"It started in the attic of my great-aunt Agnes (Brockman) Heiden's house at 8700 South Custer Road and continued on a trail that led through East Germany by way of Salt Lake City, Utah. Along the way, the search touched base in the records of the National Archives in Washington D.C. and spent some time with a genealogical researcher in California. Many hours of the search were spent laboring in front of a microfilm reader or squinting at the screen of a computer. The search has led to renewed contacts between relatives who had not been in contact with each other for years.

It has been a long search, stretching from 1972 through the mid-90's and it is by no means completed. There is still a lot left to learn about the Heiden Family. But, we have made a good start, and the following is the story of where the search has led us and what we have found out along the way."

Those were the first two paragraphs of the 468 page document that was printed and distributed in a 3 ring binder in 1995. Over 125 copies were dispersed which is amazing for a history of a single family. It concentrated almost exclusively on the family of William Carl and Mary (Rambow) Heiden (right) who raised a family of 13 on their farm in Raisinville Township, Monroe County, Michigan. I am one of their 38 grandchildren.

This website covers the entire family of August Heiden (Wm Carl's father) who was the first of our branch to emigrate from Germany to America in 1873. Included are all of August's children and his (deceased) grandchildren. The website also covers the Rambow and Milhan families who are the ancestors of Mary Heiden. The relatives of the author's mother, Mildred (Roggerman) Heiden consist of the Roggerman, Getty and Oliver families. They are part of this website too.

I have no idea what the cost of copying the original book would be in today's dollars but, if you would really like to have one, send me an email and we will try to figure it out.