Henry Schmit Family

SCHMIT, HAUGH, KIRTZ, ROLLING, REZAC, FROHLIE, JENSEN, MILLER, CORELLIE

Posted By: Volunteer
Date: 10/6/2006 at 21:27:14

--From Graettinger [Palo Alto Co, IA] Centennial 1893-1993

p. 284

Henry Schmit Family

Henry Schmit was born at Aselborn, Luxemburg on July 13, 1872. He passed away at his home northeast of Armstrong, Iowa, on February 6, 1942, following a short illness with pneumonia at the age of sixty-nine. He is buried in Calvary cemetery.

Henry Schmit immigrated to the United States, arriving on October 17, 1899. He left Germany because of the dictatorial government of William Grant, Duke of Luxemburg.

He landed on Ellis Island where more than 40% of Americans have ancestors who stopped there and from there he went to New York. A cousin, Mike Haugh, met him and took him and his brother, John, to Graettinger, Iowa by train. When they got to Graettinger, Uncle John needed a pair of new shoes. Mike told them to go into a shoe store and ask for a pair of shoes, BIG ONES. Since they didn’t know any English, they forgot to say shoes. Uncle John pointed to his feet and motioned “big” – so the shoe salesman sold him a size thirteen and he wore a size eight. The both settled in Graettinger.

On October 30, 1901, Henry Schmit was married to Kate Kirtz. They were married by Rev. F.X. Roesler in Mallard, Iowa. They lived at Graettinger, working on a farm, for several years and then bought a farm west of Graettinger. Eleven children were born to this union:

Elizabeth (Mrs. Peter Rolling), deceased; John, deceased; Herbert, deceased; Lucy (Mrs. John Rezac); Mary (Mrs. Maurice Frohlie); Louis; John, deceased; Josephine (Mrs. Everett Jensen); Sadie (Ms. Miller); Clara (Mrs. Vic Corellie); and Emmet.

When Joseph and Josephine (twins) were born, the doctor went back to Graettinger and said he’d left a nurse and a soldier at Henry Schmit’s. He wasn’t quite right as Joseph enlisted in the Navy in 1941 and served his time during he World War II. John and Emmet also went to serve their country. Josephine didn’t become a nurse but a nurse’s aid for close to twenty years.
As the family grew, Henry saw the need for a larger farm, hence the move to Mallard. The Schmit family moved to Mallard from Graettinger in approximately 1920. They lived there for three or four years. Due to cop failure, etc., they lost the farm at Mallard and moved to Armstrong, Iowa. Henry passed away on February 6, 1941 while living in Armstrong. On February 6, 1958, Kate Schmit passed away.

I don’t know the exact farm we lived on in Graettinger. I recall their many friends and neighbors; Leonards, Murphys, Nolans, Quinns and O’Connors lived across the road from us. The Schmit family had many fond memories of the many friends and happy times in Graettinger.

Henry Schmit received his naturalization papers at Emmetsburg, Iowa in October of 1899. The Kirtz family migrated to Mallard when Kate was only six months old.