Schmidt, Ernest A.M. 'Curley' 1890-1985

SCHMIDT, EDER, KRUG, NUS, SHORT, GLASS, FAUST ZWANZIGER, NODURFT, SCHUCHMANN

Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 5/20/2021 at 17:18:38

Ernest Augustus Michael Schmidt was born August 21, 1890, on the Seminary Hill near St. Sebald, Iowa, in Clayton County. His parents were Ludwig and Amelia Eder Schmidt. He was the oldest son in a family of twelve children, eight boys, and four girls.

Ernest was baptized in early infancy by Reverend Fuehr at the St. Sebald Lutheran Church. He attended German School and was later confirmed by Reverend Fuehr at the church where he was baptized.

Ernest enjoyed the outdoors and spent many hours in the woods with his brothers as he grew up. He loved to trap, fish and hunt. He and his brother, Louis, were especially apt at finding bee trees to keep their mother supplied with honey.

He assisted with the farming on the Schmidt homestead until he was 21 years of age. Then he worked on a farm near Arlington for his brother-in-law, Frank Nus, for $30 a month. Later, he was hired by William Hoffman and Raymond Mitchell. For a year and a half, he had a milk route to Strawberry Point. For this business venture, he purchased a wagon and milk rack plus a good team of horses. "Curley", as he was known by his friends and neighbors, loved horses. He would travel great distances when he heard of a team of an exceptionally matched pair for sale. When not occupied with chores and field work, Curley could be found in the horse barn currying his horses.

Ernest was drafted into the United States Army on April 18, 1918, and was sent to Camp Dodge, Iowa, for training. From there he went to Camp Travis, Texas. He was shipped overseas, arriving at Liverpool, England, July 1, 1918. From England he went to France with the Texas Division to the fighting front. Ernest fought in the Battle of St. Mihiel and was wounded by a machine gun in the Argonne Forest October 23, 1918. When the Armistice was signed, November 11, 1918, Ernest was in a hospital in France.

Upon recovering from his injuries, he returned to the United States landing at Newport News, Virginia, January 1, 1919. He was discharged from the army in January of 1919 at Des Moines and returned by train to Oelwein where he hired a man from the livery stable to drive him home. There was great rejoicing when Ernest arrived at the Schmidt farm that Sunday afternoon. Although the round trip was sixty miles over muddy roads, the man who drove him home refused to take any pay for the honor of bringing this soldier boy back to his family.

On September 10, 1919, Ernest was united in marriage to Hulda Anna Krug at the farm home of the bride's father near Arlington. To this union, three daughters were born: Eileen Marie, Mary Elizabeth, and Violet Ernestine.

Ernest farmed his father-in-law's farm and subsequently purchased it after the death of Frederick Krug. He continued farming until he retired in 1957 when his daughter, Violet, and son-in-law, Marvin Short, took over farming.

He and Hulda purchased a home in Arlington across the street from the St. John Lutheran Church. After several happy years together there, Hulda suffered a stroke. When Ernest could no longer care for her, she entered the Lutheran Home at Strawberry Point. When his health failed in the fall of 1981, he too entered the home.

He passed away on Saturday, August 17, 1985, at the Veteran's Hospital in Iowa City, following surgery for the amputation of his lower right leg. He was nearly 95 years of age.

Ernest was preceded in death by his wife, Hulda, in 1983; two daughters, Mary (Mrs. Donald Glass) in 1960, and Violet (Mrs. Marvin Short) in July of 1985; two grandsons, Dennis Glass and Roger Short; three sisters, Ida Zwanziger, Mary Nus, and Anna Nodurft; and four brothers, Louis, August, Michael and Oscar Schmidt.

He is survived by one daughter, Eileen (Mrs. William A. Faust), Tonawanda, New York; ten grandchildren; seventeen great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; one sister, Hilda Schuchmann, Strawberry Point; and three brothers, Henry, Alfred, and Carl Schmidt, all of Strawberry Point.

Funeral services were held at the St. John Lutheran Church at Arlington on Wednesday, August 17, 1985, with interment at the Taylorsville Cemetery, rural Arlington.

~Strawberry Point Press-Journal, Wednesday, August 28, 1985, pg 6

Note: The Taylorsville cemetery is in Fayette county, IA