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The Disappearance Of Emma Schnug
by
Laurie Rubier


 

What would you do if you sent your child off to run an errand and she never returned home? Would you send your six-year-old child to run family errands in the first place? This is what Mrs. Alvina Schnug did with her little daughter Emma. She sent her to the Baum Street market, and the child never returned home.
Emma Schnug disappeared on the morning of March 7, 1877, never to be seen or heard from again. Her disappearance has been a mystery for over One Hundred years.

During the 1870s it was not unheard of for a child as young as two or three to be sent off on family business. They would run errands or make deliveries of goods to customers. Early on they learned all family members were to help (Kalman 29). Emma was no different than her peers: therefore, she was sent out to a dress fitting after she went to the market for her mother. This too, was a common practice for the day. Children were dressed similarly to adults. They wore the same type of clothing as their parents. Daughters wore clothing as their mothers with all the lace and fancy buttons, high laced shoes and hats; sons wore the same as their fathers. All children dressed alike until the boys reached the age of nine (Kalman 16).

On a cold day in March Emma Schnug left home about 9 am. She was going to the market for her mother. It was not far from her home where her mother said she could see her from the front window. She was to pick up some meat for dinner in her father's little tin bucket. She left the market at approximately 10:30 am and headed for the dress shop. No one knows how long she was there or when she left, and no one has seen her since ("Her Sister's Disappearance").

Emma had three older sisters living at home during the time of her disappearance, their ages ranging in age from seven to nine. There were several other children in the family, possibly sixteen of them. Seven of these children are believed to have died at the age of four or younger. Besides Emma, one other died from unknown causes (Saginaw County Death Records). Emma's father was a cabinet maker and her mother was a homemaker pregnant with a fifth child at the time of the disappearance.

During this time, Saginaw was a lumber town with saloons and whorehouses in much of the area we now call "down town." The streets were muddy from the horses, wagons and coaches, compared to our cement streets today, with their walkways, and motor vehicles. Some of the roads and sidewalks were made of planks in the late 1800s ("Her Sister's Disappearance").

Walnut and Ninth Streets where the Schnugs lived was part of the downtown area. It is two blocks from Genesee Street. Baum Street is several blocks from Genesee Street and only two blocks from the Saginaw River bed where the lumber mills were located. Emma walked two blocks to reach the corner of Genesee Street. Then she traveled northwest for about three fourths of a mile to the Baum Street market for her mother. She proceeded to Washington Street two blocks away, to the dress shop. Is about a mile too far to send a six-year-old girl on an errand alone through a whorehouse and tavern-infested area?

The weather was dry and cold during this particular day in March. A blizzard arrived about 4 pm. This is not uncommon for Saginaw to experience or for the state of Michigan. The blizzard covered the whole state, dropping six to twelve inches of snow in most areas. High winds caused huge drifts ("The Snow Fiend") Visibility was not good, and because the roads were of dirt planks traveling was hard. When Emma left home she was wearing a dark red cloak and hat, red and gray socks, and carrying a tin bucket ("Solved At Last"). None of these things would be hard to spot in a blanket of snow.

Emma was no where to be found. Her mother watched her as she crossed the street. When she arrived safely on the other side, she waved her tin bucket to her mother as a signal of all is well. That was the last time her mother saw her.

There were many sightings of a girl thought to have been Emma. Her father followed every sighting that came along with hopes of finding his daughter. He traveled across Michigan investigating various sightings for instance a young girl was seen with a man on a wagon in Bridgeport. This turned out to be a true abduction with the girl being released and the man arrested ("The Lost Child"). Another sighting in Blumfield Township resulted in an arrest of a man who lured a child, thought to be Emma, into a wagon ("A Clue To The Missing Girl"). During this time Bruno Martin reported to police his little girl was approached by an unknown man who offered her money, candy and a new dress if she would go with him. Martin's daughter ran home ("A Suspicious Circumstance"). In Buchanan Michigan, Postmaster Saylor received a letter from a man named Morley "asking for a description of the little girl Emma Schnug" ("A Clue").

Morley was concerned about a little girl who was brought into his neighborhood by a woman and the child was continuously crying for her mother ("A Clue"). In Clare, a girl was spotted with a man answering the description of Emma. Although she looked "almost exactly like Emma," her father confirmed she was not ("The Courier on Sunday"). Mr. Schnug also went to Illinois, Indiana, California and New York, only to return with nothing. It was thought that a rich Aunt of Emma's might have lured her away to New York for a better life. The Aunt wanted to take Emma and raise her as her own, but that too was a false lead (Miller). So many sightings were coming forth that Common Council of Saginaw authorized the Mayor to offer a $100.00 reward for her or information which would lead to her recovery ("Solved At Last"). This too brought in false leads and no hope of finding Emma. The police faithfully did all they could to reveal what has happened to Emma. "The honor of the city is involved in finding this child." ("The Lost Child").

Approximately a week after Emma's disappearance, rumors began circulating about what happened to her. Stories spread about how she was the product of a former wife of Mr. Schnug, despite objections to the contrary regarding having no other wife, and how the present Mrs. Schnug wanted to get rid of her possibly setting the disappearance up ("The Missing Girl"). More than a year later the lawyer for the Schnugs, Mr. John McArthur, made a statement to the public in The Saginaw Daily Republican. He stated: "I shall immediately institute legal proceedings against them, referring to those rumors about the parents"( McArthur 2).

Has anything ever been heard of little Emma Schnug, who disappeared from this city more than sixteen months ago? Can anyone give any information? ("Emma Schnug").

Sixteen months passed and the search still continued for Emma. On July 14, 1878, Officer Oliver when to the Schnug's home for another description of Emma on the day she disappeared ("Emma Schnug"). Her mother described the dress, apron, shoes, socks and cloak she had been wearing along with the tin bucket she was carrying. Satisfied with what he heard, Officer Oliver told the parents the body of their long lost daughter had been found. He gave them all the details while they listened in disbelief. On July 16, 1878, Both The Saginaw Daily Republican and The Saginaw Daily Courier ran the following headlines: "The Mystery Concerning the Fate of Little Emma Schnug - The Body Found in the Woods Near the City and Fully identified." According to the articles, a body answering the description of Emma Schnug was found in Buena Vista, Michigan.

A group of German women and children had gone berry picking on Vassar Plank Road by the Eastman farm. Mrs Lois Flagler and two boys were picking berries by St. Clair Road, which was about three miles from town. The body was found between the Plank and the old railroad grade near some bushes about 3 rods (49 ft) from the road.. Officer Thomas Oliver was summoned to the sight to investigate. The remains had no flesh, but the hair was preserved, as well as the cloak, socks, shoes and a piece of apron. Also found was a nearly new buffalo robe, a pair of shoes and tin bucket, which did not belong to Emma. The other clothing articles had rotted away ("Emma Schnug").

Mrs. Flagler, the woman who found the remains, was a neighbor to the Schnugs. She was a woman with a strange look about her which caused Mrs. Schnug to fear her. This gave her reasons to not go berry picking with Mrs. Flagler. Two days after she reported finding the remains, the Flagler family were never seen or heard of from again (" Her Sister's Disappearance ").

There were several other theories to Emma's disappearance, besides Mrs. Schnug having had someone kidnap her to be rid of her, or a rich aunt in New York who wanted to raise her. There were some who believed she wandered off in the storm trying to find a friends' home, got lost, and was overpowered by it. Others believed someone had gained her trust using something to lure her away from her neighborhood.

According to many, on July 15, 1878, Emma's remains were found. The coroner's office had an inquest. Statements were taken from many witnesses. All the bones and material were examined and found to be those of Emma. The verdict of "death from causes unknown" was made on July 24, 1878 ("The Inquest"). Her death record reads as follows:

Emma Schnug
Date of Death - 24 July 1878
Age - 7 years, 1 month
Place of Death - East Saginaw
Cause of Death - unknown,
Found in woods at this date,
Supposed Murdered
(Saginaw County Death Records)

After the coroner's inquest the body was released to be buried in the family plot. Mr. And Mrs. Louis Schnug buried these bones in Brady Hill Cemetery, not believing they were Emma's. Alone they continued their search ("Her Sister's Disappearance ").

"They're lost in snow,
Unheard their moan
The wild winds blow,
Sad requiem."
("Emma Schnug").

Works Cited

  • Anderson, Rose Marie. Email to author. Emma Schnug. 15 Nov. 2001.
  • "A Clue." The Saginaw Weekly Courier 5 Apr.1877:3.
  • "The Clue to the Missing Girl." The Saginaw Daily Courier 20 Mar. 1877:2.
  • "The Courier." The Saginaw Weekly Courier 12 Apr. 1877:3.
  • Driggs, J. F. "The Missing Girl." The Saginaw Daily Courier 10 Mar. 1877:2.
  • "Emma Schnug." The Saginaw Daily Republican 16 Jul. 1878:1. Vol. 4:342.
  • Kalman, Bobbie. Early Settler Children. Toronto: Crabtree Pub. Co., 1947.
  • Gendis.com. 18 Jul. 2001. Gendis. 20 Nov. 2001.<http://www.mdch.state.mi.us./PHA/
    OSR/gendis/search.htm>.
  • "The Inquest." The Saginaw Daily Courier 17 Jul. 1878:2.
  • "The Inquest." The Saginaw Daily Courier 25 Jul. 1878:2.
  • "The Lost Child." The Saginaw Daily Republican 10 Mar. 1877:2.
  • "The Lost Child." The Saginaw Daily Republican 11 Mar. 1877:2.
  • Maday, Anna Mae. "Emma Schnug." E-mail to the author. 14 Nov. 2001.
  • - - - . " From Laurie." E-mail to the author. 13 Sept. 2001.
  • - - - . "Mary Beth's Class." E-mail to author. 6 Sept. 2001.
  • "The Missing Girl." The Saginaw Daily Courier 17 Mar. 1877:2.
  • McArthur, John. Letter. The Saginaw Daily Republican 15 Aug. 1878:1.
  • Miller, Edward W. "Her Sister's Disappearance Still A Mystery 78 Years Later." The Saginaw News 13 Feb. 1955:27.
  • "Our Good Morning." The Saginaw Daily Republican 23 Jul. 1878:1. Vol. 4:348.
    Saginaw County Death Records. Book 15A#2: 262.
  • "The Snow Fiend." The Saginaw Daily Courier 9 Mar. 1877:2.
  • "Solved At Last." The Saginaw Daily Courier 16 Jul. 1878:2.
  • "Solved At Last." The Saginaw Daily Courier 16 Jul. 1932:1 and 3.
  • "Still Missing." The Saginaw Daily Courier 11 Mar. 1877:2.
  • "A Suspious Circumstance." The Saginaw Daily Courier 3 Apr. 1877:2.

 
 
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