Ernestine Amalie Pauline (Rossler) Schumann-Heink (1861 - 1936)

Born 15 Jun 1861 in Lieben, Königliche Weinberge, Bohemia, Austria

Wife of Curt Paul (Fünfstück) Schumann — married 3 Dec 1893 in Hamburg, Germany

Wife of William R Rapp — married 27 May 1905 (to 1914) in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Died 17 Nov 1936 at age 75 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Ernestine Amalie Pauline Rössler was the daughter of Hans Rössler and Charlotte Goldman Rossler (alternative spellings Jan Rohsler (1827 - 1897) and Kaethe "Katherine" Goldmann).

Notable: Ernestine Schumann-Heink was a world-renowned opera singer known for Wagner works.

She married first: Johann Georg Ernst August Heink ​(m. 1882⁠)​; they had the following children:

1. August (1883–1918)
2. Charlotte (1884–?)
3. Henry (1886–1951)
4. Hans Hugo Herman (1887–1916)

After the divorce from her first husband, she married second: Paul Schumann, an actor and director of the Thalia Theater in Hamburg on 13 December 1893. Ernestine acquired a stepson, Walter, and had three more children with Paul:

1. Ferdinand Schumann(1893–1958)^[1]
2. Marie Schumann (1896–1975)
3. Franz George Washington Schumann (1898–1979)^[2]

This last son was born in New York City, named by his good-humored mother with suggestion of the doctor who delivered the baby. One of their children, Ferdinand Schumann-Heink (1893–1958) was a prolific, though mostly unbilled, Hollywood character actor. It was a happy family.

Paul died in Germany, 28 November 1904. While in Germany fighting a legal battle over her late husband's estate, Ernestine filed her United States naturalization papers on 10 February 1905, and became a U.S. citizen on 3 March 1908.

She married third: William Rapp, Jr. ​(m. 1905⁠–⁠1914)​. He was the personal representative and third husband of Ernestine Schumann-Heink. They married 27 May 1905 in Chicago ^[3]and were divorced there on 30 June 1914. No children were born to this marriage.^[4]

1910 Census, North Caldwell, Essex, New Jersey; William (age 36), Ernestine (age 47) and Henry (age 23), John H (age 22), Ferdinand (age 16), Marie T (age 14), George (age 11).^[5]

1919 Passport Application for William Rapp and Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Washington, DC.^[6]

1921 Passport Application for William Rapp^[7]

1929 Passport Application for Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Cheriton, Missouri; ^[8]

Ernestine lived on 500 acres (2 km²) of farm land located just outside San Diego, California (in an area then known as Helix Hill – now known as Mt. Helix – in Grossmont), purchased by her in January 1910, where she would live for most of her life. Her residence there is still standing. She is buried in Balboa Park.

Research Notes

Possible gravesite for father: Find A Grave: Memorial #163699659 Hans Rohsler

Sources

1. ↑ "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP74-QDMK : 1 March 2021), Paul Schumann in entry for Ferdinand Carl Schumann, 1958.
2. ↑ "New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WW4-Q7N : 11 February 2018), Curt Paul Schumann in entry for Franz Georg Schumann, 12 Dec 1898; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 48620 New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,953,370.
3. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N74P-9VM : Fri Mar 08 06:43:42 UTC 2024), Entry for William Rapp Jr. and , 1905.
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #239148661
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1910", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKYM-6Y2 : Sat Mar 09 08:20:16 UTC 2024), Entry for William R Rapp and Ernestine Rapp, 1910
6. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5B-K2FV : Fri Mar 08 05:46:57 UTC 2024), Entry for Ernestine Schumann Heink or Heintz and William Rapp, 1919.
7. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDF-6YTG : Fri Mar 08 15:28:27 UTC 2024), Entry for Ernestine Schumann-Heink and William Rapp, 1921.
8. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5B-K2YD : Sat Mar 09 09:30:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Ernestine Schumann-Heink and William Rapp, 1929.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernestine_Schumann-Heink
• Find A Grave: Memorial #5830