In the above video, our distant 15-year-old German cousin Anne Killmer sings “Bethlehem,” a song composed by the organist Barbara Jordan. They are not just singing in any old location. They are singing in the village church of Machtlos, Germany, where our ancestors were baptized, married, worshiped, and memorialized deaths and burials for many centuries. […]
Our cousins, Tajie Harris, Kathie Harris (Tajie’s mother), and Linda Swalin are on vacation in Germany this week and toured our ancestral hometown of Machtlos! Kathie and Linda are the daughters of Arline Lindstrand, granddaughters of Henry Schmidt Jr., great granddaughters of Henry Schmidt Sr., 2xgreat granddaughters of Conrad Schmidt, 3xgreat granddaughters of Dietrich Schmidt […]
The vast majority of we Americans who trace our ancestry back to the Schmidt family of Machtlos, Germany have an unlikely character to thank for us being where we are today. Her name was Anna Martha (Schmidt) Rimbach. She was born in Germany and she died in Germany, yet without her we would not be Americans today. […]
Wow! Check out this amazing submission by cousin Jordyn Schmidt to the Schmidt Family Crest Design Contest! SUBMISSION #2 Designer: Jordyn Schmidt The family crest is divided into 4 quadrants which represents different aspects of the Schmidt family. The upper left quadrant symbolizes all of our hard work. Our ancestors and some of us today […]
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, […]