How wonderful that Elbert Schmiling wrote a family history that begins with the story of Charles Karl Schmeling and his wife Dorothea Maria Westphal.

This is a link to Elbert’s narrative account about Charles and Dorothea:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x6acY9RDXa_er9aoqSrVTLuxylKBNQwX/view?usp=sharing

I have also done research on Ancestry to piece together documents and supporting facts. Here is what I found:

When Charles Karl Schmeling was born on April 9, 1811, in Greifenberg, Bavaria, Germany, his father, August, was -31 and his mother, Marie, was -29.

Charles married Dorothea Maria Westphal in 1835 when he was only 24 years old.

In 1857, Charles and his family emigrated to the United States. They sailed on a ship called Rinehard and left from a port in Bremen, Germany and arrived at Ellis Island.

Together Charles and Dorothea had five children in 15 years. The child who is a direct ancestor and 3rd great grandfather to my grandson is Albert Schmiling 1851-1903.

Charles died on October 19, 1885, in Algoma, Wisconsin, at the age of 74, and was buried there in Saint Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery.  This is a link to Find a Grave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65031289/charles-schmeling