The LAUBENHEIMER SCHEMBS

Return to the parents of Franz Schembs (1921)

Children: (1)

1.1.....Franz Schembs (*04.09.1921 Laubenheim, +20.12.1998 Mainz)

Franz Schembs was born 04.09.1921 in Laubenheim in the family home of the Meyers (Haus-Nr. 2) on Ludwig-Marx-Straße. Laubenheim, which is now a part of Mainz, was a separate village at the time.

After the death of the grandmother, Theresia, nee Berz, the parents moved with him into the grandparent's home at Rheinstraße Nr. 13 (today Rheintalstraße) in Laubenheim. Franz had no siblings. With 1.78 meters in height, Franz Schembs did not have the typical Schembs "Übergröße" (oversized). This trait reappeared with his son Herbert (1.93 M) and grandson Patric (1.95 M).

On 10.11.1943, in the middle of World War II, Franz married Therese Agnese "Rosel" Knab (*1921, +2008), in Laubenheim. His wife also was from Laubenheim, and the two had gone to school together. Witness at the wedding was Peter Knab, an uncle of Rosel. The wedding celebration took place in the small kitchen with Hasenbraten und Ente (roast of rabbit and duck).


Wedding Photo Therese Agnese (Rosel) Knab and Franz Schembs (1943)	Catholic Kindergarten Laubenheim (ca. 1926) rote Pfeile: lower row Hans Knab, middle row Rosel Knab, back row Franz Schembs (future husband of Rosel Knab) Click to enlarge

The parental home of Franz Schembs on the Rheinstraße was a very small and narrow house, like people built then. The roof frame began directly over the ground floor. There was no bath or toilet in the house. The "Lokus", which in earlier Germany was referred to as "Abe", was in the yard next to the Puddelkaut" with a small garden situated behind it. A barn, in which there was a laundry room, stood behind the actual house. The barn also accomodated the pigs, and the yard included stalls for the workhorse and the cows, and pens for the chickens, ducks, rabbits, geese, and goats. The supply of food was, therefore, assured even in the worst times. One did not buy butter then, for it was too expensive. But they managed with fat, lard and sausage. Bread was always available. Meat was seldom eaten, and then only in small quantities. Sometimes pancakes were baked on the hotplate. The room where Franz Schembs slept was a tiny room under the roof, which, for many years, he shared with his uncle "Kreppel". The food was stored directly behind the room.


Birth record Franz Schembs 1921 Click to enlarge	Marriage record Franz Schembs 1943 Click to enlarge

Franz Schembs with parents (ca. 1928)

As a child in 1929 Franz Schembs experienced the most severe and longest winter with temperatures of -28° C ( -21° F). The Rhine had been frozen over for weeks and it became a pilgrimage for the townspeople, big and small, to go to the river. Laubenheim was at this time still a small village with a village look. The street lights were still gas and there was no sewer system. The "Hauptstraße" from Mainz to Bodenheim still went past the Marktplatz (marketplace). The straightening of the railroad tracks came in the late 1930s. For this a piece of the community park was cut off. The village streets were in part still dirt lanes, while others were gravel or paved. Everything was very uneven, with a lot of potholes.

Every Saturday the street sweeper would come along and sweep the sidewalks that were still just packed earth. Later they were put into cobblestones. On the Ried, in the neighborhood where Franz' son Reinhold now lives stood a brick factory on a hill. From there rails went into the pit, in which the clay was mined for making the bricks. The clay was brought up in carts, molded, and baked in the oven into bricks. When the factory was closed, the carts on the sloping hill were an enticement for the local children to enter and play dangerously. In 1936 Franz began a three year apprenticeship with the firm Elster in Mainz, where he learned tool making. He was still working with Elster in 1941 when he was conscripted into the German army.

As a twenty year old, Franz was assigned to a news unit and stationed in Belgium, then France, Hungary, Poland and finally in 1942 in Russia. On the basis of Malaria and other health problems Franz was at times away from the front lines. In 1944 he was sent to France during the big Allied offensive at Normandy, where he was taken prisoner by the Americans. His fate was now decided by the first letter of his surname. Prisoners with last names starting with letters A-R were sent to POW camps in Amerika. Those with S and higher were sent to England. Therefore Franz was imprisoned in Bristol, Canterbury, Cinclin and Eilsburg. In Eilsburg his duty was compulsory work with farmers. When vaccinating a cow, Franz received a puncture which ultimately led to his being released early and sent on the second hospital ship from England to Germany on 18.6.1946, as the War had ended.

Family home a Rheinstraße 13
after reconstruction (ca. 1951)

His parent's house had been mostly devastated by bombs during the War. Only the outside masonry remained. The barn remained, but there were some firebombs lodged in the roof. The company Elster allowed Franz to stay at home and work on the house until August 1946. Apart from having little money, the biggest problems were the lack of building materials. Improvisation was the order of the day. Wooden beams were removed from the barn to be used in the rebuilding of the house, and then covered with sheet metal. Other material was gathered with difficulty from unusual places. Cement from the cement factory in Weisenau was shipped out before normal starting hour at 4:00 a.m. Wood was recovered from the destroyed parish-home at the Catholic church. This Franz received from the priest for other favors that he had done.

After the initial reconstruction was completed, Franz again went to work at the firm Elster on 2.9.1946 for the pay of 200 DM. But since the future at the company was limited, Franz left in 1947 to go to the University at Mainz. The change required the authorization of the French occupational authorities. The first salary was 241.84 DM. The same year their first son, Herbert, was born, followed a year later by Reinhold.

Immediately after the War the family had be sure that it did not starve, as food (especially meat) was very scarce. One managed with milk from their own cow, as well as bottled milk which Aunt Eva Hoss was able to buy daily. Later an exchange of food from Amerika was organized, which improved the nutrition for the children. Starting in the early 1950s then, things began to slowly improve even if somewhat erratically. First with a mobile coaster, an old Opel bicycle, then an Imme motorcycle, and the possibility of short vacations to try to relieve the stress.

Also the public life slowly re-emerged. 1951 saw the dedication of a new Town Hall in Laubenheim.


Children Reinhold and Herbert Schembs (1951)	Franz Schembs, right, front of the parade Laubenheim (1951) Click to enlarge

By 1952 it developed that the house at Rheinstraße Nr. 13 had become too small. Over the former barn, which had served as a workshop, were built a living room and bedroom for the young boys. Also at this time a third child, a girl, was born on 8.8.1952. But she died of jaundice on 8.5.1954, just before her second birthday. Shortly before this the mother-in-law, who had also been living in the house, died of breast cancer. Then two years later the father-in-law took his own life. These were times of extreme stress for the entire family, as well as all of Germany.

Fortunately the next few years saw the economic situation in the region improve significantly. In 1956 a bigger motorcycle (BMW 250 cc with sidecar) was purchased. The year before, 1955, had been a hundred-year-freeze, so that one could walk across the Rhein to Ginsheim.


Rosel Schembs with their first Motorrad (1953)	Rosel and Franz Schembs (1957, Schwarzwald)

Then in 1957 another renovation of the house on Rheinstraße was undertaken, with the addition of an indoor bath and toilet.

After the masters examinations for mechanical engineering on 21.11.1957, Franz was promoted to take over the supervisionof the mechanical department at the organic chemistry Institute within the University. He held this position for more than twenty years until his retirement.


Franz Schembs (1946)	Uni Mainz (1947)	Uni Mainz (1958)

In 1959 Franz bought his first automobile, a Volkswagen. Then in 1964, with the death of his mother, Franz inherited the house at Rheinstraße Nr. 13.

In addition to his duties at the University, Franz was active in several areas, e.g. as an independent council member, and as an assistant to the district court in Mainz.

From 1964-1970 Franz supplemented the family's income by doing machining and other mechanical work for banks and other businesses in the area.

Franz Schembs in the Organic Chemistry Institut of the Uni Mainz (1975)

Through the sale of some fields and vineyards, which Rosel Schembs had inherited following the death of her parents, the Schembs had available two building lots in Laubenheim. One they sold and the second they decided to develop. In 1966, with the help of friends, they commenced to build a 500 square meter duplex on the property at Rosenweg 13. The construction took three years and 100,000 DM to complete. On 28.7.1968 the family moved into their new home. With the birth of Patric Schembs in 1972, the next generation of the family began. This in turn led to a small expansion of the house.


Laubenheim residence, Rosenweg 13 (right), before renovation (1989)	Rosel and Franz Schembs, 65 years (1987)

Franz Schembs retired from the University in 1983 at the age of 62, to enjoy his time with Rosel.

For their seventieth birthdays they remember taking a late evening special tour of Mainz with their friends on an elaborately decorated streetcar. They then celebrated in the vaulted cellar of the winery Weinguts Emig in Bodenheim.


Party excursion on the Mainzer Straßenbahn 70th birthday		Rosel and Franz with grandchildren Katharina and Christine (1992) Click to enlarge


Franz Schembs in front of the former Arbeitsstätte Organisch-Chemisches Institut Uni Mainz (1992) Click to enlarge	Carriage ride, 75th birthday in Mainz with grandchildren Christine and Katharina (1996) Click to enlarge

For their 75th birthdays in 1996, the trip was in a horse drawn carriage through the old part of Mainz. A banquet ensued at the "Heilig-Geist" (literally "Holy Ghost"), an historic and renowned pub in Mainz.


Jubilee picture for the 75th birthday (1996) Click to enlarge	Visit by Jim Schembs 1998 to Laubenheim back (v.l.): Reinhold, Sieglinde and Herbert Schembs front: Jim, Rosel, Franz, Pam Orton, Ulli, Patric Schembs Click to enlarge

Franz Schembs, age 77, died from lung cancer on 20.12.1998 at the Hildegaris Hospital in Mainz. One can say that Franz Schembs was a clever, good-hearted, humorous, hardworking person, husband and father. His ability to work with people with various views and skills facilitated a long and successful career at the University, and many friendships for the balance of his life.

Gravestone of Franz Schembs
Laubenheim (1999)
(granddaughter Katharina Schembs with Oma Rosel Schembs) Click to enlarge

One can say Franz Schembs was a clever, kind-hearted, humorous, helpful, diligent and open-minded man as well as a good husband and father. His had the ability to reach out to people, now matter why they came to him at the University of Mainz. He was confident in solving problems for academics and scientists. These capabilities, together with a high degree of expertise, reliability and helpfulness gained him great respect and recognition. Even after his retirement he maintained contact with former professors and doctors, even some outside Germany, who considered him a friend.

Rosel survived Franz by ten years, passing away at age 87 on 13 November 2008. She was in her later years mentally and physically vigorous. A fall in 2004 and another in 2008 caused the need for regular help. Her family as well as nurses from Poland and Romania helped her through these years. He sied at the University of Mainz Hospital peacefully in her sleep. She was buried in the family grave in Laubenheim.

Children: (3)

3.1.....Herbert Schembs (*01.08.1947 in Mainz)

Herbert Schembs was married 19.11.1971 to Sieglinde Schmittlein (1953). At 1.92 meters (6'4"), he is typical of the larger side of the Schembs family.


Herbert Schembs	Sieglinde Schembs

Herbert grew up in the family home at Rheinstraße 13. He and Sieglinde then lived in the attic at Rheinstraße 13 after they were married.


Herbert Schembs (1948)	Brothers Reinhold and Herbert Schembs (1950)

Following his public schooling in Laubenheim, Herbert learned the profession of locksmith with the firm Jertz. He then worked from 1966-1992 with MIP Gonsenheim in the area of mechanical testing and quality control. Since then Herbert has worked for the city of Rüsselsheim.


Herbert Schembs (1963)	Reinhold and Herbert Schembs (2008)

Children: (1)

1.1.....Patric Schembs (*27.05.1972 in Mz-Mombach)

Patric Schembs was married 23.12.1999 in a civil ceremony in Bodenheim to the hospital nurse Ulrike Schell (*20.12.1971), Zornheim. The family lives in Zornheim.


Patric Schembs	Ulrike Schell, Zornheim	Marriage picture Patric and Ulrike Schembs Click to enlarge

A church ceremony later took place 26.08.2000 in the protestant church in Bodenheim.

Patric Schembs takes after his father with his 1,95 meter height.

After his primary schooling Patric attended the Realschule in Mainz-Hechtsheim, receving his GCSE degree. He then trained as an electronics technician at the German Post and Telecommunications. In 1992 he joined the IT division of Deutsch Telecom DeTe Sytems, where he was an SAP systems consultant. Next he entered a sister company, T-Systems, as a project manager. Since 2011 Patric is a co-owner of a company based in Switzerland, which operates in the IT consulting space.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Nina Schembs (*04.02.2002 Mainz)


Patric, Ulrike and Nina Schembs (2005)	School enrollment Nina Schembs (2008) Click to enlarge

2.2.....Kai Quentin Schembs (*10.10.2010 Mainz)

Kai Quentin Schembs with father Patric (2010)

3.2.....Reinhold Schembs (*11.10.1948 in Mainz)

Reinhold Schembs was married 5 May 1978 in Laubenheim to Irene Maria Gehrlein (*30.05.1952) from Maximiliansau/Pfalz.


Reinhold Schembs (1984)	Irene Schembs (1984)

Reinhold Schembs grew up in the family home at Rheinstraße 13. Gradually the family circumstances were improving during this time in the post-war years.


Reinhold Schembs with father Franz (1949)	Reinhold Schembs with brother Herbert (1953)


Birth record Reinhold Schembs 1948 Click to enlarge	Marriage record Reinhold Schembs 1978 Click to enlarge

After his schooling in 1963 Reinhold began an apprenticeship with the law firm Ambach und Coen in Mainz-Kastel.


Catholic youth outing Wendelinusheim Gonsenheim (1958) (second from right with flags Reinhold Schembs; leftmost Gerd Otto Schembs) Click to enlarge	Reinhold Schembs 16 years (1964)

Family home at Rheinstraße 13
(in the 1970's after renovation)

In 1967 Reinhold went to work for the Chemical Research Office of the city of Mainz. During 1968 and 1969 he served his compulsory military service, first at Schwarzenborn/Kreis Ziegenhain and also in Koblenz in the 142nd Infantry (Tank) Battalion (Panzergrenadierbataillon 142). His career has continued at the City of Mainz.


Old buildings of the Chemischen Untersuchungsamtes Mainz On Zollhafen 12	Reinhold Schembs as conscript (1968)

During this period Reinhold continued to live in his parent's home at Rosenweg 13, helping them with the ongoing construction.

Parental home Rosenweg 13
(built 1969)

In 1969 the city of Laubenheim made the important decision to be annexed by Mainz. It lost its independence after many centuries.

Reinhold was the godfather of his nephew Patric in 1972, the son of his brother Herbert.

From 1977-2002 Reinhold was managing director in the Chemical Research Office, Mainz (now the National Investigation Office). Ther he met his fuure wife Irene in 1974. Irene worked there as a secretary in teh head office.

Since 2002 Reinhold has functioned as the Oberamtsrat in the Ministery of Environment and Forests in the veterinary department.


Wedding Foto in front of the Rathaus in Laubenheim (1978) v.l. August Gehrlein, Sieglinde and Herbert Schembs, Franz Schembs, Irene and Reinhold Schembs, Maria Gehrlein, Rosel Schembs and Patric Schembs Click to enlarge	Home on Nackenheimer Straße after completion (1982)

From 1977-1982 Reinhold and Irene lived in a rental apartment at "Auf der Weide 6" in Laubenheim. During this time they were able to build a new home for themselves, largely of their own labors, at Nackenheimer Straße 48 in Laubenheim.

Since about 1982 Reinhold became active in exploring the family's history, collecting information, pictures and stories to pass along to posterity. In 1995 he established contact with the American Jim Schembs, who had only recently begun researching the history of the Schembs.


Reinhold and Irene Schembs, nee Gehrlein (1986)		Family picture, Reinhold's birthday (11.10.1992) v.l.: Rosel, Katharina, Franz, Sieglinde, Herbert, Irene Christine and Reinhold Schembs Click to enlarge

The laborious work was first bound into a volume in 1986, focusing on his immediate family and its ancestry. With the collaboration with Jim Schembs, this led to a second edition (1998), third edition (2001) and fourth (2011), greatly expanding the scope of the initial inquiry and including those with surnames of different spellings and descendants down different branches of the Zacharias Schömbs tree. The book is updated regularly as more information becomes available.

With the birth of Christine (1986) and Katharina (1991) the family is complete.


Family picture (1993) Click to enlarge	Reinhold and Irene Schembs (1997)


Reinhold with daughters Christine and Katharina (1999) Click to enlarge	Office of Reinhold Schembs in Ministerium für Umwelt, Forsten und Verbraucherschutz, Mainz (seit 2004) Click to enlarge


Reinhold and Irene Schembs (2006) Click to enlarge	Family picture (2006), v.l.: Irene, Reinhold, Christine and Katharina Click to enlarge


Reinhold and Irene (2008) Click to enlarge	Family picture, Mallorca vacation (2010) Click to enlarge

Family picture 2011 with brothers Reinhold and Herbert Schembs,
parents and children (2011)
(v.l.: Katharina, Christine, Reinhold and Irene Schembs, Herbert, Nina,
Sieglinde, Ulrike, Patric and Kai Quentin Schembs)
Click to enlarge

Children: (2)

2.1.....Anne Christine Schembs (*16.02.1986 Mainz)

Anne Christine Schembs was born on 16 February 1986 in the Vincenz Hospital in Mainz. She grew up in the family home at Nachenheimer Straße 48 in Mainz-Laubenheim.

Christine and David Glombik
Wedding Picture 2015
Click to enlarge

On Thursday, 26 June 2015 Christine and David Glombik (* 29.10.1979 Ratibor) were married in Mainz-Laubenheim. The family first lived in Budenheim. In 2017 they moved into the home with Christine's parents in Mainz-Laubenheim.

Children: (2)

2.1.....Isabella Paulina Glombik (*20.12.2016 Mainz)

2.2.....Carolina Antonia Glombik (*18.09.2019 Mainz)


Isabella with Opa Reinhold (2017) Click to enlarge	Isabella (2019) Click to enlarge

Glombik Family (August 2019) Click to enlarge	Carolina with Oma Irene (2019) Click to enlarge

Carolina (3 months old) Click to enlarge	Christine, Katharina, Carolina, Irene and Reinhold (2019) Click to enlarge

2.2.....Katharina Schembs (*28.02.1991 Mainz)

Katharina Schembs
(Picture from 2007)

Katharina Schembs was born 28 February 1991 at Vincenz-Krankenhaus (hospital) in Mainz.

From 1994-1997 Katharina attended the Städtischen Kindergarten in Mainz-Laubenheim, then from September 1997 until 2001 the Grundschule (elementary school) Laubenheim.


First birthday 28.02.1992 with parents Reinhold and Irene Schembs Click to enlarge	Katharina 2nd birthday (1993) Click to enlarge


Foto from 1997 6 years old) Click to enlarge	Katharina Schembs with sister Christine (1997) Click to enlarge

Katharina Schembs at age 9 (2000)


Communion (2000) Click to enlarge	Katharina, age 10 (2001) Click to enlarge

In 2001 she entered the Realschule in Mainz-Hechtsheim and in 2007 the Integrierten Gesamtschule in Mainz-Bretzenheim. He received her degree in 2010.


Katharina Schembs (2005) Click to enlarge	Katharina Schembs (2006) Click to enlarge

Sisters Christine and Katharina Schembs (2006)
Click to enlarge


Katharina, age 16 (2007) Click to enlarge	Katharina at 18 (2009) Click to enlarge	Graduate Katharina Schembs 2010 Click to enlarge

After her graduation Katharina, like her sister Christine, volunteered for a year on an ecology project.


Graduation celebration, Katharina Schembs 2010 with parents Click to enlarge	Katharina at the ecology project Biolandhof Hahlgarten at the Weinig family in Frücht/Taunus Click to enlarge

In 2012 Katharina began her training to become a physiotherapist at the Catholic hospital in Koblenz.

3.3.....Christa Schembs (1952-1954)

Christa Schembs (+1954) with grandmother Christina Schembs

Christa Schembs was born 08.08.1952 geboren. She died 08.05.1954 of jaundice at the age of one.

9.8.....Agnes Schembs (1897-1910)

Agnes Schembs was born 24.11.1897 in Laubenheim and died 05.03.1910 at the age of 13 years.

9.9.....Josef Schembs (1900)

Josef Schembs, the last child of Peter Schembs III, was born 14.01.1900 in Laubenheim. The date of his death is not known. Josef did not marry, and lived in the family home on Rheinstraße 13. Later he lived in Zornheim and probably died there.

Josef Schembs

Josef's nickname was "Kreppel", an expression connoting irresponsibility. He liked to talk, and exagerate his accomplishments. But he worked in Hechtsheim driving nags for farmers Riffel and Görlich, and evoked amusement as he told about himself, for his audience always knew the truth. He sometimes worked as a waiter in the South Railway Station in Mainz.

left: Schwager Alois Schmitt, right: Josef Schembs

Catharina Schembs (1853-1856)2.4.5/3

Catharina Schembs was the third and last child of Peter Schembs II, born 24.11.1853 in Laubenheim. She died at the age of two on 19.09.1856.

Regina Schembs (*19.11.1819, +1821)2.4.6

Regina Schembs, the last child of Andreas Schembs, died 13.01.1821 at the age of fourteen months.

The End