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German-born resident of Saginaw, Michigan; worked variously as a laborer, mechanic, shop foreman, factory superintendent, and traveling salesman. Includes scattered correspondence and unpublished literary works and essays with details of early cross-country automobile travel on the Yellowstone Trail and Lincoln Highway and perspectives on Michigan's manufacturing economy.

The Robert W. Schoening papers are primarily of interest due to their detailed description of his cross-country automobile trips and extensive traveling through the western United States from 1919 to 1921. Other writings reveal period attitudes towards capitalism, patriotism, and industrialism. The collection includes original manuscripts and correspondence as well as digitized images of these works created by Schoening's family.

The collection also includes a series of digitized photographs from Schoening's trip out west circa 1919 and collected materials related to the Saginaw Cigar Manufacturers and local life in Saginaw and Flint, Michigan.