Schmidt Web Site

My name is <George Schmidt> and I am the Site manager of this site.My paternal grandfather, Herman Schmidt emigrated from Bessarabia to Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada prior to World War I. from Kiev, Ukraine.  This is an area that suffered through destruction by the German army in its invasion of Russia in World War II.  What little was left was destroyed by the Russians when they drove the Germans out.  That has made research into my family history difficult.  Though many  records were saved, much was lost. The area has been under domination by several countries over 100's of years including Russia, Poland and Rumania, with borders and country name going through many changes.My maternal Grandfather came from the general area of Odessa, Bessarabia.  He, Reinhold Reich emigrated in the same time frame before World War I. However, some records of my family do exist.   I  found the Naturalization Records for my Grandfather Herman Schmidt.  The papers show that he was born in Zhytomir Parish, Ukraine.  It is located west of Kiev, and is a historic city first mentioned in 1240.  During World War II, it became the Ukrainian headquarters for Heinrich Himmler.  It had a brutal and violent history during the war, and tens of thousands of Jews were slaughtered.  One of Himmler's goals was to "eliminate the Jews" and end German colonization of the East.  This transformed the landscape and devastated the population to an extent that was not experienced in other parts of Nazi-occupied Europe, other than Poland. (Information contained from Answers.com)I have found records for my Great Grandfather Ludwig Schmidt, born in 1862 in Russia.  My Great Grandmother was Helene Mueller.  Helen Mueller was born in 1859 in Russia.  Ludwig and Helene were married on January 10, 1882 in Heimtal Parish, Zhitomer, Volyn, Ukraine.  Unfortunately, I have no birth documents for my Grandfather, Herman Schmidt. My Great Great Grandfather was Georg Schmidt born in 1842.I also have found my Paternal Great Grandmother, Karolyn Ziefle, thanks to internet contacts with family members in Germany and Finland.  I have since traced the Ziefle family back into the 1500's. I discovered records for my Maternal Grandfather Reinhold Rich, born in 1883 in Eigenheim, Bessarabia.  My Great Grandfather was Christian Schmidt.  The tree is quite large andd expansive since I have added the family of my first wife (Sandra Pearson), and my second wife (Jane Eller) and my aunts.  In hindsite, it may have been better to put them in separate family trees. I added the family information for Virginia DeWitz (wife of Uncle William Schmidt) and Nellie Novak (wife of Uncle Robert Schmidt).  The research on these families has turned up some Famous People and go back many years.  Some Examples:  Sir Malcolm Wallace and William "Braveheart" Wallace, Stonewall Jackson and Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Mosely) and her husband Frank Baker--both famous for their marksmanship .   The James Withers (Wyther) Family includes many American Pioneers including a cousin of George Washington, a Governor, Major Plantation Owners, Revolutionary War Veterans and Civil War Veterans--including a Confederate General.The family of Jane Schmidt (my second wife) includes a member of the Mayflower passengers, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the first and second governors of North Carolina, and a veteran of the Civil War. The European branch appears to go back to the First King of Scots.  These are the discoveries that keep me digging into the family history.Any help in my search for other family members will be much appreciated, particularly for Heinrich Tobert (or possibly Taubert) branches, and Ludwig Schmidt, and Georg Schmidt.Enjoy!This site was created using MyHeritage.com. This is a great system that allows anyone like you and I to create a site for their family and even publish their family tree on the Internet.If you have any comments or feedback about this site, please click here to contact me.