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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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Jacob
Schmitt Among
the enterprising Germans who have found homes within our borders and to whom the
country has always been ready to extend a hearty welcome, Jacob Schmitt, farmer
of Washington Township, Jasper County, is deserving of specific mention in the
list of worthy citizens of Jasper County. He is one of the pioneers of Iowa and
has spent most of his long and useful life in the Hawkeye State, having come
here when a boy sixty-four years ago, so he has lived to see and take part in
the development of the state from the epoch of the wild plains, when wild beasts
and painted-faced Indians roamed at will, and it is interesting indeed to hear
him tell of the early days. He has won a good home and valuable farmstead
through his own indomitable efforts and while he has been laboring for his own
advancement he has never let a good opportunity pass whereby he could contribute
in some way to the progress of his locality, having ever had the general good of
his adopted country at heart. He has led a life of honesty and he has ever commanded
the respect and good will of his neighbors and many friends. Mr.
Schmitt was born in Bavaria, Germany, September 10, 1831, the son of Jacob, Sr.,
and Elizabeth (Beebinger) Schmitt, both born in Bavaria, he in 1799 and she in
1805. The paternal grandfather was
also named Jacob. The father of the subject was a weaver by trade and worked his
own loom for linen weaving. In July
1847, he brought his family to America, landing at New Orleans after a tedious
and trying voyage of sixty-two days. They found it so hot in the Louisiana
metropolis that the family decided to ascend the Mississippi to Iowa, so they
came to Fort Madison and there located, the father securing employment in a
brickyard. Later he rented a farm in Lee County and lived there until his death,
in 1863. His family consisted of
seven children, of whom Jacob, the immediate subject of this sketch, was the
second in order of birth. He
attended school in Germany until he was fourteen years of age. Although but sixteen years of age when the family came to
America he left them and started out in life for himself.
For some time he worked in Keokuk, Iowa, and he was in the employ of a
steamboat pilot, receiving during the first year only three dollars per month.
Later he began learning the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for a
time in Missouri, later locating in Franklin, Iowa, where he conducted a
blacksmith shop of his own. He
worked two years in Louisa County and in 1874 he moved to Prairie City, Jasper
County, where he established a blacksmith and repair shop and made wagons which
were of such superior quality that they were eagerly sought for. He was in
business with his brother Philip for some time. Although he had been very
successful as a blacksmith and wagon maker, the subject finally turned his
attention to farming and rented land for three years, there bought one hundred
and sixty acres in Washington Township, in 1881, and here he has continued to
reside, having enjoyed a very comfortable income from his well tilled land. Mr.
Schmitt is a Republican in politics, though in his earlier life he voted the
Democratic ticket. He has been road
supervisor for five years. Religiously,
he belongs to the German Lutheran church. On
October 26, 1856, Mr. Schmitt was united in marriage with Henrietta Rauscher,
who was born on the ocean while her parents were emigrating to America. She is
the daughter of Henry Rauscher, who came to Ohio in 1833 and in 1848 moved on to
Lee County, Iowa, thus starting life twice in the new world as a pioneer.
To the subject and wife the following children have been born: Philip,
Henry, Mrs. Anna Anderson, Lizzie and George, who died in infancy. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. 740. |
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