1. ?¹ Zimmermann

Children of ? Zimmermann are:

2. Philip Wilhelm (William)² Zimmermann (?¹) was born 23 Dec 1800 in Langenbach, Hesse-Nassau, Preußen, Germany (Source: Philip William & Margarethe Zimmermann compiled by Richard Zimmermann.). He married Anna Margarethe (Margaret) Buettner (Source: Philip William & Margarethe Zimmermann compiled by Richard Zimmermann, The 1860 Federal Census lists her as "Margan Zimmerman."). She was born in Langenbach, Hesse-Nassau, Preußen, Germany.

Notes for Philip Wilhelm (William) Zimmermann:

From the Philip Wilhelm and Anna Margarethe Zimmermann compiled by Richard Zimmermann is the following:

NOTE: I have used one spelling for the name ‘Zimmermann’ throughout this document. I realize that there are those that legally spell their name with a single final ‘n,’ but keeping straight which spelling to use is virtually impossible.

For those who may care, the name should be spelled with two n’s, for the name is a combination of two German words - ‘zimmer,’ meaning ‘room’ and ‘mann,’ meaning ‘man’ with the combined meaning of ‘carpenter.’ In the immigration records and other legal documentation for this family, the name is always spelled with two n’s.

Note: In "Bits About The Schmidts", Ruth Mae Babington Schmidt spells the surname with a single "n".

Children of Philip Zimmermann and Anna Buettner are:

4. Maria² Zimmermann (?¹) was born 1806 in Langenbach, Hesse-Nassau, Preußen, Germany, and died 07 Apr 1876 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She married Peter Schmidt. He was born 1803 in Hesse-Nassau, Preußen, Germany, and died 18 Oct 1868 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

More About Maria Zimmermann:

Burial: Wauwatosa Cemetery

Notes for Peter Schmidt:

"Bits About The Schmidts, 1803-1975" by Ruth Mae Babington Schmidt, 1975, pages 2-5

History

Our particular Schmidt family starts its history in America with the emigration of Peter and Maria (nee Zimmerman) Schmidt, and their two sons, from Darmstadt, Hesse, Nassau, Germany, about 1847. [Note: The early Census list Nassau as their place of birth; Nassau was an independent duchy, and is listed as Nassau or Hesse-Nassau. Mike Reilly 8/17/2004]

Our folks refer to their homeland as Nassau, which is a general political area, or state. Family legends, as I have heard them, about these emigrants, follows. Apparently the Schmidt family lived in a small village outside of Darmstadt, possibly Miltenburg. (In one inaccurate biography of Phillip Schmidt, recorded in "History of Milwaukee, 1881", in the Milwaukee Library, the birth place is listed as "Mittenheim" [This biography was correct in many parts, such as birth date, name of first wife, but within our knowledge we know the name of the second wife was incorrect.] Therefore, I found that I could not rely strictly on library records.).

The Schmidts worked land outside the village and evidently were quite poor. I have often heard tell of a barrel of flour, a flock of geese, a pig, and some potatoes as their yearly allowance. Maria told that their only taste of meat was to wipe their mouth with bacon rind after the meal; and Phillip would humorously add, "Ma tied it to the table leg so none of us would swallow it before the week was over." There was never any doubt left in any story, that things in America (no matter how bad) were better than they had been in Germany.

The sons, Phillip, 17, and Anton, 15, apparently yearned for a better lot in life; besides, Phillip was approaching military draft age. In those days, rumors of wealth and freedom in the New World were plentiful in every country, so the Schmidt boys decided to go to America. They did not want to leave their parents, so the boys went about the community, advertising by word of mouth, as was the custom there, that the Schmidts would sell their belongings at an auction and leave Germany. On the appointed day, the neighbors assembled. Peter and Maria were aghast at the turn of events. After a hurried conference with the boys, the auction was allowed to go on. Maria packed her worldly possessions in an old trunk (belonging to Elizabeth Zimmerman) and prepared for the trip. This trunk, still cherished, is now in the possession (about 1975) of Marcella Schmidt Fuchs of Hubertus, Wisconsin.

Maria told about coming down the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes. She would build the fires along the shore each night. They arrived in Milwaukee in the winter of 1847, and settled on the west side of the Milwaukee River, west of a swamp. There is a persistent rumor among the descendants of both Phillip and Anton, that their family owned land in downtown Milwaukee, where the Union Depot was built. To find the authenticity of this story has been my foremost goal while researching records, in the library and Court House in Milwaukee; in old family records and tax receipts. But I could not find their title to this land. Entries in the Milwaukee City Directory (1858-1869) lists two houses and shops south of Winnebago, on Chestnut between 9th and 10th (Tax Block #127 - (22 Chestnut Street belonged to the Schmidt family. In 1858, Peter and Phillip had a goodly share of the triangle intersection between Winnebago and Chestnut; but there is no record of where they lived between 1847 and 1858. Since there are very few organized Vital Statistics before 1860, it was almost a futile search. I turned to histories. Robert Wells, in "This is Milwaukee" wrote, "...a railroad was finally completed in 1851 as far west as Waukesha. The first trains were operated by a predecessor of the Milwaukee Road, then called the Milwaukee and Mississippi, with Kilbourn as its president...Milwaukee's first depot was built at the foot of Third Street, in 1850, by the Milwaukee and Mississippi Road...by 1853, another station was added. The LaCrosse and Milwaukee converted a block of stores at Third and Chestnut (Juneau) into a depot. In 1866, the Milwaukee Road built what is called a Union Depot on Redd (now 2nd St.) which enlarged in 1876...the Northwestern station was completed in 1873 at the end of Wisconsin Ave., overlooking the lake..." I tried to find some record about the Schmidts, dated 1850 when the first depot was built; or, in 1866 just before they bought the farm, when the Union depot was built. Could it be the sale of land in Milwaukee made it possible for them to buy the farm? Were the stores that made the LaCrosse & Milwaukee depot originally part of their land? Phillip had gone to California but had returned and married in 1851. After 1858, he lived at 922 Chestnut. Anton was married by 1858, or before, but I cannot find out where he lived before 1867. Anton was apprenticed as a tailor when the family settled in America, but legends tell how he hated the work and turned to farming. So I still do not know how the Schmidts might have claimed land at any of the depot sites, although it is true they lived in the very close vicinity.

The Schmidts were devout Lutherans. When they came to Milwaukee, there was a small congregation meeting in a building at Third and Chestnut. To say the Schmidts were devout religious people may contradict the impressions some of you remember of the Schmidts as church-goers. Again, I heard many family legends, but when I tried to find records, many were allusive. I went to Grace Ev. Lutheran Church, which started at Third and Chestnut, now [abt 1975] at 1209 N. Broadway, Milwaukee. They sent me a copy of the church history prepared for their 125th Jubilee Rededication in 1974. I quote from this history; "God's amazing grace has permitted Grace Church to continue in that purpose since its organization, May 13, 1849, by Pastor John Muehlhauser, the first missionary sent some ten years earlier by the Society of Christians in Langenberg [Langenbach?], Elberfeld and BarMen [?], Germany, to minister to the spiritual welfare of Germans emigrating to United States...only seven months after Grace's founding, three pastors convened Dec. 8, 1849, in a meeting hall, then located at 3rd and Juneau, to organize the first German Evangelical Lutheran Synod...Its first session, May 26, 1850, was at Salem Church in Granville...since many members of Grace were too poor to raise the necessary funds for their own house of worship, Pastor Muehlhaeuser was appointed to leave June 3, 1850, for New York, for collections...March 20, 1851, the congregation bought the present church site, located three blocks east of the meeting hall in which they had organized. With the help of the congregation, on Christmas Day, 1851, the new church was ready and it marked the dedication of the new 65x43x34 ft. high brick Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Gnaden Kirche and schoolroom.

I am [Ruth Schmidt] not sure how much of the above applies to church-going in the Schmidt family, but somewhere in the building of that church, are legends, some contradictory, about what really happened to our family's church attendance. If there was one skill more outstanding than another in the Schmidt family, it was their ability to work with wood. When Anton insisted each of his sons learn a trade, the boys all chose woodwork of some kind. [Four generations later, two small children admired a fancy cabinet built by one of the Schmidt men. One child said, "I didn't know Erwin was a carpenter." The other answered, "He ain't, he's just a Schmidt."] The original Schmidts were no exception. As skilled workmen, they donated their time and talent to the building of the new Lutheran church. They were very proud of it and felt it belonged to them, even though they did not become members. [They were planning to buy a farm near Granville about this time, and felt they might be going to the Granville Salem church. In the meantime they continued to go to their new church in Milwaukee.] One Sunday they were refused communion because they were not registered. After all the help they had given in building this edifice, this angered the Schmidt men. They stalked out of church, vowing if they were not good enough for the church, the church was not good enough for them. Although they were good Christian men they did not go to church again. Anton did not forbid his children to attend church, but it is told that Phillip became so angry when one of his sons wanted to be married in church, that he threw the whole family out of the house in a rage.

The Schmidt boys were hard drinkers and rather rowdy fighters; but let it be said, they always returned the next day to make restitution for any damage they caused. These were honest, loyal friends, and good, stalwart citizens. Sometimes, outwardly, they may have appeared rough-hewn, but they had many fine talents and were as dependable as the oak with which they liked to work.

More About Peter Schmidt:

Burial: Wauwatosa Cemetery

Children of Maria Zimmermann and Peter Schmidt are: