Nov 29

Tombstone Tuesday–Fred and Mary Ruck

Tombstone of Fred & Mary Ruck, Zion Cemetery, Orlando, Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of Joyce Layman.

This is the tombstone of Fred and Mary Ruck, located in Zion Cemetery, about 2½ miles west of Orlando, in Logan County, Oklahoma. The gravestone is inscribed: RUCK, Mary, Nov 4, 1861-Feb 23, 1956; Fred, Aug 5 1860-Apr 10, 1924.

Johann Friedrich “Fred” Rueck was the fourth child of my great-great-grandparents, Jacob and Regina (Gross) Rueck. He was also the brother of my great-grandmother, Christine (Rueck) Miller.  Mary was the daughter of Michael and Eva (Maurer) Prollock.

Fred changed the spelling of his surname from Rueck to Ruck sometime before 1900.

Fred Ruck’s Obituary:

Fred Ruck was born in Steinback, Württemberg, Germany, August 5, 1860. He died at his home near Orlando, Oklahoma, at 3 p.m. April 10th, 1924, age 63 years, 8 months and 5 days.

He came to America with his parents in 1880 and settled in Ohio. He moved to Kansas in 1884 and was united in marriage to Mary Prollock the same year. To this union was born seven children, two of these preceding him in death.

In 1891 the family moved to Oklahoma and settled on a farm near Orlando, where he made his home until he departed this life.

Mr. Ruck was converted under the labors of Bro. Nannings and remained a true believer in Jesus Christ throughout his life. He was always ready and willing to give a helping hand at all times.

He leaves to mourn his departure a wife and five children, namely, Mrs. Katie Wait of Sawyer, Frank Ruck of El Dorado, Kansas, Mrs. Lena Frey, Fred and Marie Ruck of Orlando, also 11 grandchildren, four brothers and three sisters and host of relatives and friends. He endured his suffering patiently until the death angel called to his eternal reward. Mr. Ruck will be greatly missed by his many friends, having lived in this community for 33 years. He was a loving husband, father and friend. (Orlando Clipper, 18 April 1924)

Mary (Prollock) Ruck’s obituary:

Rites for Mrs. Mary Ruck, 94, pioneer of the Orlando community, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the United Evangelical Church at Orlando, Rev. E.A. Pauli officiate. Burial will be in Zion Cemetery, west of Orlando. Smith Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Mrs. Ruck died Thursday morning at the home of her daughter Mrs. Lena Fry in Mulhall. In addition to Mrs. Frey, she is survived by two sons, Frank Ruck of Eldorado, Kansas, and Fred Ruck of Orlando and one other daughter, Mrs. Marie Scott of Orlando, 12 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. In 1883 she came to America and settled in Clay Center, Kansas. One year later she married Fred Ruck and they lived there until 1889, when they moved to Orlando, Oklahoma. (from an unidentified newspaper)

According to family information Fred and Mary knew each other in Germany and planned to marry each other later.

Fred & Mary (Prollock) Ruck, Frank & Katie.

Fred and Mary (Prollock) were living in Orlando, Logan County, Oklahoma, when they were enumerated in the 1900 census. Fred was 39 years of age and Mary 38. They were both born in Germany. At that time they had four children: Katie, 16; Frank, 14; Lena, 10; Fred, 6. Katie and Frank were born in Kansas while Lena and Fred were born in Oklahoma. This census shows that the couple had been married for sixteen years and that Fred immigrated in 1880 and was naturalized. Fred was a farmer who owned his farm without a mortgage. (1900 US census, Orlando, Logan, Oklahoma, T623_1339:6B, ED 144)

Fred and Mary had five children that lived to adulthood: Frank (1886-1965), Katie (1888-1947), Lena (1890-1975), Fred Jr (1893-1977), and Marie (1903-1982).

I have a copy of a letter written by Lena (Ruck) Dupy, granddaughter of Fred and Mary Ruck. She also lived in Oklahoma. The letter was written to my great-aunt Clara (Miller) Reef in 1995 and gives a little family history. I will share the letter sometime.

I want to thank my distant cousins Joyce Layman and Vic Keyes for giving me most of the above information as well as the tombstone photo. I recently met Joyce and Vic on-line.

Nov 25

Thanksgiving

Wild turkey on the move in our yard.

Gobble, gobble. This wild turkey walked through our yard on Memorial Day this year. Apparently he had his holidays a little mixed up. I wonder if he survived to Thanksgiving Day. His photo is  a little blurry because he was moving fairly quickly as he passed  through.

We had a domestic turkey yesterday for our Miller Thanksgiving Day dinner. However, it gave birth to a little pheasant breast. I guess you could call it a “TurSant”, the Miller version of a “TurDuckEn”. Turducken: a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey. Really! I’m not kidding. My boss actually had a Turducken for Thanksgiving a couple years ago.

My dad acquired the pheasant from Mark Kimmel. Mark shot several pheasants and gave one to my dad. My mom wasn’t sure how to cook this little game bird. She heard that pheasant meat is a little dry so I believe Aunt Kate suggested that she cook it inside the turkey. It turned out very well. It was not dry and it tasted just like turkey. Duh! It was cooked inside a turkey!

Turkey cooked with pheasant breast inside.

Thanks to my mom for the great Thanksgiving Day dinner with all the trimmings. She also makes the best pumpkin pie. The whole meal was simply scrumtrulescent. Thank you Jeff for that word.

I don’t remember much about our family Thanksgiving dinners when I was very young. Evidently the Millers used to get together on Thanksgiving. I found the following old newspaper clipping among some other clippings from Grandma Miller (Gertrude). The clipping was not dated but I estimate the year was either 1958 or 1959:

MILLER FAMILY GATHERING

Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Miller and daughter Ann of near Willshire, Ohio, were hosts to a family dinner on Thanksgiving Day.

Following the dinner the afternoon was spent in visiting.

The family circle was complete with the following present: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Werner, Roger, Gary, Linda and Phillip of Harmony, Pa.; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Linn, Judy, David, Jeanne and Debbie of Lima, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Miller and Karen; Mr. and Mrs. Norval Weitz, Ronnie, Gloria and Jack; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Eichlar [sic] and Eddie of Rockford, Ohio; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Miller of Hammond; Mr. and Mrs. LaVerne Miller, Jacalyn, Bradley and Douglas and the host family, Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Miller and Ann.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Werner and family remained for the week end. 

Undated clipping from unknown newspaper. (Thanksgiving c1958-59)

The article was probably from the Willshire Herald, now known as the Photo Star. Those little family news items newspapers used to print are great.

What I do remember about family get-togethers at Grandma and Grandpa Millers: There were a lot of us. There were card tables set up in every available room. The kids usually ate on the card tables in Grandma’s bedroom. There was a lot of good food.

I remember my mom hosting our Schumm side of the family for Thanksgiving several times. The holiday meals on that side of the family were not pot-luck. The hostess fixed the entire meal. That certainly sounds like a lot of work.

The Bennetts always have their Thanksgiving dinner on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. They combine the holiday dinner with an Ohio State football game, which always had been the big OSU/Michigan game. That rivalry game is now played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Go Bucks!

Each person in the Bennett family has their own special dishes that they take. I always take an Old Fashioned Cream Pie. My sister-in-law originally made this pie for the holidays but they now live out of state and are not able to attend. This pie turns out well for me so I have been entrusted with the task of bringing this Bennett family favorite. Also my favorite pie, by the way.

According to a recent article by Mikaela Conley of ABC News.com, feeling thankful is good for your health. Thankfulness is linked to positive changes in the brain and body. When you feel thankful the brain releases dopamine, which has a positive effect on mood and emotional well-being.

We have a lot to be thankful for and we should always remember that. So keep thinking those thankful thoughts.

I hope everyone had a very nice Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. Now I think I’ll have another piece of pumpkin pie.

Nov 22

Tombstone Tuesday–Wavil J. and Clara C. Reef

Wavil J & Clara C Reef, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Ohio

This is the tombstone of Wavil J. and Clara C. Reef. The grave marker is located in row 10 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Chattanooga, Mercer County, Ohio. The inscription is: REEF, Clara C., 1899-1997, Wavil J., 1901-1964, Married Nov 25, 1925.

Clara was the youngest child of Jacob and Christine (Rueck) Miller. She was born 4 December 1899 in Blackcreek Township, Mercer County, Ohio. She was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church, Chattanooga, on 2 January 1900 and was christened Klara Ida Müller, according to Zion’s records.   She grew up on the Miller farm on Sipe Road and she was my great-aunt. She died 17 February 1997 in Mercer County.

Wavil J. “Johnny” Reef was born 13 June 1901 near Bryant in Jay County, Indiana. He was the son of Oliver and Margaret (Whitney) Reef. He died 6 June 1964 in Mercer County. Johnny and Clara married 24 November 1925 at Zion, Chattanooga.

Wavil "Johnny" Reef (1901-1964)

Their obituaries:

W.J. Reef Passes Away—Wavel [sic] Jennings (John) Reef, 62, died suddenly Saturday evening at his home near Chattanooga. Although he had been in failing health since last March, his death was the result of a heart attack.

He was a farmer and an electrician but had been unable to work since March. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church at Chattanooga.

Born June 13, 1901, near Bryant, Ind., his parents were the late Oliver and Margaret Whitney Reef. He was married in Mercer County 38 years ago to Clara Miller and she survives with one daughter, Mrs. I.D. (Cynthia) Hileman, R. 1, Willshire, two grandchildren, a brother, Harley Reef, Toledo, and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Copic, Toledo, and Mrs. Curney Lindsey, New Corydon, Ind.

Yager Funeral Home in Berne, Ind., has charge of arrangements and friends may call there until noon Tuesday, when the body will be removed to the church to lie in state until the time of the rites. Funeral services are set for 2 p.m. Tuesday in Zion Lutheran Church with pastor, the Rev. Arnold Green, officiating. (The Daily Standard, 8 June 1964, page 1)

Johnny Reef wiring a night light on the Miller farm.

Clara Reef—Clara Reef, 97, Shane Hill Nursing Home, died there at 2:50 a.m. Monday. She was born Dec. 4, 1899, in Mercer County, to Jacob and Christina (Rueck) Miller. In November 1925 she married Wavil “Johnny” Reef, who preceded her in death.

Survivors are a daughter, Cynthia Hileman, Decatur, Ind., and three grandchildren. She was preceded in death by three brothers, three sisters, a half-brother and a half-sister.

She was a homemaker and member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Chattanooga.

Services are 2 p.m. Wednesday at the church, the Rev. Theodore O. Dockter officiating. Burial is at the church cemetery. Calling is 4-7 p.m. Tuesday and 9-11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Yager-Kirchofer Funeral Home, Berne, Ind., and an hour prior to services at the church.  Contributions can be made to the church. (The Daily Standard, 17 Feb 1997, p.5A)

Clara (Miller) Reef (1899-1997)

I remember Johnny and Clara very well. They lived just down the road from where I grew up. When I was very little I used to run down to their house to see their daughter Cindy.

Johnny was the local electrician and he and my dad wired a lot of homes and barns in the area and put up many night lights. Johnny was quite a kidder and jokester. I remember that he would always give a chamber pot to a newly wedded couple as a wedding gift. At their wedding reception the couple would take the lid off the pot and blush and laugh at whatever was inside the pot. I wasn’t allowed to take a peek at what was inside because I guess I was too young. But I was always curious about the pot’s contents. I imagine it contained something like corn cobs. Hopefully nothing worse!

Johnny Reef & his niece Ruth joking around.

What I remember most about Clara were her cats. She had a lot of cats. There were cats of all colors, sizes and ages in the house as well as in the barnyard. Every stray cat in the area must have known they could take shelter at the Reef farm.

Johnny, Cindy & Clara on the Miller porch swing.

Clara’s mother, Christine (Rueck) Miller, stayed with the Reefs from about 1929 until she died in 1945. After Clara passed away Cindy gave me a stack of letters written to Christine from her family that had moved out west. Unfortunately, most of those letters were written in the old German script. I can read some German script in church records but I don’t know enough German to read whole letters. Maybe someday I will get them translated. However, a few of the letters were written in English and I was able to get some information from them.

 

 

 

 

 

Nov 18

The Rueck Family in Van Wert County, Ohio

Jacob and Regina (Gross) Rueck

Last week I met some distant Rueck cousins on the Internet and we shared some Rueck information and photos. These cousins descend from Friedrich Rueck, the brother of my great-grandmother Christine (Rueck) Miller. They were both children of Jacob and Maria (Gross) Rueck.

I decided to look through my Rueck information again. I have quite a few unfinished notes in this family line.

Jacob Rueck was born 24 December 1828 in Appensee, in the governing district of Crailsheim, Württemberg. Maria Regina Gross was born 22 July 1833 in Hassfelden, Württemberg. They married 19 June 1855.

The couple had the following children: Johann George (1856-1925), Jacob Jr. (1857-1935), Christina (1858-1945), Johann “Friedrich” (1860-1924), Michael (1862-1862), Margaretta (1863-1864), Johannes (1865-1865), Catherina (1866-1955), David (1868-1956), Regina (1870-1951), Carl (1872-1933), and Caroline Rosina (1874-1875).

Four of their twelve children died in infancy in Germany but the rest of the children immigrated to America.

Jacob and his wife and children probably immigrated together. We believe they arrived in New York in 1880. However, Jacob Jr. gave 1881 as his date of immigration when he was enumerated in the 1900 census. He may have come to America a year later than the rest of the family. If the Ruecks had only immigrated a year or two earlier they would have been enumerated in the 1880 census. As it is, I have not found them in this census.

By 1881 the Jacob Rueck family had settled in Van Wert County, Ohio. Jacob purchased 120 acres of farmland east of the village of Willshire, in Willshire Township. His farm was between Willshire and the Schumm settlement.

It was probably no coincidence that the Ruecks settled in the Schumm area. Most immigrants moved to where relatives or friends from the old country had already settled. The Schumms were from Ruppertshoffen and the towns of Appensee and Hassfleden are only a few miles away. New immigrants probably knew where the German Lutheran settlements were in the new country. Maybe they knew someone who knew someone that had already settled in the area.

On 7 March 1881 Jacob Rueck purchased the 120 acres from Johnson Nye for $4500. He purchased the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 28 which consisted of 40 acres. The other parcel of land was the west half of the northwest fraction of the northwest quarter of Section 33. It was between the above southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 28 and the St. Marys River and consisted of about 80 acres. (Van Wert County Recorder’s Office, Deeds, Vol. 16, p. 513-14)

Below is part of an 1872 Map of Willshire Township. I have outlined in red the property that Jacob Rueck once owned.

1872 Map of Willshire Township showing location of Jacob Rueck's farm.

The parcels are just a couple miles east of Willshire. What is now State Route 81 cuts through the north part of the farm.

Three years later, on 3 October 1884, Jacob sold his 120 acres to Martin Schinnerer for $4500. (Van Wert County Recorder’s Office, Deeds, Vol. 26:130-131) There were two Martin Schinnerers at that time but this was probably the brother of my great-great-grandfather, Friedrich Schinnerer. It is a small world.

It was during this brief time when the Ruecks lived near Willshire that Christine learned to quilt from the Schumms. (See my blog “Family Quilts” for a story about this.)

While living in the Willshire/Schumm area the Ruecks attended Zion Lutheran Church at Schumm. According to the records at Zion two of Jacob’s children were confirmed at Zion. David Rueck was confirmed on Palm Sunday, April 1882 and Regina Christine Rueck was confirmed on Palm Sunday, April 1884.

Confirmation age was about 14 years and both of them would have about 14 years old at the time. Unfortunately I do not have copies of Zion’s communion records. They would probably give a good indication of when the Ruecks arrived in the area, what family members were here and when they left the area.

Also in the records at Zion, Schumm: Jacob Miller, a widower from Mercer County, married Christine Rueck, of Zion’s parish, on 9 November 1882 at the home of the bride’s parents. Jacob would have lived about seven or eight miles from the Rueck home. I wonder how he and Christine met? It also appears that they married before the rest of Christine’s family moved out west.

16x20 charcoal portrait of Jacob and Regina (Gross) Rueck that hangs in my office.

After Jacob Rueck sold his farm to Martin Schinnerer everyone in the family but Christine moved westward. Christine stayed in Ohio because she had married Jacob Miller. They lived about two miles north of Chattanooga.

Where did Christine Rueck Miller’s parents and siblings move? To be continued…

 

 

 

 

Nov 15

Tombstone Tuesday–Christena Miller

Christena Miller, 1858-1945, Chattanooga Mausoleum

Christena Miller, 1858-1945, is inscribed on the crypt of Christina Miller in the Chattanooga Mausoleum, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The mausoleum is located at the west side of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, a little southeast of Chattanooga. Christina’s husband, Jacob, is buried next to her in the mausoleum.

Christina (Rueck) Miller passed away on 17 June 1945. She was my great-grandmother. This is her obituary from an unknown newspaper (probably Berne or Celina):

Aged Lady Dies Near Chattanooga Sunday P.M.—Mrs. Rosina C. Miller, 88, Dies of Pneumonia; Rites Wednesday P.M.—Mrs. Rosina Christina Miller, 88, of the Chattanooga, Ohio, community, and the widow of Jacob Miller, passed away Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the home of her son-in-law and daughter Mr. and Mrs. Wavil Reef of near Chattanooga. She had made her home there since 1929.

Mrs. Miller had been bedfast for nine weeks and her infirmities culminated in pneumonia, which resulted in her death. She was a native of Germany, and was born on December 29, 1856 [sic], a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Rueck, with whom she came to this country at the age of eight years. [sic]

Surviving are five children: Mrs. Maggie Kallenberger, Willshire, Mrs. Carolina Caffee, Berne, Mrs. Clara Reef and Carl Miller, both of Willshire, and John Miller, Goshen; two sisters, Mrs. Katie Harms, Portland, and Mrs. Regina Rueck, Canby, Oregon; one brother, David Rueck, Canby; 26 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. She was a member of the Lutheran Church of Chattanooga, Ohio.

Funeral services will be held at the Lutheran Church in Chattanooga Wednesday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Hubert W. Wolber officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Christina Rueck, Germany

Christina was the third child born to Jacob and Marie Regina (Gross) Rueck. Christina’s obituary and death certificate incorrectly state that Christina was born in 1856. Her baptism was recorded at the protestant church in Honhardt. It indicates that she was born in Steinbach [Württemberg] on 29 December 1858 and was baptized 2 January 1859. (FHL microfilm #1676791, Evangelische Kirche Honhardt, OA Crailsheim) The Ruecks lived in Appensee but attended church in Honhardt.

Christina Rueck baptism record, Protestant Church at Honhardt.

Christina’s obituary states that she came to America when she was eight years old. Although I have not found the Jacob Rueck family on a passenger list several other records indicate the family immigrated about 1879-80 and Christina would have been about 21 years old when she immigrated with her family.

In the 1900 US census Christina indicated that she immigrated in 1879 at the age of 21. (1900 US census, Blackcreek, Mercer, Ohio, Roll T623_1303:10A, ED74) Her father Jacob and brothers David and Carl indicated that they immigrated 1880. (1900 US census, Barlow, Clackamas, Oregon, Roll 623_1345:3A, ED 79)

Her father Jacob Rueck’s Declaration of Intention in Van Wert County, Ohio, states that he arrived in New York in 1880. (Ancestry.com, Van Wert Connection, Van Wert Genealogical Society, Vol. 13:1-4)

Christine (Rueck) Miller with Clara (c1900)

Jacob and Christina (Rueck) Miller had the following children: Maria Regina (1884-1905), Jacob Jr. (1885-1913), Catherine (1886-1895), John (1889-1964), Caroline (1893-1988), Carl (1896-1973), and Clara (1899-1997).

Pillow my dad sent to his grandmother Christina when he was in Army basic training, WWII.

Just this past week I “met” some distant Rueck cousins via the Internet. They are from the Oklahoma and Texas branch of the “Ruck” family and they descend from Christine’s brother Friedrich. I’ll write more about the Ruecks in upcoming blogs.