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HETER FAMILY HISTORY
Last Revised April 25, 2010
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
Grandson of Norma Celia Heter
Great-Grandson of Thomas Jefferson Heter
According to family tradition, the Heter family was originally from Bavaria
(Bayern) which was then a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Bavaria is now the
largest state in Germany, “bordered by the Czech Republic on the east, by
Austria on the southeast and south, by Baden-Württemberg on the west, by Hesse
on the northwest, and by Thuringia and Saxony on the north. A region of rich,
softly rolling hills, it is drained by several rivers (notably the Main,
Danube, Isar, and Inn) and is bounded by mountain ranges (especially the
Bavarian Alps and the Bohemian Forest).”
Source: www.answers.com/topic/bavaria
The Germanic area of Central Europe in the year 1700 was a patchwork of some
three hundred independent city-states, each able to levy their own taxes, make
their own money, raise their own armies, and enforce their own borders. These
were loosely organized into the Holy Roman Empire which, in turn, was divided
into nine districts whose governors or “electors” chose the Holy Roman Emperor.
There was a degree of religious tolerance within the Germanic states, with
state sanction granted to the Lutheran faith under the Treaty of Augsburg in
1555, and to the Calvinist faith under the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 – in
addition, of course, to Catholicism. State sanction meant that the Lord of a
city-state could practice his preferred religion, and this privilege extended
to the populace. Those not practicing the religion of the Lord often suffered
no matter what his religion. Still, in this environment, the Mennonites and
Amish grew to considerable strength in spite of much resistance.
Source: http://www.sunnetworks.net/~ggarman/palatine.html
But the agricultural wealth and the strategic position of Bavaria made it a
coveted prize and a frequent battleground. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)
was a catastrophe for central Europe. Bavaria was sacked twice by Swedish
troops. Crop failure, famine, epidemics, and two waves of bubonic plague in
1634 and in 1646 probably caused a population loss of more than 50 percent.
In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), Bavaria was occupied by
Austrian troops. A national uprising was crushed on Christmas Eve of 1705,
and the Bavarian peasant army was butchered after their surrender near the
village of Sendling. During the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748),
Bavaria was again overrun by Austrian troops.
Source: www.answers.com/topic/Bavaria
By this time the Heter family had already left Bavaria. An account by Thomas
Marion Heter, in large part mythical, handed down through the Heter family over
the years, contains some insights as to why Johannes (John) Heter I and his
seven sons decided to come to America.
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