Helena Schmidt

Brief Life History of Helena

When Helena Schmidt was born on 16 October 1826, in Berdiansk, Tavrida, Russia, Soviet Union, her father, Jacob Schmidt, was 36 and her mother, Ancke Schmidt, was 27. She married Heinrich Pankratz on 25 September 1845, in Molotschna Colony, Ukraine. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Brown Township, York, Nebraska, United States in 1885. She died on 11 August 1896, in Henderson, York, Nebraska, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Henderson, York, Nebraska, United States.

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Family Time Line

Heinrich Pankratz
1820–1882
Helena Schmidt
1826–1896
Marriage: 25 September 1845
Eva Pankratz
1846–
Heinrich Pankratz
1847–1920
Anna Pankratz
1849–1924
Peter H. Pankratz
1855–1933
Maria Pankratz
1861–1931
Elizabeth Pankratz
1865–1937
Jacob Pankratz
1868–1932
Johann H. Pankratz
1871–1940

Sources (8)

  • Helen Pankrantz, "Nebraska State Census, 1885"
  • Helena Jacob Schmidt Pankratz, "Find A Grave Index"
  • Helina Smith in entry for John Doell, "Nebraska Marriages, 1855-1995"

World Events (8)

1827 · Slavery Becomes Illegal in New York State

During the years 1799 to 1827, New York went through a period of gradual emancipation. A Gradual Emancipation Law was passed in 1799 which freed slave children born after July 4, 1799. However, they were indentured until 25 years old for women and 28 years old for men. A law passed 1817 which freed slaves born before 1799, yet delayed their emancipation for ten years. All remaining slaves were freed in New York State on July 4, 1827.

1830 · The Second Great Awakening

Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.

1846

U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico.

Name Meaning

Some characteristic forenames: German Kurt, Otto, Hans, Erwin, Gerhard, Klaus, Helmut, Fritz, Manfred, Wolfgang, Ewald, Gunter.

German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): occupational name from Middle High German smit, German Schmied ‘blacksmith’. This surname is also established in many other parts of Europe, notably in Denmark, France (mainly Alsace and Lorraine, also Nord), the Netherlands, Hungary, and Poland. It is also found in Slovakia, Czechia, Croatia, and Slovenia, where it is more common in Slavicized forms (see below). In part, Schmidt is a Gottscheerish (i.e. Gottschee German) surname, originating from the Kočevsko region in Lower Carniola, Slovenia (see Kocevar ).

Germanized form of Czech Šmíd and Šmít, Slovenian, Croatian, and Slovak Šmid or Šmit, surnames of German origin (see above and Smid 2 and Smit 3).

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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