The Heilman Family is originally from Germany and they immigrated to Russia in 1810.

Peter brought his family to the U.S. to find a better way of life.

We know very little about Melchior except that he was Soldier.

When Mike and his family came to the U.S. they settled in North Dakota.

Mariann settled in the Wapato,WA. area and raised her family there.

John and Mary lived in Toppenish, WA. all their married life. They raised all of their children here. They lived in Germantown as it was called.

Anna and Jim Jiminez lived in the Yakima, WA. area and raised their family there.

Margaret and Frank lived in Toppenish for a while, near Peter & Johanna and then they moved several times. They finally settled in the Seattle area.

Barbara traveled to many areas in the U.S. and was a women before her time.

ON THE PAGES THAT FOLLOW ARE THE PHOTO’S OF PETER AND JOHANNA’S CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, AND GREAT GRANDCHILDREN ALONG WITH THEIR SPOUSES.

There is also some history on each person and some short stories on them that I grew up with..

Starting with the Georg Heilman family.

(Parents of Lorenz)

Georg immigrated to Elsass, Ukraine in 1810.

(Parents of Mathias)

They are the parents of Magdalina Gruber who is Johanna Heilman Schloss’s grandmother.

Parents of my great Grandma Johanna (Heilman) Schloss

(My Great Great Grandparents)

Ray Wentz is the son of Katie Heilman Wentz.

I had a nice visit with my 4th cousin Ray Wentz and learned something’s about my great-grandparents Johanna and Peter. He told me he went visiting often to their house with his grandpa Josef Heilman. He said that they where nice people and did not speak much English so, the did not associate with many people unless they spoke German. This put a distance between them and their grandchildren who spoke more English than German.

Ray went fishing a lot with Peter and his grandpa Josef. Peter and Josef where great fishing buddies. They went to the Rocky Ford Pond and fished and they would catch a lot of fish. They would fish with bamboo poles and cork bobbers and sometimes with two or three hooks on one line.

They had a very clean home although it was very small. Their little house was just across the yard from John and Mary Schloss’s home. They owned about 1 or 2 acres of land and they lived there until they died. They bought the land and lived in Germantown for over 25 years. My grandpa John bought the land from his father and he lived on this property until 4months before he died. My Uncle Elmer is still living on this property now so it has been in the Schloss family for 76 years.

Apparently Magaretha Schloss moved to Selz sometime in 1808. She was a bit wealthier than her neighbors since she had 2 horse, 1 heifer, 1 wagon, 1 plow and 1 harrow. Peter’s mother and both brothers died from some terrible epidemic in the village that year. Peter stayed in Selz and married Katharina Hemmerling.

When Ignatuis was about 20 years old he left Selz and moved to Odessa. He lived there marrying and having 3 or 4 sons as we have been told by relatives.

There could have been other children but we are unaware of them.

The Peter Schloss family came to the U.S. at different times. While living in Russia my Greatgrandpa had fine horses and he built sleds for a living. He moved the family to the Siberia area for a while so he could try homesteading. He had a brother, a red head who lived in that area. They stayed only three months because the growing season was to short. My greatgrandma did not like the move to this area. They soon returned to the Odessa area and when all the trouble started building up greatgrandpa sold all the horses, cows, and most of their belongs to get enough money to buy passage to the U.S. . My greatgrandma had an auction sale before they left Russia and she made $700.00 to take to the U.S. . She had nice things and most of it was like new. My greatgrandpa Peter and my grandpa John had to escape from Russia. They had help getting through the lines. They escaped because the Reds wanted my grandpa John to go to war and join the army. They did not want him being killed like Uncle Melchior so they left Russia. Peter and John where the first to come to the U.S. and they settled near Great Uncle Mike who lived in North Dakota. One of Uncle Mike’s relatives (George Volk) helped set everything up so Greatgrandma and the rest of the family could come to the U.S. . My greatgrandma and her daughters and one grandson come over to the U.S. next and entered Ellis Island. The grandson who come to the U.S. was Great Aunt Anna’s son from an affair she had with a Russian. Their parents would not allow them to marry. Anna wanted to stay in Russia but her parents would not permit it and so she came to the U.S. with her family.

My Great Uncle Mike Schloss came over to the U.S. with his wife and two sons in 1913 and settled in North Dakota. They where sponsored by his wife’s Uncle George Volk who lived in North Dakota. This was the only way for them to get out of Russia and into the U.S. . They stayed in North Dakota and lived there for the rest of their days.

My Great Uncle Melchior never made it out of Russia. He wanted to come to the U.S. with his family but he was caught and not allowed to leave. He was a Russian soldier and he was taken from his home by Bolshevik soldiers during the Russian Revolution. He was turned into the soldiers by his wife Martha who thought he was a traitor to the government. This is all the information that we have on Uncle Melchior.

My greatgrandpa had a brother William Schloss who was the youngest. He also came to the U.S. and lived in Sheboygan, WI. My greatgrandpa’s brother was still living in 1943 when Peter died. He had two sons and two daughters. Peter also had two other brothers who where still living in Russia when they came to the U.S. . Peter’s mother died from cancer when he was only 13 and his father died in a drowning accident.

Melchior was killed by Bolsavick soldiers during the Russian Revolution. The Reds came to his home and took him away and the family found out that he was beaten to death . He was turned in to the Reds by his wife Martha who thought he was a traitor to the government. We don’t have anymore information on him and his wife or if they had children.

I have been told by several relatives that Great Uncle Mike was a hard man to live with and because of this his daughter Kay left home when she was about 16 or so.

I have been told that Mariann was not a very happy person and her husband was a very friendly person.

John and Mary where married and had nine children. One of the nine children died. Barbara died from spinal meningitis. She was only about 2 ½ when she died. This was a big blow to my grandparents and took something out of` their marriage I was told by my Aunt’s.

My grandpa worked hard for the Northern Pacific Railroad for 50 years and he kept a great garden. He was always hard at work and took good care of his family as possible. My grandpa always smoked a pipe. I can remember him filling his pipe with a cherry tobacco of something with a berry smell to it. It gave me and my sister a headache when he was smoking it. Sometimes grandpa would smoke a cigar and boy what a smell; it would make me sick to my stomach.

My 2nd cousin Helen Reinbold Curtis wrote me and shared some stories about my grandpa. She said my grandma was always yelling at the boys to settle down and my Uncle Elmer was grandma’s big helper. Helen liked my grandpa a lot and said he was a very sweet man even though he didn’t talk a lot. Helens said that my grandpa was her mother’s favorite brother and that they we’re close. My Great Aunt Margaret missed my grandpa a lot when they moved away and they did not keep in close touch after that.

When my sister and I where little my mom would take us down to the railroad station to visit my grandpa when he was working. We had to walk to the station from my grandpa’s house because my mom didn’t drive. We had to walk about ½ mile or more to get to the station. He always would give us candy and things that where left on the train that people didn’t return for. We always enjoyed our visits to the station with grandpa. My grandpa worked for the Northern pacific Railroad for over 50 years when he retired at the age of 70 and he didn’t want to quite working even than. He also worked for the Washington Nursery for a time before he stated at the railroad. He lived in Toppenish for 58 years and he and my grandma Mary are both buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Toppenish,WA.

When my sister and I we’re little grandpa would cuss at us in German because we were in his garden and he didn’t want anyone out in it. He was very particular about his garden and flowerbeds.

My grandpa John also played three instruments, the Harmonica, Accordion, and Violin. He played his instruments at local dances when he was a young man and I do remember his harmonica. He played it alittle bit for me and my sister. He was a good grandpa and I am thankful we had so many years with him.

My cousin Helen Reinbold Curtis said that Ernie was a nice man and good looking and cultured. Great Aunt Barbara didn’t get along with his sisters too well. They lived in Carmel ,CA. at the time. I’ve been told Great Aunt Barbara had a lot of nice things but, she was very suspicious of people taking her things.

My Great Aunt Barbara was a Madam of a cat house when she was a young women. Many of the family members did not like this type of life for Barbara. They where all strong Catholics. Great Aunt Barbara was a women before her time.