Schoenchen, Ellis Co., Kansas

Includes the following communities:

History:

The town of Schoenchen was founded by members of St. Joseph's Parish in Liebental who wanted to move the town to a place with a better water supply. Their efforts to move the town failed, but a group relocated anyway across the line into Ellis County. Originally the town was called San Antonio, but several wanted to name it after the colony in Russia from which they had moved - either Schönchen or Neu-Ober-Monjou. As a compromise the town was called Schoenchen and the church St. Anthony's, after the parish in Neu-Ober-Monjou.

The following were founding families of Schoenchen:

Adam & Katharina (Sauer) Bieker
Heinrich & Elisabeth (Herman) Bieker
Johann & Maria Eva (Wasinger) Bieker
Johann Joseph & Maria (Mayer) Bieker
Konrad & Maria Elisabeth (Pfannenstiel) Bieker
Nickolas & Anna Maria (Hardinger) Bieker
Philip & Dorothea (Siegel) Bieker
Wilhelm Bieker
Paul & Christina (Schüller) Dinges
Franz & Maria Julia (Gross) Dinges
Johann & Anna Maria (Unrein) Dreher
Konrad & Anna Elisabeth (Wendler) Dreher
Anna Katharina Graf
Friedrich & Anna Maria (Kohlmeyer) Graf
Agnes (Maria) Hepner
Helena Herklotz
Karl Anton Herklotz
Anna Elisabeth Munsch
Jacob Munsch
Joseph & Anna Elisabeth (Lang) Munsch
Joseph Rumbach
Michael & Maria Agnes (Hepner) Schmidt
Franz Waldschmidt
Alois Werth
Friedrich & Lucia (Ebel) Werth
Jacob & Maria Barbara (Munsch) Werth
Johann & Maria Elisabeth (Munsch) Werth
Johann Peter & Maria (Zimmerman) Werth
Karl & Anna Margaretha (Wendler) Werth
August & Margaretha (Dreher) Wolf
Philip & Maria Elisabeth Wolf
J. Jacob & Maria (Werth) Zimmerman
Johann & Anna Katharina Zimmerman
Joseph & Anna Katharina Zimmerman
Katharina Zimmerman
Peter & Barbara (Dreher) Zimmerman

Congregations:

St. Anthony's Catholic Parish - Schoenchen

Volga German Families:

The following Volga German families settled in and around Schoenchen, Kansas:

Befort from Katharinenstadt
Bieker from Neu-Ober-Monjou
Boos from Ober-Monjou
Dechant
Degenhardt from Sewald
Dinges from Wittmann
Dreher from Neu-Ober-Monjou
Dreiling from Herzog
Ernst from Mariental
Gassman from Mariental
Geist
Graf(f) from Neu-Ober-Monjou
Gross from Mariental
Hepner
Hepp from Liebental
Herklotz from Schönchen
Hertel from Ober-Monjou
Jacobs from Pfeifer
Klaus from Ober-Monjou
Kohl from Ober-Monjou
Kreutzer
Kronewitter
Lambrecht from Pfeifer
Leiker from Ober-Monjou
Mun(s)ch from Schönchen
Pfannenstiel from Ober-Monjou
Pfeifer from Pfeifer
Randa from Liebental
Rebel from Neu-Kolonie
Rohr
Roth
Ruder from Wittmann
Rumbach
Sauer from Zug
Schmidt
Schreiner from Herzog
Schuckman from Schönchen
Stoecklein from Zug
Stremel from Kamenka
Tauscher
Unrein
Wasinger from Schönchen
Werth from Schönchen
Windholz from Herzog
Wolf from Neu-Ober-Monjou
Zimmerman(n) from Schönchen

Volga Colonies:

Notable Individuals:

Sommereisen, Valentine

Mueller, Anastasius

Dei, Richard

Befort, Earl

Sources:

- Transcript of The Golden Jubilee of German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas, 1926.
- Towns & Places of Ellis County, Kansas (Legends of Kansas)

Resources:

Saint Anthony Cemetery (findagrave.com)

External Links:

- Schoenchen, Kansas
- Schoenchen, Kansas (German Capital of Kansas)
- Schoenchen, Kansas (wikipedia)