The following is from the Heckenbach family web page (Jim Hechenbach) and Larry B. Schuknecht from his notes for a revised addition of his book "Two Shots Multi-Barrel Long Gun Patents and their Inventors". I am looking forward to finding out more about the gun and the man that patented the action. It would be interesting to find a gun built to his 1869 patent.
Cheers,
Laurie
John Adam Heckenbach of Mayville, Dodge Co., Wi. and Kenosha, Kenosha Co., Wi. was born Johann Anton Heckenbach (Aug. 9, 1831-Dec. 9, 1913) in Brohl-am-Rhein, Prussia to Johann Christian Heckenbach (1804- ) and Katherina Windhauser. Johann Christian worked as a foreman in a papermill. As a young man Johann Anton attended the University of Bonn and afterward taught school. In 1862 he made a trip to America and was listed on the manifest of the ship Bavaria as a merchant. He returned to Germany and in 1865 he married Franciska Fisher (Jan. 27, 1838- Oct. 16, 1878) from Koblenz. They emigrated to America with a baby in 1866 and went directly to Chicago where the baby died when only 10 months old.
There's a family legend that John was twice a "draft dodger." The sailing dates mean that he was here during the Civil War, but left the US in order to avoid being drafted. Then after the war he returned to avoid being drafted into the service in the Franco-Prussian War which was brewing at the time.
They then settled in Williamstown, a community near Mayville, Dodge Co., Wi. and he worked as a carpenter. He anglicized and changed his name from Johann Anton to John Adam shortly after arriving in America. Apparently he was a very talented and gifted man, and performed the functions of choir director and organist in church’s in St. Louis, and Chicago. It is said that he gave violin lessons, repaired old violins, and composed some waltzes. Birth records for their 8 children show that they were in Mayville, Wi. until 1872 or 1873, then in Chicago in 1874, and back to Kenosha, Wi. in 1876. On Oct. 16, 1878 both Franciska and an infant died during birth.
On July 15, 1879 John married Johanna Droege in Chicago, Ill. where he apparently attended medical college and became a successful Doctor.
He graduated MD March 29 1882 from the Bennett Medical College in Chicago. I have a copy of his diploma.
The 1880 U. S. Census listed his occupation as M. D. It shows that they had four of his children, and three of her children living in the home. It is said that he had a 100% success rate in Diphtheria cases.
During his later years he was able to make occasional trips back to Germany for visits, but his last years were spent in poverty living with his daughter Molly.
In 1910 he's at the home of George and Amalia (his daughter) Haar at 3539 Hermitage in Chicago, a physician in general practice.
John was issued two fire arms patents, no. 91,624 of June 22, 1869, and no. 178,636 of June 13, 1876. Patent no. 91,625 is very interesting because the action very closely resembles the German Collath design, but where the Collath uses an under lever and cam to keep it locked in the closed position, John used a rather weak catch. In principle the barrels had a lug with a pin which traveled in a slot at the front end of the receiver, allowing the barrels to move forward and back. The receiver has two bosses on the standing breech which fit into recesses in the breech end of the barrels when the gun is in a closed position. His design includes a cartridge which has no rim and uses a percussion cap and nipple for ignition. No system for extraction of the shell was incorporated, and would have been difficult. The overall design is well thought out and with some modifications would have been effective, as is shown by the German Collath.
John’s second patent no. 178,636 of June 13, 1876 covers an improvement to side by side break action guns whereby a removable plate is bolted to the standing breech allowing adjustments to take up wear when a gun becomes loose.
(http://heckenbach.org/bios.html)
