William Schmitz, son of Joseph and Gertrude Schmitz, was born November 19, 1870 at Bachum, in western Germany. He received his education in Germany, walking a mile and a half to school. He returned home for lunch at 11 A.M., then back to school at 2 P.M. By the time he got home at night he had walked six miles back and forth to school.
When he finished the eighth grade he went to work on the outside of a coal mine, dipping coal and picking out slate. It was against the law to let anyone work inside the mine under age 16. At age 16 he went to work inside the mine. They got the coal out by a wagon, holding one-half ton, pulled by horses.
William's folks raised a garden including potatoes and cherries.
When he was twenty years old his folks decided to come to the United States. He came with his Mother, Father and nine children. He had never eaten a banana until on his way over here on the boat. They landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From there they were sent to Chicago for further instructions. From Chicago they went to Junction City, Kansas, where he got a job on a farm working for ten dollars a month.
About two weeks before the day to make the "run", William, his father, brother-in-law and two uncles made the run by wagon. William staked a claim south of Lamont and went on to Enid to file his claim. When he got to the claim office someone had already filed that claim. He finally found a man who would sell his claim for $200. The farm was northwest of Lamont. When he got things settled he went back to Kansas for awhile.
When he returned to his claim he fixed a dugout house to live in. He had two horses, a walking plow and a drill to do his farming. He raised wheat at first and later on planted some alfalfa. He lived by himself and batched for several years.
In 1898 he married Hulda Staatz from Woodbine, Kansas. They used the dugout to cook in and slept in an old granary. The roof leaked so they sat up in bed and used an umbrella to keep them dry when it rained.
They had three children: Fritz, Pearl (Moser), and Helen (Ekstrom). In 1933 Mrs. Schmitz passed away and William lived by himself. He always did his farming with horses and never owned a tractor.
In 1953 he left the farm home near Jefferson and moved to Medford to live with his daughter Helen. He made his home with Helen until his death August 10, 1969. He is buried in the Liberty Cemetery.
William Henry Schmitz 
