The Ship That Almost Snuffed Out the West Bend Schmidts

This is an essay written in 1927 by John Klein, a Humboldt, Iowa high school student. His freshman English class was to interview and write about an older person in the community. The essays are collected at the Humboldt public library. Michael Lindemann is the subject of this essay and it includes an account of […]

10 Schmidts Who Left Everything Behind

Many Schmidts from Machtlos, Germany left behind family, friends, jobs, and everything they knew when they ventured to a foreign land with a different culture and a different language. Driven by a belief in the American Dream, these Schmidts sought and achieved opportunity, freedom, and prosperity. No doubt they would have celebrated the Fourth of […]

The 3 Henry John Schmidts of West Bend, Iowa

If you want to have a conversation about Henry John Schmidt of West Bend, Iowa, you had better be careful. There were, in fact, 3 Henry Johns in the Schmidt family of that town, who all lived at the same time, and were all related to one another. All 3 even used the nickname “Heiney,” […]

Cousin Kaylee Long’s Family History School Presentation: A+!

Hey family! Check out this amazing presentation that our cousin Kaylee Long did for school. It displays our family history. Click image to enlarge Kaylee’s great great great grandpa Conrad Jacob Schmidt was born in Machtlos, Germany. He and his wife, Martha, married and moved to a bigger city called Essen. There, they had a […]