Daughter of Conrad and Louisa
Mary Catherine Elizabeth, second child of Conrad and Louisa, was born at “Berrioye”, upper Maules Creek, near Boggabri on 5 August 1864.
On 18 March 1884 at the age of 20, Mary Catherine married Charles Edward Schmidt in the Wesleyan Church, Tamworth. According to Cliff Schmidt from Barraba the circumstances regarding their wedding were unusual.
‘Mary Catherine Elizabeth Simshauser had disappeared and everyone was out and about searching for her as they believed she had been taken by the Aborigines. (There would have been many aborigines in the Barraba district in the early days.) However, Mary Catherine and Charles Schmidt had eloped on horseback to Tamworth and were married.’
Charles Schmidt was a carrier at Barraba at the time of the marriage. He was the fifth and youngest son of Andrew and Sophie Schmidt, also from Germany. It appears that the Schmidt family came to Australia between 1852 and 1858.
Charles was born in the Colony of New South Wales at Calala Flats, near Tamworth in 1858. He was also a brother of German-born Mrs William Edward Garske and Mrs Karl Steiger (Eliza) – other well known Barraba pioneers.
Mary Catherine and Charles Schmidt lived in the Barraba district all their lives – the latter years being at their Edward Street residence. Mary died on 18 October 1947 at 83 years of age. In her will Mary bequeathed all her property to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren living at the date of her death, share and share alike.
Mary Catherine and Charles Schmidt had a family of four children – two sons and two daughters.
- William Andrew, their first born, born 11 January 1888, died at the early age of five years.
- Charles Edward was born on 29 January 1890 at Barraba Creek, Barraba – Charles and Mary Catherine resided here at the time. Eliza Steiger was registered as a witness at the birth. In 1915 Charles Edward married Stella Robinson, daughter of William Robinson, a grazier of Barraba, and they had three children – Norman, Clifford and Daphne. At the time of his marriage Charles Edward was a farmer at “Gunya”, joining “Long Arm” – also at “Long Arm” as a stationhand.
- Their third child, Emily Alice, was born on 25 December 1892 and married Edward Cooper. They had a family of four children – Harry, Joyce, Dorothea and Jack.
- Ivy May was born on 7 August 1898 and married Leslie Katchel. They had five children – Enid, Joyce, Kenneth, Constance and Margaret. Ivy May later married Thomas Pitman.