Reading House of Johann got me thinking about my own German roots on my mom’s side. My mom’s father, Levi Ruffing, was born in 1896, married late, and passed away when I was 9 or 10 (and my mom was 32-ish) so I didn’t know him well. I had certainly never had an opportunity to meet his parents, though I’d been told their names–Joseph Ruffing and Theresa (Tessie) O’Donnell (daughter of Hugh and Mary O’Donnell). I do recall asking my grandmother what nationality “Ruffing” was (at my brother’s wedding reception) and she’d said it was Prussian. Armed with that data, I internet searched for relatives of Joseph Ruffing and immediately brought up the following picture:
Peter Joseph Ruffing
Since the search brought up a number of other Joseph Ruffings, my initial instinct was to start checking through them to make sure this was the right one – until I took a closer look at the image (and perhaps my relatives will back me up here) and realized the resemblance to my grandfather is uncanny, right down to the uneven widow’s peak, which I alone of my siblings also inherited, as seen below. (That photo was probably the last time my hair was short enough for it to be obvious–Stylist Credit–Ev Bornemann).
A closer look at the site (which also has an image of Peter’s grave marker) confirmed his image is indeed a photo of my grandfather’s grandfather. Further searching revealed he was born in Schwabisch Hall, a fascinating town about 180 miles southeast across the Rhine from House of Johann’s Oberzerf. Ancestry.com, by the way, has the family line hopelessly confused, which would have made a search directly back from my grandfather difficult (they have Joseph’s son, born the year of my grandfather Levi, named Franz (his middle name was Francis), and great-aunt Irene isn’t listed). They also have Joseph married to Theresia O’Donell instead of Theresa O’Donnell – but at least they got great-uncle Ray correct.
I haven’t found any more information directly back through Peter’s line, but there were apparently a large number of Ruffings in Oberbexbach in Saarland in the early 1800s, which is a mere 45 miles from Oberzerf. That line also contains a number of Peters and Josephs and traces eventually back to French ancestry. Would probably take some digging to firm up that connection, though. May be time to consult with Kathi Gosz for her sources.
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Not too surprising, is it, that genealogical sleuthing is so high on the list of hobbies in the U.S. A puzzle begins to take shape before us as a few pieces are discovered. Sources, sources, yes that is always a challenge. Thankfully, people like Kathi Gosz have shared, faithfully over the years, the results of their research on blogs and other media. You'll find lots of sources on her blog - tho a lot of them will be written in German! Thankfully yet again, she has done the interpretation for future searchers. Sleuth on!
Right you are, and I've been inexcusably remiss in not providing readers with a link to Kathi's fine blog. Here it is! http://19thcenturyrhinelandlive.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!
Not remiss in the slightest. On the contrary, you have brought all the best aspects of House of Johann to light beautifully. Plus, you made ME smile from ear to ear to see that photo from so long ago - of the later-to-be fantastic writer in his own right. 8)