WI BIO - Kenosha Co - SCHMITT, John & William S. Biography of John SCHMITT [father of William S.] History of Racine & Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical, 1879, p 699 John SCHMITT, grocer, city of Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, was born in 1832 in Prussia. He came to Wisconsin in 1852, locating at Kenosha, where he remained a short time and then went to Indiana, remaining two years, when he returned to Kenosha and worked as a carpenter and wagon maker for four years. In 1858 he started in business for himself, opening a grocery and saloon. In January 1860 John SCHMITT married Miss Margaret BARNICH, a native of Germany. John and Margaret (BARNICH) SCHMITT have had ten children, eight sons and two daughters; five are now [1879] living. [Note that in the following biography of William S. SCHMITT, six of eleven children are said to be living in 1916, and that "BARNICH" is spelled "BARNICK."] Members of the Catholic Church. Democrat. Biography of William S. SCHMITT [son of John] History of Kenosha & Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Lyman. Clarke Publishing, 1916, v 2, pp 146-147 William S. SCHMITT, who for seven years has been conducting a bakery in Kenosha, was born 28 November 1871 in Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, a son of John and Margaret (BARNICK) SCHMITT, both of whom were born in Germany. On coming to the New World in 1852, John SCHMITT made his way to Kenosha, where he established a grocery and general store. He started in the business here in 1858 and continued active therein for forty years or until he sold out to his sons, spending his remaining days in retirement from active business cares. He [John SCHMITT] died in 1900 in Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and left behind him the record of a well spent and useful life. He was active in politics as a supporter of the Democratic party, and he served as a member of the Kenosha school board. He was also a member of the old volunteer fire department of the city about 1860. His [John SCHMITT's] wife, then Miss Margaret BARNICK, came to the United States with her parents in 1848 and is still living in Kenosha at the age of seventy-eight years. In 1858 she was married [John and Margaret (BARNICK) SCHMITT were married] in Kenosha, Kenosha County, Wisconsin. She became the mother of [John and Margaret (BARNICK) SCHMITT became the parents of] eleven children, six of whom are yet [1916] living, five being residents of Kenosha. At the usual age William S. SCHMITT became a public school pupil and passed through consecutive grades to the high school. After entering business circles he established a grocery and saloon, which he conducted for fifteen years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the bakery trade, and has owned and conducted a bakery in Kenosha for seven years. He erected a brick building thirty by one hundred and fifty feet and two stories in height, and now has a well-equipped plant supplied with the necessary machinery and all modern equipment for carrying on a successful bakery business. In 1896 Mr. [William S.] SCHMITT was united in marriage to Miss Catherine SAUBER, who was born in Kenosha [Kenosha County, Wisconsin], and they [William S. and Catherine (SAUBER) SCHMITT have become parents of eight children, six of whom are still living: William, Paul, Leona, John, and Dolores, all at home; and two deceased: Catherine and Edwin. The family are communicants of St. James Catholic church. Mr. SCHMITT is connected with the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Elks, and the Moose. He has long been an active factor in business circles and is still interested in the saloon with his brothers, Peter R. and John P., under the firm name of Schmitt Brothers, at 214 Main Street [renamed Sixth Avenue about 1926]. He has erected a fine home on Exchange Street [renamed Fifth Avenue], where he now resides. A residence of forty-five years in Kenosha has made him well known and there are many of his fellow townsmen who count him among their warm friends. Wisconsin Delayed and Affidavit Birth Registrations Prior to 1 October 1907 Submitted by Cathy Kubly