Emigrated from the Schmidt family from Heimbach, (Kur)Hessen, Ziegenhain County, Germany to Canada/USA
Title of the history book written by a local resident and history researcher, published 1993 because of 750th anniversary festivities of the first documented entry of the village name found in the archives
The original house and courtyard of the Schmidt family home. Picture taken about 1960.
The house was at that time very old and therefore some years later, 1969, demolished as my parents moved out of the village, some hundred meters away, where they had built a new house and farm buildings.
The original home was at the time of demolishment for sure more than 200 years old, perhaps more than 250 years.
The first documented entry of the plot with the house in the church records is from the time about 1770 when they introduced plot/house numbering and that place got the number 17. But there is a little ambiguity about the birthplaces as the No.18 often ist mixed up in the records. As my family remembers, the No 18 belonged also to our familys property, but nobody knew when and how that began exactly, was it by akquisition or marriage or elsewhat. The No.18 was at the time of my grandmothers birth (she told me that) without buildings, only a rural garden since the original buildings were demolished sometimes in the past (before 1900). The No 17 and No 18 were only 30 m from each other.
For a Google earth view use the following coordinates of the former house No. 17: 50.93038,9.00545
Johan Daniel Schmidt, born 29th November 1823 at Heimbach
Johan Daniel Schmidt, son of Johann Henrich Schmidt and Barbara Elisabeth Schütz, born 29.11.1823 at Heimbach, Kreis Ziegenhain, Kurhessen (or only Hessen), Germany
emigrated to Canada but I do nothing about him and his journey, etc.
At least (2024 after 40+ of search) I found on an internet site (findagrave.com) that he was buried on South Easthope Cemetery in Shakespeare, Perth County, Ontario, Canda. The name and the birth date on the tombstone matches exactly with the church records entry from Heimbach.
According to the 1901 Canadian Census he emigrated in 1844 and already in 1850 got the canadian naturalisation.
As from marriage documents from canadian archives he married on 05. Mai 1846 (he as from North East Hope with Catherina Jung as from Wilmot) and they had many children and descendants as I found out with some research on internet sites but I got not in contact with someone of them to learn more about the circumstances of his emigration and so on. It seems that his brother, described in the following paragraphs, were heading for him when they emigrated. Regarding his eldest childrens birthplaces told as in upper Canada and in 1847 it is obvious that he emigrated some years befor his brothers followed.
Johannes Schmidt, born 27th July 1827 at Heimbach
Johannes Schmidt, son of Johann Henrich Schmidt and Barbara Elisabeth Schütz, born 27.07.1827 at Heimbach, Kreis Ziegenhain, Kurhessen (or only Hessen), Germany
emigrated 1854 together with his wife Catharina Sengelaub, born 29.10.1836 at Gilserberg, Kurhessen (or only Hessen), Germany
They headed presumably for the area in Canada as their final destination where the younger brother, who emigrated 1849 (see below), resided.
He and his wife lived for some years in Canada, Ontario, Stratford County, Branton where they got two sons, Henry and Daniel, before moving on to USA in 1863 to settle in Michigan, Osceola County, Reed City on a 160 acres homestad act property.
There they got some more children which also had descendants. On a round trip 1997 I could visit and talk to the great grandson Garth Schmidt, the last one who was farming the in the meantime centennial farm until his retirement.
All the information to this Johannes Schmidt came to me by happy coincidences, it's a story of its own. I knew nothing about this emigrant and was actually looking for the next one below, who officially emigrated with permission from state authority and therefore is registered in german archives.
Johannes Schmidt, born 21th September 1829 at Heimbach
Johannes Schmidt, son of Johann Henrich Schmidt and Barbara Elisabeth Schütz, born 21.09.1829 at Heimbach, Kreis Ziegenhain, Kurhessen, Germany
emigrated 1849 together with his neigbours Johann Henrich Thiel (*24.01.1815, +23.06.1892) and wife Anna Elisabeth Thiel (Ruppert) with their son Heinrich Thiel (*06.03.1845, +22.03.1921).
They took the ship Bessel from Bremerhaven to New York which arrived there 1st may 1849. The ship list tells that they headed for Upper Canada.
Indeed, Johann Henrich Thiel with his family at least settled at East Zorra, Oxford County, Ontario.
On a research round trip 1998 I found his tombstone there at the Old and New Evangelical Brethren Cemetery, all data in german and telling about the birthdate and place exactly according to the church records and including the place and area names "Heimbach" and "Kreis Ziegenhain".
Unfortunatly on this trip I found no hints regarding Johannes Schmidt and his fate. It took me 25 years more to got an information about this as ist is the following:
He lived after his arrival in northern America for some years in Canada, Ontario, whre he and his wife Wilhelmine (or Wilhelmina) Mund married and had two sons, Solomon and John.
About 1862 they moved to USA, Minnesota and settled in Holden, Goodhue county as farmers on a homestad act property.
They got some more children until 1880 when Wilhelmine died. Johannes married again and with his second wife Louise he had three more children. Many of his children married and so there are a lot of descendants, especially in Minnesota in the next two generations. But I got not in contact with anyone of today living descendants because of missing links from the 3rd generation (some data available or traceable from old censues or findagrave.com data) to the following ones.
Anna Elisabeth Schmidt Schmidt, born 25th September 1834 at Heimbach
Anna Elisabeth Schmidt, daughter of Johann Henrich Schmidt and Barbara Elisabeth Schütz, born 25.09.1834 at Heimbach, Kreis Ziegenhain, Kurhessen (also only Hessen), Germany
emigrated 1854, presumably together with other young people from neighboring places.
I never got any information about her fate.
Levin Schmidt & Johan Melchior Schmidt, 1696
A picture from the eldest church records of Heimbach (beginning 1689) with the entry of the birth of one of Levin Schmidt sons in 1696. That is the one to which my ancestral (and also those of the above mentioned Schmidt) line goes directly.
I deciphered from old german script and translated the old fashioned language to english:
"On the 11th oct was baptized Levin Schmidt the mayors of Haimbach sonny. The godfather was Melchior Scheuffler the teacher from there who gave the child the name Johan Melchior"
There are other entries to other childrens birth or confirmation which give indication about some more familys relations. But there is no entry which documents exactly as a fact about Levins father, but it is a probability (because of godfathers and other surrounding entries) that his fathers name was Johannes Schmidt and that he had also a brother with name Daniel Schmidt in that village.
But proved by documents with the entry on picture above the Schmidt ancestral line beginns with the Levin Schmidt as the first one.