Also seen as Wilhelm Schmitt or Smith Jr. He signed his name "Wilhelm Schmitt" throughout his life but was known in English as William Smith.
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He claimed to have been born 19 Feb 1819 in the Kingdom of Bavaria but was actually born 6 Jan 1819 in Nünschweiler, then part of Bavaria. He was raised in Nünschweiler and Hengsberg and worked with his father on the family mill while living in Hengsberg.
The date on William's grave marker matches with his naturalization papers but demonstrates that he likely did not know his exact date of birth.
He was the son of Wilhelm and Margaretha Schmitt, originally of Nünschweiler, later pioneers of Young Township, Jefferson County, PA.
He arrived in America on 24 Jun 1833 along with his parents, the family of his sister Louisa (Weber, later Wingert), and Johann Nikolaus Haag (also interred at the Punxsutawney German Reformed Church).
He was married first to Anna Brillhart;
and had these children:
Catharine (Smith) Hurlebaus,
Samuel Sylvester Smith,
William K.Smith,
Mary Anna (Smith) Hartzfeld,
and John Elmer Smith.
He was married second to Barbara Catharine Schmitt (originally of Schlüchtern, Hessen; later Indiana County, PA) and had these children (and six others, all of whom died in infancy):
Henry A.Smith,
Jacob George Smith,
Adam E. Smith,
and Elizabeth (Smith) Haag
He died 28 Sep 1896 from a lingering illness;
his body was interred at the St. Peter's Cemetery on
30 September 1896, as per his death record and an obituary from the Punxsutawney Spirit.
------
Note:Regarding the Smith Children
Various records and letters indicate that several instances of scarlet fever or diphtheria swept through Young Township and took the lives of nearly every Smith child who were (originally) buried in the St.Peter's Church cemetery.
******
Sources:
1. Smith, J.D. "The German Pioneers of Punxsutawney and the Zweibrücken-Pirmasens Emigration, 1820-1900." The Jeffersonian Journal 1.1 (2014). Print. 4-25.
Also seen as Wilhelm Schmitt or Smith Jr. He signed his name "Wilhelm Schmitt" throughout his life but was known in English as William Smith.
------
He claimed to have been born 19 Feb 1819 in the Kingdom of Bavaria but was actually born 6 Jan 1819 in Nünschweiler, then part of Bavaria. He was raised in Nünschweiler and Hengsberg and worked with his father on the family mill while living in Hengsberg.
The date on William's grave marker matches with his naturalization papers but demonstrates that he likely did not know his exact date of birth.
He was the son of Wilhelm and Margaretha Schmitt, originally of Nünschweiler, later pioneers of Young Township, Jefferson County, PA.
He arrived in America on 24 Jun 1833 along with his parents, the family of his sister Louisa (Weber, later Wingert), and Johann Nikolaus Haag (also interred at the Punxsutawney German Reformed Church).
He was married first to Anna Brillhart;
and had these children:
Catharine (Smith) Hurlebaus,
Samuel Sylvester Smith,
William K.Smith,
Mary Anna (Smith) Hartzfeld,
and John Elmer Smith.
He was married second to Barbara Catharine Schmitt (originally of Schlüchtern, Hessen; later Indiana County, PA) and had these children (and six others, all of whom died in infancy):
Henry A.Smith,
Jacob George Smith,
Adam E. Smith,
and Elizabeth (Smith) Haag
He died 28 Sep 1896 from a lingering illness;
his body was interred at the St. Peter's Cemetery on
30 September 1896, as per his death record and an obituary from the Punxsutawney Spirit.
------
Note:Regarding the Smith Children
Various records and letters indicate that several instances of scarlet fever or diphtheria swept through Young Township and took the lives of nearly every Smith child who were (originally) buried in the St.Peter's Church cemetery.
******
Sources:
1. Smith, J.D. "The German Pioneers of Punxsutawney and the Zweibrücken-Pirmasens Emigration, 1820-1900." The Jeffersonian Journal 1.1 (2014). Print. 4-25.
Inscription
age 77 yr.,7 mo.,10 d.
Family Members
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Catherine Smith Hurlebaus
1843–1925
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Samuel Sylvester Smith
1845–1907
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William K. Smith
1848–1935
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Mary Anna Smith Hartzfeld
1850–1925
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John Elmer Smith
1852–1914
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Henry A. Smith
1855–1920
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Jacob George "Jake" Smith
1856–1925
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Adam E. Smith
1858–1932
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Catharine Elizabeth Smith Haag
1860–1922
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George Smith
1861–1863
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Christian Smith
1864–1867
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David Smith
1868–1877
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James Smith
1870–1877
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Maggie Smith
1873–1877
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Emma Smith
1875–1877
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