The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: VA
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
Birth: 20 Dec 1756 Death: 22 Oct 1793 Lovettsville / Loudoun / VA
Qualifying Service Description:
Paid Supply Tax in 1782 and 1783 in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Additional References:
Patricia B. Duncan, Loudoun County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists (Westminster, Maryland: Willow Bend Books, 2004), 1782B, pg 21, and 1783A, pg 37.
Spouse: Susanna XX Children: Anna Marie; Margareth;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
Images taken and provided with permission from compatriot Edward Spannaus (VA) member 250200
Headstone is laying in back of cemetery; original location unknown
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Edward Wise Spannaus
Johannes Schmidt was born approximately 20 December 1756.1
There was a marriage in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of Johannes Schmidt and Susanna Altemus, which may be the couple who moved to Loudoun County, Virginia.2 It is not known when Johannes came to Virginia.
There are two baptisms shown in the New Jerusalem Lutheran Church records for daughters of Johannes and Susanna Schmidt: Anna Maria, born in 1788, and Margareth, born in 1792.3
The Loudoun County Personal Property Tax list (which included the Supply Tax for support of the war) was paid by one “John Smith” in the German Settlement (now Lovettsville) for 1782 and by two John Smiths in the German Settlement in 1783.4 County government officials generally Anglicized or gave a phonetic spelling of German names, so “Schmidt” became “Smith.”
The Lutheran Church burial record (as translated from German) shows: “Johannes Schmidt, buried Oct. 22, 1793, aged 36 years, 10 months, and some days.”
A crudely-carved headstone was found among loose markers in the rear of the cemetery. It reads: “H.L. [Hier Liegt/Here Lies?], John Schmit, Oct 21 1793.
There is a Susanna Smith who is buried in the St. James (German Reformed) cemetery, whose inscription reads: “Susanna Smith, wife of John Smith, died 8 August 1826, at 69 years.”5 This would signify and birth year of 1757, which would make her about one year younger than Johannes – so she could well be the wife of Johannes Schmidt/Smith.
Sources:
This birth date is calculated from the church burial record, which gave Johannes’ approximate age at death, as 36 years, 10 months, and some days. This would yield a calculated birth date of approximately 20 December 1756.
Ancestry.com.
New Jerusalem Lutheran Church Register, Vol. 1, “Baptisms.” Ancestry.com “Johannes Schmid” and “Susanna Schmid,” naming the two daughters.
Patricia B. Duncan, Loudoun County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists (Westminster, Maryland: Willow Bend Books, 2004), lists for 1782B, p, 21; and 1783A, p. 37. It is possible to determine where a person lived from the names nearby; in both case, there are many German names close to both “John Smiths.”
In the Loudoun County cemetery collection at Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Virginia, there are two lists for the old German Reformed Cemetery, now known St. James United Church of Christ. One list was made about 1949-1950, the other in 1995. The inscriptions for Susanna Smith are almost identical in both lists. The German Reformed Cemetery is less than a mile from the Lutheran Cemetery.
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