Hello -
I am trying to find the German home town of John Smith (1825 - 1893), his
brother Henry (1833 - 1896) and their wives. The 1860 US census shows
Nassau as their birth place and their last name was spelled Schmidt. I'm
assuming they came to America from Germany around 1850 based on the birth
dates and locations of their oldest children.
John and Henry marries sisters, Magdalena (1827 - 1910) and Christina (1834
- 1911) Bauman. According to a book about the family of Daniel Bender
("Descendants of Daniel Bender", C. W. Bender, Berlin Publishing Co, Berlin,
PA, 1948, FHL FAM HIST BOOK #929.273 B432b), Magdalena and Christina were
cousins of Wilhelm Bender, the son of Daniel and his second wife, Elizabeth
Bauman. This book states that the girls were sent to America to their
cousin to prevent them marrying the Schmidt boys but the boys followed and
they married in America. The families settled in Addison Township,
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, USA.
In the same 1860 US Census mentioned above, a Mary Bowman (1800 - about
1865) was living with John and Magdalena and her birth location was listed
as Prussia. Family stories state that Magdalena's mother came to America
and lived with her daughters until her death around 1865. I'm also assuming
that Mary and Elizabeth Bauman Bender were sisters.
I have the death certificates for Magdalena and Christina. When John and
Henry died, death certificates had just started to be required and the
information is minimal. Christina's shows her birth location as Germany but
doesn't list her parents. Magdalena's shows her birth location as Germany
and her parents, both born in Germany, as Mary Bowman and Francis Delour or
Delcour. The handwriting on the certificate makes Francis' last name
difficult to decipher. Because of family stories that Magdalena's and
Christina's maiden names were Bowman and how Mary's last name is listed in
the 1860 census, I am assuming that there is a possibility that Mary and
Francis were not married.
According to the book on the Daniel Bender family, Daniel lived and died
(about 1842) in Langendorf and Wilhelm's naturalization papers states he
arrived from Hesse Darmstadt. The Bender family were members of the Amish
Mennonite Church. Elizabeth Bauman Bender came to America after Wilhelm
with four of her children.
Any help to put a crack in this brick wall would be greatly appreciated.
I can be reached at tresslerg@verizon.net <mailto:tresslerg@verizon.net> .
Thank you for your assistance.
Glenda Tressler Smith