Katharina Schmidt Naab – Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Edwards, Kansas

After an outbreak of measles in their village in Russia taking the lives of four of their children, Katharina and Andreas accompanied their surviving son, Joseph, and his family to America.

Katharina and Andreas were in their 50s when they departed Germany for New York. Joseph’s family consisted of Joseph (b. 1872), his wife, Katherine (b. 1894), and two sons. They eventually were the parents of 14 children.

After leaving New York, the families settled at Pfeifer, Kansas, and remained for two years. Joseph and his growing family moved south to Gove County. Six more children were born to Joseph and Katherine. In April of 1907, Joseph’s daughter, Maria died. The next month Andreas died. They are both buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Gove County.

Katharina followed her son to Edwards County in 1913. She passed away in 1920 at the age of 77. She is buried in Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Edwards County. Joseph and Katherine remained in Edwards County until they died in 1948 and 1956 respectively.

Note: Pfeifer is located in Ellis County. The original settlers from the Volga Region of Russia settled in and around Ellis County. It is home to several Catholic churches and a large Catholic population.

Personal Note: I started this column back in May 2020 with my first story in the Spearville News. I did not have any idea how it would be received. Thank you for your readership. I added the Edwards Sentinel in August and the Jetmore Republican in September. I will be writing my second article for the Larned Tiller and Toiler. As of this article, I have written approximately 100 stories. I added a blog this past summer where you can read those stories from other newspapers. I am working on a design where you can see all my published stories.