Today’s birthday girl begins her life in Jacob, Illinois, but her parents moved their family all the way to Oregon shortly after she was confirmed. She would find her spouse and spend the rest of her life there. Her husband was another person whose family made moves across the country before he ended up in Oregon. So, strap on your seat belts. We are heading off on a wild ride.

Maria Margaretha Heeszel was born on May 5, 1892, thus making today her 133rd birthday. Mary was the daughter of John and Gesche (Guetersloh) Heeszel. A previous post was written about John Heeszel’s life titled, The Miesner-Heeszel Partners. That post did not include this wedding photo of Mary’s parents, John and Gesche.

Mary was baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob, Illinois. We can take a look at her baptism record from that congregation’s books below. I have to display it in 2 images.

Mary’s mother died in 1896 when she was just 4 years old. Then, her father married Clara Miesner in 1897. So, when Mary shows up in her first census in 1900, we find this household which includes children from both of John Heeszel’s wives. Mary was the oldest child in this family, and her father was a farmer.

Mary was confirmed at Christ, Jacob in 1905, but shortly after that, her family made a major move to Oregon. I will display Mary’s 1905 confirmation class here. It is packed full of surnames that I would put in the Christ, Jacob Hall of Fame of Names.

The Christ Lutheran books include this note in its communion records about how the Heeszel’s moved away from Illinois in 1906.

When the 1910 census was taken, we find the Heeszel’s living in Corvallis, Oregon. Mary was 17 years old, and this time, her father was called a carpenter.

Now, we will turn our attention to the man who would become Mary’s husband, His name was Franz August Walter Schmidt, who was born on January 8, 1892. Walter was the son of Robert and Mary (Hein) Schmidt. Walter was born in South Dakota, but when we find him in his first census, he was not living in that state. The Schmidt’s were living in the Owen Township in Poinsett County, Arkansas. That is found just south of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Walter was 8 years old, and his father was a farmer. If you look at the states in which the children in this family were born, it says, in order from the top, that one was born in California, then Walter in South Dakota, followed by one in Wisconsin, and then two more in South Dakota. If you compare these states to the ones noted in the next census in 1910, you might conclude that this list may not be totally accurate, but if it is, this Schmidt family really did some moving around. I will also add that the census taker who recorded the entry below was not going to win a spelling bee.

In the 1910 census, we see that this Schmidt family made another dramatic move. In the entry below, we find the Schmidt’s living in Helena, Montana. There is no indication that there were any children born in Wisconsin. The fact that there were no children born in the state of Arkansas is an indication that this family did not live in that state for very long. This time, Walter’s father was called a plasterer, and Walter, at the age of 18, was a salesman at a drug store. I will add that one of Walter’s brothers, Robert Schmidt, who is 10 years old in this entry, went on to become a Lutheran pastor.

It must not have been long after the above census was taken, that this Schmidt family made another move. In 1913, their youngest son, Martin, died at the age of 7, and he is buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Corvallis, Oregon. That was also the city in which Walter was married that same year.

Walter Schmidt married Mary Heeszel on November 23, 1913. The Oregon marriage record shown below indicates that these two were married at an Evangelical Lutheran Church in Corvallis. That was likely Zion Lutheran Church. This is the only document I found that describes Walter as a carpenter.

Walter had his World War I draft registration completed in 1917. He is given a Corvallis address and was called a delivery man for Corvallis merchants.

According to a family tree on Ancestry.com, this Schmidt couple had 6 children, all of which lived to adulthood. I have every reason to expect to find their baptism records in the books of Zion Lutheran Church in Corvallis. When the 1920 census was taken, we find the Schmidt household living in Corvallis with 3 daughters. Walter was called a delivery man for a grocery store.

At some point when Walter and Mary were fairly young, these two photos were taken.

In the 1930 census, all 6 of the Schmidt children were in this entry. This time, Walter was called the proprietor of a grocery store.

The Schmidt’s are next found in the 1940 census. There were still 5 children living with their parents. Walter was still operating a grocery store, and Mary, along with two older daughters, were sales ladies at his store.

Walter had his World War II draft card completed in 1942. It says he was self-employed. The person listed as a person who will always know your address was Gertrude Reiss. Gertrude was the oldest daughter of Walter and Mary, and she had married Phillip Reiss. She was living in Klickitat, Washington when this form was completed.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Just one unmarried daughter, Reneta, was still living with Walter and Mary. This time, Walter, at the age of 58, was called a county commissioner.

I located a Corvallis city directory for the year, 1960, which says that Walter was still a county commissioner.

I found a few photos that include Walter and Mary that were taken later in their lives. The one on the left was one that was taken on the occasion of a special wedding anniversary. If it was their 50th anniversary, this photo would have been taken in 1963. The photo on the right shows Phillip and Gertrude Reiss on the left. In the middle are Walter and Mary, and on the right are Phillip’s parents. The photo was taken in Klickitat, Washington.

Mary Schmidt died in 1970 at the age of 78; Walter Schmidt died in 1988 at the age of 96. You can read Walter’s obituary below. It says he was a county commissioner from 1945 to 1964.

Walter and Mary Schmidt are buried together in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Corvallis.

We now have come to the end of this Schmidt/Heeszel couple’s wild ride. They each had early years in which they made major moves, but eventually ended up spending most of their lives in one place, Corvallis, Oregon. I will also add that there were a few other folks that began in our area here in Missouri and Illinois who made their way to Corvallis. A few brothers of Mary’s stepmother, Clara (Miessner) Heeszel, who once were involved in operating the swing factory in Wittenberg, spent some time in Corvallis. There are also some Oetjen’s from Jacob, Illinois who are buried in the Zion, Corvallis cemetery. Some of these stories have already been published on this blog.

One more note. I took a look at the present-day website for Zion Lutheran Church in Corvallis. That congregation operates a Lutheran school, and I took a quick look to see who was on that school’s faculty. I found the name of Robert Walz. Robert, who is considerably younger than me, was a student along with me when we were each attempting to receive our master’s degrees at Concordia, Seward a bunch of years ago. I never completed that program, but Robert did, and I was glad to see that he is still actively teaching in a Lutheran school.