Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Schindel Family Reunion


We held a Schindel family reunion in Plymouth County, Iowa over the weekend of August 13 - 15 with over seventy people attending from all over the country. All were descendants of my great-great grandfather, Peter Schindel, who was born in a small town just south of Frankfurt, Germany in 1828. Peter came to the U.S. on a small sailing ship in 1853 at the age of 25 and lived in New York and Illinois briefly before coming to Sioux City, Iowa to homestead in Plymouth Township, Plymouth County, Iowa. My cousin, Susan Holtgrew, has traced the Schindel family history back to our ancestor, Theobald Schindel who was born in Bechtolsheim, Rheinnhessen, Hesse, Germany in 1670. We had an evening get together at the Longbranch in Hinton, Iowa on Friday evening, then a day-long picnic in the town park in Merrill, Iowa. We had ample opportunity to visit after everyone took a turn telling a little about themselves and why they had come to the reunion. The reunion was brought to a close on Sunday with a picnic at the Schindel Family farm near Merrill. Many attendees visited the Floyd Valley Cemetery near the now-defunct village of Melbourne where Peter Schindel as well as my great-grandfather Jacob Schindel, grandfather, Allen Schindel as well as my parents are buried. We had a great time meeting new relatives as well as reconnecting with others. I was proud that both son, Doug and daughter, Cindy as well as their entire families were able to attend. Great-granddaughter, Jordie Schindel, who is just sixteen months old was also in attendance with her parents Brandon and Katie.

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