The Schemmel surname is found throughout what is now known as Germany. Descendants have been encountered from Starkenburg, Besheim, and Jugenheim in the Hess-Darmstadt region; from Suebia by way of Austria; and from Huckenwalde and Kirchain in the Mark-Brandenburg region. Those Schemmels who found their way to New Vienna, Dubuque County, Iowa originated in Telgte, Westphalia. Telgte is a little town just east of Munster in the northwest part of Germany.
The records of St. Clemens Catholic church of Telgte list many marriages, births, and deaths of Schemmels back to the late seventeenth century. Surprisingly, with all the variations in the spelling of Christian names, the spelling of SCHEMMEL remained consistent down through the years.
The family relationships of the early Schemmels are still not complete. Of principal interest are the three contemporary families:
It is possible that Frans Jacob and Edward Henry who married Catharine were brothers. Edward Henry who married Christina was probably a cousin. Edward Henry and Catharine are the ancestors of the Dubuque County Schemmels. The records of the children and grandchildren are relatively certain. It is quite likely that some of them emmigrated to Ohio in the last half of the nineteenth century. Other contemporary Schemmel names in Telgte were: Phillip, John Casper, and Theodor Herman. These names occur frequently in the early records of Schemmels in the US.
Although the records are not clear, it is probable that Edward Henry Schemmel who married Anna Catharine Steltenkamp was born 6 February 1747 to John Schemmel and Anna Catharine Brandt. Edward Henry and Anna Catharine had a son Theodor Herman, born 3 January 1782. They may have had another son, Anton, born about 1784. The records are not clear.
Theodor Herman Schemmel married Anna Maria Elisabeth Frederich 10 October 1809. She was born 30 March 1781, daughter of John Henry Frederich and Anna Maria Elisabeth Altendorff. Others in her family were:
Theodor Herman Schemmel and Anna Maria Elisabeth Frederich had seven children, all born in Telgte. They were:
Little information is available on their life in Telgte. Theodor Herman was a woolen manufacturer and had contracts to supply blankets for the Prussian army. He and his family left Telgte in 1833. They were the first family from that area to go to America. After a voyage of six weeks, they landed at Baltimore. From there, they crossed the Alleghany Mountains by tram to Pittsburgh. Then they went down the Ohio River to Wheeling and on to Cincinnati, Ohio.
The previous year in September 1832, Francis Joseph Stallo and a group of 96 other Germans formed a stock company in Cincinnati to purchase a section of land in Mercer County. This group founded Stallostown, which is now Minster, Jackson township of Auglaize County. It was Mercer County until 1848.
Theodor Schemmel and his family settled on an 80 acre farm in Mercer County. It is now Section 21, Jackson township, Auglaize County, about 3 miles northwest of Minster. The deed is dated October 17, 1833.
Theodor was 51 and his wife, Elisabeth, was 52 at that time. Their oldest son, Henry, was 23, followed by: Elisabeth, 21; John, 17; Christopher, 15; Anton, 11; and Joseph, 8. These are the names that occur in records of later years. Theodor, born 22 December 1818, used John Christopher for his legal documents but was always referred to as Christopher. Edward Henry was called Henry and John Henry was called John. Herman Anton was called Anton.
Theodor Schemmel was apparently a farmer in Ohio. His sons followed in the woolen business. Sometime prior to 1839, Henry and Christopher moved to Hamilton, Ohio where they were woolen manufacturers. John apparently moved to Minster and taught school. In 1838 their mother died. Theodor died in 1839. Joseph was still at home at that time. Henry, Christopher, and John had each married. It seems that John, his wife Maria Anna Clara Rohling, and his sister Elisabeth lived either on the homestead or in Minster. Henry, Christopher, and Anton were living in Hamilton.
The three brothers Henry, Anton, and Christopher moved about starting mills in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. Henry went to New Vienna, Dubuque County, Iowa in 1844. Joseph followed him in April, 1846. Anton lived in St. Paul, Indiana where he ran a mill. He was also in partnership with his brothers Henry, Christopher, and Joseph in New Vienna. Anton married Harriet Ennis on 17 August 1847 at St. Stephens church in Hamilton, Ohio. They had nine children: Mary Jane, Laura, Mary, Mary, Kate E., Anna Maria, Mary Jane, William Henry, and John plus one adopted.
Adoption was quite common in 1849 because of the cholera epidemic that often wiped out entire families. John Schemmel died in that epidemic 19 July 1849. It was so bad during the months of July and August that the bodies were collected twice each day in Minster and buried in four tiers in two trenches. Two-hundred-forty-seven people died in the town of Minster. Over four thousand died in Cincinnati.
John Schemmel and his wife Maria Anna Clara Rohling had seven children: Maria Elisabeth (Sister Attala, CPPS), Clara Margarita, Maria Angela, Catharine Caroline, Anton, and Sister Clara Edmunda. All but the two girls in the convent died in infancy. In June 1863, Elizabeth and Clara Schemmel sold the homestead to John Kaiser. It is likely that neither were living on the farm at that time. Little is known of Elizabeth. Presumably she never married and died at an old age around the Minster area. By then, the rest of the family had moved west.
Anton's wife, Harriet died in St. Paul, Indianna 11 March 1877. Anton travelled west to Iowa and Kansas. In later years he lived in Granville, Iowa with his daughter and son-in-law, Mary Jane and Joseph Oberman. In 1880 some of his children were living in New Vienna with Joseph.
Little is known about Christopher and his family. His wife's name was Mary Ann. There is no record of her ever having gone to Iowa with him. He was a partner in the mill at New Vienna in 1846. He was killed in an accident in the mill. He was the first person to be burried in the cemetary at New Vienna, 2 September 1848. It is probable that his family was still back in Hamilton, Ohio. He was married at least by 1843. No descendants are known.
Henry Schemmel married Anna Mary Jacob 15 May 1837 at Hamilton, Ohio. They had four children: Herman Henry, Elizabeth, Theodore, and Anthony. Henry died in New Vienna, Iowa 4 April, 1855. His wife later married Frank Knippling who continued to run the mill. Joseph purchased sole ownership of the mill in 1868. The oldest son, Herman was guardian for his siblings. In the late 1800s, Herman and his family moved to Denison, Texas. The other children of Henry married and remained in Dubuque County.
Joseph Schemmel married Elizabeth Wente on 21 August 1852 at St. Boniface in New Vienna. He lived there until his death 22 May 1898. They had ten children: Mary A., Henry J., William, Anthony J., Frank, Bernard J., Clemence, Anna E., Clementine, and Joseph. Many of their children moved to western Iowa around Granville. Some went to Bancrot where Anthony J., who was a priest, was assigned in 1893.
The present day Schemmels of eastern Iowa are descendnants of either Henry or Joseph Schemmel. Many in western Iowa are descendant of either Anton or Joseph. There are also some Schemmels in western Iowa descended from Johann August Schemmel, born in Berlin in 1780. Other Schemmel families in the US have been identified as descendants of: Theodor Schemmel, Theodor and his brother Edward Schemmel, all around Minster, Ohio in the mid 1800s; and Gregor Schemmel of Racine, Wisconsin. The relationships among these families have not been identified.
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