Helma (Heiden) Nickel - Here is a book that the preacher must have given Ma and Pa on the day they were married. It is all in German and that is all that I could make of it. That would have been in 1897 when they were married. It really should be with the Heiden History.

(The inside panel of the book reads: Die Gebetsschule oder Die Herzen in die Hoehe! Das Gebet im allgemeinen und das Vaterunser im besonderen erklaert durch Gedanken, Sinnbilder und Dergleichen. Sonntagsschulen und der Familie dargeboten.

This translates into: “The school of prayers or High up the hearts! The prayer in general and the Lord's prayer especially explained through thoughts and allegories. Presented to Sunday Schools and to the family.”)

Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - Can you understand German, Ralph?

Ralph Heiden - A little bit. I have been getting help on translations from the Prodigy computer network. Let’s start through some of this stuff that I have accumulated over the years. It was very fortunate that in about 1971 my mother and I went over to visit Aunt Agnes (William Carl Heiden’s sister-in-law and wife of John Heiden). I asked, “Do you have any old papers or anything?”

Well, she went up in the closet and got this old box with these old documents. It has August Heiden's naturalization papers when he became a U.S. citizen. There were some old letters from Germany.

In the early 70's, I sent to the East German government requesting information and that is where I got a good start on the Heiden’s in Germany.

Here is a document where my great-grandfather, August (right), applied for U.S. citizenship. He had to renounce all allegiance to the Emperor of Germany.

I have maps of the tiny little towns in what was East Germany where all our ancestors came from. They were sort of like Maybee and Ida and Grape. Very small little places only a few miles apart.

Norma "Jeanie" Heiden - What about High German and Low German?

Ralph Heiden - I don’t know much about it but I think it is just different ways of speaking the language similar to Irish English versus British English versus American English.

Google says, "Low German, also known as Plattdeutsch, is spoken in the northern, flatlands of Germany, while High German dialects are found in the southern and central regions, including the mountainous areas."

One of the envelopes from the 1920s letters from Germany is shown below. It seems a miracle that it was actually delivered to the correct person.