Adolph Schoeninger
{{short description|German-born American industrialist (1833–1900)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Adolph Schoeninger.png
| caption = Schoeninger in 1897
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1833|01|20}}
| birth_place = Weil der Stadt, Germany
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1900|12|13|1833|01|20}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, US
| burial_place = Graceland Cemetery
| citizenship = United States
| occupation = Industrialist
| years_active = 1866–1893
| known_for = Owning Western Wheel Works
| spouse = {{Marriage|Augusta Reichmann|April 20, 1857}}
| children = 3
| signature = Signature of Adolph Schoeninger (1833–1900).png
}}
Adolph Schoeninger (January 20, 1833{{snd}}December 13, 1900) was a German-born American businessman. He was born in Weil der Stadt, Germany, and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an industrialist who owned Western Wheel Works in Chicago, Illinois. His company became one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world.
Early life
Schoeninger's parents were Joseph A. and Anna M. ({{née}} Eble) Schoeninger. Schoeninger was educated in Germany and moved to the United States with his brother in 1854. He lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.{{cite book |title=Unrivaled Chicago |date=1897 |publisher=Rand McNally and Company |location=Chicago and New York |isbn=978-0484513128 |pages=69–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1Y0AQAAMAAJ&dq=Adolph+Schoeninger+1833&pg=PA69 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226150535/https://books.google.com/books?id=J1Y0AQAAMAAJ&dq=Adolph+Schoeninger+1833&pg=PA69 |url-status=live }}
Military service
When the American Civil War began, Schoeninger was offered a command of a company in the 75th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. He served as a Captain under (then) colonel Henry Bohlen from 1861 to 1864.{{cite book |last1=La Touche |first1=Royal L. |title=Chicago and Its Resources Twenty Years After 1871-1891 A Commercial History Showing the Progress and Growth of Two Decades from the Great Fire to the Present Time |date=January 1, 1892 |publisher=The Chicago Times Company |location=Chicago Illinois |page=143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EMZEAQAAMAAJ&dq=adolph+schoeninger+1833&pg=PA142-IA3 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226150534/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Chicago_and_Its_Resources_Twenty_Years_A/EMZEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=adolph+schoeninger+1833&pg=PA142-IA3&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Ulysses S. |title=The papers of Ulysses S. Grant |date=1967–2012 |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |location=Carbondale |isbn=978-0809324996 |page=288 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wawKk48Ax9cC&dq=Adolph+Schoeninger&pg=PA288 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226150723/https://books.google.com/books?id=wawKk48Ax9cC&dq=Adolph+Schoeninger&pg=PA288 |url-status=live }}
In 1864 Schoeninger returned to Philadelphia after the war, destitute.
Career
File:Baby angel 1898 Western Wheel Works Crescent Bicycles advertisement.png
In 1865 Schoeninger moved to Chicago and opened a furniture business. But in 1866 he was left with a great financial loss when the factory burned down. In 1866 he then took over another factory that produced toys and baby carriages and named it Western Wheel Works, in partnership with a man named F. Westermann; they started out manufacturing toys and other novelties as the Western Toy Company.
Schoeninger ran the company until the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed his business. He did not have the proper insurance on his buildings, and was again left with a great financial loss. By 1872 he obtained financing from European banks and rebuilt the factories.
By the mid-1890s, bicycles were very popular, and his company began building bicycles, renamed Western Wheel Works. By 1899 it employed 1,500 people and produced 350 bicycles a day.
File:Grave of Adolph Schoeninger (1883–1900) at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago 1.jpg
In 1893 Schoeninger transferred his ownership of the Western Wheel Works to his two sons-in-law. He returned to making toys and baby carriages, starting a new company which he called the Home Rattan Company.
Personal life
Schoeninger married Augusta Reichmann on April 20, 1857. They had three children, one boy and two girls.{{cite book |last1=Moses |first1=John |title=Biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of the representative men of. |date=2010 |publisher=The Lewis Publishing company |location=Chicago Illinois |isbn=978-1149752647 |page=521 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v7YyAQAAMAAJ&dq=Adolph+Schoeninger+1833&pg=PA517 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226150534/https://books.google.com/books?id=v7YyAQAAMAAJ&dq=Adolph+Schoeninger+1833&pg=PA517 |url-status=live }} His only son died and left him without an heir.
Mayor Harvey Doolittle Colvin appointed Schoeninger to serve a three-year term on the Chicago Board of Education. He served on the committee on reception when the 1892 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago.{{cite book |last1=Dickinson |first1=Edward B. |title=Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention |date=1892 |publisher=Cameron, Amberg and Co. |location=Chicago Illinois |page=xiv |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoA0AAAAIAAJ&dq=adolph+schoeninger&pg=PR14 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226150700/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_Proceedings_of_the_Democratic_N/QoA0AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=adolph+schoeninger&pg=PR14&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}
Death
Schoeninger spent winters in Los Angeles, California. On December 13, 1900, he died of a lung ailment in Los Angeles.{{cite news |title=In Death |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90433239/death/ |access-date=December 12, 2021 |newspaper=Waukegan News-Sun |date=December 14, 1900 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212034408/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90433239/death/ |url-status=live }} He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoeninger, Adolph}}
Category:People from Weil der Stadt
Category:Businesspeople from Chicago
Category:Businesspeople from Philadelphia
Category:19th-century German businesspeople
Category:Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States
Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War