Jacob Schenbeck's children by his two wives per 1965 Schenbeck book by Safara Shanebeck

In her outstanding book, Schenbeck, Shanebeck-Shanbeck Family Record, 1798-1959, author Safara Shanebeck showed the earliest family parentage known at that time as being John Schenbeck and Katherine Oesch (see attached photo). Jacob Schenbeck was their 6th child. On Aug 11, 1872 he first married Magdalena Egly (b Apr 25, 1852 d Mar 16, 1883) with whom he had 4 children: Henry Schenbeck (b Apr 21, 1876); Katie Ann Schenbeck (b Sept 9, 1877); Bertha Schenbeck (b July 24, 1880); and Rufas Schenbeck (b Dec 5, 1882). After Magdalena died, Jacob remarried Sept 23, 1883 to Anna Schindler (b Sept 15, 1850 d Oct 29, 1918). They then had 5 children: Lydia Schenbeck (b July 16, 1884); Noah Schenbeck (b Sept 27, 1885 d Oct 12, 1949); Josephine Schenbeck (b May 6, 1887 d Dec 14, 1914); Ida Schenbeck (b Jan 3, 1889); and Edwin Schenbeck (b Oct 16, 1891).

In Safara’s preface she wrote in part, “I must point out the fact that although this record has its beginning with John Schenbeck, born Oct. 29, 1798 the spelling will be found in three different ways –Schenbeck, Shanebeck and Shanbeck –but it is still the same relationship. Very little is known about the early life of John Schenbeck except that he was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany and came to the U.S. A. with his parents and lived on a farm in Holmes County, Ohio. He married Katherine Oesch and some time later moved with his family to a farm near Berne, Indiana.”

I would add that John Schenbeck and Katherine Oesch Schenbeck are my ggg-grandparents. Their daughter, Anna Schenbeck (b June 5, 1841 d October 29, 1928), was married to my gg-grandfather, Joseph Sauder (aka Souder). Anna was Joseph’s 2nd wife after his first wife, Lydia Yaggy, died after only 6 months of marriage. In addition, I would add that I have run across three additional spellings of the last name, to wit: Shenbeck, Schoenbeck (the name Catherine Schoenbeck appears on Anna’s mother’s grave) and Chainbeck which appears in the 1850 U.S. Census.