His son August Wilhelm Schmidt became the first harbor master at Wilhelmshaven. His youngest son, Bruno Schmidt (my Opa) emigrated to the United States, where he had two sons. Hans (my uncle) and my father, Richard.
Bruno had a sister and two brothers. But information is murky about the brothers. Allegedly killed by Americans during WW2.
A year ago my wife and I traveled to Wilhelmshaven to try and discover family history. That’s where I was surprised to learn that Wilhelm 1 bestowed to August Friederich’s son a home (rent free), and a job (Harbormaster) as a reward for being among the last five survivors of the war of liberation. Last year I was able to find the family house (it’s still there and occupied) as well as the landmarks my Opa told me about from when he was a boy. It was quite an experience, made more real by learning the history of how my family made it from Anklam/Wolgast to Wilhelmshaven.
I shared your article with my family. We all love it. Thank you!
Very interesting. It’s great to read stories like this and see the accompanying photos.
His son August Wilhelm Schmidt became the first harbor master at Wilhelmshaven. His youngest son, Bruno Schmidt (my Opa) emigrated to the United States, where he had two sons. Hans (my uncle) and my father, Richard.
Bruno had a sister and two brothers. But information is murky about the brothers. Allegedly killed by Americans during WW2.
A year ago my wife and I traveled to Wilhelmshaven to try and discover family history. That’s where I was surprised to learn that Wilhelm 1 bestowed to August Friederich’s son a home (rent free), and a job (Harbormaster) as a reward for being among the last five survivors of the war of liberation. Last year I was able to find the family house (it’s still there and occupied) as well as the landmarks my Opa told me about from when he was a boy. It was quite an experience, made more real by learning the history of how my family made it from Anklam/Wolgast to Wilhelmshaven.
I shared your article with my family. We all love it. Thank you!
Thank you for writing this article and for doing your research and sharing it with the world.
August was my direct ancestor. Your article filled in many gaps and provided new information I’d previously never known!
Erik Schmidt
Seattle, Washington, USA