Heinrich Dockweiler

Heinrich Dockweiler (1824 - April 12, 1887). Elected member of the Los Angeles Common Council (1870-1874), forerunner to the Los Angeles City Council.

Pioneering Los Angeles family when it was a pueblo (very small town).

Born in Contwig near Zweibrucken, Rhennish Bavaria. Emigrated to the United States to Brooklyn. Arrived in Los Angeles in 1852. Known commonly after emigration as Henry Dockweiler. Married Margaretha Sugg in the Church of Our Lady, at the Los Angeles Plaza, on October 13, 1861. He and his wife had 4 children, 3 of which grew to adulthood (1 died in infancy). The 4 sons: John Henry Dockweiler, Joseph Andrew Dockweiler, John Dockweiler (died in infancy), and Isidore Bernard Dockweiler (the youngest, and who would become a major legal and political figure in California history).

Henry, opposed to slavery and secession, was one of the first 25 people in Los Angeles to support Abraham Lincoln, who would eventually become President of the United States.

He was interred in the old Calvary Cemetery of Los Angeles, later reinterred in the new Calvary Cemetery (New Calvary Catholic Cemetery) in East Los Angeles.

References

* "The Varied Worlds of Isidore B. Dockweiler", by Ellen A. Schneider Kay, Dr. John Baur Studies In California, University of Southern California (USC), June 1970.
* "Dockweiler - An Adventure Becomes a Saga: From Bavaria to California (1750-2000)", by Angus C. Cooper, O.F.M., 1993.