Barbara Schömbs Schneider of New York

Because we do not yet know the parents of Barbara Schömbs, it is not possible to Link to her ancestors

Barbara Schömbs (*about 1845 Germany), Why we believe she is a Schömbs

Various spellings of Barbara's surname exist in the Federal, State and local records. Schembs is the most prevalent: (1876), (1880), (1881) and (1883). Other spellings are: Shembs (1874), Schrams (1887), Schenabe (1895), Jamies (1929) and James (1940). The years correspond with the years of various Links shown below.

But it is interesting that the 1940 death record for their son Frank shows the mother's name as Barbara "James". To date there are only a handful of our family's emigrants who changed to use the surname "James". It is probable that Barbara was born Barbara Schömbs and therefore fits into the story of Zacharias Schömbs.

Another possibility is that the family pronounced the name "Schembs" in such a way that the listener, e.g. Census taker, thought they were saying "James". But some emigrants changed their family name to James for good, e.g. Heinrich Schoembs James of Evansville, Indiana.

There is one additionoal interesting datapoint. In the birth record of their second child William, Barbara's name is given as Barbara "Birtnam" Schembs. This is the only place we have seen the name Birtnam. And do not know whether to place any significance on it.

We have three records from New York regarding Barbara's birth year. They are the 1880 Census (~1844), the 1892 Census (~1845) and her death record (1845). Our database as we began 2017 had no Barbara Schömbs, Schoembs or Schembs born around 1845, so this does not solve the riddle.

Emigration

Hopefully we will find emigration, passenger lists, or immigration information for Barbara. But presumably she emigrated between 1866 and 1872, and most likely closer to 1872. Earlier would have been during the U.S. Civil War. Later would have been close to the birth of their first child. Assuming Barbara was born about 1844, she would have been 28 years old in 1872.

Marriage to Paul Schneider

Barbara married Paul Schneider (*02.01.1852 Blochingen/Württemberg, +17.10.1937 Queens NY), the son of Franz and Maria Katharina Bieger Schneider. At the time of Paul's birth the town was a part of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a region south of the Rheinland. For the present we are assuming Barbara and Paul met and married in New York City after they both had emigrated. Hopefully we will find passenger or immigration records which will somewhat confirm this. But since they were from different parts of Germany it is a reasonable assumption.

The 1900, 1910 and 1930 Federal Censuses all captured the year of immigration for those not born in the United States. Paul's immigration year is different in each, recorded as 1868, 1872 and 1870 in that order. We can assume Paul emigrated in about 1870.

The 1930 Census includes "Age at first marriage". The entry for Paul is 22 years, suggesting they were married in about 1874. Their first child Frank, however, was born in 1874. So perhaps they were married in 1873. We have not located a marriage record.

The 1880 Census

Paul and Barbara were enumerated in the 1880 Census in Manhattan, Supervisor's Dist. No. 1, Enumeration Dist. No 368. If one uses the LiveLinks section at the bottom of this page, it appears they were living on 8th Street at #101. If on the East side, this was a very large community of German immigrants. Per the Census Paul was born in Wirtenburg and Barbara in Darmstadt (Hessen Darmstadt). Paul was employed as a painter. Barbara was born in about 1844 and Paul 1848. Future documents suggest Paul perhaps was more than four years younger than his wife. The children were all born in New York.

Another point worth noting is that these were large boarding houses where immigrants lived. In this case, #101 Eighth Street was occupied by seven families and a total of 61 people.

The 1892 Census

Unfortunately the 1890 U.S. Census was lost in a fire in Washington, D.C. in about 1920. Fortunately states conducted their own censuses in off years. In the case of New York State this was in 1892. This Census gives us the entire family, excepting sons Paul and John who had died as infants. Paul's occupation is given as "Forman Flower(?)". In the 1892 Census Paul is shown as being two years younger than Barbara. They were living in Kings (Brooklyn), Ward 17, E.D. 07.

They had moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn sometime between the birth of their eighth son, Henry, in 1887 and the 1892 Census.

Searching for the Schneiders

Researching this branch has been a reminder of researching more common names relative to much less common names, e.g. Schneider versus Schembs, Schambs, etc. Searches for the Schneiders turn up a large number of records. One must be very careful to determine which to rely upon as being the Schneiders who descend from Zacharias Schömbs.

Death of Barbara Schömbs Schneider

For months we were not able to find any records of the family after the 1892 Census. There were plenty of Schneider records in New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens Boroughs), but no records of Paul and Barbara. Had they both died in the 1890's? By 1900 most of their children were adults and probably had moved out of the family home. There were Census records that might have been of their sons but not with certainty. Ultimately we found possibly death records for some of their children which pointed to burials in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Queens Borough. The website Find-A-Grave added additional information, except that there were given names which we did not recognize. Finally through a phone call with Cedar Grove Cemetery, we received enough information to put the whole story together with confidence.

Barbara Schömbs Schneider died 15 July 1896 in Long Island City, Queens NY. Her death record gives her maiden name as "Jambs", close to James and not far from a potential pronunciation of "Schömbs" or "Schembs". Barbara's death is why she and Paul did not appear in the 1900 Census. And the death certificate gives the names of her parents as "Martin and Elisabeth Jambs". There is a possibility that Barbara was the daughter of Martin (*1819 Hahnheim) and Elisabetha Klassert Schömbs. In the database we have four children of Martin and Elisabetha, two of whom were born in 1852 and 1854. At this time we do not know the birth years of the other two children. It is possible that Barbara (*~1844, +1896) was their fifth (or actually their first) child. Elisabetha would have been 23 years old when Barbara was born, Martin 25 years. But the likelihood is considered small per the research of Reinhold Schembs.

Paul after Barbara

After the death of Barbara, Paul remarried. His second wife was Mary Freudenberg (*September 1873, +29.03.1960), the daughter of Gustav and Bertha Schneider Freudenberg. The family lived in Breslau, Silesia, Germany. While Paul had probably been 8 years younger than his first wife Barbara, his second wife Mary was 22 years younger than Paul! Or an age spread between his two wifes of 30 years. Mary had emigrated from Germany in 1894. In the 1900 Census Paul and Mary are enumerated (again, go to the LiveLinks at the bottom of the page). Living in the home are two sons: Henry (*June 1885), age 15 and the son of Barbara; and George (*July 1899) and the son of Mary. The older Schneider sons were no longer living in the family home at #10 Queens Street, an address shared by five families and thirteen people. Paul's vocation was given as "second hand lumber dealer".

Paul and Mary appear again in the 1910 Census and finally in 1930. In 1910 they were living at #6 Chestnut Street in Queens, a home which they owned. It is shown that Paul had been married twice, Mary only once. Mary has had two children, only one of whom is living. Although this information is questionable as commented upon below in the Descendants section. Their daughter Charlotte was six years old. Paul is enumerated as a "lumber dealer".

In 1930 Paul is 78 years old and retired. They are enumerated as owning their home at 2517 32nd Street in Queens, valued at $4000. But the address might be slightly in error. Charlotte, age 26, is single and living at home. She is a supervisor at the Telephone Company. Then three years later Charlotte married Frederick W. Hoffman. Charlotte and Frederick are buried with the family in Lot 304.

Cedar Grove Cemetery

As commented above, information from Cedar Grove Cemetery was critical in understanding and building the story of the Schneider family. There are two Blocks in which the Schneiders rest -- Blocks cat-304 and cat 706.

Burial Information for the Families of Barbara Schömbs and Paul Schneider

Surname	Given Name	Family Ref #	Born	Died	Age	Block #	Grave #	Notes
Buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Block 'cat-304':
Schneider	Paul		2.01.1852	17.10.1937	85	cat-304	1A	1
Schneider	Mary Peck		9.1873	29.3.1960	77	cat-304	1B	5
Schneider	George	11.9	7.1899	10.06.1902	2	cat-304	2A	7
Schneider	Barbara Schömbs		~1844	15.07.1896	52	cat-304	3A	2
Schneider	William	11.2	8.08.1876	23.12.1929	53	cat-304	3B	6
Schneider	Augustus	11.6	23.09.1883	4.5.1897		cat-304	4A	5
Schneider	Edward	11.3	1879	3.12.1900	21	cat-304	4B	4
Schneider	Mary	11.10	8.1901	7.10.1901	2 mo	cat-304	4C	3
Hoffman	Frederick	11.11s		28.04.1966		cat-304	2B	5
Hoffman	Charlotte	11.11	~1904	27.03.1990	86	cat-304	3C	5
Buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Block 'cat-706':
Schneider	George	11.1/2.2	1901	31.05.1949	47	cat-706	1A	5
Schneider	Rose	11.1/2.2s	~1907	18.06.1996	89	cat-706	1/2B	5
Schneider	Ethel M	11.1/2.2/3.2	4.1930	12.02.1931	10 mo	cat-706	2A
Schneider	Frank	11.1	7.07.1874	8.05.1940	65	cat-706	3/2A	8
Schneider	Emma Romer	11.1s	11.02.1871	3.11.1959	78	cat-706	3B	5
Vopelak	Frank	11.1/2.1s	25.02.1890	12.09.1960	70	cat-706	4A	5
Vopelak	Ethel Schneider	11.1/2.1	1896	23.03.1979	83	cat-706	4B	5
Romer	Jeanette		~1877	24.12.1927	50	cat-706	5/6A	9
Romer	George			8.04.1949		cat-706	5/6B	5
Romer	Anna			13.08.1951		cat-706	7/A	5
Family Members Not Buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery:
Vopelak	Frank	11.1/2.1/2.1	1911
Vopelak	Alice	11.1/2.1/2.2	1914
Schneider	Rose	11.1/2.2/3.1	~1927
Schneider	George	11.1/2.2/3.3	~1933
Schneider	Paul	11.4	13.06.1880	11.07.1880	1 mo			10
Schneider	Emil	11.5	30.09.1881	>1940
Schneider	John	11.7	7.1886	31.01.1887	6 mo			10
Schneider	Henry	11.8	15.11.1887	>1940
Schneider	Henry Richard	11.8/2.1	28.05.1907
Schneider	Richard J.	11.8/2.2	1913					11

The referenced Notes are helpful in understanding the data in the table above. Click on the LINK to read them. The Family Reference # refers to the numbering system in the Descendants section below. The addition of "s" indicates this is the spouse of the family member.

Descendants of Barbara Schömbs

At present we believe there were at least eight children born to Barbara Schömbs and Paul Schneider. And then three children born to Mary and Paul Schneider. All eleven children are discussed below.

Children: (11)

Children of Barbara Schömbs and Paul Schneider (8)

11.1.....Francis "Frank" Schneider (*07.07.1874 Manhattan, +08.05.1940 Manhattan)

Frank and Emma Pauline Romer (*11.02.1871 New York, +03.11.1959 Flushing Queens) were married 27 November 1895 in Manhattan.

In 1915 Frank and Emma were living at 125 Freeman Street in Brooklyn. Frank was in the "Hay and Grain" business and probably the owner of the company. They were living in a rowhouse. They were a family of five. There were several other families at the same address.

Living with Frank and Emma was Frank's brother Emil (*1881). Emil worked for Frank in the business as a truck driver. This becomes important in following Emil in later years.

Add Spice to the Story

There appeared in the newspaper on 1 December 1925 an article about a demand for $25,000 relating to an affair and "alienation of affection". The affair dealt with Ethel Romer, the sister-in-law of Emma Romer Schneider. Since Ethel's husband Arthur Romer (brother of Emma) dragged the entire family into the incident, it is quite interesting. And $25,000 in 1925 was a substantial amount!

Click HERE to read the article. But identification of all the players is very helpful. Arthur Romer, the aggrieved, brought his sister Emma Romer Schneider (*1871), both of her children -- Ethel Schneider Vopelak (*1896) and George Schneider (*1902) -- and Ethel Vopelak's husband Frank Vopelak (*1890) to the second floor of a partly finished building across the street from Arthur's apartment. Here they all spied on the affair between Ethel Romer and John Briggs. Then they all dashed across the street (Kenmore Place) to the Romer's apartment where Romer accosted Briggs. All the witnesses testified before the jury. It is worth pointing out that two of the witnesses (relatives of Arthur Romer) were also police officers. It must have been a fascinating trial.

We do not know what the judge and jury decided.

In 1930 Frank and Emma were living with their daughter Ethel and her husband Frank Vopelak in Queens. They are buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Queens, New York, one of the Boroughs of New York City. Frank and Emma share a grave with George and Jeannette Romer, undoubtedly the brother and sister-in-law of Emma Pauline.

Frank's obituary appeared in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on 10 May 1940. The article mistakenly identifies his mother as Mary, who was actually his step-mother.

Adrienne Walker is the member on Find-A-Grave responsible for their gravesite. She responded to my email in December 2016 but has since gone silent. She should be able to connect us with her cousins who are related to Frank and Emma.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Ethel Schneider (*1896, +23.03.1979)

Frank Vopelak (*25.02.1890 Brooklyn, +12.09.1960) married Ethel Schneider. There is a second Frank Vopelak born in 1890 but, based upon the two draft registration cards it is reasonably certain Frank's birthday was 25 February. The WWII draft registation confirms the marriage to Ethel.

Frank was an officer with the New York Police Department. In 1914 he was involved in foiling a kidnap attempt. The article in The Sun on 8 September describes the excitement. Be sure to zoom in on the article, as it is somewhat blurry. Another NY paper also reported the incident. It is attached as part one and part two.

In 1917 He was single and living at 146 Elm Street in Long Island City, New York with his parents. His career was mostly with the NYPD. Frank is mentioned in The New York Times in a 1919 article about the Police Department assignments.

Later in life, prior to 1940, he went to work in a security position in banking. When he registered for the draft in WWII he may have been working for a different company.

We have a marriage record of Ethel Augusta Schneider and Frank Vopelak dated 23 March 1918 in Kings County (Brooklyn). In 1925 they and their children were living at 234 Grand Avenue in Queens. They were living in the home of Ethel's parents Frank and Emma Schneiders. But then by 1930 Frank and Ethel had bought a home at 45-01 189th Street in Flushing, Queens. The Schneiders were now living with the Vopelaks. One must go to the 1930 Live Links below to see this.

In 1932 Officer Vopelak was the first to the site of a corpse on 23rd Street and 36th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. The article is again presented as parts one and two.

In the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1936 Ethel is listed as a member of the Patrolmen's Wives Benevolent Association. Naturally most (all?) of the wives were members. Ethel was also a singer in the Amaranth Court chorus.

In 1940 we can clearly see that this is the family of Barbara Schömbs Schneider. Frank and Emma Schneider are still living in the home of Frank Vopelak and his wife Ethel at 45-01 189th Street. Frank Schneider passed away two months after the Census was taken. Emma lived another 19 years, although it is not currently known whether she continued living with the Vopelaks. In addition to all the in-laws, there is shown a son Frank Novatny (*1927 New York). This is a transcription error from the Census as the parents of Frank Novatny, age 13, are enumerated on the prior Census page living at 45-03 189th Street.

During the year 1939 (a later year of the Depression) Frank Vopelak reported having worked twenty weeks and having had earnings from the work of $450. He also apparently had another source of income as well. In 1940 they were living in the same house as they had been in 1935. The Vopelaks owned the home and reported a value of $5,800, $2,700 (32%) less than it was valued ten years prior. Additional information from the 1940 Census is of interest. It was reported that Frank Vopelak had completed school through the 6th grade, while his wife and in-laws had all finished the 8th grade.

In 1942 Frank was working for the Braizal Treasury Company of Delaware, from their location at 405 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. This should be close. It is the best I can do with the writing on the WWII registration card. Google was not of help.

But here is where it gets interesting. Frank and Ethel's first child appears to have been born when Ethel, the mother, was 15 years old. She was 18 years old when their second child was born. And Frank and Ethel married when their daughter was 7 and son 4. This is all assuming the Census information is correct as to ages of the children. But there may be a major error here. The 1915 Census shows Ethel as 18 years old and no children are enumerated. Birth records for the children have not been found.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Frank Vopelak (*1911 New York)

2.2.....Alice Vopelak (*1914 New York)

2.2.....George Schneider (*1901 New York, +31.05.1949 Flushing/Queens)

George married Rose Peck (*1907, +18.06.1996). They had three children. In the 1940 Census they owned their home at 43-59 Utopia Parkway in Queens, where they had been living for at least five years. It was reported that George earned $3000 in the prior year and had been employed for all 52 weeks and working a standard 48 hour week. He was a policeman, like his brother-in-law Frank Vopelak. George and Rose had both completed schooling through the eighth grade. Their next door neighbor at 43-55 George Fantom was also a NYC policeman. Interesting name for a policeman!

George, Rose and Ethel are buried together in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Rose Schneider (*1927)

3.2.....Ethel M. Schneider (*1930, +12.02.1931 Queens)

3.3.....George Schneider (*1933)

11.2.....William Schneider (*08.08.1876 Manhattan, +23.12.1929 Manhattan)

In 1920 William was a boarder in Brooklyn together with his brother Emil. He was a clerk in a paint factory. Remember their father Paul was a painter by occupation. William was 42 years old and single in 1920. The address is illegible. They were in Assembly District 15 in Brooklyn.

At the time of his death William was living at 250 E. 124th Street in Harlem (Manhattan).

11.3.....Edward Schneider (*1879, +03.12.1900 Queens NY)

At the time of his death Edward was single and living at 358 Jackson Avenue in Queens. He was a laborer. Should be able to find him in Census.

There is a mention in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of an Edward Schneider leaving his estate to his father, Paul Schneider. This fits with Edward being single. But the date of the article is March 1901, three months after Edward died. If the article had said "left" rather than "leaves", it would fit together. On the other hand, if the Edward in the article were alive, it is unlikely this mention would have been newsworthy.

11.4.....Paul Schneider (*13.06.1880 Manhattan, +31.07.1880 Manhattan)

11.5.....Emil Schneider (*30.09.1881 Manhattan, +after 1940)

As mentioned above in the discussion of Frank (*1874), Emil in 1915 was working for Frank and living in his home in Brooklyn. Emil was driving a truck for the company. He was 31 years old and single. Then by 1920 Emil and his brother William were boarders at another address in Brooklyn. This clearly the same Emil. He is the correct age, a truck driver and has a brother William five years older than Emil. In 1920 he is 38 years old and single.

We know that Emil passed away after 1940 as he is mentioned in the obituary for his older brother Frank (*1874).

11.6.....Rudolf Augustus Schneider (*23.09.1883 Manhattan, +04.05.1897 Long Island City NY)

There are various records of a child born in 1883. The birth record is of a Rudolf. Yet in the 1892 State Census he appears to be enumerated as "Gus", probably a nickname. Then his death record calls him Augustus. He died at age 14.

11.7.....John Schneider (*Jul 1886, +31.01.1887 Manhattan)

We only know of John from his death record which says he died at age 0. In fact, the record indicates an age of 6 months so he was born in about July of 1886.

This then raises an interesting possibility. There is a birth record of a Grover Cleveland Schneider (*10.07.1886 Manhattan). Given that John and Grover appear to have both been born in July 1886 and from parents with "almost" the same names, it does appear that John and Grover are probably the same person. Perhaps on his birth certificate they named him for the 22nd President of the United States. But then in every day life and for such things as "death" they just called him John.

11.8.....Henry Schneider (*1887 Manhattan, +after 1940)

In the 1892 Census Paul and Barbara have a five year old son Henry. Were this age correct, Henry was born in about 1887. Per the 1900 Census he appears to have been born in June 1885. His occupation is listed as "glass blower apprentice". 1885 is a more logical birth year since he was apprenticing in 1900. He would have been 15 years old, not 13.

Henry married Adele Amelia Holthusen (*1883, +before 1920) on 19 May 1906 in Manhattan. Adele was the daughter of Richard and Dora Miller Holthusen. At this time it is believed that the Henry who married Adele Holdhusen was the son of Paul and Barbara Schömbs Schneider. Henry and Adele had their first child a year after their marriage.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Henry Richard Schneider (*28.05.1907 Manhattan)

2.2.....Richard J. Schneider (*1913 New York)

In 1910 Henry, Adele and their two year old son Henry R. are living at 240 57th Street in Brooklyn. Henry is employed as an electrician.

They have a seoond son, per the 1920 Census and name him Richard. Richard was the name of Adele's father. We also see from the 1920 Census that Henry is a widower "Wd". Adele has passed away between 1913 and 1920. See the 1920 Census (use LiveLinks below). Is this the correct Henry Schneider? Notice in the Census that Henry's occupation in 1920 is in the New York Police Department, a profession shared by others in the family. And in 1920 Henry's neighbor at 106 Palmetto Street, Joseph Williamson, is also in the Police Department.

From the obituary of Henry's brother Frank, we see Henry was still living in 1940.

Children of Mary and Paul Schneider (2)

11.9.....George Schneider (*22.07.1899 Queens, +10.06.1902 Queens)

George appears in the 1900 Census, age 10 months. He died two years later and is buried in grave 2A next to his mother Mary. In the 1910 Census Mary is recorded as being the mother of two children, one of whom (Charlotte) was living in 1910.

11.10.....Mary Schneider (*8.1901 Queens, +7.10.1901 Queens)

The second child of Mary and Paul Schneider was a daughter whom they named Mary. She, however, died at age 2 months as documented in the New York death records. The thing that is curious is that the 1910 Census says that Mary, the mother, had been the mother of two children, only one of whom was living in 1910. As seen in the Census there is then a third child as the first two children had died. Mary (+7.10.1901) clearly fits into this family as she is buried with the family in cat-304 at Cedar Grove. There were no other Schneiders married and of child bearing age in 1901 other than Paul.

11.11.....Charlotte Laurette Schneider (*10.01.1903 Queens, +27.03.1990 Flushing/Queens)

Charlotte first appeared in the 1910 Census. She married twice. But it is not known why. Both marriages were to Frederick William Hoffman (*13.05.1899 Manhattan, +28.04.1966). Their first marriage was 28 April 1924 in Manhattan. Their second 23 September 1933, again in Manhattan. Perhaps they renewed their vows in 1933. More likely they did not marry in 1924 (although the records say they did). The 1933 record also says they were both single. Fred was the son of John and Adele Pequignot Hoffman. To add a little to the confusion, the NY civil records say she was married on 23 May, not 23 September, while he was married 23 September. Fortunately they were both married in the same place.

The exact name for Charlotte is not known. In some records she is Charlotte, others Lorette. And still others Charlotte Laurette and Charlotte L.

In the 1930 Census Charlotte was living at home with her parents, single and a supervisor at the telephone company.

Unfortunately we have not been able to find them in the 1940 Census. Again, it is a problem with common names. There appear to be multiple couples with the names Charlotte and Frederick Hoffman in the 1940 Census. But it is not clear that any of them are "our Charlotte and Fred".

FOOTNOTES:

Databases:

A database of NYC Vital Statistics has been a great resource. Click on "Database Searches" in the navigation bar at the top.

One use is to find the spouse in the grooms/brides index by using the Link in the right column. More information is being continuously added to the database. Be sure to use the wildcard (*), for example Sch*mbs. If you find new information, please send it back via the Contact Us Link. Thanks.