#28: Peter Schmitz - Fireman

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (2020-27)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a series of weekly prompts to get you to think about an ancestor and share something about them. The weekly prompt is provided by www.amyjohnsoncrow.com. The prompt for the week of July 5 is "Solo."

Today, let me introduce you to Peter P. Schmitz, who was a firefighter in New York City.  His is our family's "solo" paid firefighter.  All the others in the family were volunteer firefighters.

Peter Schmitz, Jr., 1941.  From the collection of ©Virginia Summers Olsen

Peter Schmitz (1865-1901) and Catherine Pirron (1868-1927) were married in roughly 1886 based on information contained in the 1900 US Census.  Both Peter and Catherine were from Germany.  Catherine immigrated roughly in 1883 and Peter roughly in 1886, according to the information contained in the 1910 US Census.  Peter and Catherine had 4 children: Caroline (my great, grandmother, born in 1888), John (born 1890), Peter P. (December 13, 1892), and Jacob (born 1897).

Peter died in 1901 at the very young age of 35 on December 2, 1901.  Young Peter would have been just shy of his 8th birthday when he lost his father.  Catherine quickly married Alfred Conde in June 1902

A portion of Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 0206; of the 1910 US Census for Manhattan, Ward 10.

Peter's life then went into high gear, starting with his marriage to Angelia Pasarelli in 1912; the birth of their daughter,  Dorthy (1913); the birth of their son, John (1914); the birth of their daughter,  Edna (1916); and then the sudden death of Angelia in 1917.

With 3 small children, Peter quickly married Anna Haubrick in August, less than two months after Angelia died.  Anna and Peter had two sons: Charles (1920) and Edward (1922).  In 1924 he lost his youngest daughter, Edna (age 8.)  Peter's second wife died in February 1933.

Peter was married for a third time to Jeanette Schmidel in September 1933.  Peter and Jeanette had two children together: Joyce (1934) and Peter (1936).

Peter's service with the NY Fire Department

Flag of the New York Fire Department

In 1925 Peter joined the New York Fire Department. At that time he was married to his second wife, Anna, and had four living children, having lost his youngest daughter Edna in 1924. He proudly served for thirty years until he retired on November 1, 1955, with a ¾ pension of $4845. 

During his time with the NYFD, he was a member of the Central Building Inspection Squad starting in 1938. He also served on a Hook and Ladder Company.

Patch of the NYFD.

During his service, Peter received two awards.

• Dec 1, 1929 a Class III award
• Dec 2, 1948 a Class III award

The Class III Award was given when the act the firefighter performed involved a degree of danger properly characterized as ‘Unusual Personal Risk”.

Unfortunately, Peter did not get to enjoy his retirement for long.  On April 14, 1956, Peter died.  He is buried in the Old Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, NY.  He is in the same grave as his third wife, who died two years earlier, along with his wife's niece, who was the original occupant of the grave.  Peter's name is not on the tombstone.

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This blog post is part of my Fire Department Series posts.

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How I'm related to Peter:

Peter Schmitz = Catherine Pirron

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Peter P. Schmitz        Caroline Schmitz = Edward Gillen

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                                                        Anna Gillen = Charles Summers

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                                                                         Mom

                                                                            |

                                                                           Me