Second Generation

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Anton & Gertrude's Church marriage document	Anton & Gertrude's Civil marriage document See translation

2. Anton² Schneider (Nickolaus¹) was born in Germany/Prussia 2/23/1799. Anton died 12/24/1875 in Gross Point, IL, at 76 years of age. According to St. Joseph Church records in Wilmette (formerly Gross Point), IL, Anton died 12/24/1875 and Gertrude died 2/7/1863. Early cemetery records are not available, nor is there a tombstone that establishes the location of their burial plot.

He married Gertrude Huerter in Germany, 7/4/1826. Gertrude was born in Prussia 10/10/1798. She was the daughter of Peter Joseph Huerter and Maria Elizabeth Ackerman. Gertrude died 2/7/1863 in Gross Point, IL, at 64 years of age.

The marriage of Anton Schneider and Gertrude Huerter was recorded at the civil level on June 30, 1826, and with the church on July 4th. Above are copies of both manuscripts. The civil record is difficult to read and translate because of the old style of the handwriting itself, and the fact that it is in Old German script. Read the translation here (many thanks to Gerda Hansen and Josefine Anderson!).

The civil record is an important document because it identifies who the parents of Anton and Gertrude were.

Loosely translated, it does provide the following information:

1. Anton Schneider was born in Kehrig on February 23, 1799. He is the son of Nickolaus Schneider, a farrier (blacksmith), who died November 5, 1822, and Anna Catharina Martini, who was still living and present.
2. Gertrude Huerter was born in Kehrig October 10, 1798. She is the daughter of Peter Joseph Huerter, a farmer, who died March 14, 1807, and Elizabeth Ackermann, who was still living and present.
3. The witnesses were: a) Johannes Bermal, 52 year old brother-in-law of the bride; b) Martin Huerter, 32 year old brother of the bride; c) Martin Ackermann, 59 year old uncle (brother of the mother of the bride); d) Anton Porsch, not related to the couple.
4. The two mothers could not sign the document because they were not capable of writing.

Note: There is a point of interest that among the children of Peter Joseph Huerter and Elizabeth they had a son Adam, and a daughter by the name of Gertrude. Adam Huerter married Maria Catharina Diewald and they had a son named Paul. Gertrude Huerter married Anton Schneider and had a daughter named Dorothea. Paul Huerter married Dorothea Schneider having been granted a dispensation by the church for being second cousins.

Anton Schneider and Gertrude Huerter had the following children:

3 i. Joanes³ Schneider was born 4/28/1827 in Kehrig, Prussia.

+ 4 ii. Margaret Schneider was born in 10/21/1829 in Kehrig, Prussia.

+ 5 iii. Martin Schneider was born 9/24/1830 in Kehrig, Prussia.

+ 6 iv. Catherine Schneider was born 11/25/1832 in Kehrig, Prussia.

+ 7 v. Anna Maria Schneider was born 2/19/1835 in Kehrig, Prussia.

+ 8 vi. Dorothea Schneider was born 9/5/1837 in Kehrig, Prussia.

9 vii. Joseph Schneider was born 3/13/1841 in Kehrig, Prussia.

10 viii. Anna Schneider was born 2/3/1844 in Kehrig, Prussia. Anna died 8/15/1911 in Gross Point, IL, at 67 years of age. She married Maxmillian Hann. Maxmillian was born 12/18/1834. Maxmillian died 1/19/1921 in Gross Point, IL, at 86 years of age. Resided in Muscatine, Iowa. Anna is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Wilmette, IL.

Anton and Gertrude Hurter Schneider came to America with their family, arriving at the port of New York on 8/12/1846. The ship on which they booked passage was the "Diadem," under the command of Edwin W. Barstow. It had originated in Holland, with ports of call in Prussia and Great Britain (London), before sailing to America.

After arriving in New York, many immigrants continued their journey by traveling down the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to the port of Milwaukee. There are no passenger lists available for this port to establish when Anton and his family arrived in Milwaukee. There is however a brief reference made in a newspaper clipping (circa 1935) from an unidentified source that states that they "settled in Milwaukee, but soon came to Wilmette (Gross Point) via ox cart." On page 466 of the History of Cook County, published by A.T. Andreas in 1884, is confirmation that the Schneiders settled there in 1846.

They sailed down through the Great Lakes, through the port in Milwaukee, and then overland to the area which is known today as Glenview/Wilmette. In the 1860's, the Village of Gross Point had not been incorporated yet. This did not happen until 1874. With the approach of winter, 1846, the Schneider family purchased farmland with an existing cabin. On page 592 of the Portrait and Biographical Record, published by Lake City Publishing Co., 1894, it is stated that "Anton purchased 133 acres in New Trier Township, buying the farm, its crops and stock for $900."

An 1861 real estate plot map of Cook County shows two adjoining plots of land under Anton's name (the full map (225kb)can be found here.) Eighty acres were located along the southern border of New Trier Township, and 53 acres were located along the northern border of Niles Township. The 80-acre piece does show a homestead located on the property. (These maps were found on the Encyclopedia of Chicago web site, the Plat Map of Cook County, 1861 page, section 2 of the map index.) The actual cabin site was on the north side of present day Old Glenview Road, about 200 feet east of where it intersects with the frontage road along the east side of Edens Expressway.

There was a baseball diamond that was located just a short distance northeast from where the cabin originally stood. There is a story that has been passed down through the family that in the early days several of the large stones from the cabin's foundation were used as bases for the ball diamond. Later, around 1930, the diamond was the home of the New Trier Giants, a hard ball, fast pitch, baseball team that was sponsored by Joe Schneider's New Trier Garage located directly across the street. Many members of that team were from the Schneider families that lived in the area.

The Cook County Agricultural Schedule for June 1, 1860 provides information regarding Anton's farm, indicating that he had 20 acres of improved land, with a cash value of $1500. His livestock consisted of 2 horses, 5 milk cows, 1 "other" cow, and 5 swine, with a cash value of $300. He produced 30 bushels of wheat, 50 of rye, 130 of corn, 150 of Irish potatoes, and 6 of buckwheat. He also produced 400 pounds of butter, and 20 tons of hay.

Anton was elected to office in New Trier Township, IL, April 1850. The township of New Trier was organized at a meeting called by the Cook County Clerk, at the house of John Garland, on the first Tuesday of April in 1850. Among the first officers elected at that meeting was Anton Schneider, to the position of Overseer of the Poor.

The village of Gross Point, incorporated March 10, 1874, lay along the lake front 14 miles north of Chicago, about where present day Evanston now sits. In the late 1920s it was annexed by the town of Wilmette. St. Joseph Catholic Church which served that community still stands today (2010) and there is a small cemetery across the street where a majority of the earlier Schneider's are buried.

Anton and Gertrude came to American in 1846 from Kehrig, Prussia, with their children. The town of Kehrig lies about 30 kilometers SW of Koblenz. All of their children were baptized at Saint Castor. They eventually settled in Gross Point, a village a few miles North of Chicago, IL. In the late 1920s it was annexed by the town of Wilmette. St. Joseph Catholic Church, the church that served that community, is located on Lake Avenue and Ridge Rd. Wilmette, IL, and St. Joseph Cemetery is across the street from the church where the many of the earlier Schneiders are buried.

Buried at St. Joseph Cemetery are: Anna Schneider Hahn, Dorethea Schneider Huerter, Joseph Schneider, and Margaret Schneider Engels. The death of Anton and Gertrude are contained within the church records. The earliest cemetery records are not available, so all you can go by are existing tombstones. Their is no grave site marker for Anton and Gertrude. There are two flat stones located in the northeast corner of the cemetery for Joseph and Kathrina Keil Schneider (her name has also been seen spelled Catherine).

Three of their children are also buried here: Edward Schneider, John G. Schneider, and Margaretha Schneider, who was married to Joseph Schaefgen. A lot of the other Schneiders are buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, at Old Orchard Rd. and Skokie Hwy (US41), which is located two or three miles south of St. Joseph Church. The Wilmette Historical Society is located just a few blocks south of the church.

Next to the tombstones for Joseph and Catherine you will notice a stone for two young girls who were Schneiders. They were walking to grade school at the time, across the tracks at the Glenview station. One train had stopped at the station, so they walked around the front of it, not realizing that a second train was coming through on the second track.

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