Volume 1 Number 2 Fall 1992

A Newsletter Of Rauschkolb Family History

Published by Mark Richard Rauschkolb Box 171 Asbury, NJ 08802

I wanted to get this issue finished and out before the summer was over, but I could not get it finished (even I am not immune to procrastination). I must say thank you to all of you who have sent me information. I'm still looking forward to hearing from all of you who have not yet responded.

I have heard from a few people who know that their ancestors lived in Ohio, but I have been very confused by the lack of Rauschkolbs in the records of Ohio. I finally figured out why I could not find them - they are all listed with misspelled names. I am not sure of the reason, but Ohio seems to prefer spelling the name with an "o" instead of an"a". (variations include Rouskolb, Rouskulp, Rousculp, Rouskopf, etc).

In the last issue, I mentioned that I had found the first Rauschkolb in America (Johan Philip who arrived in 1764). The last trace that I had for his ancestors was a baptism for Jacob in 1804 in Pennsylvania. I have since found a marriage for Jacob Rouskulp and Elizabeth Brocius in 1827 in Perry, Ohio. I am pretty sure that this is the same Jacob from the baptismal record.

There is also a marriage of George and Margaret in 1839, also in Perry. In 1840 I found Samuel in Monday Creek, George and Philip in Somerset and Hopewell. There is a marriage for Pete and Menerva in Perry in 1845. In 1850 , there is a Charles in Cleveland, Samuel in Perry Twp, John in Somerset, Jacob in Hopewell, and George has moved from Somerset to Thorn. There is also a Bernhard Ruskaup (who might or might not be a Rauschkolb) living in Cincinnati. Weddings for the 1850's include Hiram and Rachel in Perry in 1853, Daniel and Elizabeth in Perry in 1855, and Mary and William Stolter in 1856 in Perry.

Many of you have heard the two brothers story (two brothers who came over from Germany). According to most professional Genealogists (which I am not) this is usually just a story, with little truth behind it. So far I have come close to proving it for My line (although mine has three brothers) and I have evidence that the "Ohio River" brothers story might be true (see St. Clair County, Illinois article).

My version of the story starts with Ludwig arriving in New York in 1855. Ten years later, 1865, William arrived in New York with his wife Christina, and infant son, Louis. The following year, Ludwig returned to Germany and brought his parents Peter and Maria and younger brother John back to America.

Ludwig married Fanny, and they had four children: Jennie (June 1881), Hattie (September 1882), Bertha (December 23, 1883) and Ralph (February 1886).

John married Eleanor Wenzel, and they had five children: John (March 1872), Susan (1875), Louisa (July 1877), Peter (July 1879) and Louis (Jan 1882).

William and Christina had at least five more children (after Louis): Lena (1867), George (1870), Kate (1872), John (1874), Frederick (1886).

There are a large number of you who have ancestors who came from the Belleville area. I have gotten information from various sources about a family with nine children (Anna, Elizabeth, George, John, Louis, Louisa, Matilda ("Tillie"), Otto, and William). I got the same list of children, but I kept getting different names for the parents.

I think I have straightened out the parents, but I am not sure which child was born to which set of parents. First, Louis Rauschkolb married Elizabeth Voison, and Frederick Wolpert married Maria Heberer. Then Elizabeth married Frederick (some time after 1867). Together, Frederick and Elizabeth had at least nine children (the nine listed above). Mr. Wolpert had a child named Louisa from his first marriage. If this is the same Louisa from the list of nine, then there are eight left whose mother is Elizabeth, but I do not know who their fathers were (are they Rauschkolbs or Wolperts?).

I have been told that Louis was a Rauschkolb, he had a sister Anna (whose married name was Brandt) and a brother George (who married Pauline Hartnagel). John had a son who was a Rauschkolb, so he must have been a Rauschkolb also.

So, can anybody tell me if Elizabeth (Hoener), Matilda "Tillie" (Schermer), Otto and William were Rauschkolbs or Wolperts? Otto ran a grocery store with Rauschkolb in the name, but that does not prove he was a Rauschkolb. I do not have enough information to make any guesses about these four.

(I almost solved a little more of this puzzle, but Murphy's Law got in the way. I recently received a letter from the St Clair County Genealogical Society, that was supposed to contain the 1860 census listing for Louis and Elizabeth Rauschkolb (with children listed), but unfortunately, the listing was not with the letter. I will try to get a copy of it. It will definitely help.)

The other "Two Brothers" story that I have heard is about two brothers who ran a grist mill on the Ohio River. Their descendants settled in St Clair County, Illinois. The first evidence that I have that this might be true, is an 1850 census record. The 1850 Census lists a Peter (who died of Cholera in 1850) and a Margaret and two children Louisa and Peter. Peter (the father) died and the guardianship of his two children went to Phillip Meker and then to Margaret. (Which is a little confusing because I have a marriage record for a Peter and a Margarethe. Is it possible that the wife/mother did not automatically become guardian to her children if their father died?) Peter (the father) has his occupation listed as a Miller.

The 1840 Census lists a Lewis (probably should be Louis), but the only other information listed is that there were a total of 2 males between the age of 20 and 30, and 1 female between the ages of 15 and 20. It is possible that Peter is the second male, but it is also possible that there is a record for Peter, but with a misspelled name, so I can not find it. These two, Louis and Peter MIGHT be the the two brothers from the Ohio River.

I have seen an old genealogy that lists two Louis's (father and son) and says that they were both born in Mascoutah, IL. According to the 1860 census, Louis the father was born in Germany.

I am about to start writing letters to various officials, churches, etc. in Germany to see what kind of information I can get on our ancestors in Germany (and possibly on relatives who are still living there). I was going to begin taking German this Fall, but due to budget cuts or lack of enrollment, they are not offering introductory German. That's OK, because one of the things that I learned about writing to people in Germany, is that most of them prefer to get a letter in well written English than in poor German. (If they personally can not read English, they should be able to ask a friend or family member, whereas if it is poor German, it is possible that no one will understand it.)

I have been looking through Birth / Death / Marriage records, and have found some good information on my ancestors. The first of my line to arrive in America was the family of Peter, his wife Mary Kessling, and their son John. John was born in Eisheim, which I cannot find anywhere in Germany. (possibly Geinsheim?, a small town Southeast of Mainz)

John married Eleanore Dorothea Wenzel (who was born in Niederursel, a small town North of Frankfurt) on March 6, 1871 at St. Luke's Lutheran Chuch in Manhattan. Eleanore's parents were Philip Wenzel and Anna Dorothea Ambrunn.

John and Eleanore's first son, also named John, was born March 19, 1872. He married Cecelia Reiszer on December 9, 1900. Her parents are listed on the marriage certificate as Louis Reiszer and Isabelle Callow. The ceremony was performed by a Lutheran Minister.

A number of you have asked how I was able to find you. The easy answer is I bought a few mailing lists, from companies that specialize in providing lists made up of only one name. If you get junk mail, these guys have your name and address. They also get names out of phone books, so if you have a phone number, I probably have a phone number to go with your address. They also claim to get names and addresses from "other sources", whatever that means.

I have sent some personalized letters out, and included what I know about that individual's branch of the family. This has gotten some response, but very few. If you want to know what I know about your branch of the family, all you have to do is tell me what you know, and I will merge it with what I already know and send you out a report. All it costs you is a little time, and the cost of a stamp.

My name is Mark Richard Rauschkolb. I am researching my family history, and your family history. When I started, I knew very little about my ancestors, so I decided to research every Rauschkolb that I could find. It is a relatively rare name, so I thought that we must all be related somewhere back in history. I had hoped that this connection would be a common ancestor (or family), who came to `The New World'. Recent discoveries made me realize that, if we do all share a common ancestor, that connection is back in Germany. I am still going to work on every line that I can find in America: there are still very few of them.