. His skill and accuracy as a draftsman is attested by the map of Venango County made in 1875, which he compiled, and which through all subdivisions of original tracts, still remains the standard map of the County.
“His style of speaking or writing is dignified, deliberate, logical, clear and concise, yet with comprehensive fidelity to all necessary details, while his legal papers are models for both style and diction. He is recognized as a safe, conscientious and able lawyer, whose long and successful experience in his profession justly entitles him to rank among the leading lawyers of Western Pennsylvania.
“As a citizen, Mr. Heydrick takes active part in any logical enterprise for the betterment of the community.
“Though ardently devoted to his profession, he has always given time and talent towards inculeating and defending the principles of the Democratic Party, and was the nominee for president judge of this judicial district in 1878.”
In the pursuit of his profession Judge Heydrick maintained integrity and force which impressed all who came in contact with him. He enjoyed the full confidence and respect of his colleagues at the bar. In his disposition he was modest and retiring but always willing and ready to respond to any call for public service. Among the many notable public addresses prepared and delivered by him may be mentioned ‘‘The Transportation and Storage of Petroleum,” which was published in a pamphlet of 22 pages. Another of his addresses delivered February 4, 1904, at a dinner of the Venango County Bar Association as a response to a toast on ‘John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States’’ was likewise published in an 18 page pamphlet by the Venango County Bar, in the proceedings of the centennial of the organization of the Court of Venango County. There was likewise published in the same proceedings an article by Judge Heydrick on the local courts for the period, 1806 to 1850. _ The University of Pittsburgh during the active career of his life honored itself by conferring upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws.
For the past few generations, the name of Judge Heydrick has been a household word among the Schwenkfelders of Southeastern Pennsylvania. He had the good fortune to be born and reared in an atmosphere filled with the spirit and story of his noble ancestors. As the years of his life increased he - came to cling with a greater tenacity to the records, the traditions and the environments of his Silesian forbears. While many another scion of the early Silesians in Pennsylvania wandered far from the early moorings in the New World and was completely lost among the masses of the people, this noble
son of the West clung with increasing tenderness and devotion to the people from whom his family had gone forth.
When the project to publish a genealogical record of the Schwenkfelders was first launched, very nearly fifty years ago, Christopher Heydrick was one of its promoters. He prepared the historical introduction for that volume which was published in 1879. That sketch has very fittingly been called a classic in Schwenkfelder literature. Judge Heydrick’s interest in the genealogies of his family and people was very marked. Throughout the remainder of his life, following the publication of the 1879 edition of the Schwenkfelder Genealogical Record, he continued his researches in family history. He had numerous documents translated into English from the German and Dutch languages. In company with his wife he visited Silesia in 1896, in the hope of finding additional information about his family history.
The increasingly wide range of Christopher Heydrick’s influence in reviving interest in Schwenkfelder history was also manifested in his participation in the observance of the Sesquicentennial of the landing of the Sechwenkfelders. Appropriate exercises commemorating the event were held in the Worcester Schwenkfelder Church, September 24, 1884. Early in the year of 1883, Christopher Heydrick and Gen. John F. Hartranft had met in Philadelphia and taken the preliminary steps looking to the observance of that Sesquicentennial. His letter written to Dr. Chester D. Hartranft, January 26, 1883, tentatively inviting him to deliver the oration on September 24, 1884, marked the beginning of a new era in the literary history of the Schwenkfelders. The paper which Christopher Heydrick prepared for the occasion was not read unfortunately because of the lateness of the hour. It was later published however in the November, 1914, issue of ‘‘The Schwenkfeldian,” and also in a reprint entitled ““The Schwenkfelders.”
Christopher Heydrick took an active interest in preparing the way for Dr. Chester Hartranft’s initial tour of research through Europe. He maintained a vital interest in the progress of the ‘Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum” as a literary monument to the memory of the fathers. The acquisition of the Perkiomen Seminary property in 1892 by the Schwenkfelder Church likewise enlisted his substantial services in behalf of the revival and maintenance of that institution. Moreover, his munificent offer made toward the erection of the Historical Library building at Pennsburg, assured its completion and thus secured a home for the preservation of historical documents relating to the history of the Schwenkfelders.
For more than a generation, Judge Heydrick was prominently associated with the interests of the Schwenkfelders. He had united with the Presbyterian Church but this fact did not deter him from maintaining a vital interest in all matters relating to the church of his ancestors. The memory of his oft repeated visits to the homes and services of his father’s people still lives. He was a greatly cherished guest among them, honored as he was beloved by each and all. Through the example of his life he has exerted an enduring influence and has given an incentive to others to uphold a vital connection with the story and the institutions of the people of whom he was a part. [E 1]mer E. S. Johnson.]
[52b44] JESSE A. HEYDRICK, b Sept. 19, 1832; d Sept. 25, 1911; s Charles H. and Mary Ann (Adams) Heydrick [52b-16a]; m May 4, 1864, LIZZIE W. NELLIS, b Apr. 18, 1838; d Jan. 10, 1886.
Children (7):
7 1. Florence T., b Oct. 5, 1865; d Aug. 10, 1866. 52b-68a . 1. Annie K. Cronenwett. [52b-68b] i 2. James C., b Mar. 1, 1869; m i 2. Jessie A. Patton.