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 Schmidts of West Bend, Iowa will dominate the record-breaking 2016 Schmidt Reunion in Spencer, Iowa. Yet, of all the places that the Schmidt immigrants from Machtlos, Germany could have settled in, why did they choose West Bend, Iowa? Hessian Troops in British Pay in the US War of Independence, by C. Ziegler, 1799 (Wikimedia commons) The […]
When we hold our record-breaking Schmidt Family Reunion in Spencer, Iowa next summer, from July 30-31, 2016, all of the invitees will be descendants of Hans Heinrich Schmidt and Barbara (Rimbach) Schmidt. But just who is this ancestor of ours named Hans Heinrich Schmidt? Hans Heinrich Schmidt baptism record, 8 December 1656, Blankenbach Hans Heinrich Schmidt was […]
Franz “Frank” Raub (1849-1920) of Dysart, Iowa Do you trace your ancestry back to Franz “Frank” Raub (1849-1920) and his wife Louisa (Kersten) Raub (1852-1932), who immigrated from Machtlos, Germany to Dysart, Iowa in 1880? If so, you are invited and especially encouraged to attend the Guinness World Record-breaking Schmidt Family Reunion on July 30-31, […]