Melchoir Ruch ^320,870

  General Notes:

Per Bill Frasier
The genealogy work of Philip A. Knox, "The Rugh Family of Alsace, Pennsylvania, and Missouri" contains a discourse on Melchoir Ruch whom he and other Ruch genealogists believe is the father of Hans Georg Ruch, the immigrant to America. Mr. Knox's documentary is quoted below:
Melchoir Ruch was born on December 25, 1644. He is know to have lived in the Germanic area of the Northern Alsace now known as Bas-Rhin in Northeastern France.

Melchoir's forefathers, the earlier Ruchs appear to have probably originated in Emmental (now part of Switzerland) having moved to the northern Rhineland sometime during the 17th century. Many Germanic people were leaving the area at that time because of hardships resulting from "The Thirty Years War" of 1618-1648.

Researcher R. Tipton Biggs, reports that he has found record of a Ruch family in LDS records (International Records for Switzerland). That LDS entry reads as follows: "On 12 Mar 1657 in Duerrenroth, Bern, Switzerland Ulrich Ruch married Elisabeth Disli". "To that union was born Ursula (1658) Melchoir (1662), Susanna (1665), Hand Ulrich (1668) and Nicholaus (1670).

The earliest record of Melchoir Ruch of Alsace was recorded in the year 1676 in the church register at Oberbronn, where he was mentioned as a shepherd from the Village of Schillersdorf, where he was mentioned in a church register in 1679 as a citizen and a shepherd at Ingweiler. That same year (August 21, 1679) at Ringendorf, he married his third wife, Anna Maria. Prior to her marriage to Melchoir she was the widow of Hans Rauscher.

According to researcher Dee Dee Bindernagel, Melchoir and Maria were in Altechendorf in 1680 for the birth of son, Lorentz. Melchoir appears in another record in 1682 as a "shepherd at Zutzendorf". This was in the record of the birth of his son (our probable direct ancestor), Hans George. This son (Hans George) moved to America in 1733 and in so doing left many descendants in the Colony of Pennsylvania and the United States of America. Many of these descendants (particularly those through grandson, Michael) eventually came to be known by the surname Rugh.

In December of 1688 Melchoirs child, Johannes Adamus (Hans Adam), was born. Many of Hans Adams descendents retained the surname "Ruch" and eventually came to reside in Canadian America.

By 1689 Melchoir and Maria were in Schalkendorf, and by about 1704 were living in the vicinity of the village of Uhrwiller. Melchoir died on August 25, 1720, in Altechdorf.


The following is from Walter Ruch posted to Ancestry.com on 5 Apr 2008
Walter W. Ruch Jr
2923 Spring Water Dr.
St Louis, MO 63129
waltr@ceoexpress.com

February 20, 2004

Granddaughter: Katherine Marie (Katie) Ruch
Grandson: Aidan Wyatt Ruch

Over the years, I've had an on-going interest in our Ruch family genealogy. Believing Ruch to be an unusual name and knowing the U. S. roots of the family to be in Pennsylvania, I thought little effort would be entailed in finding our immigrating ancestor, wrong.

Now, with the help of others sharing my interest and the advent of the Internet, I've been able to track our direct Ruch family branch back 359 years, to your Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Melchoir Ruch who was born on Christmas Day in 1644, in the Germanic area of Northern Alsace (now known as Bas-Rhin) in northern France. Melchoir was a "shepherd."
The Alsace-Lorraine region has been contested, both by France and Germany, since there was a France and a Germany. The natural boundary to the east is the Vosges mountain range in France, and to the west, so to speak, is the Rhine River. France, naturally, has attempted to push its border to the Rhine. It has succeeded in this latter move after WWI and WWII. To my mind, this region has been German speaking since time immemorial, as evidenced by place names and surnames. To the French, it is the inverse!
Alsace became part of Lotharingia in the Holy Roman Empire, the first French domination, under Charlemagne. In 925, Alsace became part of the German duchy of Alemannia and remained German for 800 years. In 1648, with the " Thirty Years War," Alsace was placed under French sovereignty. After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Alsace and Lorraine were incorporated into Germany. In 1919, after the World War I defeat of Germany, Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France once again. Finally, during World War II, the territory was taken by Germany but France regained it after Germany's defeat in 1945. In Alsace today, the French language is dominant. The local German dialect is now called Alsatian, and is still spoken. Because of the past, the culture of this region contains both French and German elements.
The Alsace is geographically on the plain of the Rhine, on the German side of the Vosges mountain range in France. Some of the old cities include: Obernai, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, Colmar, and Strasbourg.
Earlier Ruch family members, prior to Melchoir Ruch, appear to have originated in Emmental (now part of Switzerland), having moved to the northern Rhineland sometime during the early 17th century. Many Germanic people were leaving the area at the time because of the hardships resulting from "The Thirty Year War" of 1618-1648.

Melchoir's Son, Hans George Ruch, born in 1682, is our "immigrating ancestor," arriving in the United States \endash long before it was the United States \endash with his family, landing at Philadelphia, PA, August 17, 1733, aboard the British merchant ship "Samuel." The Samuel was a type of ship common in the 18th century, called a "snow." This particular English "snow," by the name of "Samuel," left Rotterdam, Holland, made a stop at the port of Deal, England and arrived in Philadelphia (after sailing up the Delaware) August 17, 1733.

Hans George, Johann Jorg or simply George Ruch, Melchoir's son is the founder of the Ruch family in Pennsylvania. When George reached adulthood, he had married a second time to a woman named Catharina Reiss.

He then declared allegiance to the British Crown as all new settlers were required to do, and continued northward to find land. George settled in Whitehall Township to the northwest of Allentown in Lehigh County (then Northampton).

His wife Catharina died shortly after her arrival in America around 1733, and George remarried Susanna (Zeigler?) in 1734.

He was a member of the Jordan Lutheran Churc. There is a controversy about the dates on his tombstone that indicates he was 104 at the time of his death.

This tombstone is no longer to be found in the cemetery; however, photographs show the inscription to clearly read 104 when he should be 84 at the year of his death in 1766.

George and Susanna had the following children: Anna, Conrad, John, Catherine, Lorenz and Peter. The last four children are shown on church baptismal records with the mother Susanna.



George's son Lorenz Ruch, born 11/14/1744 (died in 1825), grew up to be a prosperous farmer in the Whitehall area, first acquiring a 92 acre plot and then increasing it to 212 acres. This land sits on a busy crossroad not far from Egypt, Pennsylvania and was known as "Westminister" \endash later becoming the village of Ruchsville.

Lorenz served as a private in the Revolutionary War. He had married Charlotte Barbara Knouse (or Knass) in 1750. Charlotte was born in 1748 or 50 and died in 1810. Charlotte and Lorenz had 8 children.

The eldest son Peter grew up to become a General in the War of 1812.

One of the younger sons was John Henri, born October 1991. His baptismal records appear in the Egypt Church records. This John Henri appears to become the pioneer that moved to Northumberland and started our present line although some family records state John Henry of who appears in Northumberland County, Pa. to be the son of a John Henry. There is a John Henry Ruch that opened a shop on Market St. in Sunbury with his son. He is a shoemaker and a death record exists in the courthouse.

And so, the story of the Ruch family in America begins in 1733.

Among our interesting ancestors, Lorentz (Lawrence) Ruch, born in 1744, served as a Private in Captain Adams Serfoo's Company of the Northampton County Pennsylvania Militia during our War of Independence. Lorentz's brother, Peter Ruch, born in 1746, was a Major in the Continental Army in our War of Independence and a General in the American Army during the War of 1812. Another relative, Syrles S. Ruch, born in 1843, served as a Union soldier, in the Civil War, was captured by the Confederates and died in a southern POW camp in 1864.

The origin of the Ruch name is unknown, although is probably Germanic or Anglo- Saxon. Christoph Ruch from Switzerland thinks it may have originally been spelled Rugg in 13th century Tuebingen, Germany. An ancestor, Michael Rugh, changed the spelling for his family.
1. According to one old late 19th century German etymological dictionary, the "Ruch" is a big black crow-like bird, corvus frugilegus - "die Saatkrahe", or "crop crow." Perhaps this is reflected in English cognates "rook" and "roc." The popular card game Rook, by Parker Brothers, features a big crow.
2. I have also heard that Ruch is a type of cereal grain (Getreide), which the Swiss use to make "Ruchbrot."
3. A German once stated that Ruch is an archaic word meaning "curse" or "stigma." A person with a Ruch was outcast to his community; nobody would have any dealings with him. This etymology seems to be supported by the modern German adjectives "ruchbar" meaning well-known or famous, and "ruchlos" meaning wicked, profligate, or infamous.
A search of Usenet newsgroups turned up a couple of occurrences of the word Ruch, which seem to support the "stigma" meaning. (Pardon the poor translation).
"Ich gebe Dir recht, eine Mieterhoehung in dieser Groessenordnung hat schon schwer den Ruch von Ausbeutung an sich."
"I grant you, a rent increase of this large amount has definitely got the [Ruch] of exploitation about it."
"POONA, die von den Englaendern eingefuehrte Schreibweise und bis heute mit dem Ruch britischer Kolonialherrschaft behaftet, erinnert ueberdies daran, dass diese Stadt die Hauptgarnison der Briten auf dem britischen Subkontinent war."
"POONA, the English-introduced spelling and to this day afflicted with the [Ruch] of British colonialism reminds one, moreover, that this city was the main garrison of Britain on the British Subcontinent."
4. Some time ago, one of those mass-produced "family crest" certificates stated that there is a Ruch coat of arms in Siebmacher's Wappenbuch. This design shows a wild man with a club in his hand. The word Rugh or Rough meant "wild" or "hairy."
5. There is a Polish word Ruch, which translates as "speed." This probably has nothing to do with our name.
And there is a pronunciation issue. Some of the family now pronounces the Rugh name to rhyme with "Hugh." Since it sounds like "Roux" or "Rue," people often assume it is a French name. We, as do most of the American Ruch family, pronounce their name "Rook" like the chess piece. I would assume that European Ruchs pronounce it to rhyme with the German "Buch."
So, Katie and Aidan, shown of the following pages is your direct Ruch family tree, covering eleven generations and 359 years beginning with:




MELCHOIR Ruch \endash Born, 1644 \endash Northern Alsace

HANS GEORGE Ruch \endash Born, 1682 \endash born Northern Alsace, arrived with his wife and children, in Philadelphia, PA, USA, on August 17, 1733, on the British merchant ship "Samuel."

LORENTZ (LAWRENCE) Ruch \endash Born, 1744 \endash PA

JOHANNES (JOHN) HEINRICH (HENRY) Ruch \endash Born, 1791 - PA

PETER Ruch \endash Born, 1808 \endash PA

HENRY F. RUCH \endash Born, 1838 \endash PA

WALTER ELMER Ruch \endash Born, 1871 - PA

WALTER WATSON Ruch \endash Born, 1912 \endash PA

WALTER WATSON Ruch, JR. \endash Born, 1940 \endash PA

Walters children are hidden


I hope you'll retain this information, update it as generations change and then pass it onto your children and they to their children.

Granddad















Here is your family tree as I have it, starting with me:

WALTER WATSON Ruch, JR
Born: 02/10/1940, Bryn Mawr, PA
Married: 07/15/1967
Died:
Buried:
LINDA JOAN Ruch nee: Kellstrom
Born: 09/20/1942, Detroit, MI
Died:
Buried:
Children:
STEVEN HENNING Ruch,
Born: 03/29/1972, Detroit, MI
RONALD THOMAS Ruch,
Born: 12/30/1972, Kalamazoo, MI

My Father & Mother:

WALTER WASTON Ruch, SR
Born: 12/30/1912, Library, PA
Died: 09/15/1974, Grosse Pointe, MI
Buried: Remains donated to Wayne State University Medical School
MARTHA Ruch nee Simpson
Born: 05/13/1911, Philadelphia, PA
Married: 11/13/1936, Philadelphia, PA
Died: 12/5/1970, Grosse Pointe, MI
Buried: West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

Only Child:
WALTER WATSON Ruch, JR
Born: 02/10/1940, Bryn Mawr, PA

My Grandfather & Grandmother:

WALTER ELMER Ruch (Rev.)
Born: 09/29/1871, Northumberland, PA
Died: 10/8/1958, Sharon, PA
Buried: Riverside Cemetery, Sharpsville, PA
LENA HARRIETT Ruch nee Switzer,
Born: 11/4/1879, Campbell, NY
Married: 10/08/1902, New Castle, PA
Died: 04/17/1917, Pittsburgh, PA
Buried: Peter's Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Library, PA
Lena was the daughter of Wallace D. Switzer, born 1850, died 07/22/1922 and Harriett A. Knowles, born 1852, died, 10/27/1882. They had 4 children, Eugene 09/14/1876, Sarah 11/08/1878, Lena 11/03/1879 and Irvin 03/17/1882. Both buried Hope Cemetery. Jacksonville, FL.

Lena was the granddaughter of Jacob Switzer, born 01/16/1820, died 10/75/1878 and Mary Ann Clark, born 1820, died 1913, daughter of Daniel Clark. They had 6 children, Byron 1849-1936, Wallace D. 1850-07/22/1922, Melvin 1854-12/17/1935, Ella 1851-1932, Clara ?, Emma ?. Both buried at Hope Cemetery, Campbell, NY.

Lena was the great granddaughter of William C. Switzer, born 05/28/1792, died 04/16/1861 and Jane King, born 05/25/1792, died 03/01/1856. They had 11 children, Maria Hannah (married Elias Parker and moved to IL), Barzilla K. (married Betsey Morse and died 10/24/1876), Alma, (married William Aldrich), Elizabeth (married Roland Hubble), Henry (married Mary Jordan), Jacob (married May Ann Clark), Elsa M. (married Vonanebugh), Anna M. (married Horace Pound) and Peter M. 02/07/1836. Both buried at Six Nations.

Lena was the great, great granddaughter of Henry Switzer, born 12/06/1744, died 08/17/1812 and Anna Maria Neff, born 07/17/1753,
Died 09/06/1840. They had 12 children between 1772 and 1800, Anna Maria 09/12/1772-10/17/1844 married Abram Bosenbark, Elizabeth 07/11/1774, married A. Van Fleet, Susan 04/18/1776, married Samuel Scomp, Henry 07/10/1778-12/19/1845, married Elizabeth Yawger, Effie 08/31/1780, married Francis Yawger, Maria 09/15/1782-02/04/1813, married Abram Fleet, Jacob 09/08/1784-11/23/1812 married Sallie Rowles, John 11/06/1786-12/17/1860, married widow Sallie Switzer, Anna C. 08/25/1789-05/14/1872 married Barzilla King, William C. 05/28/1792-04/26/1861 married Jane King, Arron 05/08/1794-08/03/1808 and Peter 01/30/1800, married Elsie Fleet. As a widow, Maria married Captain John Hight.

Henry and family came from Hunterdon County, New Germantown, Corporation of Zion, NJ in the spring of 1802. They located in the town of Jersey, Steuben County, NY. They lived on a farm of 800 acres, for which he paid $2.50 an acre. In the War of 1812, four brothers, Henry, Jacob, John and William rendered military service in the state militia at Niagara Falls.

Children of Lena & Rev. Walter E. Ruch:

HARRIET JANE NELSON nee Ruch
Born: 1/5/1904, Ridgeway, PA
Died: 9/21/1962, Washington, DC
Buried: Fort Lincoln Cemetery,
Married: 9/14/1924 to William Carl Nelson, born 1/8/1905, Johnstown, PA. Died 5/30/1972 and buried Southern Pines, NC.
PAUL ELMER Ruch
Born: 5/27/1905 at Apollo, PA
Died: 9/26/1972 at Clearfield, PA
Buried: Crown Crest Cemetery, Clearfield, PA
Married: 9/19/1922 at Sunset Park, Carrolltown, PA to Amy Mae Bryan.
WALLACE HENRY Ruch
Born: 3/13/1907 at Achor, OH
Died: 9/26/2000
Buried: yes ?
Married: 4/7/1928 at Osceola, PA to Elizabeth Coy
MILDRED ELIZABETH
Born: 9/11/1909 at North Sewickley, PA
Died: 9/15/1909 at North Sewickley, PA
JUDSON EUGENE Ruch
Born: 4/14/1911 at North Sewickley, PA
Died: 12/8/1989
Buried: yes ?
Married: 12/30/1935 to Constance Elaine Dalmas at Philadelphia, PA.
Bucknell University '33, Attorney, York County, PA
WALTER WATSON Ruch, SR.
Born: 12/30/1912 at Library, PA
Died: 9/15/1974 at Bon Secours Hospital, Grosse Pointe, MI
Buried: Body donated to Wayne State University Medical School.
Married: 11/13/1936 at Philadelphia, PA to Martha Simpson, daughter of Charles Cooke and Martha Phillips Simpson.
Bucknell University '34, Bureau Chief, NY Times
RAYMOND JAY Ruch
Born: 4/10/1917 at Pittsburgh, PA
Died: 4/13/1917 at Pittsburgh, PA

SECOND WIFE of REV. WALTER ELMER Ruch
ALBERTINA Ruch nee Smith
Born: 8/28/1880, Sharpsville, PA
Married: 6/24/1926, Meadville, PA
Died: 11/19/1960, Auburn, NY
Buried: Riverside Cemetery, Sharpsville, PA
No Children.

Rev. Walter Elmer Ruch, son of Henry F. and Sarah Jane Ruch nee Snyder, was born 9/29/1871, at Northumberland, PA. He attended grade school from 1877 thought 1883. From 1893 till 1897 he attended Bucknell Academy. He went on to Bucknell University and graduated with a BA, with the class of 1901.

He had begun preaching in 1891 and was licensed to preach, by the Northumberland Baptist Association, in 1892. Following college, in 1901, he was ordained by the Northumberland Baptist Association. He went on to serve as Pastor of Baptist churches at Ridgeway, Apollo, Providence, North Sewickley, Library and Sharpsville. He also served as Pastor of Presbyterian churches in Heilwood, Nebo Field, Osceola and Elkland Field. He retired as an active pastor 10/1/1941.

He married Lena Harriett Switzer on 10/8/1902. They had seven children including my father, Walter WATSON Ruch, Sr. Two, died in infancy. Lena, herself, died in childbirth, April 17, 1917 along with their seventh child, Raymond Jay Ruch. On 6/24/1926, Rev. Walter Elmer Ruch, married Albertina Smith and they had no children.

My Great Grandparents:

HENRY F. RUCH (Plasterer by Trade)
Born: 11/11/1833
Died: 12/18/1911
Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Northumberland, PA
SARAH JANE Ruch
Born: 03/17/1846
Died: 11/27/1916
Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Northumberland, PA
Children:
MARY A. RUCH EVANS
Born: 1863 \endash 1919
Married: Ed EVANS
Children: None
SYRLES Ruch
Born: 1865 \endash 1940
Children: Two daughters, Mary & Alberta
PETER G. RUCH
Born: 09/04/1867 \endash 1946
Married: Ella
Children: One son, Leonard
JOHN H. RUCH
Born: 09/30/1869 \endash 1951
Married: Clara
Children: EVANS, Virginia, Lewis, Agnes, Pansy and Max. All were deceased by 2000. John & Clare lost two sets of twins in 1908 and 1912.
WALTER ELMER Ruch
Born: 8/29/1871 \endash 10/08/1958


OLIVE AMANDA Ruch OBERDORF
Born: 10/1873 \endash 08/1945
Married: Charles Donnell Oberdorf 1905
Children: Rhoda Jane (1910 \endash 1999) & Charles Donnell, Jr. (1912)

A reference has been found to Olive A. Ruch, of Northumberland, PA, who married a Professor Charles Donald Oberdorf, 9/20/1905. Oberdorf was formerly the principal of the Sunbury, PA schools for a number of years. Their marriage was performed by my grandfather, Rev. Walter E. Ruch, of Apolo, PA, a brother of the bride.

My Great, Great Grandparents:

PETER G. RUCH (He was the Chief Pilot for the Pennsylvania Canal Company, at Northumberland, PA for many years (1826) and also made shoes.
Born: 6/27/1808
Married: 12/25/1827
Died: 8/7/1882
Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Northumberland, PA
CATHERINE Ruch
Born: 03/18/1809
Died: 12/26/1888
Buried: Riverview Cemetery, Northumberland, PA
Children:
HIRAM A. RUCH
Born: 10/03/1828
Died: 12/25/1852
JOHN W. RUCH
Born: 01/11/1831
Died: 05/18/1905
JACOB H. RUCH (Plasterer)
Born: 12/17/1835
Died: 12/20/1881
HENRY F. RUCH
Born: 11/11/1838
Died: 12/18/1911
SYRLES Y. RUCH, aka Cyrus
Born: 03/23/1843
Died: 08/15/1864
Union soldier, Private, Company G, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry died while a prisoner in a Confederate POW camp.
THOMAS E. RUCH (Plasterer)
Born: 05/27/1847
Died: 02/20/1899
EARNEST (OR HARRY) Ruch (Apprentice Plasterer)
Born: 1851 - ?
My Great, Great, Great Grandparents:

JOHANNES (JOHN) HEINRICH (HENRY) Ruch
Born: 10/1/1791
Died: 6/20/1830
Buried: Odd Fellows Cemetery, Danville, PA
MARY SCHWARTZ Ruch
Born: 10/18/1789
Died: 1/31/1863
Buried: Odd Fellows Cemetery, Danville, PA
Schwartz was Mary's maiden name. After Henry
died in 1830, Mary remarried a man named Galloway.
Child:
PETER G. RUCH
Born: 6/27/1808
Died: 8/7/1882

My Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents:


LORENTZ (LAWRENCE) Ruch \endash Soldier in the American Revolution
Born: November 14, 1744
Died: October 27, 1828 (?)
Buried: Egypt, Lehigh Co, Pennsylvania
Lorentz's brother, Peter Ruch, born February 7, 1746, was a Major in the American Revolation and a General in the War of 1812.
CHARLOTTA BARBARA Ruch nee KNOUSE
Born: 6/20/1750
Married: 11/5/1769
Died: 3/28/1810
Buried:
Children:
ELISABETHA Ruch (The Elder)
Born: 6/27/1772 in Northampton (now Lehigh Coo, PA
CATHARINA Ruch
Born: 10/30/1774 in Northampton (now Lehigh Coo, PA
MARIA SUSANNA Ruch
Born: 3/11/1777 in Northampton (now Lehigh Coo, PA
PETER Ruch
Born: 2/28/1779 in Lehigh County. PA
Married: 3/13/1801 to SUSANNA SCHRIBER (SCHREIBER)
Died: 11/19/1838 in Lehigh County. PA
HANNA Ruch
Born: 10/12/1783 in Whitehall Township, Northampton Co. PA


JOHANNES (JOHN) HEINRICH (HENRY) Ruch
Born: 10/1/1791
Died: 6/20/1830

My Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents:

HANS GEORGE Ruch
Born: 12/29/1682, Northern Alsace (now known as Zutzendorf, Bas-Rhin, France)
Died: 1769
Buried: Jordan Lutheran Church Cemetery, Walberts, PA
SUSANNA Ruch, nee Ziegler, (Third Wife)
Born: About 1687
Married: about 1734
Died:
Buried:
Hans George was born in Zutzendorf, a small village in the European Northern Alsace (now known as Zutzendorf, Bas-Rhin, France), on December 29, 1682. This information was recently (1999) found, and thus verified, by Louise Green. It is on LDS microfilm as part of an old record of the Zutzendorf Church. The same record indicates he was truly the son of Melchoir Ruch.
Children:
By second wife, CATHERINE Ruch, nee Reiss
HANS GEORGE Ruch
Born: 1709 in Gumbrechtshoffen, Northern Alsace
HANS JACOB Ruch
Born: 1716 in Gumbrechtshoffen, Northern Alsace
MICHAEL Ruch
Born about 1723 in Gumbrechtshoffen, Northern Alsace
MARIE EVE Ruch
Born: 1725 in Gumbrechtshoffen, Northern Alsace
August 9, 1707, he married his second wife, CATHARINA Reiss, born in the Northern Alsace about 1687. She was the daughter of BALTHAAR Reiss.
By his first wife, CATHERINA Ruch, nee BURKHARD
None
Other old records show that on November 13, 1704 in Uhrwiller, of the Northern Alsace, he married his first wife, CATHARINA BURKHARD, born probably about 1685-1690. She is the daughter of JOHANN BURKHARD.
By third wife, SUSANNA Ruch, nee ZIEGLER
CATHERINE Ruch
Born: About 1735 in Whitehall Township, PA
CONRAD Ruch
Born: About 1737 in Whitehall Township, PA
ANNA Ruch
Born: About 1738 in Whitehall Township, PA
MARY Ruch
Born: About 1739 in Whitehall Township, PA
JOHN (JOHANNES) Ruch
Born: About 1740 in Whitehall Township, PA
Married: 11/05/1765 to Eva Fetzinger
LORENTZ (LAURENCE) Ruch
Born: 11/14/1744 in Whitehall Township, PA
Married: 1769 to Charlotta Barbara Knouse
Died: After 1828
PETER Ruch
Born: 2/7/1746 in Whitehall Township, P
Married: About 1770 to Maria Elizabeth
Died: 12/22/1823
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
MELCHOIR Ruch
Born: 12/25/1644, Northern Alsace (now known as Bas-Rhin, France)
Died: 8/25/1720, Altechendorf, Northern Alsace (now know as Bas-Rhin, France)
Melchoir Ruch was born on December 25, 1644. He is known to have lived in the Germanic area of the Northern Alsace now known as Bas-Rhin in Northeastern France.
His forefathers, the earlier Ruchs, appear to have probably originated in Emmental (now part of Switzerland), having moved to the northern Rhineland sometime during the 17th century. Many Germanic people were leaving the area at that time because of hardships resulting from "The Thirty Years War" of 1618-1648.
Researcher, R. Tipton Biggs, reports that he has found record of a Ruch family in LDS records (International Records for Switzerland). That LDS entry reads as follows: "On 12 Mar 1657 in Duerrenroth, Bern, Switzerland ULRICH Ruch married ELISABETH DISLI". "To that union was born URSULA (1658), Melchoir (1662), SUSANNA (1665), Hans ULRICH (1668), and NICHOLAUS (1670)".
The earliest record found of Melchoir Ruch of Alsace was recorded in the year 1676 in the church register at Oberbronn where he was mentioned as a Shepherd from the Village of Schillersdorf.
He is mentioned in a church register in 1679 as a Citizen and a Shepherd at Ingweiler. That same year (August 21, 1679), at Ringendorf, he married his third wife, Anna Maria . Prior to her marriage to Melchoir she was the widow of Hans RAUSCHER.
According to researcher Dee Dee Bindernagel, Melchoir and Maria were in Alteckendorf in 1680 for the birth of their son, Lorentz.
Melchoir appears in the record in 1682 as a "shepherd at Zutzendorf". This was in the record of the birth of his child (our probable direct ancestor), Hans George. This son (Hans George) moved to America in 1733 and in so doing left many descendants in the Colony of Pennsylvania and the United States of America. Many of these descendants (particularly those through grandson, Michael) eventually came to be known by the surname "Rugh".
In December of 1688 Melchoir's child, Johannes Adamus (Hans Adam), was born. Many of Hans Adam's descendents retained the surname "Ruch" and eventually came to reside in Canadian America.
By 1689, Melchoir and Maria were in Schalkendorf, and by about 1704 were living in the vicinity of the village of Uhrwiller.
Maria died in 1715 in Uhrwiller. Melchoir died on August 25, 1720 in Altechendorf
Referring to a modern, detailed map of the Bas-Rhin area of France, you'll find all these tiny little villages. They're all to the northwest of Strausbourg, France and are located in the same small area, just a few miles from each other. So, Melchoir and his family, with the exception of those who flooted down the Rhine to Holland and America, spent their lives in the same small area.

Response from Svensdotter1873 on Ancestry.com

Subject: Re: My RUCH Family Tree
Author: svensdotter1873
Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Classification: Query
Surnames: Ruch, Dauber(t)


Thank you, Walter, for this great summary!

A few spelling errors were found on a Ruch website that I've not looked up in a long while, but basically,

1. "Melchior," not Melchoir, biblical Hebrew for "My king is Light." This fits in with "Pennsylvania Dutch" custom of naming sons & daughters after biblical characters.

2. Hans Georg (Gay-org); Germans don't add the E. I believe that Johann Jurg (add 2 dots/"umlaut" over the "u") is the closest to original -- and apparently more Swiss in style than German

Then, the Jordan Lutheran Church tombstone seems to have skipped a generation, naming a son but naming the birthdate of the father, perhaps?

"Pennsylvania Dutch"/Elsasser Deitsch has pronouns that are identical to both Eastern & Western Yiddish. I'd love to find a more-detailed linguistic comparison with Western Yiddish, if there indeed are differences (Western Yiddish has been considered extinct ~50-100 years).

Incidentally, most of the maternal/maiden names appearing in the Ruch family tree can be found in Lars Menk's 1991 book on German-Jewish surnames (found on avotaynu.com). If I were a guy (or could convince a Ruch relative) to take the Family Tree DNA test -- a swabbing of the cheek -- I'd l-o-v-e to check if there are any Cohen haplotypes in the family.

Regards, y'all,

karen


My response to a couple issues I found in his research

MessageBoard:
Message Boards > Surnames > Ruch

URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.ruch/213.1.2/mb.ashx

Subject: Re: My RUCH Family Tree
Author: JeffreyPadell
Date: Friday, April 11, 2008
Classification: Query
Surnames:


I am male but unfortunatly the Ruch line is on my mothers side.

I have a generation between Georg RUch (1682) and Lorentz Ruch (abt 1740)
who I have is Georg Ruch (abt 1709) this is per Phil Knox (Researcher) and
Bill Frasier "The Ruch Family in Northhampton County"

I am descended from the two Georg's through Georg (1709) son Georg (1735)
the brother of Lorentz.

What I have, and I will post more later as I have to rush to work

Georg Ruch (1682-1769) m Catharina Reiss (1687-1733) one of 3 spouses the
others I have are Catharina Burhard and Susanna (I have never seen any
proof on the Ziegler connection I have Zieglers in my tree as well,

their children

Georg (1709) my ancestor I don't know his spouse
Hans Jacob (1716)
Michael (1723)
Maria Eve (1725)

Georg (1735-1821) Anna Margaret Rabesnold
Lorentz (1740-)
Christian (1748-)

Georg and Anna had 7 children

Margaret Elisabetha (1761-)
Christian (1766-)
Georg Philip (1768-1808) my ancestor spouse Maria
Eva Dorotea (1774-)
John (1777-)
Margaretha (1782-)
J. Peter (1783-)

my tree continues

Samuel Ruch 1797-1875 m Sarah Rehrig
Hannah Ruch 1825-1899 m Gideon Peter (1823-1883)
Edwin Peter m Harriet Rehrig
Emma Peters

I also have usually spelled Georg as George, americanizing it.

Melchoir married Anna Maria Rauscher on Aug 21, 1679 in Ringendorf, Northern Alsace, France.³²⁰ (Anna Maria Rauscher was born between 1650 and 1660 ³²⁰ and died in 1715 in Uhrwiller, Northern Alsace, France ³²⁰.)