Enke Family

Enke monument

Charles Enke, Sr.
5 May 1827 – 25 October 1898
Emma Enke
28 October 1863 – 16 November 1880

Charles and his wife Henriette (Zellmer) Enke were born in Saxony in Germany. At some point prior to 1860, they immigrated to the US and spent some time in Wisconsin. It’s unclear if they married in Germany or met and married in Wisconsin, but their three older children, Charles Jr, Emma, and Cora, were born there.

By 1870, the family had moved to Chicago and Charles was working as a builder. In 1875 their fourth and final child William was born, ten years after his sister Cora. By 1880, Charles Jr had left home. I couldn’t find him on the census, but he had not yet married. Charles Sr now listed himself as a carpenter.

Sadly, Emma died later that same year. She is the only Enke child who died young, and it’s obvious she was deeply mourned. The treestump headstone was most likely erected for her.

Charles Jr married a few years later, and Cora and William grew up, married, and had children of their own, too. After Charles Sr died in 1898, Henriette lived with youngest William and his family until her own death in 1907. She is buried at Concordia, and it’s likely she is also buried with Charles Sr and Emma, but for whatever reason, there is no inscription for her.

Enke monument detailThe other Enke siblings are buried elsewhere in Cook County and from the available information, it seems there may have been some estrangement between the older children and their mother and younger brother. Perhaps this is why no inscription was ever added.

The details on this treestump are fantastic. I love the sleek, active squirrel most of all.

RIP Enkes

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