The Dallas Journal, Volume 49, 2003 Page: 4
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Lindley/Heisel Bible Library Research Project
Miss Georgia Lindley were married in Eufaula on the 20th inst., by Rev. J. J. Robinson."'1 The couple lived in
Eufaula where Adam Heisel worked as a shoemaker.12 He may have been in business for himself, or he may have
been employed by George Singer,'3 son of J. G. Singer with whom Adam Heisel had lived in Lumpkin, Georgia.
Adam and Georgia Heisel had their first child, a daughter named Mary Lindley Heisel, on 4 January 1876 in
Eufaula. About one year later, the couple moved to Dallas, Texas where Adam Heisel purchased Lot 8 Block 114 in
the Smith addition from A. L. Newton.14 He sold this lot about two years later, on 9 April 1879, to R. H. Gray'5 and
purchased forty acres from R. H. Gray on the same day. This tract was part of the 640-acre William Myers Survey,
Peters Colony, and was located in what was then West Dallas (later Oak Cliff). He paid $2000 for the land located
"beginning at the north west corner of said 640 acre survey, thence east along the original north line 900 vacas to a
stake in said North line, thence south 285 vacas to a stake, thence west 900 vacas to a stake in original west line of
aforesaid 640 acre survey, thence along the west line of said 640 acre survey to the beginning said 40 acres being
the identical land conveyed by James J. Crow & wife and Henry W. Sharp & wife to the said R. H. Gray by deed
dated 18 Feb 1875." 16
Meanwhile Adam Heisel appeared for the first time in the Dallas city directory of 1878 as a "boot and
shoemaker" with his business and residence at 845 Main Street between South Sycamore and Poydras Streets."7
Two more children were born - Adam Joseph Heisel on 4 July 1877 in Dallas and William Teo Heisel on 12
February 1879 in Wills Point, Kaufman County, Texas. We have not determined why William Heisel was born in
Wills Point as we have no record of the Heisel family ever living there. Adam Heisel and his family were
enumerated on 1 June 1880 on the U.S. census in Justice Precinct 7 in the city of Dallas.18
The two decades from 1870 to 1890 must have been an exciting time to have lived in Dallas as the area
grew from a rough frontier boomtown into a bustling city on the plains. A gaslight company and commercial
telegraph service were established during the mid-1870s, and Dallas already had become a railroad distribution
center. The 1880 census showed Dallas with a total population of 10,358.19 In 1881 a directory of Dallas County
residence was published, and Adam Heisel was listed as a farmer living three miles west of the city.20 Telephone
service and electricity were in place by 1882271 with many of the city streets paved with wooden blocks cut from
bois d'arc trees. These wood-paved streets in downtown Dallas are clearly indicated on the Sanborn Fire Insurance
maps of the period.
On 25 September 1882 Adam and Georgia Heisel had a fourth child, a
daughter named Ruth Heisel. Sadly Ruth died 15 December 1886 and, when Adam
Heisel bought a family plot in Oakland Cemetery on 1 May 1906, the child's coffin
was disinterred from its original location (unknown) and reburied in Oakland
Cemetery.22 We know from the Bible records that the Heisel family was in Eufaula,
Alabama in July 1885 when Georgia Heisel made a handwritten copy of the obituary
of Mrs. Charity A. Clements. It is possible that Ruth Heisel died while the family was
in Alabama, but we have not located the place of death or burial place for Ruth
Heisel. An unlabeled photograph of a man with a young girl was found in the Bible,
and the photograph was taken in Eufaula. Judging from the dress and hairstyles, we
believe that this may be a photograph of Adam Heisel and his daughter Marie.
Adam Heisel was listed in various city directories for 1883,2 1891,24 1893,'5
1894,26 1896,27 189728 and 1898.29 His occupation remained "shoemaker," but his
business address moved from 3061/2 Main Street (1883) to 109 South Market Street
(1891) to 152 Commerce Street (1894) to 147 Commerce Street (beginning in 1896).-
His residence is shown as being on the south side of Dallas Avenue west of Maggie Street in Flanders Heights from
1891 to 1898. As this area is no longer known by that name today, we looked further into the history and location
of Flanders Heights. The WPA Guide to Dallas noted that "John Goetsels, Belgian, came to Reunion in 1856
and...founded a rival colony for Belgians which he called Louvain for the Belgian city of that name...The
settlement was sometimes referred to as Flanders Heights." 30 James E. Flanders, an early Dallas architect,
apparently named the area. He developed a forty-seven acre site in south Oak Cliff in I1884.31 The Flanders Heights
area was the basis of a rather lengthy article that appeared in the Dallas Morning News in March 1903 entitled "Hill
in West Dallas-Elevation West of City About Which There Is Much That Is Remarkable-Queer County
Formations." 32 In addition the DPL's Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division has a copy of the map of FlandersThe 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/m1/8/?rotate=90: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.