The Smucker Family Jelly Pioneers Jelly Giants What is your favorite kind of sandwich If you said peanut butter and jelly you are not alone In fact it is one of the top ten favorite sandwiches in the United States The next time you make a PB J sandwich take a close look at the labels on the jars There is a good chance you will see Smucker’s displayed in big bold letters For more than 100 years the Smucker family has been making some of the country’s most popular jams jellies and spreads Today the Smucker name is on all types of products including coffee peanut butter and chocolate syrup Smucker’s was not always the massive company that it is now It began with one man J M Smucker He sold apple butter out of the back of a wagon in the 1800s Jerome Monroe Smoker was born on December 5 1858 in Orrville Ohio His parents Gideon and Martha Magdalena were Mennonite farmers Jerome was the oldest of eight children He had three sisters and four brothers Jerome’s ancestor Christian Schmucker came to the United States from Switzerland in 1752 Years later Christian’s 4
great-grandson David changed the family name to Smoker He thought it sounded more American David had nine children Jerome’s father Gideon was one of them When he was an adult Jerome changed the family name from Smoker to Smucker because he did not approve of smoking The Smucker’s website shares fun recipes and tips for making PB J sandwiches 5
The Smucker Family Jelly Pioneers Family Farms Jerome grew up farming his family’s land He later took a two-year program studying business at a local school When he was done he used what he learned about business to manage the farm Eventually the family business grew into four farms and a creamery In 1890 Smucker married Ella M Yoder The couple’s oldest child Willard was born the following year Twin sons Willis and Wallace were born in 1892 but they died the same year Smucker and Ella’s first daughter Winna was born in 1894 By this time the family farms were flourishing Smucker had y g g earned enough money to grow his business He built a cider mill in 1897 At the mill he made apple cider out of apples from a nearby 1897 At the mill he made apple cider o orchard The orchard The orchard was planted by John Chapman in the early 1800s John Chap Chapm Chapman became known as Johnny Appleseed He was Joh famous for planting apple trees 6 6
SMUCKER'S Today the Smucker land in Orrville is home to a company visitor center and gift shop Smucker’s businesses continued to grow In 1899 his family did too Another daughter Wilma was born that year Smucker and Ella’s youngest son Welker was born in 1906 7
