|
- Introduction
- 5. Emigration of Family Members to America
- In the 18th and 19th Centuries many Germans emigrated – usually from economic need – to America. It was logical, therefore, that members of our family had also emigrated. At the time of the First Edition of my Chronicle I only knew of a single family who had emigrated – a Matthias Schembs, farmer, from Worms/Herrnsheim in 1849 together with his wife and seven children.
For reasons of time I had not pursued the issue of possible emigration to America further. Then in 1995 I came into contact with J.D. "Jim" Schembs from America. He had been studying his family history, starting on the American side, and had researched all the families with the surname Schembs (and later the Schömbs, Schoembs, Schambs and Schombs).
An initial list of the surname "Schembs" follows. For more complete information the reader is referred to "Die Auswanderer Schömbs" by Jim Schembs, which also includes family emigrants with surnames other than the Schömbs variations.
- Georg Schembs, emigrated 1848, 24 years, Elsheim/ Hessen-Darmstadt
Matthias Schembs, emigrated 1849, 48 years, Herrnsheim/Hessen-Darmstadt (s.o.)
Jakob Schembs, emigrated 1850, 20/23 years, Laubenheim/Hessen-Darmstadt
Georg Schembs, emigrated 1852, 21 years, Hessen
Martin Schembs, emigrated 1859, 27 years, Laubenheim(?)/Hessen-Darmstadt
Peter Joseph Schembs, emigrated 1859, 24, years, Hessen-Darmstadt
Adam J. Schembs, emigrated 1872, 30 years, Laubenheim/Hessen-Darmstadt
Christina Schembs, emigrated 1873, Herrnsheim
Valentin(e) George, emigrated 1882, Herrnsheim/Hessen-Darmstadt?
Otto Schembs, emigrated 1926, Darmstadt/Hessen-Darmstadt
Johann Schembs, emigrated 1926 Köln
Josef Schembs, emigrated 1927 (Bruder von Johan aus Köln)
- Through further research in the city-archive Mainz I was able to locate an emigration-roll (1856-1877) which provided the following information:
- 1857 Schömbs, Peter, 19, Hahnheim
1860 Schembs, Georg, 21, Undenheim
1865 Schembs, Margarete, 24, Laubenheim
1867 Schömbs, Johann, 70, Amerika
1870 Schömbs, Johann, 16, Bretzenheim
1873 Schembs, Christina, 18, Herrnsheim (same as above)
- And still additional emigrations have been discovered:
Offenbacher Line:
- 1887 Johann Jacob Ferdinand Schoembs (*05.12.1868 Offenbach, +15.07.1952 Elberon NJ)
1893 Carl August Schoembs (*28.11.1876 Offenbach, +03.11.1943); emigration year estimated
- Oppenheimer Line:
- 1929 Georg Schömbs (*ca. 1905) to Toledo (Ohio)
- Dielkirchener Line:
- Jakob Schömbs (*1842) former resident of Karlsruhe, year of emigration unknown
- Hahnheimer Line:
- Wilhelm Schömbs, emigrated 1842, 32 years, Hahnheim
- A look into the current American telephone directories (1999) shows that there exists in America a large number of members of our family.
Descendants of Schömbs/Schembs Emigrants to the USA (70) Status: 1999
| Schoembs |
A.F. jun. |
Memphis |
TN |
| Schoembs |
Andrew |
Laguna Beach |
CA |
| Schoembs |
Fred |
Wickenburg |
AZ |
| Schoembs |
Fred C. jun |
Dunnelon |
FL |
| Schoembs |
George W. |
Toledo |
OH |
| Schoembs |
Heidi |
Astoria |
NY |
| Schoembs |
Helen |
College Point |
NY |
| Schoembs |
John |
Memphis |
TN |
| Schoembs |
Katherine |
Memphis |
TN |
| Schoembs |
Kristoffer |
Newburgh |
NY |
| Schoembs |
L. |
San Francisco |
CA |
| Schoembs |
Norbert |
Palm Coast |
FL |
| Schoembs |
Ross A. |
RockforD |
IL |
| Schoembs |
Scott |
Manchester |
CT |
| Schoembs |
Stephen/Steve |
Kailua Kona |
HI |
| Schoembs |
Steve* |
|
|
| Schoembs |
Udo |
Palm Coast |
FL |
| Schembs |
Adam* |
|
|
| Schembs |
Amanda L. |
Neosho |
MO |
| Schembs |
Andrew |
Carthage/Joblin |
MO |
| Schembs |
Angie |
Chester |
PA |
| Schembs |
Bob* |
Indianapolis |
IN |
| Schembs |
Brooke* |
Millersville |
|
| Schembs |
C.A. |
Kansas City |
KS |
| Schembs |
Cassandra* |
Bowling Green |
VA |
| Schembs |
Charles |
Chester |
PA |
| Schembs |
D. |
Kansas City |
KS |
| Schembs |
D.C. |
Ocean City/Westfield |
NJ |
| Schembs |
Douglas C. jr. |
Westfield |
NJ |
| Schembs |
David |
Kansas City |
KS |
| Schembs |
Eric* |
|
|
| Schembs |
F.E. |
West Lafayette |
IN |
| Schembs |
F.G. |
Clearwater |
FL |
| Schembs |
F.R. |
Bay city/Crockett |
TX |
| Schembs |
Frank |
Mercer Island |
WA |
| Schembs |
Guy C. |
Langhorne |
PA |
| Schembs |
Irene |
|
|
| Schembs |
Jack |
Portland |
ME |
| Schembs |
Jay* |
|
|
| Schembs |
James |
Philadelphia |
PA |
| Schembs |
James D. |
Mesa |
AZ |
| Schembs |
Jean (Scott)* |
|
|
| Schembs |
John J. |
Ocean View |
NJ |
| Schembs |
Karen* |
Redwood Estates |
CA |
| Schembs |
Kathy* |
Indianapolis |
IN |
| Schembs |
Kristin |
|
|
| Schembs |
Keith* |
|
|
| Schembs |
L. |
Mountain Lakes |
NJ |
| Schembs |
Lois J.* |
Westfield/Oradell |
NJ |
| Schembs |
Lillian |
Philadelphia |
PA |
| Schembs |
Lucille |
Remington |
IN |
| Schembs |
M.T. |
Somers Point |
NJ |
| Schembs |
Mary* |
Villanova |
PA |
| Schembs |
Michael |
Kansas City |
KS |
| Schembs |
Norman C. |
Landsdowne |
PA |
| Schembs |
Patti |
Houston |
TX |
| Schembs |
Paul |
Kansas City |
KS |
| Schembs |
R. |
Ridley Park |
PA |
| Schembs |
Robert Allen |
Colfax/Indianapolis |
IN |
| Schembs |
Robert J. |
Tahoe City |
CA |
| Schembs |
Robert V. |
Redmond |
WA |
| Schembs |
Roger O. |
Fort Lauderdale |
FL |
| Schembs |
Roger A. |
Bloomfield Hills |
MI |
| Schembs |
Sharon L. |
New Paltz |
NY |
| Schembs |
Stephen |
Washington |
DC |
| Schembs |
Steve* |
|
|
| Schembs |
Thomas |
Kennett Square |
PA |
| Schembs |
Vanessa |
Landenberg |
PA |
| Schembs |
Vivian* |
Kansas City |
KS |
| Schembs |
William Wayne |
Neosho |
MO |
- * Discovered on the Internet
- Besides these there are other spellings in America – Schambs and Schombs. The Schambs families descend from the Schembs in Herrnsheim, and was spelled Schembs when the emigrants left Germany. The change in spelling occurred after the family reached America. The Schombs families descend from the Schömbs in the villages nearby Undenheim. It is certainly possible that there have been other spelling changes of Schömbs family emigrants after they reached America.
And then there are the families who intentionally changed their names to apparently disguise their German roots. We know of three emigrant families who changed their surname from Schoembs to "James" several years after settling in the USA. They lived in Evansville IN, Baltimore MD and Brownsville MN. All had emigrated from near Wahlheimerhof in Rheinhessen.
A detailed description of the descendants of the Schömbs emigrants is the research study of Jim Schembs, "Die Schömbs Auswanderer" or in English "The Schömbs Emigrants" which has been expanded to include all the known spelling variations of the family surname as well as the descendants of Schömbs/Schembs women. Jim Schembs and I have collaborated in tying almost all of the emigrants to America or other countries back into their German families and into the family tree of Zacharias Schömbs (1645-1707) of Undenheim.
The German ancestor of Jim Schembs, Jakob Schembs, was born in 1830 and emigrated from Laubenheim to America in 1850.
The motives for the emigration of the Germans lay mostly in the severe social and economic times between the years of 1820-1850. The living conditions were very difficult. With a population explosion came poverty and hunger, partly caused by draught and successive years of poor harvests. The price of bread rose sharply during 1844-1846. Many people were unable to provide the basics of life and became increasingly impoverished. In 1846 the severe conditions erupted into a so-called "Brotrevolution" (bread-revolution) in protest against the bakers and those profiteering on the rise in the price of bread.
Many people looked to emigration as the only way out of their dire economic situation. Some went to Brazil and other countries, but the vast majority looked to the freedom and economic promise of Amerika (USA). From the village of Gimbsheim 20 families with 106 people emigrated in 1848 to New York. Then in 1851 another 120 followed.
A new review of the Amerikan telephone directories gave the following information in 2007:
- Directory entries for Schömbs/Schoembs, Schambs, Schombs and Schembs in the USA - (97)
- And presenting bar charts, first of combined then separate spellings (97)
- The same information overlayed on a map, first with Schömbs,Schoembs, Schambs,Schombs (49)
- And then the spellings Schembs and Schems (48)
-
- It should be pointed out that the Schems shown have been determined to not be descended from Zacharias Schömbs.
 |
Extract from the emigration register, Stadtarchiv Mainz 1856 - 1877 with Schembs and Schömbs listed
Click to enlarge
(transcription shown below) |
 |
Extract from the emigration register, Stadtarchiv Mainz 1856 - 1877 with Schembs and Schömbs listed
Click to enlarge
|
 |
Transcription by Ancestry.com
Click to enlarge |
-
|
|
|
