Schoenfeld was born in Bellaire, Ohio, of German-Jewish parentage. Her father, Alexander Schoenfeld, was born in Germany and migrated when a very young man to the US. Her mother, Rose Hartman, was born in Frederick, Maryland, the daughter of German parents. When Schoenfeld was a few months old, her parents moved to Columbus, Ohio, and engaged in mercantile enterprises, before the family moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania, which was chosen for their home on account of its educational advantages. It was a college town with musical schools, where children could be given opportunities at a small cost. Schoenfeld was graduated from the public schools of Meadville and entered Allegheny College in 1804, being graduated in 1897. She decided to study medicine and entered the Woman's Medical College at Toronto, Canada, but with her father's objections to her being a professional woman, she gave up her work.
