The Matthias Schmidt Question: DNA Separates Germanna, VA and Readington, NJ Smith Families

For generations, genealogists have wrestled with the puzzle of two Matthias Schmidts who appeared in colonial America in the early 18th century. The similar names, overlapping timeframes, and shared Lutheran faith led many researchers to assume they were the same person. This assumption resulted in decades of confused family histories and misattributed lineages. Now, through a combination of careful documentary research and DNA evidence, we can finally untangle these two distinct family lines and tell their separate, but equally fascinating, stories.

The Germanna Schmidt Family

The story of the first Matthias Schmidt begins in Gemmingen, Germany, where Lutheran church records tell us of two Schmidt families preparing for a shared destiny in the New World. On July 12, 1717, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church wrote in the parish death register of "Matthäus Schmidt, age 25/30, wife Regina Catherina, same age, son Matthäus, age 3 1/2 and daughter Anna Margaretha, age 1/2," along with Hans Michael Schmidt (Matthäus's older brother), his wife Anna Margaretha Sauter, and their children [Cerni and Zimmerman, "Before Germanna," January 1990].

These Schmidt families, along with four others (Klaar/Clore, Weber/Weaver, Bekh and Mihlekher), declared their intention to "take ship to Pennsylvania, and there in the hardship of the wilderness better their piece of bread than they could here." The recording of their departure in the death register is telling - to the community they were leaving behind, emigration was akin to death.

Their journey brought them first to London, where the German Lutheran community at St. Mary le Savoy became a crucial waypoint. Here, amidst the bustle of other German families seeking passage to America, the Schmidt family welcomed a new addition. Rev. H. Ruperty recorded the baptism of "Johann, born to Matthias Schmidt, a Pfaltzer" with mother "Regina Cathrina" and sponsors Johann Georg Forckel and Maria Sophia Steiner [Beyond Germanna Nr. 1802]. The choice of sponsors revealed the deep social bonds being formed during this transitional period - Matthias Schmidt himself would later serve as baptismal sponsor for Forckel's own child.

Though both families had intended to reach Pennsylvania, they found themselves instead in Virginia's Germanna Colony by late 1717 or early 1718. Here, Hans Michael Schmidt and his family remained, their lineage clearly traced through his son Johan Michael Schmidt (born April 1712 in Gemmingen) and grandson Zachariah Smith (born 1742 in Culpeper, Virginia).

The New Jersey Schmidt Family

Meanwhile, in the Lutheran communities of New Jersey, records show another Matthias Schmidt among the signatories of the petition for what would become Zion Lutheran Church in Oldwick [Sachse, "The German Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania," p.327]. In the same region, Johannes Smith (1718-1791) would emerge as a prominent figure in the German Lutheran community. His marriage to Christeen Harshall [Smith and Smith, "John Smith, 1718-1791, Descendants," 1987] and his prominence in Readington [Stryker-Rodda, "Two Eighteenth-Century John Smiths of Readington," GMNJ XXXIII:1/2] established him firmly within this thriving German settlement.

The DNA Evidence

For many years, researchers speculated these might be the same Schmidt family, with Matthias Schmidt of Germanna relocating to New Jersey with young Johannes. However, Y-DNA evidence now definitively separates these lines. While no direct male descendants of the Germanna Matthias Schmidt have yet been tested, parish records clearly establish that he and Hans Michael Schmidt were brothers [Cerni and Zimmerman, "Before Germanna," January 1990]. DNA testing of Hans Michael's descendants through his grandson Zachariah Smith shows they belong to haplogroup R-M269 [Smith DNA Project, Family Tree DNA, Group GRP-R-M269-202].

Meanwhile, Johannes Smith (1718-1791), who married Christeen Hassal and settled in Readington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, has numerous documented descendants. His children included Christopher (b.1752), Martin (b.1756), Peter (b.1764), Andreas (b.1762), Jacob (b.1770), Joseph, Chrystiyan, Isaac (b.1768), Zachariah, and John Smith (b.1757) [Smith Official DNA & One Name Study, Family Tree DNA]. DNA testing of Johannes's male-line descendants shows they belong to haplogroup L-497, demonstrating they represent an entirely different paternal lineage from the Germanna Schmidts.

The True Origins

Far from ending with uncertainty, the story of the New Jersey Schmidts has found clarity through a combination of modern genetic science and traditional genealogical research. Dr. Carolyn Smith-Pellettier's meticulous investigation through her Loyalist Schmidt ancestors traced Matthias Schmidt's lineage back to Johann Ludwig Schmidt of Zeilbach, Hessen [Smith-Pellettier, "Jacob Smith (Schmidt) Sr.," 2010]. This documentary research gained powerful confirmation when DNA testing showed that descendants of both Matthias Schmidt [Smith Official DNA] and Johannes Smith (1718-1791) share the distinctive L-497 haplogroup, suggesting a close familial relationship within one to three generations.

The genetic evidence aligns perfectly with early church records that show Ludewig and Matthias Schmidt's names appearing on the same documents and their proximity as neighbors in the New Jersey German Lutheran community. This convergence of DNA science, documentary evidence, and geographical proximity reveals not a story of Virginia Schmidts migrating north, but rather a tale of careful family migration and settlement patterns among related German Lutheran families in New Jersey.

These findings remind us that while shared surnames and migration patterns can sometimes lead research astray, the combination of genetic evidence, careful documentary research, and attention to community patterns can reveal the true stories of our immigrant ancestors. The Schmidt family's journey from Zeilbach, Hessen, to New Jersey's fertile valleys stands as a testament to the importance of family bonds, religious faith, and community in shaping the German-American experience.

Primary Sources

Church Records

• Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, Gemmingen, Germany, Death Register (1717). [Referenced in Cerni and Zimmerman]

• London Lutheran Church Records, St. Mary le Savoy, Baptismal Register (1717). Rev. H. Ruperty, officiant. [Referenced in Beyond Germanna]

• Readington Reformed Church Records, Baptismal Register (1736). [Referenced in Honeyman]

• West Camp Lutheran Church Records (1710)

• Zion Lutheran Church Records, Oldwick, New Jersey (1727)

DNA Evidence

• Family Tree DNA, Smith DNA Project

• Johannes Schmidt Family Group: GRP-G-M201-3

• Germanna Schmidt Family Group: GRP-R-M269-202

• Smith Official DNA & One Name Study at FamilyTreeDNA

Secondary Sources

Books and Monographs

• Honeyman, A. Van Doren (Abraham Van Doren) and Somerset County Historical Society (N.J.). Readington Church Baptisms from 1720. Raritan, N.J.: Somerset Historical Publications, 1915. Available at: https://archive.org/details/somersetcountyhi04hone_0/page/n469/mode/2up?q=Lodewyk

• MacWethy, Lou D. The Book of Names: Especially Relating to The Early Palatines and the First Settlers in the Mohawk Valley. St. Johnsville, NY: The Enterprise and News, 1933.

• Sachse, Julius Friedrich. The German Pietists of Provincial Pennsylvania: 1694-1708. Philadelphia: Printed for the author, 1895.

• Smith, William Francis, and Beverly B. Smith. John Smith, 1718-1791, Descendants. W.F. Smith, 1987.

Articles and Journals

• Cerni, Johni, and Gary J. Zimmerman. "The Ancestry of the Sheible, Peck, Milker Smith and Holt Families." Before Germanna, No. 5, January 1990.

• Stryker-Rodda, Kenn. "Two Eighteenth-Century John Smiths of Readington." The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Vol. XXXIII, Numbers 1/2, January/April 1958.

Unpublished Research and Personal Collections

• Bowen, Thomas (Researcher). Personal research collection shared with author, including transcriptions and analysis of German Lutheran church records.

• Smith-Pellettier, Dr. Carolyn. "Jacob Smith (Schmidt) Sr." Self-published, 2010. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qus4el5uy95nhiceegb5u/Jacob-Smithchapterfinal1mail-1.doc?dl=0&rlkey=l0yye06gi3u19vpsqub1aje8h

Beyond Germanna Newsletter References

• Beyond Germanna Nr. 1802 (Records of St. Mary le Savoy Lutheran Church)

• Beyond Germanna Nr. 1806 (German families returned to Rotterdam)

• Beyond Germanna Nr. 25 (Gemmingen church records)