Carl Hermann Schmidt (deceased) was Secretary of the Land Department of the H. & St. Jo. R.R., Hannibal, Mo., for fifteen years, filling the position with ability until his death, which occurred June 27 1884. His labors in whatever he undertook were almost invariably crowned with success, and when he was called to his final rest, his fellow-citizens realized that they had lost one whose place culd not be easily filled. Prior to 1869, when he became interested in the raliroad business, he was in the ministry and was stationed at Jefferson City, St. Charles and other Missouri cities and towns, afterward being transferred to the Illinois conference and placed in charge of a pulpit at Beardstown. The birth of Carl H. Schmidt occurred November 28, 1819 in Saxe-Altenburg, Germany. His father, Christian Martin Schmidt, a native of the City of Altenburg, was born in 1776, died in 1860. He was a man of great wealth, and his financial ventures extended over a large portion of the German territory. He was a lineal descendant of George Schmidt, who was distinguished on account of having rescued the two sons of the Elector of Saxony from "The Abductor Conrad" of Hesse in 1443, for which act he was offered a title of nobility; he declined the same but agreed to accept an estate instead. This property (near Freiburg) was to be exempt from taxation and the estates which he owned at Altenburg are still in the possession of his posterity. At the time of our subject's birth he was the only lineal descendant of the famous George Schmidt, bearing the family name, with one exception, namely: Alfred Schmidt, a manufacturer of chemicals in Glasgow, Scotland. The preliminary education of C.H.Schmidt was obtained in the excellent schools of the Fatherland under the instruction of a private tutor; one of his fellow students was Prince Moritz, the young Count von Roedern. His knowledge of languages embraced Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English, French, Spanish, Italian and several German dialects. The latter were taken for the purpose of success in commercial life in Germany, for his father had determined his career in advance; however the son imbibed a great desire for freedom and saw much to admire in the institutions of America. Being sent by his father on business to Hamburg, he suddenly resolved to sail for the New World, and fearing opposition simply wrote to his father apprising him of his plans and stating that he would return in a year from that time." At this time he was an atheist and afterward wrote a book to disprove the teachings of Christianity. On placing the manuscript before some Cincinnati publishers, they carefully perused the same, and declaring that it was the finest work on the subject that had yet been written, agreed to him one thousand dollars down and a royalty besides. He was not loath to accept the offer, but while crossing the Missouri River bottom with his manuscript in the saddle-bag he was miraculously converted to the faith which he had despised, and on his return to Independence, where he was then the owner of a store, he burned the article on which he had spent so much time and effort. Soon afterward he became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church and was ever afterward an earnest and zealous supporter of Christianity. He reached New Orleans at the end of a six weeks voyage, which was not of the most pleasant description, for, besides encountering storms, the ship narrowly escaped destruction by fire. He had purchased immunity from military service in Germany, but immediately on arriving at St. Louis, Mo., enlisted in the United States Army, the special command of which was sent to Santa Fe, N.M., and remained in the Southwest for about eight months. Mr. Schmidt returned to St. Louis, where he made his home for several years. When on a visit to Bresalu (Germany) Mr Schmidt made the acquaintance of Margueretta Ruck de Schelle, of French extraction. Her ancestors were expatriated during the Seven Years' War (from 1756 to 1763) and settled in Germany. Fraulein Ruck de Schelle was married at sixteen to Heinrich Steininger and emigrated to America. They were members of of young Minister Schmidt's church in Jefferson City, but not for long, for the girl-wife became a widow when only nineteen years of age, her husband dying of the cholera. Two years later she became her pastor's wife (December 21 1851) and she now [circa 1895] survives him." Her husband having contemplated going as a missionary to Japan in order to make herself more useful to him in his work she took up the study of medicine at St. Charles, Mo., and attended lectures in St. Louis. In those days the rights of woman-kind were disregarded by medical colleges and she was not allowed to take a degree. Although on account of her husband's poor health she did not go to Japan, her services were soon in great demand in the vicinity of her home and she was recognized by all as a physician of ability. Her field of labor widened and at last she had clientele not exceeded by any other practitioner in Hannibal. She continued in professional work until declining years led to her withdrawal form active practice. To Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt were born nine children, six of whom survive "Portrait and Biographical Record of Ralls, Pike and Marion Counties" (886 pages) pub. C.C. Owen Co. Chicago, 1895, revised and reprinted by Ralls Co. Book Co New London MO 1982, out of print.

 

I have found reference to a Prince Moritz (b. 1829 - d. 1907 (or 1909?) ) of Saxe-Altenberg. Presumably this is the Prince that Carl Hermann claimed to have been schooled with. He would have indeed been "young" compared to Carl Hermann - younger by 10 years.

Deriving Genealogical Information From the Above "Portrait" Document

The following texts appear immediately after the above text. Sons and daughters are mentioned seperately.

"Christian Martin, died at 20.;" "William A., who married Ida K. Stobernack, is a partner in the Empire Mill of this city;" "Edward C., a traveling salesman, married, Emma Stobernack;" "John Albert (Schmidt), whose wife was formerly Ellen Bartram, is a railway engineer in Texas;" "Richard (Schmidt) is the youngest;" "Portrait and Biographical Record of Ralls, Pike and Marion Counties" (886 pages) pub. C.C. Owen Co. Chicago, 1895, revised and reprinted by Ralls Co. Book Co New London MO 1982, out of print.

The implication of the above statement is that Richard Schmidt was the youngest son, not youngest child, I believe. Daughters are enumerated separately. If this is the case it provides further evidence in addition to the absence of their names from the 1880 census, that Henri Schmidt (b. 1878) was deceased by 1895, and that Carl Hermann Schmidt, Jr. (b. 1876) was deceased by 1895, since if those two were living they would have been younger than Richard Schmidt. The two daughters Louise (b. 1867?) and Emily (b. 1869) were younger than Richard Schmidt, but he was the youngest son then living.

The daughters are discussed separately, as follows.

"Louise M., the elder sister, took an elective course in the Missouri State University, and is a teacher in the Hannibal Academy.;" "Emily R. graduated in 1889 from the Hannibal High School, afterward pursuing an optional course of study in the Missouri State University. " (1895) "Portrait and Biographical Record of Ralls, Pike and Marion Counties" (886 pages) pub. C.C. Owen Co. Chicago, 1895, revised and reprinted by Ralls Co. Book Co New London MO 1982, out of print.

My mother Gianna Hochstein reports that Louise M. would later marry a relatively wealthy man and that she, Gianna, met her on many occasions and liked her as a person

My mother Gianna Hochstein reports that Emma (also known as Emily Rosalie), would later marry and write books as Emily Grant Hutchings, including such "classics" as Jap Heron, Indian Summer, Where do We Go From Here and How to Study Pictures. Jap Heron is (in)famous for having been channeled on a Ouija board from the spirit of the deceased Mark Twain... and apparently published in his name. It is said to be really really bad. I suspect that Emily Grant Hutchings' spiritualism was sincerely believed.

The following reference to Carl Hermann's role in his wife's first marriage appeared among my Grandmother Bertha's letters in a letter from Dorthy Preece.

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild - Barque Natchez Germany to Galvestone, Texas Fourth Qarter of 1847 District of Galveston - Port of Galveston 46, Schmidt, Carl, male, 28, Saxony, Merchant

 

The Role of Hannibal Ministers as Justifiers of Racial Oppression

What were the racial views of Carl H. Schmidt?

While no documentary evidence from his life has been found, if he was pre-Civil War minister in Hannibal Missouri we would necessarily be suspicious. However a review of the birth locations of his children now suggests that the family did not reach Hannibal until 1867 at the earliest, and previously dwelled in Illinois, probably for the duration of the Civil War.

On the one hand we have the obvious fact of participation in the imperialist war against Mexico in his youth. Yet, comparatively speaking, this doesn't trouble me. He was an immigrant from Germany, a young man of his time and place, and this war was no doubt an expedient way for him to gain American citizenship. I'm not even particularly troubled if he took part in it with naive enthusiasm for conquest. That is what young men sometimes foolishly and stupidly do.

On the other hand, on the question of slavery and race in Hannibal, Missouri and the American south, I cannot be so casual. Historian Terrell Dempsey (author of "Searching for Jim - Slavery in Sam Clemens' World", 2003) describes the pre-Civil War slave culture of Hannibal Missouri.

Like W.G. Caples, my ancestor C.H. Schmidt was a minister affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Unlike Caples, I have found no evidence that he was part of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Hannibal. He appears to have spent the Civil War in Illinois.

Elsewhere Dempsey explains that Hannibal was a slave trading town in which the tyranny and evils of slavery were fully manifested, and in which one fourth of the population lived in bondage. The absolute brutality of that place and time is impressive to confront and contemplate. If you are interested in the real world in which Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain) grew up, and in which my ancestor may (or may not have) lived and preached, I highly recommend Terrell Dempsey's Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's World (2003).

If there was evidence that my great-great-grandfather had been part of pre-Civil War Hannibal society, then we could reasonably hypothesize that he was a racist and a justifier of the slavery system. That would be the expected position of a minister of a Methodist Episcopal church in Hannibal Missouri in that period whether affiliated with the southern or northern branches.

But Dempsey notes that there were abolitionists among the Northern Methodists, and discernible differences between the two Methodist congregations of Hannibal. There were nuances of opinion and affiliation. For example, Dempsey also alludes to other Methodist preachers who were suspected of abolitionist sentiments (p. 63, Terrell Dempsey, Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's World, 2003). And it appears that one Methodist church in Hannibal remained affiliated with the northern church, even as it adopted the proslavery position. Given the evidence that he did not reach Hannibal until 1868 at the earliest however, his own likely positions are even less well defined. The culture surely did not stop being a racist culture, but since abolition was the law of the land, attitudes and permissible views may have changed.

"In the mid-1840s, the Methodists split dramatically and publicly over the issue of slavery. Nationally the church divided into the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In the fall of 1845, the state conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met in Columbia, Missouri, and elected to affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. However, not all Missouri congregations followed the state organization into the new affiliation. The slavery issue divided churches at the local level as well, and disagreements played out on the pages of the local press. [...] "The two Methodist churches of Hannibal dealt with the schism in different fashions. Though they both were staunchly proslavery, one congregation went into the southern church. The other elected to retain their affiliation with the old Methodist church and soon found itself the subject of suspicion and gossip." Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's World, Terrell Dempsey, 2003

The upshot is that this "other" Methodist church in Hannibal insisted all the more loudly on its anti-abolitionist views because it retained its "suspicious" northern affiliation.

"There was no moderate position in northeast Missouri slave culture after 1849: Only public support of slavery was acceptable. To question slavery in any fashion was to brand oneself as an outsider and an abolitionist. It was a dramatic change." Terrell Dempsey, Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's World, 2003, p. 139

However Carl Herman Schmidt only came to Hannibal Missouri after the war, as evidenced by the birth dates and locations of his daughters. So his life and views must be inferred from the perspectives of the larger Methodist Episcopal Church in both Missouri and, more significantly, in Illinois where he apparently lived during the Civil War. From that perspective there is certainly a reasonable possibility that he held abolitionist views. But we have no evidence. If he came to Hannibal Missouri in the post civil war era, I would speculate that any abolitionist views that he might have held would surely have to be muted, at the very least.

 

The Pilgrim Congregational Church of Hannibal Missouri in the 1880s

New information (February 2006) has come into my posession, suggesting that Carl H. Schmidt was not a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church or any other church in Hannibal. Rather, by 1880 he was associated instead with the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Hannibal and held the office of Deacon. His son, my great grandfather W. Adolphus Schmidt was the church clerk.

We also learn ("The Story of Hannibal, J. Hurley Hagood and Roberta (Roland) Hagood, 1976) that he came to Hannibal "in the 1860s" for business purposes, suggesting that he did not come to Hannibal as a Minister, and would not therefore have been required to conform to any lingering pro-slavery views of the late 1860s and 1870s in Hannibal. That makes sense insofar as he had a large and growing family, and perhaps found it difficult to support that family as a preacher, and is in a sense somewhat "exculpatory." The source for Hagood's statement is not the source document she cites (Portrait and Biographical Record of Ralls, Pike and Marion Counties) but apparently the article below.

The following brief excerpt from Volume III of Mirror of Hannibal by Thomas H. Bacon (1905, Roberta (Roland) Hagood and J. Hurley Hagood, eds) represents one of the few remaining fragments of the lives of Carl H. Schmidt, his son W. Adolphus Schmidt, his (presumed) daughter Mrs. Matilda Schmidt ("Mrs.", yet she curiously retained her maiden name), and his daughter-in-law, my great-grandmother, Mrs. W. A. Schmidt, aka Ida (Stobernack) Schmidt, a trustee of the church. It provides a nice picture of the church building for the church of which Carl H. Schmidt was a member, but it would appear that he did not live to see its dedication in 1891. Rather, he is listed as a founding member of the Pilgrim Church organized by a Rev. J.H. Harwood on September 15 1880, and died in 1884. Presumably his role as a Deacon in that church was from 1880 to his death in 1884.

By 1905 his daughter in law, Mrs. W.A.Schmidt aka Ida (Stobernack) Schmidt is listed as a Deaconess. We also find evidence for a role being played by a "Dr. R.S.Schmidt", as a Deacon of the church and by a "Dr. R. Schmidt" (same person?) as a chairman. If this is Richard S. Schmidt, his son, it is the first corroboration I've found for the idea that C.H. Schmidt's son Richard Schmidt was in fact a physician like his mother. (I had previously mentioned that as a possibility above.) Did Dr. Richard S. Schmidt also have children?

 

One thing I do learn from this text is that, contra my mother's recollection that her mother Bertha Schmidt was Methodist in upbringing, and only settled on Congregationalism as a "compromise" with her less religious husband G. Day Smith, it would appear that Congregationalism was the family religion as early as the 1880s on that side of the family. Bertha's father and mother were clearly active in this Congregationalist church, as was her grandfather C.H. Smith. Whatever Congregationalism meant to her, it would appear to be the church into which she was born (1883), and the church of her father, mother, uncle and grandfather. It was only earlier in his life that CH Schmidt had been a Methodist Episcopal minister.

 

From "The History of Marion County" Congregational Church. — On the 29th day of November, 1859, when but one Congregational Church (that of Rev. Dr. Post, of St. Louis) existed in Missouri, a small band of New England and New York Congregationalists, with a few others, who held similar faith, met at a private residence in this city, and having adopted the articles of faith in that denomination, joined in a society known as the First Congregational Church of Hannibal. Their first house of worship was built in South Hannibal, an unpretending frame structure, capable of seating from three to four hundred persons. But so rapid was the growth of the church that in 1870 it was determined to build a more commodious building, centrally located. The site was selected on Lyon and Church streets, and the building erected and furnished at a cost of $70,000. This building was sold October 9, 1880, to the Catholics, as mentioned in the history of their church. Pilgrim Congregational Church was organized September 19, 1880, with the following members: Mr. W. H. Loomis and wife, George A. Collins and wife, Carl Schmitt and wife, Jas. H. Wheeler and wife, S. D. Barnes and wife, John Davies and wife, W. H. Ide and wife, Mrs. C. D. Morchouse, and twenty-seven others. The present building is a chapel, built on the rear of perhaps the best church site in the city, near the corner of Fifth street and Broadway. It was built in the summer of 1881, and cost $3,000. The dedicatory services were conducted by Revs. Robert West and J. H. Harwood, October 16, 1881. The pastors for the last organization have been Revs. J. H.. Harwood, J. C. Plumb, and S. P. Dunlap, the present pastor. The present membership is 100, showing an increase of more than double since its organization. Connected with the church is a flourishing Sabbath-school of over 100 members. The church contemplates building a large and commodious house of worship, fronting on Broadway, at no very distant day.

 

German Immigration to Missouri

The movement of Carl Herman Schmidt and his wife to Missouri was part of a large influx of German immigrants to the state of Missouri, as described here: http://www-lib.iupui.edu/kade/deutschheim.html.

Carl H. Schmidt arrived St. Louis in time to enlist in the 1846-1847 Mexican American war (circa 1845 or 1846 presumably), but the 1850s are described by Dempsey as a time in which German immigration created cracks in the ideological front of Slavery in Missouri. This raises a question in my mind, since C.H. Schmidt was part of this general German immigration, did he adopt the proslavery positions associated with ministers in places like Hannibal? What would be the required viewpoint in Jeffereson City , where we do know that he was a minister prior to the war, without a doubt? And did Schmidt's views reflect what Dempsey describes as German immigrant unease with slavery?

"As the 1850s progressed, the solid front of Missouri slavery began to crack. German immigrants fleeing the failed revolutions in Europe began arriving in St. Louis. they brought with them republican ideas. Tired of repression and militarism, they were eager to breathe the air of democracy. And while the native sons of slave culture saw nothing hypocritical in whipping a slave on the Fourth of July , the "peculiar institution" did not sit well with these new citizens." Terrell Dempsey, Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's World, 2003, p. 195

 

The Republican Party

An additional factor for speculation is the fervent Republicanism of his son Dolph (aka William Adolphus) Schmidt , attested to by his daughter, my grandmother, Bertha (Schmidt) Smith. We can only ask, was his son Dolph's later post-war Republicanism ("he loved the Republican party") learned from his father, or adopted in rebellion against his father?

Overlap of Carl H. Schmidt and Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) in Hannibal?

"During his [Sam Clemens's] youth [1840s to 1853], there were, in addition to the two Presbyterian churches, two Methodist churches, a Baptist church, a Christian (Disciples of Christ) church, a Catholic church, an Episcopal church and a carefully controlled African church." Terrell Dempsey, Searching for Jim: Slavery in Sam Clemens's World, 2003, p. 64-65

It appears that Carl H. Schmidt did not reach, or dwell for any extended period of time, in Hannibal before 1853 when Sam Clemens's left at age 17. He arrived post 1867. Among my ancestors only John Stobernack and Catherine (Sando) Stobernack may have overlapped Sam Clemens in Hannibal. Nonetheless C.H. Schmidt was undoubtedly a participant in the religious institutions and culture that Twain delighted in skewering.