where2look4ancestors

Category: Schmitt Family History

  • Chicago’s Daylight and People’s Liberal Churches

    My second great-grandparents Elise [Schmitt] and Jacob Mueller were married by a Justice of the Peace in Chicago in November of 1874. Elise grew up in the Catholic faith, but she may have left the church. I haven’t had any luck connecting Jacob or Elise with a church, so I’ve…

  • Schmitt Siblings

    I know I shouldn’t have favorites. But I do. One of my favorite ancestors is Jean Nicolas Schmitt, born on this day in 1841 in Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France. He was the third of what would ultimately be 13 children born to Nicolas Schmitt and his wife Marie Anne Gury.…

  • A True and Accurate Extract from the Records

    Fifty-three years after her wedding in St. John’s Church in Cincinnati Ohio, Sophia Biedinger needed to prove that the event had taken place. You see her husband was a bit of a wanderer. In this instance his wanderings had kept him away from home for more than six months leaving his wife…

  • Schmitt Siblings

    This picture has appeared on my blog before, but it is so special it deserves another post. Four Schmitt siblings are in this photo. The gentleman in the center was born Jean Nicolas Schmitt on 16 May 1841 in Hellimer Moselle Lorraine France, the third son of Nicolas Schmitt and his wife Marie-Anne…

  • In Loving Memory

    Recently I compared the lives of my third great-grandmother Elisabeth (nee Schmitt) and her sister Christina Kirchheiner. While drafting that post, a document inside Christina’s file caught my eye; a receipt for her funeral arrangements. Three obituary notices were listed. Why hadn’t I followed up on these leads? Immediately I sent a request to the…

  • Obituaries at the Cincinnati Library

    The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is 700 miles away. While I wait for warm weather and time off of work I can view the library virtually here. And I can use some of the library’s many resources from the comfort of my home. I’m thankful for a service provided by the very…

  • A Tale of Two Sisters

    When the two sisters traveled from France to America with their mother and seven of their siblings in 1854, Elisabeth was seven and Christina was just five years old. Hailing from the Lorraine region of France, both girls spoke German. They both attended church and school in their new hometown of Cincinnati Ohio,…

  • Reading Foreign Language Obituaries

    My third-great grandfather Nicholas Schmitt died on this day in 1876 in Cincinnati Ohio. His obituary* appeared in the German-language newspaper The Cincinnati Volksfreund: Transcription: “Todes-Anzeige. Starb am Montag, den 21. Februar 1876, Abends um 11 Uhr, unser innigst geliebter Vater: Nikolaus Schmitt, im Alter von 64 Jahren, geboren in…

  • Life Interrupted

    She’s buried at Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago. Until recently, I didn’t know much more than that about Waity Chandler Plum. According to the marriage certificate below, she was 32 years old when she married Carl E. Plum in July of 1901: She would not survive to celebrate their first…

  • Why I Love French Baptismal Records

    On this day in 1774, my 4th great-grandfather François Schmitt was baptized. Especially exciting for me was that François’ father Claude signed the document. Here I am at my desk looking at the crystal clear signature of my 5th great-grandfather written 241 years ago. Is this a great time to be on the planet or what? But…