See Schmidt Family History in Living Color

October 9, 2017 Leave a comment

A company called Algorithmia has been developing an algorithm that colorizes black and white pictures, by analyzing patterns and textures. It is able to recognize human faces and turn them skin-colored, recognize grass and turn it green, recognize sky and turn it blue, etc. Using this free program, we have taken 20 historic Schmidt photographs and portraits that have only ever existed in monochrome, and we have turned them into color photographs. When pictures are in black and white, they tend not to seem as real. Seeing these people and scenes in full color makes you feel as though you are right there with your ancestors 75, 100, or 125 years ago. We started off by colorizing one of our oldest and most iconic family pictures:

Conrad Jacob Schmidt (1841-1891) and Martha Elisabeth (Lindemann) Schmidt (1837-1923), ca. 1880

We then ran it through the colorizing program:

Colorization process underway

And finally, for the first time ever, we see Conrad and Martha Schmidt of West Bend, Iowa, in full, living color:

Conrad Jacob Schmidt (1841-1891) and Martha Elisabeth (Lindemann) Schmidt (1837-1923), ca. 1880, colorized

Here are some other black and white Schmidt family photos that are now in color for the first time:

Katharina Elisabeth Martha “Lizzie” (Schmidt) Lindemann (1864-1939) and her mother, Martha Elisabeth (Lindemann) Schmidt (1837-1923), ca. 1915
Katharina Elisabeth Martha “Lizzie” (Schmidt) Lindemann (1864-1939) and her mother, Martha Elisabeth (Lindemann) Schmidt (1837-1923), ca. 1915, colorized
Martha Elisabeth (Lindemann) Schmidt (1837-1923) and her granddaughter, Anna (Lindemann) Verbrugge (1888-1974), ca. 1910
Martha Elisabeth (Lindemann) Schmidt (1837-1923) and her granddaughter, Anna (Lindemann) Verbrugge (1888-1974), ca. 1910, colorized
Mary (Moser) Schmidt (1874-1958) and her husband, Henry John Schmidt Sr. (1862-1951), ca. 1945
Mary (Moser) Schmidt (1874-1958) and her husband, Henry John Schmidt Sr. (1862-1951), ca. 1945, colorized
Katharina Elisabeth Martha “Lizzie” (Schmidt) Lindemann (1864-1939) and her husband, Michael Lindemann (1860-1951), ca. 1935
Katharina Elisabeth Martha “Lizzie” (Schmidt) Lindemann (1864-1939) and her husband, Michael Lindemann (1860-1951), ca. 1935, colorized
Michael Lindemann (1860-1951) and his wife, Katharina Elisabeth Martha “Lizzie” (Schmidt) Lindemann (1864-1939), with their 50th anniversary cake, ca. 1937
Michael Lindemann (1860-1951) and his wife, Katharina Elisabeth Martha “Lizzie” (Schmidt) Lindemann (1864-1939), with their 50th anniversary cake, ca. 1937, colorized
Herman Balthasar Louis Schmidt (1872-1926) and his wife, Elizabeth (Krug) Schmidt (1888-1954), with a niece and nephew of theirs, ca. 1920
Herman Balthasar Louis Schmidt (1872-1926) and his wife, Elizabeth (Krug) Schmidt (1888-1954), with a niece and nephew of theirs, ca. 1920, colorized
Anna Sabine Elise (Schmidt) Jergens (1873-1961) and her husband, Lewis John Jergens (1871-1954), ca. 1930
Anna Sabine Elise (Schmidt) Jergens (1873-1961) and her husband, Lewis John Jergens (1871-1954), ca. 1930, colorized
Margaret Anna (Schmidt) Van Loh (1875-1910), ca. 1900
Margaret Anna (Schmidt) Van Loh (1875-1910), ca. 1900, colorized
John Adams Lindeman (1872-1933) and his cousin, Georg Karl Schmidt (1864-1933), ca. 1905
John Adams Lindeman (1872-1933) and his cousin, Georg Karl Schmidt (1864-1933), ca. 1905, colorized
Georg Karl Schmidt’s (1864-1933) casket and grave at the West Bend Cemetery, ca. 1933
Georg Karl Schmidt’s (1864-1933) casket and grave at the West Bend Cemetery, ca. 1933, colorized
Anna Margaretha “Maggie” (Lindemann) Schmidt (1864-1943), ca. 1885
Anna Margaretha “Maggie” (Lindemann) Schmidt (1864-1943), ca. 1885, colorized
(Left to right) (Back row) Frederick William “Fred” Schmidt (1892-1955); Michael Conrad “Mike” Schmidt (1894-1954). (Front row) Henry John Schmidt Jr. (1896-1974); John Norwin Van Loh (1904-1982). (Fred, Mike, and Henry Jr. were brothers. John was their cousin.) ca. 1920
(Left to right) (Back row) Frederick William “Fred” Schmidt (1892-1955); Michael Conrad “Mike” Schmidt (1894-1954). (Front row) Henry John Schmidt Jr. (1896-1974); John Norwin Van Loh (1904-1982). (Fred, Mike, and Henry Jr. were brothers. John was their cousin.) ca. 1920, colorized
Chris Emil Schmidt (1901-1976) and Ida (Messner) Schmidt (1906-1983) and their children, ca. 1965
Chris Emil Schmidt (1901-1976) and Ida (Messner) Schmidt (1906-1983) and their children, ca. 1965, colorized
Gottlieb Friedrich Schafer (1881-1945) and his wife, Elizabeth Marie (Schmidt) Schafer (1889-1973), ca. 1910
Gottlieb Friedrich Schafer (1881-1945) and his wife, Elizabeth Marie (Schmidt) Schafer (1889-1973), ca. 1910, colorized
William Conrad Schmidt (1888-1956) and his wife, Anna Henrietta (Niewoehner) Schmidt (1887-1942) (seated), with Anna’s parents (standing), ca. 1911
William Conrad Schmidt (1888-1956) and his wife, Anna Henrietta (Niewoehner) Schmidt (1887-1942) (seated), with Anna’s parents (standing), ca. 1911, colorized
Michael Frederick Schmidt (1899-1974) as a young boy, ca. 1910
Michael Frederick Schmidt (1899-1974) as a young boy, ca. 1910, colorized
Marie Grace (Jennings) Schmidt (1904-1996), and her husband, Michael Frederick Schmidt (1899-1974), ca. 1970
Marie Grace (Jennings) Schmidt (1904-1996), and her husband, Michael Frederick Schmidt (1899-1974), ca. 1970, colorized
Henry John Schmidt (1904-1974; the son of Karl and Maggie Schmidt), ca. 1925
Henry John Schmidt (1904-1974; the son of Karl and Maggie Schmidt), ca. 1925, colorized
William Henry “Bill” Schmidt (1912-1982) and his horses, on the farm near Curlew, Iowa, ca. 1940
William Henry “Bill” Schmidt (1912-1982) and his horses, on the farm near Curlew, Iowa, ca. 1940, colorized

If you love what you’ve seen here, you can colorize some of your old black and white family photos yourself! Go to http://demos.algorithmia.com/colorize-photos/ and try it for free.

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