The Dallas Journal, Volume 49, 2003 Page: 13
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Lindley/Heisel Bible Library Research Project
family. She is, however, living in Dallas by 1893 and boarding with her aunt and uncle, Georgia Lindley Heisel and
Adam Heisel, by 1901. Ruth Finerty married William A. Barnes in Dallas County on 12 January 1903. The couple
eventually moved to Fort Worth where they were enumerated on the 1920 census on 12 January 1920.126
In 1930 the William Barnes family was still living in Fort Worth at 1300 Boyce Street. They were
enumerated on 21 April 1930.127 Ruth Finerty Barnes died 28 May 1938 at All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth. Her
birth date was listed as June 25, but no year was given. Her age at death was 67 years. Her son, Roy T. Barnes, of
Arlington, Texas, did not know his grandfather's name and only knew that his grandmother's maiden name was
Lindley and that she was born in Alabama. Ruth Finerty Barnes was buried in Parkdale Cemetery in Tarrant
County, Texas on 30 May 1938.128 We did not locate an obituary or death notice for Ruth Finerty Barnes. As you
will remember, when we began this research project, we were working backwards in time. It was not until we found
Ruth Finerty Barnes' death certificate with her mother's name listed as Lindley that we were able to reconstruct the
life of her mother, Ruth Lindley Finerty, the only Lindley daughter we had been unable to find.
Conclusion
After completing the research on these families, we now understood why the two Bibles had been offered
in estate sales. We now knew that the Heisel family left no descendants in Dallas since only one of Adam and
Georgia Heisel's offspring, Mary Heisel Fullerton, had children. The Fullertons' daughter, June Fullerton January,
had one child, June Heisel January, who died unmarried. Still curious we contacted the donor of the Bibles by
phone and asked her if she had known the Heisel family. She told us that she had gone to school with June January
and wanted the family's Bibles to be preserved. It was a rather bittersweet ending to a family who had been so
instrumental in growth of the city of Dallas. Likewise Adam Heisel's brother, Conrad Heisel, left no descendants
since his only daughter also died unmarried.
The resources of the Dallas Public Library are indeed vast in scope and in depth. With the exception of
some 20th century records, we found everything we needed to research this family at the library. Time prevented us
from looking into such documents as deeds, tax rolls and probate, and we would like to have learned if the
murderer of Adam Joseph Heisel was ever caught and brought to trial. After completing the project, we tried to
repeat our research using both free and fee-based sites on the Internet. With the exception of census indexes and a
few other sources, the results were quite paltry! In fact some of the background material we located on the German
birthplace of the Heisel brothers is probably available at DPL, but we did not have the time to look for it. So this
project reminded us that, in order to fully research a family, it is absolutely imperative that researchers use the "old-
fashioned" method - that is, reading through pages and pages of microfilmed and printed sources and seeking out
the more unusual sources like city directories, vertical files and even high school yearbooks. The Internet is a great
tool especially in the area of online indexes and searchable databases, but for in-depth research, but it will be a very
long time before it takes the place of in-depth book and film research.
NOTE: This research project would not have been possible without the cooperation and assistance of the
following people: Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck, Head of the Genealogy Section of the Eighth Floor History &
Genealogy Section, Dallas Public Library, and his staff- Leona Markoff, Lois Hudgins, Sammie Lee, Adrienne
Jamieson, Gerri Brannan, Edwin Boehringer and Patrick McKenney; Carol Roark, Division Manager of the
Texas/Dallas History & Archives, Seventh Floor, Dallas Public Library, and her staff- Sharon Van Dorn, Michael
Miller, Amie Treuer, Allison Baker, Rachel Howell and Johnny Graham; the Oakland Cemetery Committee -
Barbara Ware, Suzan Younger and Carole Ruska; and Shari Degan - digital photography. We express our heartfelt
thanks to all of you!
Genealogical Summary - Heisel Family
Jacob Heisel and of Kustendinger, Wurtemberg, Germany (no further information). Known
children:
i. JOHANN CONRAD HEISEL, born 19 December 1829 in Kustendinger, Wurtemberg,
Germany and died 3 April 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, married Barbara _ , birth date
unknown and died between 1910-1916 probably in Chicago. Known child:
1. Anna Emma Heisel, born c. 1870 in Illinois and died unmarried 31 December 1950
in Chicago.
ii. JOHANN ADAM HEISEL, born in Kustendinger, Wurtemberg, Germany, 10 September 1832,and died 17 August 1913 in Dallas, Texas. He married at Eufaula, Alabama on 24 January
The Dallas Genealogical Society
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Dallas Genealogical Society. The Dallas Journal, Volume 49, 2003, periodical, June 2003; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth186862/m1/17/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.