The Forefathers

The first members of the Schmerse family to appear in records are Kaspar and Hans from Zielenzig, Hans from Landsberg, and Jürgen, Martin and Christian, who are cited by the "Classification of 1718-1719"⁵⁾ among the farmers of Kernein: there were the feudal mayor and 15 farmers with 2 hufen (parts of land) each as well as the herdsman and 14 cottagers with 1 hufe each (cf. chapter Kernein (1) from number 1 on and the German language article on Kernein taken from the "Heimatblatt"). In later generations most members of the family Schmerse are from Kernein, as the following collocation shows. For that reason the Kernein line is looked at as the original line. The "Classification" cites more Schmerse (in part with variant spelling) at other places in Landsberg County and neighbouring counties, mentioned in this chapter likewise.

In the years 1628 - 1641, during the armistice (in the Thirty Years' War) between the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg and the Swedes, many farmers and cottagers became desolate. Thousands of Neumark residents fled towns and villages into neutral Poland, where they were absorbed. When peaceful times came back many returned to their old homes, but many stayed at the new. The origin "from Poland" with the Schmerses at Berkenwerder, Czettritz and Derschau therefore does not exclude an ancestry from the Landsberg region. A possible "eponym" of the line may have lived in Landsberg County in the 16th century, and his descendants may include the above mentioned persons, among them one or more emigrants to Poland who later came back into the region.

About one hundred years later (at 1765) the Netze swamp became first colonized, and among these settlers, too, surely were Schmerse. Their probable descendants are mentioned here, too, and a possible (common?) eponym is cited at this location as well.

1. (Son) Schmerse born about 1550,¹⁾ died ca. 1620.
Children:
2. i (Son) Schmerse born about 1575.
3. ii Kaspar Schmerse born about 1580.

Second Generation

2. (Son) Schmerse born about 1575,²⁾ died ca. 1645.

Children:
4. i (Son) Schmerse born about 1600.
5. ii Hans Schmerse born about 1605.
6. iii (Son) Schmerse born about 1610.

3. Kaspar Schmerse born about 1580, Zielenzig (Os.),³⁾ died ca. 1650. Gemustert am 22 Apr 1599 in Zielenzig.

Children:
7. i Hans Schmarse born about 1605.

Third Generation

4. (Son) Schmerse born about 1600,²⁾ died ca. 1670.

Children:
8. i (Son) Schmerse born about 1640.

5. Hans Schmerse born about 1605, Landsberg,⁴⁾ died ca. 1675. Gemustert am 23 Jul 1623 in Landsberg als Mühlentor-Vorstädter.

Children:
9. i Hans Schmerse born about 1640.

6. (Son) Schmerse born about 1610, Landsberg,²⁾ died ca. 1680. flüchtet während des Dreißigjährigen Krieges in das benachbarte Polen.

Children:
10. i (Son) Schmerse born about 1640.

7. Hans Schmarse born about 1605, Zielenzig (Os.),⁵⁾ died ca. 1675. Gemustert am 21 Jul 1623 in Zielenzig.

Children:
11. i (Son) Schmerse born about 1640.
12. ii Matthias Schmarse born about 1650.

Fourth Generation

8. (Son) Schmerse born about 1640, Kernein, died ca. 1710, Kernein.⁶⁾ For descendants cf. chapter Kernein 1.

9. Hans Schmerse born about 1640, Landsberg, Schwarzfärbergeselle,⁸⁾ died ca. 1710. Zahlt am 1 Aug 1667 das Bürgergeld von 2 Talern 3 Groschen (= 3 Gulden), als ein "Landtspergisch Kindt". Der name ist als "Schmerle" wiedergegeben, jedoch auch an anderer Stelle findet sich fälschlich "l" statt langes "s", z.B. 1703 "Grentzen und Mahlen" statt "Grentzen und Mahsen".

Children:
i Michel Schmerse born about 1675, Bauer mit 2 Hufen,⁷⁾ died after 1718, Wepritz (L.). Der slawische name des Ortes bedeutet "Eberbach". Wepritz, seit etwa 1400 Eigentum der Stadt Landsberg, ist ursprünglich ein kleines Fischerdorf von nur 28 Hufen. Durch fortschreitende Rodung wird die Feldmark jedoch erheblich vergrößert, so daß sie 1602 schon 61 Hufen umfaßt. Beträchtlich ist seit alters auch der Weinbau, der erst durch den kalten Winter des Jahres 1740 vernichtet wird.

10. (Son) Schmerse born about 1640, Polen, died ca. 1710. For descendants cf. chapters Berkenwerder, Czettritz and Derschau.

11. (Son) Schmerse born about 1640, Zielenzig (Os.), died ca. 1710. For descendants cf. chapter Zielenzig.

12. Matthias Schmarse born about 1650, Rädnitz, Kr. Crossen (Nm.), Büdner (Häusler),⁷⁾ died after 1718, Rädnitz, Kr. Crossen (Nm.).

Children:
i Matthias Schmarse born about 1680, Rädnitz, Kr. Crossen (Nm.), Bauer mit 1 Hufe,⁷⁾ died after 1718, Rädnitz, Kr. Crossen (Nm.).
ii Hans Schmerser born about 1685, Dobersaul, Kr. Crossen (Nm.), Gärtner (Kossäth),⁷⁾ died after 1718, Dobersaul, Kr. Crossen (Nm.). For descendants cf. chapter Dobersaul.
iii Jürgen Schmerse born about 1690, Ostritz, Kr. Schwiebus (Nm.), Gärtner (Kossäth),⁷⁾ died after 1718, Ostritz, Kr. Schwiebus (Nm.).