Traditions in Honor of Remembrance

25 years ago yesterday, on March 26, 1987, the world lost a very special man, my grandfather, Ralph L. Wells. He was the love of my Grandmother's life and she was absolutely devastated by his loss.  I was only 3 1/2 years old when he passed away, but I was Grandpa's girl through and through.  Growing up, my grandmother always made sure that he remained a part of our lives, and she continues to do so to this day.  She signs birthday cards 'Love Grandma & "Grandpa"' and gave me gifts of jewelry with the same inscription.  Her and my grandfather enjoyed taking trips to Jamaica, so when I was in middle school she took me to Jamaica so that I could experience the place that was special to them.

Even after a quarter of a century, the 26th of March is still a very difficult day for her, which is a true testament to the love that they shared. So, last year I started a new tradition in remembrance of my Grandfather.  On the 26th of March I send my Grandmother flowers from her great grandchildren to let her know that my Grandfather's memory will live on with them and that it continues to live on with me.

We love you Grandpa and you will never be forgotten.

Grandpa

Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa at a back yard BBQ.

Grandma and Grandpa and my parents wedding.

Grandma and Grandpa holding baby me.

Genealogical Fan Chart

I first saw the genealogical fan chart on Pinterest.  I used the template from Martha Stewart and altered it to fit my needs.  What do you think?  I removed the birth dates of living relatives for web display.

Click on the image to view it in higher resolution.

Ruch Lineage

Ruch Lineage

Generation No.1 

1. UNKNOWN¹ RUCH

     Children of UNKNOWN RUCH and UNKNOWN SPOUSE

     2. JACOB RUCH, b. 25 JUN 1866 in Switzerland, d. 6 APR 1899 in Monroe, WI

     3. ARNOLD RUCH, b. 26 DEC 1872 in Switzerland, d. 1932 in Monroe, WI

Generation No. 2 

2. JACOB² RUCH was born 25 JUN 1866 in Switzerland and died in 6 APR 1899 in Monroe, WI. He immigrated to America onboard the Veendam, which departed out of Rotterdam, Netherlands, and arrived at Ellis Island on 7 APR 1893. He made his living as a farmer. Jacob married SOPHIA MAIBACH on 27 APR 1893 in Green County, WI. Sophia was born 4 APR 1876 in Switzerland and died 29 MAY 1969 in Monroe, WI. She immigrated to America on the same ship as Jacob. It is unknown if they met prior to sailing to America together.

     Children of JACOB RUCH and SOPHIA MAIBACH (Switzerland + Switzerland)

     4. MINNIE RUCH, b. DEC 1893 in WI

     5. JACOB RUCH JR., b. 13 FEB 1895 in IL or WI, d. 19 MAY 1953 in Lena, IL

     6. FREDA ELIZABETH RUCH, b. 19 NOV 1899 in Green Co., WI, d. 21 MAY 1986 in Monroe,      WI.

3. ARNOLD² RUCH was born 26 DEC 1872 in Switzerland and died in 1932 in Monroe, WI. He immigrated to America onboard the Veendam with his brother Jacob. He was naturalized 24 OCT 1898. Arnold made his living as a cheese maker and farmer. He married the widowed SOPHIA MAIBACH after his brother passed away. They wed on 22 FEB 1900.

     Children of ARNOLD RUCH and SOPHIA MAIBACH (Switzerland + Switzerland)

     7. ROBERT A. RUCH, b. 1901 in WI, d. 24 MAR 1933 in Monroe, WI

     8. MARGARET RUCH, b. 16 APR 1904 in WI, d. 19 MAR 1978 in Monroe, WI

     9. SOPHIA ANNA RUCH, b. 25 JUN 1905 in WI, d. 5 SEP 1992 in Monroe, WI

Generation No. 3 

4. MINNIE³ RUCH (JACOB²) was born in DEC 1893 in Wisconsin. She last appears on the 1920 census, still living at home with her parents. I can find no further information on her.

5. JACOB³ RUCH JR. (JACOB²) was born 13 FEB 1895 in Illinois or Wisconsin and died 19 MAY 1953 in Lena, IL. He made his living as a farmer. He married LOUISA RUFENACHT, daughter of FRITZ RUFENACHT and ANNA ELIZABETH ROTHENBUEHLER, around 1922. Louisa was born 12 OCT 1898 in Green Co., WI and died 19 MAY 1953 in Lena, IL. Jacob, Louisa and Marjorie all share the same date of death because they all died together in a car accident in Illinois.

     Children of JACOB RUCH JR. and LOUISA RUFENACHT (Switzerland + Switzerland)

     10. MARJORIE LOUISE RUCH, b. 7 MAR 1923 in WI, d. 19 MAY 1953 in Lena, IL

6. FREDA³ ELIZABETH RUCH (JACOB²) was born 19 NOV 1899 in Green Co., WI and died 21 May 1986 in Monroe, WI. She married BEN H. SCHULTZ, son of CHARLES A. SCHULTZ and LOUISA K. DITTIS, on 14 AUG 1918 in Chicago, IL. Ben was born Jan 1891 and is believed to have died between 1920 and 1930. Freda then married FRED WEISS, son of CONRAD WEISS and MARIA M. HOESLY, on 14 FEB 1931. Fred was born 5 SEP 1887 in Green Co., WI and died 20 FEB 1975 in Monroe, WI.

     Children of FREDA E. RUCH and BEN H. SCHULTZ (Switzerland + Germany)

     11. MARION B. SCHULTZ, b. 14 JAN 1919 in Monroe, WI, d. 16 JUL 2004 in Monroe, WI

     Children of FREDA E. RUCH and FRED WEISS (Switzerland + Switzerland)

     12. HELEN WEISS

     13. MARLENE WEISS

7. ROBERT³ A. RUCH (ARNOLD²) was born in Wisconsin in 1901 and died 24 MAR 1933 in Monroe, WI. He married EMMA LEE EDWARDS, daughter of CHARLES H. EDWARDS and CHARLOTTE F. NOBLE, 18 DEC 1930 in Freeport, IL. Emma was born 21 SEP 1912 in Gratiot, WI and died 8 FEB 1935 in Jordan Township, WI.

     Children of ROBERT A. RUCH and EMMA L. EDWARDS (Switzerland + England)

     14. SHIRLEY MAE RUCH, b. MAY 1931 in Monroe, WI

     15. WILMA A. RUCH, b. 1933 in Monroe, WI

8. MARGARET³ RUCH (ARNOLD²) was born 16 APR 1904 in Wisconsin and died 19 MAR 1978 in Monroe, WI. She married JOHN J. COTHERMAN, son of ERNEST COTHERMAN and ROSA L. WITTENWYLER, 20 DEC 1923. John was born 8 AUG 1902 in Washington Township, WI and died 25 FEB 1965.

     Children of MARGARET RUCH and JOHN COTHERMAN (Switzerland + Germany)

     16. MARIAN MARGARET COTHERMAN, b. 22 JUN 1924 in Monroe, WI, d. 29 JUL 2002 in

     Belleville, WI

     17. JOHN ROBERT COTHERMAN, b. 7 DEC 1935

9. SOPHIA³ ANNA RUCH (ARNOLD²) was born 25 JUN 1905 in WI and died 5 SEP 1992 in Monroe, WI. She married ALVIN WILSON MARTI, son of CHRISTOPHER MARTI and ANNA BRECHLIEN, on 14 JUN 1923. Alvin was born 7 MAR 1899 and died 30 APR 1989 in Monroe, WI. When Sophia’s brother, Arnold, and sister-in-law, Emma, passed away Sophia and Alvin took in their daughter, Wilma.

     Children of SOPHIA A. RUCH and ALVIN W. MARTI (Switzerland + Switzerland)

     18. VIRGINIA MARTI, b. 10 DEC 1923 in Monroe, WI, d. 17 NOV 1988 in Tomah, WI

     19. DELORES MARTI, b. 8 JUL 1938 in Monroe, WI

Generation No. 4 

10. MARJORIE⁴ LOUISE RUCH (JACOB³, JACOB²) was born 7 MAR 1923 in WI, and died 19 MAY 1953 in Lena, IL. She married HAROLD LARSE, son of JAY C. LARSE and MAMIE O. SEFFROOD, 15 OCT 1941 in Lafayette Co., WI. Harold was born in 1921.

     Children of MARJORIE L. RUCH and HAROLD LARSE (Switzerland + Norway)

     20.

     21.

     22.

11. MARION⁴ B. SCHULTZ (FREDA³, JACOB²) was born 19 NOV 1899 in Green Co., WI and died 21 May 1986 in Monroe, WI. She married JOHN J. STOCKER, son of ROBERT STOCKER and MARGERUITE, on 14 JUNE 1940. John was born 8 FEB 1915 in Wisconsin and died 2 MAR 1992 in Monroe, WI.

     Children of MARION B. SCHULTZ and JOHN J. STOCKER (Switzerland + Switzerland)

     23. JAMES STOCKER

     24. MARY STOCKER

     25. SALLY STOCKER

The Name Game

While looking at my Margraf tree today I noticed a hint for my Great Great Grandfather Philipp Margraf.  I clicked on it and it was a record from the Wisconsin Birth and Christenings Index, 1826-1908.  This index must have been added recently.  I already had a date of birth for Philipp, so I wasn't immediately excited about this record, but then I viewed it.  This record gave me two gigantic pieces of information, both of his parents full names.  This whole time I've had his parents listed as John Margraf and Anna (maiden name unknown).  This birth record told me that his father's name was actually Mathias, and John is his middle name.  It also told me Anna's maiden name, Keil.  Now, there is a bit of conflicting information.  I was able to find the birth record for Phillip's youngest brother as well.  I had him listed as Matthew John Margraf, but the birth record told me that his name is actually Mathias John Margraf Jr.  It all makes sense!  However, Mathias Jr's record has Anna's maiden name listed as Keilen.  She was born in Germany and I believe she married Mathias and took his name before immigrating to America, so I don't know that I'll ever determine the correct last name, but it's still a lot more than I had.  At least they are close.  So, thank you ancestry.com for the amazing hint!!!

Back On-Board

Well, as you can see, I took a bit of a break from genealogy.  Summer tends to do that to me.  I am always so busy with the kids in the summer.  Then, I was super busy in the Fall with them, too.  E-Ray played his first season of football and it was incredibly time consuming.  Anyways, the holidays are over and my husband just deployed, so I should have some time to get back on board.

I've decided that this time around I need to come up with some sort of plan.  I have so much information on my ancestry that it can become overwhelming at times.  I need to stick to only working on one surname at a time or it just becomes too confusing and I lose track of what I was doing.  Right now, my first goal is to get this blog exactly the way I want it.  I need to create pages for all of the primary surnames in my research and input all of the information I have thus far on them...one....at....a....time.

As far as research is concerned, I am going to focus my time on my maternal Grandmother's lineage because it is the one that is the biggest mystery.  I posted about it in my regular blog here before I began this genealogy blog.  So, you can pop on over there to read the full story, or, long story short......both of her parents died when she was very young and her and her siblings were split up and were/are not in touch with each other.  Her half brother's daughter found me via ancestry.com in 2010 and ended up sending me a portrait of my Great Great Grandmother.  It was absolutely incredible.  I came to tears when I opened up the envelope and laid eyes on the beautiful photo.

Now, my goal is to try and get in touch with my Grandmother's sister's family.  I am hoping maybe they can fill in some of the gaps in our family tree, and more than anything I am hoping that they have a photo of my Great Grandfather.  As far as my Grandmother knows, her sister, Shirley, is still alive.  For whatever reason, they are not in touch.  One of Shirley's children was in touch with my Grandmother a few years back to tell her she had had a stroke, but that's the last she heard from them.  I called her today and told her I want to try to get in touch with her sister's family.  She doesn't have any contact information and only knows the name of one of Shirley's sons.  So, I googled his name and looked for a match near where Shirley lives and I got what I hope is a pretty good match on the whitepages.com website.  It gave me an address and a phone number.  I decided to write him a letter because I think calling him on the phone would be entirely too awkward.  I am sending it off tomorrow and I sure do hope he will respond!!  I will be so incredibly excited if he does!!  Wish me luck!!

Holy Genealogy Batman!

For the past four years I have been researching my genealogy off and on, but lately I have been working on it non-stop.  I went back up to Wisconsin at the end of February for my mom's birthday and my parents took me to Monroe, WI for the first time.  That is where my mother was born and the majority of her ancestry lies.  It was incredibly fascinating.  I was able to go to the local cemetery and find the headstones for just about all of her relatives that lived and died in Monroe, which gave me some dates that I couldn't find elsewhere.  I took pictures of all of them, and my husband thinks that is totally creepy.  I guess he just doesn't get it.  I've also found findagrave.com to be a huge help.  I uploaded all of my photos to there and actually fulfilled 4 different photo requests.  Go me!

My current project is writing out the descendant list (not sure if there is a more technical name for it) of John and Anna Margraf, my Great Great Great Grandparents that immigrated here from Prussia.  It is A LOT of work!  I need to call my dad this weekend and see if he can fill in a lot of blank spots in more recent generations since it's hard to find records on living people.  Here's how it starts, just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

Descendants of John Margraf

Generation No.1

1.  JOHN¹ MARGRAF was born in 1836 in Prussia and died sometime between 1890-1900.  His parents were also born in Prussia.  He was a Stone Mason in Schleisingerville, WI, which is present day Slinger, WI.  He married ANNA (surname unknown) (location and date unknown).  ANNA was born in July of 1848 in Prussia and immigrated to America in 1868.  Her parents were also born in Prussia.  Her second marriage was to George Iberl on March 30, 1900.  The 1900 census states that she was the mother of 11 children, of which only 4 were still living.

Children of JOHN MARGRAF and ANNA  (Prussia + Prussia)

2.         i.    NICKOLAS MARGRAF, b. 1873, IL d. 1888

3.         ii.   JOHN MARGRAF, b. 1876, WI d. 8 July 1964

4.         iii.  PHILIPP MARGRAF, b. 4 Nov 1878, Washington Co., WI; d. 1959, WI

5.         iv.  PETER MARGRAF,  b. Apr 1883, WI d. 1910, WI

6.         v.   MATTHEW JOHN MARGRAF, b. 11 Jan 1890, WI

Generation No. 2

2.  NICKOLAS² MARGRAF (JOHN ¹) was born 1873 in Illinois.  He died at the age of 15 in Slinger, Wisconsin in 1888 and is buried in the old St. Peters Catholic Cemetery.

3.  JOHN² MARGRAF (JOHN ¹) was born in 1876 in Wisconsin and died 8 July 1964 in Green Bay, WI.  He made his living as a Car Smith for the railroad in Green Bay.  He married ROSA DANIELS, daughter of JOSEPH DANIELS and CHRISTINA, on 11 Sep 1900 in Brown County, WI.  Rosa was born 20 May 1875 and died 3 Nov 1964, both in Brown County, WI.

More about JOHN MARGRAF and ROSA DANIELS   (Prussia + Belgium)

-ROSA’s lineage:

            JOSEPH DANIELS  (b. Apr 1849, Belgium; d. Unk.)

            CHRISTINA (b. Apr. 1854, Belgium; d.Unk.)

           

            Children of JOHN MARGRAF and ROSA DANIELS

            7.         i.   EMIL PHILLIP MARGRAF, b. 21 Feb 1902 d. 16 Nov 1985

            8.         ii.  RAYMOND MARGRAF, b. 15 June 1904

            9.         iii. ARTHUR MARGRAF, b. 12 May 1907 d. 13 Jan 1972

            10.       iv.  IRENE MARGRAF, b. 1911

            11.       v.   EVELYN MARGRAF, b. 1916

            12.       vi.  ROY JOHN MARGRAF, b. 12 Sep 1917 d. 17 Mar 1994

            13.       vii. JOHN MARGRAF, b. 1920

4.   PHILIPP² MARGRAF (JOHN ¹) was born 4 Nov 1878 in Washington Co., WI and died in 1959.  He worked various jobs in his life time.  One was at the Stork Brewery in Slinger, WI.  He married KATHERINE SCHERR  at the end of 1900 or early 1901, daughter of CASPER SCHERR and HELENA BLUM.  She was born in Sep 1881 in Wisconsin and died in 16 Dec 1957 in Slinger, WI.

     

         More about PHILIPP MARGRAF and KATHERINE SCHERR:                                                                                       -KATHERINE’s lineage:

                        i. CASPER SCHERR b. 1835, Prussia; d. 10 Apr 1899, Wash. Co., WI

                                    ii. JOHAN SCHERR b. 1804, Germany; d. 31 May 1858, Polk, WI

                                    ii. CATHERINE DINSCHEN b. 1806, Prussia; d. 1 June 1883, Polk

i. HELENA BLUM b. 28 Oct 1839, Germany; d. Nov 1912

                                    ii. PETER BLUM b. 1807, Prussia; d. 26 Jan 1896, Hartford, WI

                                    ii. AGNES OTTO b. 20 Apr 1816, Prussia; d. 30 May 1897, Hartford

        

            Children of PHILIPP MARGRAF and KATHERINE SCHERR (Prussia + Germany)

            14.       i.       FRANK MARGRAF b. 31 Aug 1901, WI d. 17 Jul 1974, Slinger, WI

            15.       ii.      HELENA MARGRAF b. 6 Apr 1903, WI d. 24 Dec 1980, Slinger, WI

            16.       iii.    CHARLES MARGRAF b. 26 Oct 1904, WI d. 30 Dec 1968, Richfield, WI

            17.       iv.     CONRAD MARGRAF b. 27 Apr 1906, WI d. 15 Jan 1969, Lake Geneva

            18.       v.      DOROTHY MARGRAF b. 2 Jun 1910, WI d. 22 Oct 1987, Hartford, WI

            19.       vi.     PETER MARGRAF b. 20 Aug 1911, WI d. 8 Oct 1983, Menomonee Falls

            20.       vii.    ANITA MARGRAF b. 29 Feb 1916, WI d. 26 Jan 2000, Slinger, WI

            21.       ix.     LAVERNE MARGRAF b. 25 Sep 1917, WI d. 11 May 1970, WI

            22.       viii.   NORBERT MARGRAF b. 29 Jan 1924, WI d. 28 Dec 1995, Tucson, AZ

           

5. PETER² MARGRAF (JOHN ¹) was born in April of 1883.  He died in 1910 and is buried

in St. Peter Catholic Cemetery in Slinger, WI.

6. MATTHEW² JOHN MARGRAF (JOHN ¹) was born 11 Jan 1890 in Washington Co., WI

(death unknown).  He moved to Chicago, IL sometime between 1910 and 1917.  He was an

auto mechanic, but eventually made his living as an auto salesman for Ford in Chicago, IL.

His fir

            Children of MATTHEW JOHN MARGRAF and GRACE  (Prussia + ?)

            23.       i.   EDWARD J. MARGRAF, b. 1919, Chicago, IL

        

Generation No. 3

7.  EMIL³ PHILLIP MARGRAF (JOHN ²,JOHN ¹) was born 21 Feb 1902 in Green Bay, WI and died 16 Nov 1985 in Green Bay, WI.  In his early years he worked for the railroad.  He married LILLIAN MANSEE 2 June 1928, daughter of FRED MANSEE and ANNA ALVINA FICK.  She was born 24 Aug 1900 in Shawano Co., WI and died 12 Aug 1981 in Green Bay, WI.

            More about EMIL PHILLIP MARGRAF and LILLIAN MANSEE

              -LILLIAN’s lineage:

                        i. FRED MANSEE b. 2 Jul 1868 Pella, WI; d. 31 Dec 1957 Pella, WI

                                    ii. JOHN MANSEE b. 8 Mar 1837, Prussia; d. 26 Feb 1919, WI

                                    ii. AUGUSTA b. 22 Jul 1840, Prussia; d. 16 Dec 1928, Pella, WI

                        i. ANNA FICK b. 1 Jun 1872 Kewaskum, WI; d. 28 Jun 1941, Pella, WI

st wife was Grace (b. 1894  d. Unk.) (Surname Unknown).  His second wife was Mary

V. (b. 1903. d. Unk.)(Surname Unknown).

An Interesting Coincidence

I've been printing out all of the census records I can find that contain information regarding my ancestors.  Ancestry.com makes this incredibly easy to do.  I absolutely LOVE that website!!!!!!  While browsing the 1905 Census of Jordan Township in Green Co., Wisconsin I noticed two familiar names on the same page.

It turns out that (see if you can follow this....) my Mother's Father's Father's Mother's Father lived three houses away from my Mother's Mother's Father's Father.  NEAT!  Or, maybe not so neat.  I don't know.  I think it's neat!  :)