Historic Workers
of German Village

Henry Schmidt
1872
cigar maker

Henry was born in 1853 in Ohio. In 1880, he lived at this location with his wife Anna while working as a cigar maker.

While there is no record of how Henry worked his trade, prior to the Civil War, workers operated independently and sold their product directly to the consumer. Arrival of immigrants and machine production after the war, however, led to large operations, with low wages, child labor, and health problems becoming concerns.

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