Person:Joseph Schertz (3)

Joseph Schertz I was the son of Andre and Jacobina (Engel) Schertz. His tombstone shows that he was born on 10 August 1824.This is an error as French civil birth records show a birth date for Joseph of 22 Oct 1824 in Weidesheim France. The tiny village no longer exists but is now part of the town of Kalhausen in Moselle, France. Weidesheim was the hometown of his mother. This is supported by family oral history that he was born in the similarly sounding town of "Wadsome". Joseph grew up in Weidesheim and in Lorentzen France. His father operated a mill in Weidesheim and grandfather operated a mill in Lorentzen. Children of the family were born in Weidesheim through 1824 and children born in or after 1827 were born in Lorentzen. Joseph married threee times. He married first Catherine Ioder the mother of a Joseph Schertz who died young and Amelia Schertz. He married second Barbara Ioder, sister of his first wife. No children are found from the second marriage. His third wife was Catherine Stauffer.

In 1846, Joseph’s mother and her other children came to the United States. At the time, Joseph was serving in the army in Europe. After his military service, he came to the United States to join his family. The family remained in Chicago about one year, then moved to Lake County, Ill., near Waukegan. In the spring of 1852, Joseph moved his mother and her younger children to a farm near Tiskilwa, Illinois. He married three times and had 11 children, two by his first wife, Catherine Ioder and nine by his third wife, Catherine Stauffer. He was a farmer in Tiskilwa, Bureau County, Illinois. In 1863 He married Catherine Stauffer as his third wife. Joseph died on May 10, 1885 in Tiskilwa. The estate of Joseph including his will shows that he was a wealthy farmer. He had a farm of 440 acres, $14,000 and a personal estate valued at $17,000. Probate records show that his wife Catherine received about $100 each year to raise her sons. She was also accorded her dower rights of 1/3 of the estate. Probate records also show the purchase of a bicycle costing $60 for son Emil and a bicycle costing $25 for son Albert. Catherine also sometimes received $100 for the children's education. Each child upon reaching majority received about $2900 from the estate. Guardians were William Ioder, John Stauffer, and Cahterine Stauffer Schertz

The Schertz family was Mennonite. Mennonites in Europe at that time frequently traveled to neighboring towns to find a wife or husband and to socialize with other Mennonite people. The ancestors of this family lived in various villages in the Alsace and Lorraine provinces of France. The name is almost always found as Schertz in the records but can sometimes be found as Chertz. The Schertz family lived for some time in Lorentzen in the Alsace region of France where they worked as millers. The Alsace province borders Germany and frequently moved back and forth between Germany and France. Mennonites like the Schertz family migrated in the 1600’s from Switzerland to Germany and the Alsace and Lorraine provinces in France.

Schertz Family of Tiskilwa, IL sitting from left to right Catherine (mother)holding baby Nicholas,Carolyn, Edwin, August, Joseph I (father). Standing in back Amelia and Levi.

Image:Joseph Schertz Civil Birth Record 1824.pdf

Birthplace of Joseph Schertz

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Jean Francois Lorentz family tree on geneanet.org.

   M Lorentz does careful research and has supported his findings with birth death and marriage records.

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Tombstone of Joseph and Caherine Schertz.
3. ↑ French Civil Birth record of Joseph Schertz.
4.   birth date per civil birth record.