The Louisville Schembs

The Louisville Schembs - part 2

The Story of Christina Schembs (*1855 Herrnsheim)

CLICK to trace the ancestors of Christina Schembs

Christina (*07.03.1855 Herrnsheim, +26.02.1942 Louisville KY) was the second child born to Franz (*1831) and Christina Hippel Schembs in Herrnsheim, Germany. In all there were 13 children, 11 of whom lived to become adults. Christina was the first of two who emigrated.

Emigration

Until the Spring of 2005, all we knew of Christina was that she had emigrated in 1873 at the age of 18. She is shown on the passenger list of the ship Holsatia. Her trip took her to Hamburg and then Le Havre, where she boarded the Holsatia for New York, arriving 15.05.1873 after a transit of about twenty days. Her trail ended in New York.

Christina appeared to have emigrated alone. This was somewhat unusual for a young single woman at the time. However, we now know that her Uncle Philipp Schembs (1839-1887) had preceded her in emigrating and settled in Louisville. It is now obvious that Christina emigrated with the intent to go to Kentucky and find her Uncle.

At the time of her emigration her parents, Franz and Christina Hippel Schembs, gave Christina a gift of cash (an early inheritance) to assist her in her emigration and making a new beginning in Louisville. The amount is reported to have been ___ Mark, equivalent to about $____.

Marriage


Christine Schembs Laas (*1855)	Joseph Laas (*1851)

A few years following her immigration Christine married Josef Anton Laas (*19.03.1851 Kilstett, Alsace-Lorraine, +7/12/1933 Louisville KY). The wedding was on 21.01.1877. Alsace-Lorraine is that region between Germany and France that has been under the aegis of each country at various times. Generally the people of Alsace and Lorraine are bi-lingual, and have mixed French and German blood. The marriage took place on January 21, 1877.

Joseph Laas had emigrated from Alsace-Lorraine, also in the early 1870s.

The Home(s) of Christine and Joseph

In 1887 the Laas lived at 2624 W. Broadway, per the Louisville City Directory. It was a two-story wood frame house. On their property on each side of the main house was a small bungalow house. They rented these bungalows. In 1910 they continued to live on Broadway.

The Church of the Laas'

Christine and Joseph were ardent Catholics. They were married in St. Mary's Church in Louisville. They and their children were later members of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church for the balance of their lives.

Christine's Brother Valentine Schembs

Valentine Schembs (*1866 Herrnsheim), Christina's younger brother by eleven years, emigrated in 1882. When Valentine came to Amerika he also went to Louisville. Ultimately he moved to and settled in Kansas City, Kansas, founding the Kansas City Schembs branch. The first documentation of his being in Kansas City is 1891, although he probably had arrived several years earlier. In 1883 Valentine was the godfather at the christening of Maria Edith "Ida" Laas in 1883 at St. Charles Borromeo.

The Vocations and Avocations of Christine and Joseph

Joseph was a tailor by trade. In the Louisville City Directory of 1890, his address is given as 324 7th. Presumably this was his own business. Christine is reported at various times to have worked in a shoe shop and a fabric shop. Undoubtedly she worked together with Joseph in his shop. She was a very good seamstress and embroiderer, and sent some of her work to Herrnsheim as gifts.


Christina's Tischdecke on the table of Mechthild and Rolf Streicher, Herrnsheim, 2005	Christina put her monogram on the corner of the Tischdecke

Note from Marion New and Mechthild Streicher, German great-grand-nieces of Christina: "We are lucky that the "Tischdecke" (tablecloth) has survived. It is treasured! It was made by Christina on a weaver's loom in two pieces, then sewn together. If you look closely at the picture on the left, you can see the seam running down the center from left to right. It is believed that Christina made the Tischdecke prior to her emigration and that it, along with many other items in her hope chest, which she was unable to take with her to Amerika, were distributed to her family. The Tischdecke went to her sister Anna, who passed it on to her daughter Gretel (our grandmother). Mechthild remembers hearing about "Christina in Amerika" whenever it was in use at our grandmother's home. After Gretel's death, our mother only wanted to have the Tischdecke and a picture of Anna -- nothing else. When Mechthild was cleaning our parent's closets a few years ago, she recognized the initials "CS". Mechthild received the tablecloth and Marion the picture of Anna.

Christina was always remembered in Herrnsheim

The following photograph comes from Herrnsheim. Based upon the ages of Christina's siblings, it was about 1929. From the background we can see that it was wintertime, and that they were around a table outside. Per Marion New, Germans would need a very special occasion to sit in the backyard in the winter. The picture must have been taken to commemorate their parent's 75th wedding anniversary (November 3, 1928), or perhaps Christina's 75th birthday (March 7, 1930). But her siblings included Christina in the celebration by way of her photograph on the table.

Six of Christina's Siblings, circa 1929
From left: Elisabeth, Anna, Franz, Theresia, Georg, and Margaretha
The framed photograph on the table is of Christina (per E. Julius)

Christina wrote letters home to her sister Theresia in Herrnsheim regularly, telling them of her new life in Amerika. Theresia would gather the family and read the letter to them. After Theresia died Christina wrote to Theresia's daughter Paula. Undoubtedly the correspondence went both ways, although we do not have oral history of that from the Louisville family.

This is in stark contrast to what appears to have been the case with many of the other earlier Schömbs ( male) emigrants. With them, it appears that the link to the old country was largely severed following their settling down in Amerika. We have little evidence of most of the male emigrants remaining in contact, and in some cases it is clear that they did not.

In 1932 Christina wrote, including a picture of herself, and reporting that their son Eduard Andrew was ill and had no children. Her husband Joseph was also ill. After this the letters stopped coming from Christina. Her last letters had talked about how difficult things were in the Great Depression and that she was always homesick. She said that real estate had no value, but the taxes remained high, placing a real burden on owning the property.

The Laas Children

Christina and Joseph had eight children, six of whom lived to become adults. Little is known of one of the six (Carrie). The others were long-lived, averaging 83 years old. Four married, and yet only one (Gertrude) had children. This is not factually correct, as Ida had one daughter who died at age 4. All descendants of the Joseph Laas family stem from Gertrude.


The Joseph Laas Family, circa 1898 Back row: Joseph Jr., Edith, Albert, and Carrie Front row: Gertrude, Joseph Laas Sr., Christina, and Edward	1932 Family Foto Standing: Dorothy Zaepfel, Joseph Laas Sr., and Gertrude Laas Zaepfel. Middle row: Edward Laas, Rita Zaepfel, and Christina Schembs Laas. Front row: Robert and Maurice Zaepfel

The Deaths of Christine and Joseph

Joseph Laas died in 1933 at the age of 82. They had been married for 56 years. Christine followed him in 1942 at the age of 86 at home. In her later years, Albert Laas, their oldest child, took care of Christine.

Descendants of Christina Schembs

Children: (8)

8.1.....Albert Francis Laas (*27.5.1878 Louisville, +16.11.1957 Louisville)

Albert married twice. His first marriage was to a Carrie Stessel (*1886) on October 14, 1904 in Clark County, Indiana. It is not known what caused the end of their union, whether it was her death or divorce. However, on February 2, 1919 Albert remarried in Louisville. His second wife was Virginia Armstead (*1886). Family lore has it that one of Albert's wives had a child from a former marriage, who was apparently adopted by Albert.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Mary Laas (*9.08.1904 Louisville)

On 1 October 1921 Mary married Ernest Lawes in Clark County, IN. The marriage record listed her parents as Albert Laas and Virginia Payne, but it is not clear if her birth mother was Carrie Stessel Laas or Virginia.

8.2.....Joseph Anthony Laas (*18.7.1880 Louisville, +18.11.1953 Chicago IL)

Joseph did not marry. He lived and worked in Chicago.

8.3.....Maria Edith "Ida" Laas (*16.1.1883 Louisville,+21.4.1970 Louisville)

Russell and Edith "Ida" Laas Owen

Edith, or Ida as she was called in the family, was married 22.9.1917 to Russell Lowell Owen (*10.12.1888 Cave City KY, +1972 Louisville). The wedding was at St. Charles Borromeo Church. They moved to Detroit, Michigan, for several years, later returning to Louisville.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Margaret Owen (*4.12.1922 Detroit MI, +15.1.1927 Detroit MI)

Margaret died before her fifth birthday.

8.4.....Carrie Laas (*about 1885 Louisville)

Little is known of Carrie. The family did not speak of her. The best evidence of her is in the family picture taken in about 1898 and shown above.

8.5.....Walter A. Laas (*2.12.1887 Louisville, +10.12.1891 Louisville)

8.6.....Gertrude Elizabeth Laas (*21.1.1891 Louisville, +23.8.1980 Louisville)

On 12.6.1912 Gertrude married Andrew Leopold Zaepfel (*25.1.1887 Louisville ?, +18.7.1961). The wedding was at St. Charles Borromeo Church. Andrew was an accountant by profession. He went to a business college in Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he received his degree. Later he became a C.P.A.


Gertrude Laas, age 17	Gertrude and Andrew Zaepfel, 1947

The Marriage of Andrew Zaepfel and Gertrude Laas, 1912

In the 1920 U.S. Census the family was living at 543 E. St. Catherine Street in a home they owned. They had purchased the home next door to and from Andrew's parents. The parent's home is where Andrew and his two sisters had been born. Andrew handled the accounting for the Frey Planning Mill, a large operation owned by relatives. When Mr. Frey died, Andrew managed the business for the Frey family. In about 1922 Andrew and Gertrude purchased another home from his parents, this one at 2010 Kenilworth Place. In about 1928 they built a three story house at 2332 Village Drive in Louisville.

Andrew's father Benedict, was born in Haueneberstein, Baden, Germany, in 1853 and emigrated to the United States in 1871 (1910 Census). He met and was married in 1882 to his wife Josephine Roth, born 1854 in Louisville, Kentucky. Andrew was their second child. In 1920 Josephine lived next door to Gertrude and Andrew at 547 E. St. Catherine with two of her adult daughters, Elizabeth (age 37) and Caroline (age 26), both single. John Zaepfel has traced his Zaepfel heritage back to 1688 in Haueneberstein.

Before Andrew started dating Gertrude, he dated Gertrude's older sister Edith (*1883). When that romance ended, Andrew shifted to Gertrude. Andrew's mother Josephine did not want Andrew to marry Gertrude, which made their early years of marriage a challenge at times. Later, as they had children, Josephine became more friendly to Gertrude.

Children: (6)

6.1.....Mary "Carolyn" Zaepfel (*1913 Louisville)

Andrew, Dorothy and
Mary Carolyn Zaepfel, 1920

Carolyn, the first of the Zaepfel children, was born in the family home on E. St. Catherine Street. She married John Kelly (*29.8.1906 Louisvillle, +5.9.1983 Louisville).

Children: (4)

4.1.....Martha Joan Kelly (*1945 Louisville)

Martha married Jerry Bennett (* ) in Louisville on 18.10.1980.

4.2.....Donna Marie Kelly (*1947 Louisville)

4.3.....Patricia Ann Kelly (*1949 Louisville)

Patricia Ann was married 18.12.1972 in Louisville to Carl Kaster (*1948 Louisville). They had one child, but later divorced.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Carl Kelly Kaster (*1985 Adrian MI)

4.4.....Mary Carmel Kelly (*1954 Louisville)

On 21.6.1975 Mary Carmel married Wayne Haas (*1950 Louisville).

Children: (2)

2.1.....Matthew Whalen Haas (*1982 Louisville)

2.2.....Michelle Renee Haas (*1986 Louisville)

6.2.....Andrew Leopole "Pete" Zaepfel (*6.11.1915 Louisville, +15.11.1985 Louisville)

Pete Zaepfel (*1915)

Pete Zaepfel was the second child born in the E. St. Catherine's Street home. He married in Louisville on 21.05.1949 to Carolyn Vickers(* ).

6.3.....Dorothy Gertrude Zaepfel (*31.12.1919 Louisville, +16.9.2000 Louisville)

Charles and Dorothy Zaepfel Blackwell
Daughters Rita and Ann, circa 1944

Dorothy was the third and last child born in the family home on E. St. Catherine's. She was married to Charles H. Blackwell (*6.12.1919 Jeffersonville IN, +24.5.1997 Louisville) in 1940 in Jeffersonville. They had three children, and later divorced.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Rita Jean Blackwell (*1941 Louisville)

Rita was married 20.12.1958 to James A. Speed (*1941 Louisville).

Children: (4)

4.1.....John Charles Speed (*1960 Louisville)

At age 26, John was married to Karen Vinson (*1958 Louisville). The wedding was on 15.9.1986 in Louisville.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Lauren McKenzie Speed (*1988 Louisville)

2.2.....Jacob Alexander Speed (*1990 Louisville)

4.2.....Debra Lynn Speed (*1961 Louisville)

Debra married Jody Howell (* )

Children: (2)

2.1.....Ashley Nicole Howell (*1994 Louisville)

2.2.....Jessica Marie Howell (*1997 Louisville)

4.3.....Laura Ann Speed (*1965 Louisville)

Laura married Steve Decker (* )

Children: (4)

4.1.....Eythan Brian Decker (*1991 Bardstown KY)

4.2.....Evan Charles Decker (*1992 Bardstown KY)

4.3.....Everett Cecil Decker (*1995 Bardstown KY)

4.4.....Erik James Decker (*1997 Bardstown KY)

4.4.....James Bryan Speed (*1967 Louisville)

Jim married Robin Scheflein (*1965 Louisville) in 1985. They have since divorced.

Children: (2)

2.1.....James Steven Speed (*1985 Louisville)

2.2.....Samantha Amber Speed (*1991 Louisville)

3.2.....Dorothy Ann Blackwell (*1943 Louisville)

Dorothy married a Canadian, John McDonald (*1943 Canada). They were married in 1969.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Donald Lee Blackwell (*1963 Louisville)

2.2.....Kimberly Ann Blackwell (*1973 Jeffersonville IN)

3.3.....Howard Andrew Blackwell (*17.1.1947 Louisville, +13.2.1994 Louisville)

Howard married 28.9.1968 Diane Lutz (*1950 Louisville). They were married in 1968. They later divorced.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Donna Marie Blackwell (*1969 Louisville)

Donna first married Richard Burnett. They were married in New Albany, IN, but later divorced.

Children: (5)

5.1.....Cassidy Ciera Burnett (*1989 Louisville)

Donna married again, this time in January 1997 to Roger L. Rains (*1970 Louisville).

5.2.....Christopher Andrew Blackwell (*1991 Louisville)

5.3.....Brandon Cyle Blackwell (*1992 Louisville)

5.4.....Alexis Marie Rains (*1998 Louisville)

5.5.....Mercedes Diane Rains (*2000 Louisville)

2.2.....Charles Ronald Blackwell (*1971 Louisville)

6.4.....Robert Lee Zaepfel (*1923 Louisville)


Robert Zaepfel, Age 5	Robert Zaepfel and his future bride Doris McMakin

Robert Zaepfel was born in the new family home on Kenilworth Place, as was his younger brother Maurice. Robert married Doris Jean McMakin (*20.1.1925 Louisville, +28.3.1987 Louisville) on 22.11.1947. Ten years later Robert built a new home for the family on Dutchman's Lane. He still lives there today, after almost 50 years. Robert and Jean had five children.

Children: (5)

5.1.....Robert Lee Zaepfel Jr. (*1948 Louisville)

Robert Jr. was married in 1978 to Rebecca Ann Benham Reed (*1954 Brandenburg KY). They are now divorced.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Elizabeth Michelle Zaepfel (*1979 Louisville)

Elizabeth was married in Brandenburg in 1999 to Jared Neighbors (*1977 North Oldham KY).

Children: (2)

2.1.....Alexis Taylor Neighbors (*8.12.1999 Lawrenceburg KY, +28.12.2002 Pueblo CO)

2.2.....Landon Newell Neighbors (*2004 Pueblo CO)

5.2.....Charlotte Ann Zaepfel (*1951 Louisville)

Charlotte married Douglas Hurst (*1951 Danville KY) on 18.1.1973 in Louisville. They are divorced.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Tiffany Lauren Hurst (*1978 Atlanta GA)

5.3.....John Stephen Zaepfel (*1958 Louisville)

5.4.....George Andrew "Andy" Zaepfel (*1960 Louisville)

George has been married twice, the first marriage being to Theresa A. Brown (*1962 Louisville) in 1983. They had one child.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Camilla Marie Zaepfel (*1983 Louisville)

George later married Debbie Foster (* ). They have adopted an Eastern European infant.

2.2.....Maximillian Zaepfel (*2003 Lithuania)

5.5.....Mary Frances Zaepfel (*1964 Louisville)

Mary was married in Louisville on the first of June, 1991 to Lee Maddox (*1962 Taylorsville KY).

Children: (3)

3.1.....Sarah Jeanette Maddox (*1988 Louisville)

3.2.....Ashley Marie Maddox (*1992 Louisville)

3.3.....LeighAnn Maddox (*1997 Louisville)

6.5.....Maurice Christian Zaepfel (*1925 Louisville)

Maurice (*1925) and Robert (*1923) Zaepfel
United States Navy

Maurice Zaepfel married Laverne Louise Parris (*13.2.1929 Louisville). The marriage took place in Louisville 25.10.1947.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Maurice Christian "Chris" Zaepfel (*1952 Louisville)

Chris was married 8.9.1984, to Melanie Howell (*1956 Island KY). Chris is a dentist in Louisville.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Benjamin Christian Zaepfel (*1991 Louisville)

3.2.....Hanna Elise Zaepfel (*1994 Louisville)

3.3.....Samuel Alexander Zaepfel (*1996 Louisville)

2.2.....Diana Louise Zaepfel (*1956 Louisville)

Diana married in Baltimore MD Greg Coker (*1959 CA).

Children: (2)

2.1.....Natalie Christine Coker (*1991 Baltimore MD)

2.1.....Kyle Charles Coker (*1997 Indianapolis IN)

6.6.....Rita Jean Zaepfel (*2.12.1929 Louisville, +19.1.2002 Louisville)

Rita was married 22.8.1953 in Louisville to Robert P. Jackson (*19.4.1930 Louisville,+6.12.1995 Louisville).

Children: (5)

5.1.....Paul Andrew Jackson (*1954 Louisville)

Paul married Kathy Ann Gratton (*1958 Milwaukee WI) on 16.6.1979 in Louisville.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Lauren Nicole Jackson (*1983 Louisville)

2.2.....Sara Elizabeth Jackson (*1986 Louisville)

5.2.....Kathryn Marie Jackson (*1955 Louisville)

5.3.....David Patrick Jackson (*1957 Louisville)

5.4.....Mary Elizabeth Jackson (*1962 Louisville)

Mary was married in 1988 to Michael Krauser (*1961 Louisville).

Children: (3)

3.1.....Grace Ellen Krauser (*1991 Louisville)

3.2.....Laura Egan Krauser (*1994 Louisville)

3.3.....Jackson Michael Krauser (*1997 Louisville)

5.5.....Ann Marie Jackson (*1966 Louisville)

Christoper Sandfort (*1967 Louisville) is the husband of Ann Jackson. They were married in 1993.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Timothy Christian Sandfort (*1998 Louisville)

3.2.....Sara Ann Sandfort (*2002 Louisville)

3.3.....Emma Kathryn Sandfort (*2004 Louisville)

8.7.....Edward Andrew Laas (*24.4.1894 Louisville, +14.7.1983 Louisville)

Edward Laas (far right in apron) as the Mess Cook with his Company in the United States Army in World War I

Following the War Edward married Pearl Foley on 14 October 1920 in Chicago. They had no children. In 1930 they rented a home at 542 Fifth Street. Five lodgers lived with the Laas family. Edward was a hatmaker for the Ren.... Hat Company, and a Veteran of WWI. Pearl did not work outside the home.

Pearl died in the 1930s in Louisville, after which Edward married Tillie Brennenstahl (*abt 1888).

In 1932 Christine wrote to Herrnsheim that Edward was ill and had no children.

At one point, probably in the late 1930s, an inquiry from Herrnsheim made through the American Red Cross attempting to re-establish contact with the Louisville Schembs, found Edward working for a railroad.

8.8.....Catherine A. Laas (*13.6.1899 Louisville, +2.10.1902 Louisville)

Catherine died as a three year old.

Other Schömbs Family Members in Louisville:

There are still loose ends remaining (mysteries), about some of the early residents of Louisville:

a. In the St. Louis Cemetery, buried in the same lot as Philipp Schembs, is a Jacob Schmitt. Jacob died at the age of 30 in 1892. A younger sister of Christina, Margaretha (*1874) married a Schmitt. Perhaps Jacob is related in this way.

b. In the St. Louis Cemetery is buried a John Schembs, died 1891.

c. In the St. Louis Cemetery is buried a Jacob Schembs, died 1947. However, there was a Jacob Schrembs (*1857) (no relation) who lived in Louisville with his family. Further research should be done to see if this is actually Jacob Schrembs.

d. Another emigrant, Georg Schömbs/Schoembs (*1823 Groß Winternheim) emigrated in about 1848 and settled in Louisville. This was about 12 years prior to the arrival of Philipp Schembs (*1839 Herrnsheim). Georg and his Amerikan family are the subject of another Chapter. Go to Georg Schoembs (*1823).

The attached multi-page table might be helpful for sorting out the various Schömbs in Louisville during the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

For more Information

If you would like to learn more about the Louisville Schömbs, you might contact John Zaepfel, or Jim Schembs.