Today’s birthday boy was born and raised in Altenburg, spent most of his adult life in Nebraska, but returned to Altenburg where he and his wife are buried.

Edwin Adolph Ehregott Schmidt was born on November 4, 1899, thus making today his 125th birthday. Edwin was the son of Joseph and Mathilda (Richter) Schmidt. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. We can take a look at an image of his baptism record from that congregation’s books below. I will display Edwin’s confirmation record soon, and it says Edwin was born in Wittenberg.

Edwin is found in the 1900 census as an infant. His father was a farm laborer in the Brazeau Township.

Next, we find Edwin in the 1910 census at the age of 10. Based on the other families listed on the same census page, the Joseph Schmidt family was farming near the Mississippi River near Wittenberg.

In 1913, Edwin Schmidt was confirmed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wittenberg.

Not long after his confirmation, Edwin’s mother died. His father hired Sarah Darnstaedt to help him with his children, and he would marry her 2 years later.

Edwin Schmidt completed a World War I draft registration in 1918. Although Edwin is given an Altenburg address, he was a farm hand for his father, and his father is given a Wittenberg address.

In 1920, we find Edwin at the age of 20 and still living with his parents, Joseph and his stepmother, Sarah. Edwin is not given an occupation, but I have to think that he was helping his father on his farm.

Migrations of young Perry County men were occurring back in the early part of the 20th century with the goal of finding work elsewhere. Many of those folks found work in an area of Nebraska near the town of West Point. Edwin became one of those young men that moved to that vicinity during the 1920’s. While in Nebraska, he found a wife. Let’s take a look at her.

Frieda Martha Bertha Haase was born on August 3, 1904 in Cuming County, Nebraska, which is where West Point is located. Frieda was the daughter of William and Louise (Ropers) Haase. Frieda is found in her first census entry in 1910 at the age of 5. Her family was living in the St. Charles Township, which is right outside West Point. Her father was a farmer.

In 1920, Frieda was a teenager when that year’s census was taken. Most of the Haase children were girls. The Haase’s were still living in the same location.

According to a newspaper article, Edwin Schmidt married Frieda Haase on February 4, 1927. I am not able to read the actual article.

All the evidence I located indicates the this was a childless couple. We find them in the 1930 census living in the Elkhorn Township, which is adjacent to the St. Charles Township. Edwin was a farmer.

In the 1940 census, we find this couple still living in Cuming County, but this time, they were living in the township named Cuming..

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. The Schmidt’s were still living in the Cuming Township.

I do not know exactly when it happened, but Edwin and Frieda apparently moved back to Altenburg prior to their deaths. Edwin Schmidt died in 1978 at the age of 79. His death record in the books of Trinity, Altenburg says he died of cancer. Frieda Schmidt died in 1991 at the age of 86. Both Edwin and Frieda Schmidt are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

I have a faint memory from my childhood of a family trip that we made to West Point, Nebraska to visit some people. I had no idea why we made that trip. Several years ago, I came across this article about my dad, Richard Schmidt, and my uncle, Arnold Schmidt. It says that those two men came home to visit their mother from West Point. I figure that my father was one of those young men who migrated to Nebraska to find work back in those days. I had no idea that he had done that. Now, I know that there was another Schmidt (not from my Schmidt clan) who spent much of his life living near West Point.

I think that East Perry County is like a magnet. It seems to attract people back to their roots after spending much of their lives elsewhere. I know several folks right now who were born and raised in East Perry County, but after working somewhere else during most of their lives, have felt the pull of this community and returned in their retirement.