Truth
Matters
Jacob the Heir
Carrying on the Family Trade
Michael the Rebel had two sons, Jacob and Georg, both of whom followed their father in the occupation of nailsmith as well as the spelling of the surname "Schmitt". Michael died relatively young, when Jacob was only 23 and Georg 16. This occurred before the French Revolution, which established inheritance laws requiring equal distribution among children.
Nevertheless, it is strictly speculative to suppose that Jacob received a larger inheritance than Georg. The nickname "Jacob the Heir" is intended rather to reflect the fact that he and all but one of his children spent the rest of their lives in Hatten, whereas Georg and his children all emigrated to the United States. This implies that Jacob and his family enjoyed some advantage over Georg in their native land.
Perhaps this was simply the advantage of chronology. Jacob was 7 years older, and more significantly, his oldest sons were at least 6 years older than Georg's sons, so they had a head start in the family business. This might explain why Jacob's three sons all became nailsmiths, whereas only one of Georg's four sons did so.
After Georg and his family left Hatten in 1829, Jacob's family continued the business for many years. But mechanization caught up with the Schmitt family, as it did with people throughout industrialized countries. Jacob's sons were the last of the nailsmiths. When they died in the 1860s and 1870s, the occupation of all three was recorded as "cloutier" (nail maker). Considering that industrial nail making began around 1800, it's almost surprising the family business lasted this long.
Family Group Sheet
Vital Records
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