third generation
Family history
Charles Schoen was born on March 4th, 1857 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. During the Civil War, he delivered papers in Detroit. He moved to Freedom (near Saline) with his family in 1871. During the later years of his life he was crippled by arthritis. He has been described as one of the most patient people we would ever hope to know.
Mary Lukhardt was born January 6th, 1859 in Germany. She came to the United Stated in around 1882. Charles and Mary married March 24th, 1886. Together they had five children, including Harold Schoen (Fourth Generation). They operated several large farms near Dexter, Michigan. |
Language HistoryGenerally speaking, the millions of German immigrants of the 1830s-1880s fell into two categories: those who settled in insular communities such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and those who settled into larger city areas (primarily in the Midwest). My family falls into the second group.
Newcomers in the Midwestern cities often "found it in their best interests to integrate well and to observe as much uniformity of speech and language as possible" in order to assimilate into dominant society and achieve social and economic success. Charles was born in America and Mary was born in Germany; it was likely that English was the language that was used in their household, especially once they had children. |
Language sampleSince Mary was approximately 23 when she moved from Germany, she would have had a German accent, unlike Charles who would likely speak with a more Americanized accent.
The IDEA Archive provides a sample of German accented English by a speaker who was born in the same general region but 50 years later. He also settled in Canada, as opposed to Detroit. |