Schroedermeier Family

The Schrodermier and Eichmann families were from Brakelsiek, Lippe-Detmold, Germany in the small German principality of Lippe or Lippe-Detmold which is about 100 miles southwest of Hannover. This is the same village where the Arens family lived in. Some of the descendents have changed the spelling of the surname to Schrodemier.

Conrad Schrodermier and his brother Friederich immigrated in 1857, landing in Boston, and lived about a year near Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois before moving to near Austin, Minnesota. Problems with the Indians caused them to move to Bremer County, Iowa in 1860.

Part of the following information was provided by Margaret Quaas, a Schrodermier descendent.
Direct ancestors are shown in bold type.

Freiderich (a.k.a. Fred) Schrodermeier (abt. 1827) married Wilhelmina Grunewald (abt.1839) and had at least four children:
          Simon Schrodermier (abt. 1862)
          Henry Schrodermier (abt. 1864)
          Maria Schrodermier (abt. 1866)
          George Schrodermier (abt. 1873) married Carrie Manning and had two children:
                 Frances Schrodermier (abt. 1901)
                 Vernon Schrodermier (abt. 1905)

Conrad Schrodermier, 1835 - 1868 and Wilhelmine (a.k.a. Mena) Eichmann, 1842 - 1913
the author's g-g-grandparents were married in 1858 while in Illinois. They had five documented children:

          Wilhelmina Schrodermier (1858 in Minnesota) married August Arns and had two children:
               Birdie Arns
               Merritt Arns
          Marian Schrodermier (1860 in Iowa) married Guy Kemp and had three children:
               Louie Kemp
               Leroy Kemp
               Vivian Kemp
          Pauline Schrodermier (1861 - 1915) married Christian Arns
          John Schrodermier (1864 - 1934) married Wilhelmina Carolina Katarina Hoth
               Lenora Louise Schrodermier (1892 - 1985) married (1) J. Edd Selzer and (2) Carl Bishop
               Walter Conrad Schrodermier married Harriet Mae Bye and had two children:
                     Margaret Ellen Schrodermier (1918) married Kenneth Quaas and had three children:
                           Charles Alan Quaas (1946)
                           Robert Louis Quaas (1948)
                           Janet Louise Quaas (1957)
                     Roger Alan Schrodermier (1919)
               Harvey Cornelius Schrodermier (1896 - 1966) married Sophia Ziegler
               Raymond Hoth Schrodermier (1899 - 1988) married Gladys Solomon
               Pauline Alvina Schrodermier (1907) married Harley A. Waldon
          Sophia Schrodermier (1866) married Carl Bohn and had two children:
               Herman Bohn
               Rachel Bohn

In the 1860 census, Conrad (age 21), Mena (19), Mena (2), and Mary (1 month) are found living with William (31) and Loisa (31) Eichmann and their children William (2) and Loisa (4 months). Mena Schrodermier is too young to be a child of William Eichmann so she is probably his sister. Later, Conrad farmed 80 acres in Warren Township. Several of Conrad's children later moved to Seattle, Washington but Pauline and John remained in Bremer Co.

Conrad is credited with starting the first church in Bremer Co., that being the Warren Evangelical Association Church located at the southwest corner of his property in Warren Township.

Conrad died in 1868 at the age of 32 and is buried in the cemetery of the church he founded. After his death, Wilhelmina married Ernst Witte (the brother of Wilhelmina Witte who married William Arns) and had two more children:
Emma Witte married Albert Gertsch
Louise Witte marrried August Kresche

Son John married Wilhelmina Carolina Katarina Hoth and they eventually inherited the family farm.

Read a newspaper article about pioneer life in Bremer County as related by Conrad's son John Schrodemier. The article states that Conrad had six children but one must have been stillborn or died very young.