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!!