Herman Schultz and Hedwig Jaskewitz were attracted to Chicago in the summer of 1892 due to the Chicago’s World Fair. Once there, the young couple–an artist and former opera singer–began to grow their family in the Summerdale section of city. Along with the couple’s two beloved St. Bernard’s, Barry and Greta, the Schultz had their only child in January of 1893, Sigrid.

The family lived and entertained in Chicago until 1901, when painting commissions in Europe drew Herman to bring his family abroad. The family jumped between cities until Hedwig and Sigrid settled in Paris in 1902. Throughout the 1910s Sigrid attended school and became fluent in multiple languages, eventually moving with her parents to Berlin and serving as a private language teacher.

At the outbreak of World war I in July 1914, the family was in ill health and found it impossible to travel home to the United States. Throughout the conflict the Schultz’s’ were considered enemy aliens and were monitored closely in Berlin.