Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Schmitt

Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Schmitt (born March 25, 1823 in Zempelburg , Flatow district , West Prussia ; † March 3, 1910 there ) was a German schoolboy, educator and provincial historian.

Life

Schmitt, whose father was the mayor of Zempelburg Andreas Schmitt, first attended the city school in Zempelburg and then the Danzig grammar school , which he left at Easter 1839 after having acquired university entrance qualifications. He studied six semesters at the University of Halle , where he heard philological lectures from Bernhardy , philosophical lectures from Erdmann , historical lectures from Leo and Protestant theological lectures from Tholuck . For a seventh semester he studied philosophy at the Berlin Humboldt University under Trendelenburg .

An early onset of nervous heart disease hampered his career as a civil servant teacher at public schools. After passing his state examination, he did his probationary year with interruptions, partly at the grammar school in Gdansk and partly at the grammar school at the Gray Monastery in Berlin, but then he renounced the civil service career and worked first as a tutor and then as a private teacher in the Thorn area . At the same time he developed a keen interest in the history and folklore of West Prussia.

Schmitt received his doctorate in 1862 at the philosophical faculty of the University of Jena with the dissertation topic De nobilitate Polonica for Dr. phil . An opportunity for further scientific activity arose when the State Ministry had suggested to the district estates that well-informed historians write chronicles of the history of the districts. The districts Flatow , Deutsch-Krone and Stuhm entrusted Schmitt with this task. He then wrote some important screeching chronicles that appeared in 1867 and 1868. He also made use of Polish archives to compile the chronicle of the Flatow district.

When the State Archives of the Province of Posen was founded in 1867 , he was commissioned to record the archival material in old registries. When his hope of being employed in the archive service was not fulfilled, he decided in 1872 to open a private school in his home town of Zempelburg to prepare for attending higher educational institutions. He successfully ran the school until a few years before his death. Even before his school opened, he had also turned to educational writing. In the years 1869 to 1874, a series of textbooks for teaching the lower grammar school classes and upper middle schools was created. In 1870 he published a general guide for the lower grades of grammar schools and higher civil schools .

He also published a cultural-historical study on “Land and People in West Prussia” in the journal for Prussian history and regional studies , which appeared in four episodes. In the first episode, which came out in January 1870, Thorn was given as his residence, but in the three sequels the Lulkau manor district, located about ten kilometers north of Thorn, was given . In 1875 Zempelburg is given as his place of residence. The book he last published in 1879 was entitled The Province of West Prussia, how it came into being and how it has come into being today .

Schmitt was described by his contemporaries as a man of deep piety and great moral seriousness, who was highly valued by all who knew him and adored by his numerous students. He was a member of the West Prussian History Association . According to an association announcement, he died on March 3, 1910 in Zempelburg.

Works (selection)

Witchcraft in Pomerania . In: New Prussian Provincial Papers . Another series, Volume III, Königsberg 1853, pp. 163–166.
Topography of the districts of West Prussia belonging to the former network district . In: Preußische Provinzial-Blätter , other series , Volume VI, Königsberg 1854, pp. 257–289 and pp. 432–461 , Volume VII, Königsberg 1855, pp. 42–46 and pp. 105–118.
Topography of the Flatower circle . In: Preußische Provinzial-Blätter , other series , Volume VI, Königsberg 1854, pp. 257–289 and pp. 432–461 , Volume VII, Königsberg 1855, pp. 42–46 and pp. 105–118.
To the cash booth question . In: New Prussian Provincial Papers . Another episode. Volume 8, Koenigsberg 1855, pp. 337-338. (This article relates to the essay by W. Hanow: Die Kassubiten . In: Neue Preußische Provinzial-Blätter . Another series, Volume 8, Königsberg 1855, pp. 161–165. )
Flatow County. Shown in all its relationships . Lambeck, Thorn 1867 ( e-copy ). ( Review ). ( Review ).
History of the Deutsch-Croner Kreis . Thorn 1867 ( e-copy ). ( Review ).
History of the Stuhmer Circle. Written on behalf of the district councils . Thorn 1868 ( e-copy ).
Tirocinium latinum . Thorn 1869.
General guide for the lower grades of high schools and higher civic schools . Two parts: 1. Languages , 2. Realities . Lambeck, Thorn 1870. ( Review )
Country and people in West Prussia . In: Journal for Prussian History and Regional Studies . Volume 7, Berlin 1870, pp. 33-47. , Pp. 189-229 , pp. 553-568 and pp. 610-624.
Tirocinium graecum . Thorn 1873.
Little English elementary book . Thorn 1873.
Small French elementary book . Thorn 1874.
To Adalbert's question . In: Old Prussian monthly . New series, Volume 12, Königsberg 1st Pr. 1875, pp. 531-541.
The province of West Prussia as it came into being and how it is currently constituted. In two sketches . Verlag Ernst Lambeck, Thorn 1879.

literature

Lic. Freytag: Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Schmitt (obituary). In: Communications of the West Prussian History Association . Volume 10, No. 4, October 1, 1911, pp. 73-75.

Individual evidence

^ Hinrichs' five-year book catalog. Directory of books and maps published in German bookshops in the second half of the nineteenth century . 4th volume: 1866–1870 (edited by Adolf Büchting). Leipzig 1871, p. 330.
↑ Old Prussian monthly . New series, Volume 12, Königsberg i. Pr. 1875, p. 681
^ Messages from the West Prussian History Association . Volume 9, 1910, No. 4, pp. 73-75.
^ Max Toeppen : The Flatow district. Represented in all of his relationships by Dr. FWF Schmitt. Thorn 1867 . In: Old Prussian Monthly Magazine , Volume 4, Königsberg, December 1867, pp. 368–372.

^ J. Conrad: Der Kreis Flatow, by FWF Schmitt, Thorn 1867 . In: Yearbooks for Economics and Statistics . IX. Band, Jena 1867, pp. 424-425.

↑ Max Toeppen : History of the Deutsch-Croner Circle by Dr. FWF Schmitt, Thorn 1867 . In: Old Prussian Monthly , Volume 4, Königsberg, December 1867, pp. 734–736.

^ H. Meurer: Dr. FWF Schmitt: General guidelines for the lower classes of grammar schools and higher civil schools. Thorn 1870 . In: Zeitschrift für das Gymnasial-Wesen . Volume 24, Volume 2, Leipzig 1870, pp. 544–545.

personal data
SURNAME	Schmitt, Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German schoolboy, educator and provincial historian
DATE OF BIRTH	March 25, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH	Zempelburg , Flatow district , West Prussia
DATE OF DEATH	March 3, 1910
Place of death	Zempelburg , Flatow district , West Prussia

[HBC-1] Hinrichs' five-year book catalog. Directory of books and maps published in German bookshops in the second half of the nineteenth century . 4th volume: 1866–1870 (edited by Adolf Büchting). Leipzig 1871, p. 330.

[2] Old Prussian monthly . New series, Volume 12, Königsberg i. Pr. 1875, p. 681

[3] Messages from the West Prussian History Association . Volume 9, 1910, No. 4, pp. 73-75.

[4] Max Toeppen : The Flatow district. Represented in all of his relationships by Dr. FWF Schmitt. Thorn 1867 . In: Old Prussian Monthly Magazine , Volume 4, Königsberg, December 1867, pp. 368–372.

[5] J. Conrad: Der Kreis Flatow, by FWF Schmitt, Thorn 1867 . In: Yearbooks for Economics and Statistics . IX. Band, Jena 1867, pp. 424-425.

[6] Max Toeppen : History of the Deutsch-Croner Circle by Dr. FWF Schmitt, Thorn 1867 . In: Old Prussian Monthly , Volume 4, Königsberg, December 1867, pp. 734–736.

[7] H. Meurer: Dr. FWF Schmitt: General guidelines for the lower classes of grammar schools and higher civil schools. Thorn 1870 . In: Zeitschrift für das Gymnasial-Wesen . Volume 24, Volume 2, Leipzig 1870, pp. 544–545.