The Buffalo Schoembs

The Buffalo Schoembs

CLICK to trace the ancestors of George Schoembs

(December 2024) Eleven years ago we thought we had solved the riddle of Georg Schoembs who emigrated to Buffalo, New York in 1882. On the mundia.com website there was a Georg Jacob Schoembs who had settled in Buffalo. Georg had been born in Mainz, the son of Johann Baptist Schömbs (*1826 Undenheim) and Maria Anna Finger (*1826 Bretzenheim). Bretzenheim was a village 20 kilometers northeast of Undenheim. It was not possible to contact the person who posted this information on mundia.com. But the information appeared to be plausible. It had taken us twelve years to get that far! But the evidence was scant. Now eleven more years have passed (since 2013). Thanks to new research done by initially Amanda Marx and then supplemented by Reinhold Schembs, we now have convincing documents proving that Georg Schoembs, without the middle name Jacob, was the son of Jacob and Barbara Escher Schömbs in Spiesheim, a village six kilometers (four miles) southwest of Undenheim. Monika Schoembs played a role in organizing and translating the various documents so that I (Jim Schembs) could revise the family website page for “The Buffalo Schoembs.

The Mystery of George Schoembs (*1859 Spiesheim, +1940 Buffalo) - Solved! AGAIN!

Connecting George to the family tree should have been a slam dunk. His youngest daughter Anna (*1904, +2004) celebrated her 100th birthday twenty years ago. Anna was 36 when her father died. I first met Anna in 2001 at her home in Florida. I again visited her a week after her Century Birthday. Her memory was still quite good. But unfortunately George talked little about the Old Country with his family. Anna did not recall George saying from where in Germany he had come, nor did he talk about his German family. Anna did recall that his father had a sister (Anna's aunt), but did not remember her name or if she had also emigrated. Anna remembers one time when she was a young girl, that her father and a German friend were sitting at the kitchen table with a map of Germany. They pointed to the lower left area of the map from where they had come. This was The Rheinland-Pfalz, the area from which we all came.


George Schoembs (*1859, +1940) circa 1903	Anna Schoembs Ryerse, 100 years and one week, 2004

Until 2024 we did not have the Spiesheimers in our database. This discovery has now led to finding other Spiesheimer cousins who, to our knowledge at this time, did not emigrate.

Here are the new documents discovered in 2024 which allowed us to correct the lineage of Georg Schömbs (*1859 Spiesheim, +1940 Buffalo NY):

The Birth Record from 1859 which records Georg as the son of Jacob and Barbara Escher Schömbs on 3 April 1859 in Spiesheim. This is the identical birthdate as written in the Death Certificate of George Schömbs which we have had for several years. (see below)!


Birth Record for George Click to enlarge	Birth Record for George Translated Click to enlarge

The Death Certificate for George should have provided some insight. Click on the Link in the prior sentence to see it. When I obtained it in about 2005, we learned new information. The Death Certificate showed George was the son of a Heinrich Schoembs. His mother's name was not known. But the date of birth, 3 April 1859, was confirmed. The Certificate indicated information was provided by Elizabeth Blank, his wife. At the time I searched through the family tree for births of any Georg (or Heinrich Georg, etc.) on or near 3 April 1859. This search resulted in no findings of a Heinrich having had a son Georg in or near 1859. But it is most probable that the information in the Death Certificate did not come from Elizabeth. She probably would have known Georg's mother's name. And gotten his father's name correctly as well.

The Immigration Record for Georg was also found in 2024. It identifies Georg on Line 3 of the passenger list, occupation "weaver", age 23. The ship Edam arrived on 9 September 1882 in New York City.


1882 Ships Passenger List for George Click to enlarge	Immigration Record for George Transcribed Click to enlarge

The earlier story of Georg Schembs (*1859) told of some of Georg's (now incorrect) family also having emigrated and settled in the town of Suspension Bridge, New York. Suspension Bridge is located 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Buffalo at Niagara Falls. The Suspension Bridge had been built as a railway bridge and was completed in 1855. It was the first bridge to cross the St. Lawrence River in the area, connecting the United States to Canada. Now that we have corrected the lineage of Georg Schömbs to his Spiesheim roots, we can see George's relationship to those Schömbs/Schoembs in Suspension Bridge. They were the fourth cousins of George. In Germany the two families were 20 miles (32 Km) apart. It is not known if the two families knew each other, either in Germany or Amerika.

George married Elizabeth Blank (*23.11.1867 Buffalo, +18.07.1953 Buffalo), the daughter of Prussian emigrants who also settled in Buffalo. The family had possibly emigrated from Danzig (per Anna Ryerse). Elizabeth was born in 1867 in Buffalo. Elizabeth was an Episcopalian in her later years. George gave up his ties to the Catholic church.

I spoke with The Buffalo News, Buffalo's paper. Unfortunately they do not archive obituaries back to 1940. Nor have I been able to find an obituary online.

Georg was raised in Germany as a Catholic. Oral history says that his parents wanted Georg to go into the priesthood, which he did not want to do. This might have been one of his reasons for his emigration.[1] Following his immigration to Buffalo, he dropped his affiliation with the Catholic church and did not practice any religion.[2] George had a family bible, which might have provided a clue to his background. It was passed down to others in the family, and no one knows where it is today.

In his early years in Buffalo George was the proprietor of a store. In fact our earliest record of him in Buffalo is the 1892 New York Census, just months before their first child was born. George was a grocer. He gave credit to some of his customers, but unfortunately enough of them never paid causing George to have to get out of the business before 1900. We know of George's occupations thereafter from the 1900 (day laborer), 1910 (laborer, steel mill), 1915 (laborer, soap factory), 1920 (laborer Unison Soap) and 1930 (laborer, can't decipher the company) Censuses. "He never missed a day's work, and came home each day with his clothes dirty."[2]

When Anna Schoembs (*1904) was in school she took German. But at home George and Elizabeth would not talk German with her.[2] The conviction of the parents to leave the old country behind was strong. This story is not that unusual, based upon the research that I have done.

George was a quiet man. He talked little, but was a gentle man and good person.[2]

Ona Schoembs Becker remembers going to her grandparents every Saturday. One of her most vivid memories is eating Elizabeth's Apfelkuchen (the famous German yeastbread apple coffeecake).[3]

It is interesting that five different Schömbs emigrants settled in Buffalo, New York. This was more than any other city in Amerika, with the exception of New York City. George was not closely related to any. The closest were fourth cousins to Georg. They had all come from the same area in Germany but it is possible he knew none of them. They had all emigrated before Georg. But given his apparent strong desire to completely separate himself from his German upbringing, he may have never attempted to meet any of the others. In my conversations with Anna Schoembs Ryerse, she did not mention any other Schömbs relatives in Buffalo. Only that Georg had a sister, whom Anna did not know whether had emigrated. We now know the sister Philippina did not.

Schömbs Emigrants to Buffalo (sequenced by year of emigration)

Year of Emigration Name Hometown Settled in Relation to Georg

1843 Catherine Schönhardt Krost Momenheim Buffalo 4th Cousin, 2x removed

1886 Barbara Schömbs Sickinger Undenheim Buffalo/Niagara Falls 3rd Cousin, once removed

1888 Johann "Adam" Schembs Laubenheim Buffalo 5th Cousin, 1x removed

1888 Anna Maria Schömbs Sporer Bretzenheim Suspension Bridge 4th Cousin

1888 Georg Schoembs Spiesheim Buffalo self

Why Buffalo? Buffalo was a vibrant community in the 19th Century. The Erie Canal, with its western terminus being Buffalo, had been completed in 1825. This enabled cargo (grain, lumber, etc.) to be shipped between the Great Lakes and the east coast (Hudson River), circumventing the Allegheny Mountains and bypassing Niagara Falls. By the end of the 19th Century railroads had seriously reduced those good shipped, being faster and at lower cost.

George and Elizabeth lived for most of their married years at 321 Wyoming Street in Buffalo. George was buried in the Acacia Park Cemetery on 28 May 1940.[4] Elizabeth was buried with him thirteen years later.

Descendants of George Schoembs

Children: (7)

7.1.....Elmer George Schoembs (*22.09.1892 Buffalo, +10.11.1978 Buffalo)

**Schömbs Emigrants to Buffalo (sequenced by year of emigration)**
Year of Emigration	Name	Hometown	Settled in	Relation to Georg
1843	Catherine Schönhardt Krost	Momenheim	Buffalo	4th Cousin, 2x removed
1886	Barbara Schömbs Sickinger	Undenheim	Buffalo/Niagara Falls	3rd Cousin, once removed
1888	Johann "Adam" Schembs	Laubenheim	Buffalo	5th Cousin, 1x removed
1888	Anna Maria Schömbs Sporer	Bretzenheim	Suspension Bridge	4th Cousin
1888	Georg Schoembs	Spiesheim	Buffalo	self

Elmer married Elsie Pundt (*23.10.1892, +31.07.1953). Elmer served in the military in World War I, part of the time on a minesweeper off the coast of England. He was a machinist with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. In his career Elmer worked for the Parcel Post section of the Post Office.

Elmer was a longtime member of the I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows), Omega Scajaquada Lodge 529. In his later years after the death of Elsie, Elmer lived in the United Church of Christ Home at 1190 Amherst Street.[6]

Children: (1)

1.1.....Norma Ruth Schoembs (*1927, +1988)

Norma married John Daniel Girard (*1922), a Catholic. Norma asked her aunt Anna what she should do, since many members fo the Schoembs family would not approve of this. Anna advised her to do what she wanted, regardless of the repercussions. Norma was a West Seneca Republican Committee Woman. She was interred in Lakeside Memorial Park, Hamburg, New York.[7]

Children: (4)

4.1.....Patricia Girard (*1960)

4.2.....John Daniel Girard (*1961)

In 1992 John married Kim Marie Schwab (*1965).

Children: (2)

2.1.....Kelsey Marie Girard (*1994)

2.2.....Courtney Nicole Girard (*1997)

4.3.....Kathleen Girard (*1965)

4.4.....Danielle Girard (*1970)

7.2.....Clara Mary Barbara Schoembs (*3.09.1894 Buffalo, +29.02.1976)

William C. Albach (*20.06.1898, +24.10.1972) and Clara were married in 1922 in Buffalo. They had one child. Clara and William are buried in the Acacia Park Cemetery.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Alvin James Albach (*7.08.1923 Buffalo, +29.7.2002 Buffalo)

Alvin did not marry.

7.3.....George John Schoembs (*9.08.1896, +14.09.1943)

George John was injured as a very young boy. A babysitter was watching him, apparently taking him for a ride in a wagon. He fell out of the wagon onto the wooden sidewalk, suffering an injury to his back.[2] On more than one occasion his father took him on the train to Albany to see a specialist, but he lived his life with a hunched back. This did not deter him from having a fun childhood. He was always in trouble, playing tricks on others. He would jump off the roof, trying to be like the other boys. He did not marry.

As an adult his injuries left him with very limited mobility. He did register for the draft for World War I but probably was not asked to serve. One time Irene Jacques Schoembs (*1904), sister-in-law of George rolled up her garters – something a little risqué at the time. George got down on the floor to check out her knees, at great effort to George. The incident was quite humorous to all on hand.[3]

George was a smart person and worked for the New York Central Railroad in administrative positions. He lived with his mother Elizabeth until his death in 1943. George was a favorite of his nieces.[3]

7.4.....Miles Frank Schoembs (*31.08.1898, +6.12.1970)

Miles married Irene Jacques (*26.01.1904, +06.1995) who was born in England. Miles worked for the Telephone Company for his entire career, never missing a day of work until he broke his ribs later in life. He worked until he lost his vision and was no longer able to work. At that time Miles and Irene sold their home and moved to Alden to live with their daughter.


Miles Schoembs (*1898)	Miles Schoembs (*1898)	Irene Jacques Schoembs (*1904)

Irene loved to go out in the evenings to other friends' homes to play cards. She did not drive, and would take the trolley out and back. She would tell Miles which trolley she would be returning on, so Miles could be there with the car to drive her home the last part of the way home. Miles would awaken their daughter Ona to take her with him, so Ona would not be left home alone. Occasionally Irene would miss the designated trolley and have to await the next, quite a while later. When Irene did not arrive on schedule, Miles and Ona would stay at the trolley stop and wait. Ona would get very upset, preferring to have been left at home asleep.[3]

Lynn Schoembs Getzin remembers Miles as one of the funniest people she has ever known. He loved practical jokes. When a young boy, Miles and friends would shovel snow off sidewalks in Buffalo, then ring the people's door, tell them they had shoveled their snow, and hope to be rewarded. Usually it worked. One time they asked a lady, she shut the door, and they proceeded to shovel the snow back onto the sidewalk.

Children: (1)

1.1.....Ona Jane Schoembs (*1926)

In 1944 Ona Jane Schoembs and Oliver Earle Becker, Jr. (*1925, +1969) were married. The reception was in Ona's parents, Irene and Miles' home. Oliver was a very large man. Ona looked quite diminutive next to him. He was known for his sense of humor and practical jokes. He once painted a rotten grapefruit white and pitched it in a softball game--the batter swung and smashed it all over himself!

Both my mother (Ona) and grandmother (Irene) loved to play bingo. Mom also loved to play cards. [8] Ona and Oliver owned and ran the Whistle Stop restaurant in Alden NY where they lived. They had four children, the last two being twins.


Ona and Oliver II wedding Click to enlarge	Oliver II and Ona in their restaurant circa 1960s Click to enlarge	Oliver III, Diane and their dog Spot circa 1955 Click to enlarge

Children: (4)

4.1.....Oliver Earl Becker, III (*1949)

Oliver III married Timothe Olivia "Timi" Cooke (*1949) in Alden, NY, in April 1970. They live in Tracy, CA.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Oliver Earl Becker, IV (*1970, +Feb 2021)

Oliver married Kelly O'Neil

2.2.....Travis Becker (*1973)

Travis is single and living in San Francisco. He travels extensively, both domestically and internationally.

4.2.....Diane Jane Becker (*1950)

Diane married Frank Falligant. They divorced and in August 2009 Diane married David Marshall Thomas. They met on match.com. Diane and Dave are both retired and living in Silver Spring MD. Dave was a director with the Government Printing Office. Diane's career in the insurance industry moved her frequently: Dayton OH, Memphis; Denver, Chicago, Winter Park FL, Charlotte NC, Richmond VA, Columbus OH and finally to Silver Spring.

While living in Denver Diane learned to ski. In her 50's she qualified for the national championship in NASTAR (giant slalom skiing) and went on to win a bronze medal.

4.3.....Douglas Miles Becker (*1955)

Douglas and Theresa Krieb were married in 1980. They now run the Whistle Stop Inn in Alden.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Kelly Becker (*1985)

2.2.....Jon Becker (*1989)

4.4.....Donna Jean Becker (*1955)

Donna, the twin sister of Douglas, married Larry Edenholm. They have two children.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Jennifer Edenholm (*1979)

2.2.....Sara Edenholm (*1983)

7.5.....Albert Jacob Schoembs (*2.01.1902 Buffalo, +2.09.1966 Ruskin FL)

Albert married Irene Fay Brown (*15.04.1902 Buffalo, +21.10.1976 Ruskin FL). They had no children. Al was a good friend. He worked for the Post Office in his career, plus he volunteered for the Fire Department in Chicktawaga, and later in Cleveland Hill, NY. His name is listed on a monument for firefighters in Cleveland Hill. Al and Irene always had Boston terriers, several at a time. They would train and show them.[3]

Al and Irene moved to Ruskin, Florida, in their retirement in about 1957. They lived at 901 Oak Street. They enjoyed playing cards.

7.6.....Anna Margaret Schoembs (*1904, +2004)

In 1933 in Buffalo Anna Margaret married Irving Henry Ryerse (*1907 Hamberg NY, +7.09.1984) in 1933 in Buffalo. When growing up on Wyoming Street, Anna learned to play the piano and loved to dance, sew and do embroidery. She excelled in math in school. Irving was an engineer for Bell Aerospace in his career.[5]

Anna Schoembs Ryerse and daughter
Gloria Ryerse Sturgess in 2001

As an adult her love for dance stayed with her. She was active in Eastern Star, the female side of Masons. Irving was active in the Masons, Cushman Lodge. Irving is described as a very good husband and father. He worked in aerospace as an engineer. The family lived first on Schoff Avenue, then bought a home on Eggert Road, and later moved to homes on Cedar Road and Darwin Drive which they had built.

Anna also liked to bake pies, particularly apple which was Irving's favorite.

Irving was a Canadian from Ontario. His family had been pioneers in education in Canada, with Ryerson University (note spelling variation) near Toronto and Port Ryerse on Lake Erie being named for the family.

Following retirement, they moved to Sun City Center, Florida, near Ruskin. Their move to Florida was in 1967, a year after Al's death. They passed away in Sun City Center and are buried in Acacia Park Cemetery in Buffalo.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Gloria Joyce Ryerse (*1936)

Gloria and Robert Henry Sturgess (*1937 Sudbury ON) were married in 1962. They had no children. Gloria got her degree from NY State Teachers College in Buffalo. She taught for twelve years before she and Bob bought and operated a farm in western NY. When Gloria moved to Florida she worked in medical records for a health care company.

Gloria remembers a time while she and Marlene were growing up that they wanted Anna to take them to a German festival in Schiller Park. Anna would not, however, because she knew that her father George would not approve of it.

2.2.....Marlene Anne Ryerse (*1940)

Marlene married George Morgan Hall (*1935) in 1958. Marlene was full of fun as a child. She is a registered nurse. They live in Tucson AZ.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Lynn Suzanne Hall (*1959)

Lynn married twice: the first to Stephan Minton in about 1982; the second to James Duncan in 1997 in Kansas City.

2.2.....David Scott Hall (*1962 Vicenza, Italy)

David Scott Hall was born in Vicenza, Italy, and is living in St. Louis.

7.7.....Ralph James Schoembs (*28.02.1910, +18.03.1984)

Ralph was married in 1941 to Gertrude Katheryn Long (*6.01.1911, +14.07.1994). He worked for the Telephone Company for more than 40 years. Ralph was an amateur photographer in his spare time, taking home movies of family and friends. Ralph and Gertrude were fun-loving and easy to get to know. Family and friends were their focus.

When Ross was approaching his teens, Gertrude went back to work. She worked at the University of Buffalo, where she later managed the undergraduate studies program. After their children were grown they occasionally went on seniors tours to Hawaii, Europe and the Carribean. Ralph and Gertrude are buried in Acacia Park Cemetery.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Jean Lois Schoembs (*1943)

Jean married William Mackey Mitchell (*1943) in 1965 in Buffalo.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Carolyn Jean Mitchell (*1973)

2.2.....Alison Mitchell (*1976)

3.2.....Lynn Gail Schoembs (*1944)

Lynn Schoembs married David Ross Getzin (*1941) in 1965.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Jennifer Kim Getzin (*1970)

Jennifer married Joel Mark Dietrich (*1970) in 1995.

2.2.....Mark David Getzin (*1972, +1989)

Mark David Getzin collapsed while playing soccer and died at age 16.

3.3.....Ross Alan Schoembs (*1946)

Ross and Mary Kay Katherine Braunscheidel (*1947) were married in 1971.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Eric Ross Schoembs (*1979 Evanston IL)

3.2.....Scott Alan Schoembs (*1983 Rockford IL)

3.3.....Kyle James Schoembs (*1985 Rockford IL)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Elmer Schoembs (*1892), per Gloria Ryerse Sturgess (*1936)

[2] Anna Schoembs Ryerse (*1904)

[3] Ona Schoembs Becker (*1925)

[4] George Schoembs (*1859) Death Certificate

[5] Irving H. Ryerse Obituary

[6] Elmer Schoembs (*1892) Obituary

[7] Norma Ruth Schoembs (*1927) Obituary

[8] Diane Becker Thomas (*1950)