Heinsohn, Edmund, 1888-1989

Attorney and Methodist minister Edmund Heinsohn (1888–1989), was born to Charles and Louise (Schwecke) Heinsohn, in Fayetteville, Texas. Heinsohn received his A.B. (1911) and LL. B. (1912) degrees from the University of Texas and opened a law office in Temple in 1912. He married Lollie Grimes in 1917, and they had three daughters. After practicing law for eleven years, Heinsohn entered the Methodist ministry in 1923 and served six years at the First Methodist Church in Georgetown. The pastor of the United Methodist Church in Austin from 1934 to 1958, Heinsohn supported the desegregation of the Methodist Church and the University of Texas.

A trustee of Southwestern University and Huston-Tillotson College, Heinsohn received honorary degrees from these institutions and was the first alumnus to receive the J.D. degree from the University of Texas law school. Heinsohn was also chairman of the Texas State Library and Historical Commission, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Austin, and the 1959 Most Worthy Citizen of the City of Austin.

Source: Gronberg, Les. “Heinsohn, Edmund.” Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed on March 8, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhe49.