The Hyphen Family Lineage

Note: Researching Charles F. Schoen, Jr.

In searching for Charles Schoen Jr., there are only a handful of records that I've found so far aside from the burial in La Belle Cemetery and the confirmation at Cross Lutheran Church in Ixonia. One of them is the US Census record for 1870 for Charles Sr.'s household; in it are Carl (Charles Jr.) Schoen, age two, and Gustav Schoen, age one. The second is a marriage record for Carl F. Schoen (son of Carl Schoen and Louise Backhaus) to Adele Adelaide Wirig on 17 Aug 1897. The third is the 1900 US Census record for the 32-year-old Charles Schoen's household, with wife Delia A. Schoen and step-daughter Lerna Warig, in Fort Atkinson, Jefferson Cty, Wisconsin. (That record gives his occupation as "blacksmith.")

Thus far I have not established whether or not Charles Jr. and his wife had any children aside from her daughter (from her first marriage to Jacob Wuerge, according to their marriage record - her maiden name was Zuehlke or similar). I have not found graves for either Delia or her daughter.

ADDENDUM: In the Oconomowoc Enterprise issue of 3 Sep 1920 is a matrimonial notice for Charles Schoen Jr. and Mrs. Meighn, both of Madison (Charles noted as formerly of Oconomowoc), with the wedding having taken place in Rockford, Illinois. The wedding date was Tuesday, and they "will spend the week-end here as guests of of his parents."

SECOND ADDENDUM: In the 1910 and 1920 US Census listing for Charles Schoen Jr., he is noted as living in Madison, Dane Cty, Wisconsin, with his younger brother Joseph and his sister Catherine. In the 1905 Wisconsin State Census, the listing also includes brother William (age 28) and an aunt, Mary Weber (age 72). I'm uncertain as to which brother this may be, as the known William Schoen was an older brother, in his forties and living in Fort Atkinson in 1905.

THIRD ADDENDUM: The Charles Schoen in the Madison census listings is not the son of Charles F. Schoen Sr., as there is a 1900 US Census listing in Madison for the same group of siblings, with father Phillip Schoen. It is not yet known if the marriage notice from 1920 applies to Charles Jr. or not.

FOURTH ADDENDUM: Buried next to Charles Jr. in La Belle Cemetery in Oconomowoc, Waukesha Cty, Wisconsin is a Bridget Schoen. The only records I can find for Bridget are 1930 and 1940 US Census records, which list her as Wisconsin-born to Irish parents, resident in Madison, and age fifty-six and sixty-six, respectively. Both records also note her as widowed. Charles Jr. died in 1926, so the marriage notice from the Oconomowoc Enterprise in 1920 would likely apply to his marriage to Bridget. It is unknown what may have happened to end his marriage to his previous wife (Adelaide), whether her death or a divorce. It is also in question now whether the 1910 and 1920 Census listings could apply to Charles Jr., though I'm inclined to think they do not simply because of the Phillip Schoen family mentioned in the notes above.

Obituaries for Charles Jr., and now for Bridget, simply must be located to help straighten out some of the confusion here.

FIFTH ADDENDUM: The obituary for Charles Jr. mentions his wife, naming her the former Mrs. Meighn of Madison, among the surviving family. Not mentioned is his previous wife, Adelaide, nor any children at all. There is no mention made of any family that preceded him in death. (Interesting to note is that his obituary is the first mention I've found at all of brother Edward.)

Bridget's obituary names her only Mrs. Charles Schoen Jr., and mentions only that "[t]he Misses Laura and Emma Schoen received word of the death of their sister-in-law" in August 1949. By this point, Laura and Emma were two of the only four surviving siblings of Charles Jr., and the only two still living in Oconomowoc. (William was living in Milwaukee, while Joseph was in Los Angeles.)

At this point I've presumed that Charles Jr. and Adelaide divorced, as I believe his obituary would have mentioned if he were a widower prior to his marriage to Bridget. Given their ages at their marriage in 1920, I think it equally likely that Bridget was a widow as that she was divorced. I have no confirmation of these assumptions, and little information at this point of Bridget's life prior to marrying Charles Jr., of Adelaide's life before or after, nor of whether Charles was married more than these two times.

Note: The family name for Charles F. Schoen, Jr.

It should be noted that, while this Charles is designated a "Junior," having been named for his father, he's actually the third generation of his family to bear the name Carl Friedrich Herman Schoen. His grandfather was more commonly called Carl than Charles, as best as I can determine, while his father was in business as Charles (or the abbreviated "Chas"). Since those two used the anglicized name more than the germanic name, they have typically been denoted Jr. and Sr. in references and records, though I don't know if they called themselves such. When their names appear in the local newspapers, such as the Oconomowoc Enterprise, they are denoted Charles Sr. and Charles Jr.

[Obituary for Charles Schoen Jr., from the Oconomowoc Enterprise, 3 Dec 1926, p8.]

The death of Charles Schoen Jr. of Madison, formerly of Oconomowoc, occurred at Madison on Saturday morning, November 27, after a long illness, death resulting from a stroke.

The body was brought to Oconomowoc where funeral services took place Tuesday afternoon at the home of his father, Charles Schoen Sr. on Milwaukee street, with burial in La Belle Cemetery. Rev. Lochner of Madison officiated at the services.

Charles Schoen Jr. was born on February 27, fifty eight years ago in the town of Ixonia, and several years later came with his parents to Oconomowoc to reside. His earlier youth and manhood was spent in this city and vicinity, where he was engaged in the blacksmith trade, and later spent several years at Fort Atkinson and Oregon, Wis., where he was in business. He has resided in Madison for some time. Mr. Schoen is survived by his wife, formerly Mrs. B. Meighn of Madison, and by his father, Charles Schoen Sr. of Oconomowoc, five brothers and three sisters: William Schoen of Milwaukee; Edward of Fort Atkinson; Otto and Joseph Schoen of Rockford, Ill.; Louis Schoen, Mrs. Frank Hoeft, Misses Laura and Emma Schoen of Oconomowoc. Mr. Schoen also had a wide circle of friends in this community.