The Starr Family of America

Information from Richard Schoenberger
The Schoenberger Story

When Hitler and the Nazi party gained control of Germany during the1930's, it was required of all German families to prove that they had noJewish ancestry. At this time, George Shonberger of Grass-Bieberan,Germany got busy tracing the Schoenberger family history back to aboutthe 1460's or 1470's to Switzerland where some church records were beingkept. He found that originally the name was Schonenberger. The family hadlived there for hundreds of years, until 1661 or 1662 when UlrichSchonenberger, his wife and 7 children moved to Ober-Massou, Germany.

It is believed that early Swiss generations of the family adopted thesurname Schonenberger about the year 1150. They lived and worked near thebeautiful Swiss mountains. Thus they adopted the name Schonenberger -Schonberg means Beautiful Mountain and Shonberger means "People who livedby the Beautiful Mountain".

Henry Schonenberger, a Catholic, who lived by a monastery in theSchonenberger parish in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, is the firstSchonenberger of record. He is described as a blue eyed, redhead with afair complexion and a fiery temper to match his red hair. He livedbetween the years of 1470 to 1570.

For many generations, the early Schonenberger families were of theCatholic faith. With the coming of the Protestant Reformation inSwitzerland led by Ulrich Zwingli, our Schonenberger families convertedto the newly formed Reformed Church. The Schonenbergers were Reformeduntil 1661 or 1662 when the Ulrich Schonenberger family moved to OberMassau, Germany, at which time they converted to the Lutheran faith.