The Many Daughters of Maria Christina Schaefer Schmidt
Ten girls, eight boys…my great, great grandmother, Maria Christine Schaefer Schmidt gave birth to eighteen children.
My great grandmother, Gertrude, was the first born child of Maria and her husband Heinrich Joseph Schmidt. She was born on August 8, 1867 in Barisdorf, Prussia, Germany. Gertrude and her parents immigrated to America, arriving in New York City from Hamburg on May 24, 1869. The family settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Gertrude’s sister, Catherine, was born on November 25, 1869 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The rest of the siblings were all also born in Wisconsin.
Even though Gertrude, her husband John Peter Anthony, and their children settled in San Bernardino, California after my grandmother was born, Gertrude “Trudy” and her sisters remained close.
| Gertrude Schmidt Anthony | 1867-1943 |
| Catherine Schmidt Merfeld | 1869-1937 |
| Mary Schmidt Smizek | 1871-1950 |
| Barbara Schmidt Finn | 1873-1939 |
| Anna Schmidt | 1877-1889 |
| Louise Schmidt | 1878-1880 |
| (Unnamed female Schmidt) | 1881-1881 |
| Christina Schmidt Brey | 1882-1919 |
| Wilhelmina “Minnie” Schmidt Neibergall | 1883-1957 |
| Mathilda “Della” Schmidt Oldenburg | 1887-1960 |
