The first record of our family, dating from 1436, is to be found in the archives of the counts, later princes, of Ottingen and is the written confirmation of the feudal tenure of "Der Schmeißer", a peasant of the Mönchsroth Cloister ln Himmelreichstall (now: Himmerstall), Frankonia. He was born in 1405 and was the begrinning of a long line of flourishing Frankinian farmers. The family lived and today still lives in the area around Dinkelsbühl.
The family divided with the brothers, Hanns Schmaißer (born ca. 1510) and Wolff Schmaißer (born 1523), in the beginning of the 16th century. The two branches came together again in the 1970's after decades of intensive research by Paul Schmeiser (Mannheim). The first born son, Hanns Schmaißer, like his great-grandfather in Himmelreichstall, was the Mönchsroth Cloister's peasant in Schönbronn, while his younger brother, Wolff, became a peasant of Dinkelsbühl's Leprosenpflege St. Leonhard in Wolfhartsbronn (now: Wolfertsbronn).
Several members of the Schmeisser family were elevated into the nobility. Emperor Maximilian II appointed Ambros Schmeißer, Court Chancellor to the Archduke of Austria, Karl II, in 1570 and later consul "an der Türckhischen Porten zu Constantinopl" (1576-1582). His father, Augustin Schmeißer, had already carried a family cost-of-arms before 1530, which shows two crossed martels of a white and red background. It is spoken of as a "redendes Wappen" (speaking coat-of-arms). In 1568 and 1573, the brothers, Andreas and Hans Schmaisser, were elevated into the nobility by Emperor Maximilian II, and in 1585, Erhart Schmaißer and his cousins gained nobility through Emperor Rudolf II.
Martin Schmaißer, born on August 14, 1660 in Trieber (now: Tribur), was a descendant of the afore mentioned Wolff Schmaißer of Wolfertsbronn. He was a subject of Dinkelsbühl and a peasant of the Dinkelsbühl Heiliggeistspital. He also managed a farm in Riegelbach which he had acquired on February 6, 1710. On May 6, 1710 he married Anna Barbara Kucher in Markt Lustenau, the daughter of the master miller Johann Georg Kucher of the Rotmühle. On April 15, 1730, Martin Schmeißer sold his property in Reigelbach for a good profit and prepared his family for the trip to the New World. The unfortunate consequences of the Thirty Years's War (1618- 1648) and especially the Palatine War of Succession (1688- 1697) in which the troops of the French king, Louis XIV, ranged far and wide over the Palatine ravaging and murdering were certainly inducement enough for emmigration.
It had been scarcely 50 years since the first German immigrants had reached Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the three mast ship "Concord" (October 6, 1683), but they had obviously sent confident reports back to the old homeland so that many families decided to seek their fortunes in a new world.
Martin Schmeisser himself never reached his goal, but his widow and her children: Anna Hargaretha, 20 years old: Matthias, 16 years old; and his younger brother, Ceorg, 9 years old; set out together on the arduous journey. They embarked from Rotterdam on the British sailing ship, 'Britanha", (probably a so-called English gulleyship, a late form of the Spanish-Portuguese galeon) under Captain Michael Franklin and landed -- with a stopover in Cowes harbour on the Isle of Weight in the English Channel - on September 21, 1731 in Philadelphia. The ship was approximately 90 ft. long and brought 104 male immigrants, with 37 under 16 years old, and 81 female immigrants, with 45 under 16 years old, (a total of 267 immigrants) to America.
The 16-year old son, Matthias Schmeißer (in America: Smyser), took care of his mother and siblings alone. He developed a textile trade which was the foundation of his later fortune and to which he brought much helpful knowledge as he had learned the weaving trade. However, he turned soon to farming. He acquired on May 3, 1745 good arable land three miles wast of York, Pennsylvania (the seat of the United States of America government from September 30, 1777 until June 27, 1778). The first large family reunion took place on this farm exactly one hundred years later. Meanwhile, the descendants of the immigrant family numbered 1,200. The family association was founded during this reunion. Only fourteen years after the immigration, his farm, called "Ruegelbach" after Matthias' birthplace, was approximately 500 acres.
Samuel Smyser, born October 29, 1813, was Matthias Schmeißer's great-grandson and heir to the old farm, "Ruegelbach". He also owned land west of Penn Street and south of Princess Street in York, a region called Smysertown until its incorporation into York. He sold 73 acres of this land, which belonged to West Manchestar township, in 1887 to the city of York for $ 29,300 for the building of the York Fair Grounds. The Samuel Smyser Lewis State Park, located east of York and above the Susquehanna River, carries his name.
The Schmeißer/Smyser Family Association, soon 150 years old, is blossoming again. The family reunion, already become a tradition, takes place alternately in West Germany - with an obligatory visit to Dinkelsbühl - and in the United States with an obligatory visit to York, Pennsylvania.
The next Schmeiser/Schmeißer/Smyser reunion, in Germany from July 30 until August 6, 1989, is being organized by the historian, Edwin Schmeiser (Nieder-Olm). He has already received a large number of commitments from family members, also from overseas. The Schmeiser Family Association would gladly accept any further ideas or commitments of participation for the reunion this year.
