Learn Our History

Learn the history of our Schmidt family. We originated in the Hessian villages of Nentershausen, Blankenbach, and Machtlos, and many branches migrated to America.

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Become a member of, or renew your membership in, the Hans Schmidt Family Association. We are proud to be the largest German-heritage family association in the world.

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See the latest family news: everything from new family history discoveries, to current association projects, to reports on family reunions, to news updates on Schmidt cousins.

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61,423 Documents Digitized

and counting!

7,623 Photos Digitized

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2,048 Stories Collected

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Are You a Descendant of Hans Schmidt?

Our Schmidt family descends from Hans Schmidt (1594-1680), a shepherd in eastern Hessen-Kassel. Hans's descendants populated the Hessian villages of Nentershausen, Blankenbach, and Machtlos. In this region, our family often connects with the Raubs, Lindemanns, Rimbachs, and Körzells.

In the 1800s, some of these Schmidts migrated to the Ruhr Valley, seeking work in larger cities like Essen, Bochum, and Dortmund. Many of our Schmidt ancestors immigrated to America, settling from coast to coast.

The largest branches of our family include: the Schmidt families of West Bend, Iowa, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Maryland, and Houston, Texas; the Banwart, Eisler, and Zinnel families of West Bend, Iowa; the Schmidt and Schwenker families of Scranton, Pennsylvania; the Lindemann, Gernhardt, Guenther, Hagelgans, Koenig, Koertzel/Kertzel, and Stutzmann families of eastern Pennsylvania; the Raub family of Dysart, Iowa; the Rommann family of Vinton, Iowa; the Bohn family of Saint Paul, Minnesota; and the Koenig family of Dickinson County, Kansas.

If you have such ancestry in any of these areas, you may possibly be a descendant of Hans Schmidt. Explore around and get in touch with us to find out more!

(Left to right) (Back row) Henry John Schmidt, Georg Karl "Charles" Schmidt. (Front row) Michael "Mike" Lindemann, John A. Lindemann. (Henry and Karl were first cousins. Mike and John were also first cousins. The Schmidt men were also more distant cousins of the Lindemann men. Mike Lindemann's sister, Maggie, married Karl Schmidt. Mike's wife, Lizzie, was Henry Schmidt's sister. John A. Lindemann, Mike's cousin from Iowa City, often left off an "n" from his last name and spelled it "Lindeman".) Photo courtesy of Denise Lindemann.

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