Submission #1 – Josiah Schmidt – Family Crest Design Contest

To kick off the Schmidt Family Crest Design Contest, reunion organizer Josiah Schmidt has submitted the first option for our family’s crest!

SUBMISSION #1
Designer: Josiah Schmidt
This family crest is divided into four quadrants. The upper left quadrant contains a hammer and anvil, which symbolizes the trade (smithing) that gave our family its name, “Schmidt”. The upper right quadrant contains an American flag and a Hessian flag intersecting one another, representing our American identity and our roots in the Hessen Kassel region of Germany. The lower left quadrant contains a Linden tree, which is common in the forest-rich region of Hesse that our ancestors came from, and which also pays homage to the Lindemann family, with whom the Schmidts often intermarried. The lower right quadrant contains a stalk of wheat, symbolizing the agricultural lifestyle that supported our ancestors when they came to America. In the center is the Bundesadler (the eagle of Germany), paying tribute to the Germanic culture and heritage of our ancestors that still influences us today. At the bottom is a banner with the motto “Macht aus Machtlos,” which translates to “Strength out of Powerlessness” (a play on words, given that our ancestors hailed from a village called Machtlos) — appropriate, given that we came from a family of lowly peasants in an obscure little hamlet, and now have become one of the largest and most successful German immigrant families in America.

Josiah is the son of Kent Schmidt, grandson of Roger Schmidt, great grandson of Bill Schmidt, 2xgreat grandson of William Schmidt, 3xgreat grandson of Karl Schmidt, 4xgreat grandson of Dietrich Schmidt Jr., 5xgreat grandson of Dietrich Schmidt Sr., 6xgreat grandson of Johann Friedrich Schmidt, 7xgreat grandson of Johannes Schmidt Jr., 8xgreat grandson of Johannes Schmidt Sr., 9xgreat grandson of Hans Heinrich Schmidt, and 10xgreat grandson of Hans Schmidt.