Mathias Schmitz

(August 4, 1866) Mathias and his younger brother Wilhelm or "Willie" came to America (leaving from London, England and landing in New York on a ship called the Hudson. (though Mathias Schmitz and appears on the ships manifest, Wilhelm's does not)Could this be a mistake due to the face that Mathias' middle name was Wilhelm?) Their father, Joseph Schmitz, had remarried after his first wife and the brothers' mother had died. This resulted in much family discord and the two brothers were never to make amends with their father, thus left their homeland for America, never to return. Mathias did not, however, lose contact with his full sisters and brothers who were left in Germany. Willie settled in or near Milwaukee and Mathias settled in St. Peter, Wisconsin, USA to farm. The only thing known to date about Willie's decendants is that one grandson, Peter Schmitx, was ordained into the priesthood (approximately 1940) as an invitation to the ordination was found. Mathias built a home on the NE corner of Military and Johnson Streets. The home still stands as of this writing (1995)m he was to be shown in death in the front room parlor of this same home. There was a large barn to the rear that has not existed for many years. Mathias' first wife died and as irony has it he remarried and along with the second marriage came the same discord that he had experienced in his own father's family - and for much the same reason.

    The "first" family didn't seem to accept the "second family" and so were not close.

    One of the grandchildren from the second portion of Mathias' family is the daughter of Elizabeth Schmitz Abhold, Florence Abhold Plummer.  Florence received old letters from the 1940's adter the death of her father, Henry Abhold, that were from the Schmitz family in Germany written to the Schmitz famliy in the USA.  Before Florence received these letters, her son Mark Plummer was stationed in Germany while in the Army and became close friends with Ablert Grundmann (of Neiderprum), a German who eventually translated the letters.  

    On a returning trip to Germany, Mark and his mother, Florence, through direct information from the letters and with the help of Albert, located actual German cousins in 1991.  The letters and photos were photocopied and left with the Schmitz family.  The pictures were of this cousin, Walter Schmitz (son of Mathias' brother Joseph), as a child for his sister's First Communion.  He smiled as he recognized people in the photos, also he read about what his own father had written about himseld and his sibblings as children.  There family photos were long gone and he actually hadn't remembered seeing some of them.

    Walter's son, Wofgang Schmitz, was also at the meeting and it was a wonderful experience of reunion that had taken place only through generations and help from Mark's friend.  In 1972 Mark was stationed only miles away from the birthplace of Mathias - in one letter Mathias' brother Joseph writes "... shall you never walk the cobblestone streets of Pelm again...", well Mark and his family did it for him!

    Walter Schmitz died in 1993, his son Wolfgang Schmitz is now the sole owner of the Grenzlandmarkt, 59 Vitherstrasse, Neiderprum, Germany.  This is the food store that Mark and his wife, Bonnie, shipped at in 1972.

    Albert Grundmann shared that there were some uncomfortable feelings left as the letters revealed the desperate straits that the wars had left the German Schmitz family in, especially WWII.  Neiderprum is very near the area where the Battle of the Bulge was fought.  After the war there was no German government, no food, no jobs, nothing.  Germans are a proud people.  Some of the letters literaly begged for food, money and clothing.  A neighbor who remembered that the American Schmitz family had sent so much that she and her seven children had also benefited.

    Cities of postmarks were Putzborn and Neunkirchen (Joseph Schmitz), Germany.  Pelm was also mentioned in the letters.  Al cities are located in West Central Germany.

This information was given by an Aunt of my mothers. The information is Parenthesis was added by Barbara Plummer Hatch.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jul 26 2022, 2:38:11 UTC