Louis Schmell

LOUIS SCHMELL, a prosperous farmer of Salamanca township, owning an 80-acre farm consisting of the north half of the southeast quarter of section 3, township 33, range 23, came to the county from the "Buckeye State" in 1880 and located on his present farm. He is a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born May 2, 1837.

The parents of Mr. Schmell died when he was a babe, and he was reared by relatives. He was, however, well cared for, provided with a good schooling, and apprenticed to the blacksmith's trade. At the completion of his term of apprenticeship he resolved to seek his fortune in the New World, and in 1860 became a citizen of Columbus, Ohio. There he obtained work in a brewing establishment, and was engaged in that business when he yielded to the promptings of patriotism, and gave his services for the suppression of the Rebellion. He enlisted in Company F, 85th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., in January, 1863. In this regiment, which became part of the 17th Army Corps, he did faithful service until October, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge at Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Schmell participated in several important engagements with no bodily harm, though the hardships of the service caused him to spend some time in hospital.

Mr Schmell returned to Columbus, and remained in Ohio until his settlement in Cherokee County. His marriage occurred in Dayton, Ohio. The maiden name of his wife was Catherine Schmid. She, too, was a native-born German, her parents having been natives of Wurtemberg. She came to America in 1859, and died in Cherokee County November 18, 1903, at the age of 61 years. She was a devoted wife and mother, and is sincerely mourned by her husband and children. She had three sons and three daughters, as follows: Callie, wife of Albert Cline, a farmer residing three miles east of the home farm; William, a stock-raiser at Yuma, Arizona; Henry, of Walla Walla, Washington; and Louis, Bertha and Emma, who are still at home.

Mr. Schmell votes the Repubican ticket. Fraternally, he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, John A. Dix Post, No. 59, of Columbus. In the matter of religion he is liberal in his views, not being a member of the church, but ever ready to give aid to any institution, either religious or educational. His record in Cherokee County has been such as to gain the esteem of all classes.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Carolyn Ward, instructor from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 6-27-97