The Walter Rachuig Trophy

Some of you may not know that Walter Alfred Rachuig, Sr. (son of Selma Schulz & Julius Rachuig) was instrumental in introducing 10-pin bowling to Australia.  He helped organize leagues in the early 1960s.  The bowling association appreciated his work & named their championship trophy after him.  

Here's an article explaining this story.

Ox Blood Lilies

"Recently I read about this beautiful lily being one that the German ancestors brought when immigrating to Texas in the mid 1840’s and later. These were found at a little nursery in Seguin, Guadalupe Co. Texas, where I buy my nursery items for the yard. When these little bulbs were on display just having learned about their history, I just had to have some to put in my yard. The little lily naturalizes, and maybe next year I will be able to bring some to the reunion to share with those who would like one to plant. It just bloomed today, and wanted to share this history and picture with you. These lilies usually are late fall bloomers until frost. Also, the info from the book stated they brought “slips” [cuttings] of all kinds of fruit trees and seeds for their vegetables gardens. The early immigrants knew they would need these to have for food to feed their families. One of the first things that they did was plant a garden and their slips for trees, after building a shelter of some kind.

"Also, information that has been found is that some of the ancestors that landed in Indianola, made a short trip over to the Guadalupe River not far from Indianola, and rafted up the river to Seguin. Most of them went on to New Braunfels and on up to Fredericksburg to live. Other that landed in Galveston went overland to Washington, Lee, Fayette, Austin Colorado and Lavaca Counties.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to them for the hardships these new immigrants made to come to the new world and start a new life in America; some never returned home. If you have the opportunity to read about early Texas history please do, it is fascinating."

Mayme Hause

Julius Herman Rachuig & Selma Martha Schulz Family Tree Diagram

I've posted a tree diagram for the Julius Herman Rachuig & Selma Martha Schulz family.

An aside: This is my (Chuck Kelly's) line in the family tree.  Julius & Selma are my great-grandparents.  Their youngest son, Herbert Albert Rachuig, was my maternal grandfather.  His younger daughter, Sally Ann Rachuig Kelly, is my mother.

Link to family tree diagram.

Richard Rachuig & Anna Kunkel Family Tree Diagram

I've also drawn a tree diagram for the Richard Henry Rachuig & Anna Marie Kunkel family.

Link to family tree diagram.

Otto & Johanna Rachuig Lang Family

I've added another diagram to the extended family tree. This one covers the initial layer ofJohanna Rachuig Lang's branch of the family. She was the oldest daughter & second child of August & Henrietta Rachuig. She married Otto Lang. Her youngest sister Lydia married Otto's younger brother Richard Lange. (Yes, they spelled their surnames differently.)

Otto & Johanna moved to New Mexico. I understand they were infrequent visitors to Clifton. I've posted pictures of their family in earlier entries on this blog.

Link to Otto & Johanna Rachuig Lang family diagram

Will Krueger, Sr. - Member of the Bernardt Band

Here is a photo of Will Krueger, Sr. when he was a member of the Bernhardt band. He appears to have been an euphonium player. I'll have to dig through Uncle Will's ancestry to see if he was a Bernhardt descendent. His wife, Hilda Rachuig was the granddaughter of Henrietta Bernhardt, so maybe he was admitted to the fold as an in-law, or maybe anyone could join.



Here's another picture of the Bernhardt Band. I presume it predates Uncle Will's picture. I know the Clifton Museum has pictures and memorabilia of the band - they must have been popular.

Family Tree Diagrams

I've modified & added to the collection of family tree diagrams at the top of the right-hand column of this blog.

You'll see that I've added a Bernhardt branch to the top-level diagram. (It's continued on Page 6.) Susan Read has provided good info on the Bernhardts, so I'll be able to expand this line in the future.

Link to top-level family tree diagram.

Link to Michael & Anna Bernhardt & children diagram.

Here's a photo of Caroline Bernhardt, oldest child of Michael & Anna Bernhardt. Her daughter, Otillie Mathilde Harmel, married August W. Rachuig, Jr. Notice the touching note her great-niece, Frieda Rachuig Flair, wrote on the back of the picture. Frieda was the daughter of Richard Rachuig & Anna Kunkel.



I've also added the August William Rachuig, Jr. & Otillie Mathilde Harmel line to the tree. There's an entry about their family further down this blog.

Link to August & Henrietta Rachuig & children diagram.

Link to August & Otillie Rachuig & children diagram.

I've added a diagram for the Theodore & Marie Rachui branch. I hope to get more info on this line, so I can expand it.

Link to Theodore & Marie Rachui & children diagram.

I'll add more branches & details in the future.

Jedidiah David McNeil

We have a new addition to Rudolph 'Rube' & Huldina Rachuig branch of the family. He is Jedidiah David McNeil, born on July 9th. He weighed 9 lbs. 6 ozs. He was 21 inches long.

Little Jed's parents are Jessica (Hein) & John McNeil.

Jessica is the daughter of Layton & Sheri Hein (grandparents).

Sheri is the daughter of Robert & Joyce Rachuig (great-grandparents).

Robert is the son of A. W. & Lurlyne Rachuig (great-great-grandparents).

A. W. was the son of Rudolph & Huldina Rachuig (great-great-great-grandparents).

Rudolph was the son of August & Henrietta Rachuig (g-g-g-g-grandparents).

Here's a picture of the new addition with his first counsins (I think). (Update) Sheri Rachuig Hein has told me her new grandson is posing with his brother and sister. I didn't realize John & Jessica already had children.

August William Rachuig, Jr. & Family

I've started fleshing out the family tree with branches of August & Henrietta Rachuig's children. The first branch I've added is their 4th child and 2nd son, August William, Jr. He died in 1945, so I never knew him -- or knew much about him. What I've learned is interesting.

He married Otillie Mathilde 'Tillie' Harmel in 1896. I've learned that Aunt Tillie was a Bernhardt, so according to my records she and August were 1st cousins. Richard Rachuig's history of the Rachuig family says he and August, Jr. ('Gus') worked in Olney, Texas, where Uncle Gus met Aunt Tillie. Gus, Tillie and Richard moved around West Texas quite a bit, looking for land and work. In fact, they went as far as New Mexico, which was withering in a drought, so they moved back to West Texas.

Richard says Gus suffered from poor heath, particularly a bad stomach. He always looks very thin in the pictures of him I've seen. He and Tillie lost their 3 children at very early ages. I don't think any of them lived past age 2.

I did some searching on the Find A Grave Web site, and learned that Gus and Tillie are both buried in Matagorda County, Texas. The site says August enlisted in the US Army at Matagorda during WWI, so they must have lived there for a considerable amount of time.

Link to diagram of August & Henrietta Rachuig & their children.

Link to diagram of August William Rachuig, Jr. & Otillie Mathilde Harmel & their children.

Link to Find A Grave info on August Rachuig, Jr.

Link to Find A Grave info on Otillie Mathilde Harmel.

Here's a photo of theirs son's graves in the Pioneer Cemetery in Olney. Their daughter Ella is buried in Clifton.

Photos of Clifton, Texas

When we attended the reunion in Clifton a few weeks ago, we were impressed with the beauty of the country side. Even those who live far from Texas have probably heard of the drought and wild fires scorching large areas of the state. We didn't see any evidence of those disasters. The area around Norse was really picturesque.

Those of you who live far from the Clifton area will get an idea of the area's natural beauty, courtesy of these photos from Robert Rachuig.

2011 Rachui-Rachuy-Rachuig & Schulz Family Reunion

Our extended family held its annual reunion at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Norse, Texas on Saturday, July 16th. I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a very, very enjoyable time.

I didn't take notes, but I think this was the 56th Schulz reunion & the 35th Rachuig reunion. Some of you may not know, but we combined the two reunions a few years ago since they always occurred on the same day, & several of us are members of both families.

I don't want to leave anyone out, but Susan Read & her husband were first-time attendees, as was David Rachui, who traveled from North Carolina. [While I'm at it, Trent Knudson, was the oldest attendee, and Steve & Kim Weaver's grandson was the youngest. Sorry, but I don't recall his name, but I'll bet he's about 2-years old.]

A few points from the reunion:

• Next year's reunion will be at Our Savior's in Norse. We couldn't ask for a better site. Many thanks to Helon Ruth for setting us up with the church. I look forward to next year's reunion.
• If you have any memorabilia you want to post to this blog, feel free to send me scans or the originals, & I'll be certain to get them back to you.
  
• Our Savior's has a Smorgasbord Dinner in November. There's a link below in case you're interested. It looks like a fun evening. Note the registration process.
  
• David Rachui provided me with good info on connecting the various branches of the Rachuig/Rachui/Rachuy family. There's a link below, so you can view it. Feel free to correct or add information. (You'll need to email me, or post to this blog.) These charts aren't meant to be a full family tree -- just a way of connecting the various, far-flung branches.
  
• I'd like to receive any genealogical data you have. Several of us use Family Tree Maker. I'll try to enter everything I receive & pass it on to others who are interested.
  
• A family member in Germany (Dieter Rachuy) is pursuing research at the German Genealogical Archive in Leipzig, Germany. We may learn a great deal about our origins in Posen, possibly prior to settling there.

I'll try to post items to this blog more frequently this year. Send me news about births, marriages, deaths, or other significant events, & I'll announce them.

Try to make next year's reunion -- I think you'll have a good time.

A link to Our Savior's Luthern Church in Norse

A link to Our Savior's info about the Church's Smorgasbord Dinner in November

A link to Page 1 of our Extended Family Tree

A link to Page 2 covering the August & Henrietta Rachuig Branch

A link to Page 3 covering the Otto & Augusta Branch

Marriage Registry for Washington County, Texas

Mike Chandler, grandson of Richard & Anna Marie Rachuig, sent me this link to the marriage registry for Washington County, Texas which was the first stop for many of our family groups when they migrated from Germany to Texas.

Notice that my branch of the family is given even another spelling of the family surname: RACHOUG. This is probably a transcription error, or misreading when the typist transcribed the original, hand-written ledger. It's just another example of how names can acquire variant spellings.

Also notice the number of RACHUI entries. As I've said before, my branch of the family has the same spelling on the US Census for 1880. It's likely we are related.

(Update) I got a note from Dorothy Rachui pointing out the entry labeled RACHIN is actually a RACHUI, too. There's another mispelling of our surname.

Link to Washington County, Texas Marriage Registry

Past Reunion Pictures

I want to thank Robert Rachuig for sending me photos from past family reunions. These come from 2002. I'm sorry to say that Hulen, Mildred, Charles, & Willie, Jr. are no longer with us.

This first one shows Hulen & Maye Hanson.



These next two photos show Mildred Rachuig Hanson, Hulen's mother, who was the daughter of Rudolph Otto & Huldina Rachuig. The second photo shows her with her first cousin, Charles Rachuig.



These final pictures are of Will Krueger, Jr. The second shows him with his daughter, Julie Krueger.

General Family Tree

I've made a very rough, first draft of an extended family tree from what I currently know about our extended family. PLEASE feel free to send me more information, so I can add detail & correct mistakes.

I've included some in-law familys because we have extensive relations with them. In several cases they have inter-married multiple times. We'd like in laws to attend the reunion if they're interested in our joint family history.

More (I hope) on this later.

Rough draft of extended family tree

Kruegers

My aunt, Mayme Rachuig Hause, sent me this photo of the Krueger family. They settled in Washington County & migrated to Bosque County with several other families, including the August Rachuigs. These joint migrations indicate the closeness of the ties between these in-laws.

You see Ida, Robert, Otto & Lena in the back row. Emma, Emilie, & Will, Sr. are in the front. (Will married August & Henrietta Rachuig's granddaughter, Hilda Rachuig.) I don't have a date or location for this picture.

Bernhardts

These photos show the Wilhelm Frederick Bernhardt family. I understand he was the youngest brother of Henrietta Bernhardt Rachuig & Caroline Bernhardt Harmel.

Frederick's family lived in Olney, Texas. He was instrumental in forming the Lutheran Church there. No doubt he & his family were well-known to the Kunkel family & the Richard Rachuig family who also lived in Olney for a considerable time.

This first photo shows Wilhelm.



This next photo shows his children with their spouses. None of them show up in a search of my Family Tree Maker data base, so I have no information on them.

Kunkels

The Kunkel family is linked to the August Wilhelm Rachuig family through his son, Richard Henry Rachuig. His wife was Anna Marie Kunkel, whom he met while living in Olney, Texas.

The image (and text retrieved by the link below) shows Henri Kunkel's request for a US passport, so he could travel back to Posen (I presume) in 1913. Notice the Kunkels are another Posen family that followed the trail from coastal Texas to upper central Texas in the late 1800s.



Link to text version of image

The Extended Rachui-Rachuy-Rachuig Family

I've had a lot going this past year, so I haven't been able to post much to this blog. I want to restart posting items in the run up to this year's reunion. I'll try to post things every week.

One of the questions I've received is how the Rachui - Rachuy - Rachuig families are related. I hope I can give a comprehensible answer to that question soon. The best I can do right now is point some research my aunt, Mayme Rachuig Hause, has done.

She has discovered that Theodore's father, Johnann Rachuy, is very likely August Wilhem Rachuig, Sr.'s brother. They all settled in Washington County, Texas in the mid-1800s.

You should note that the spelling varied within branches of the family. For example, the August Rachuig family is also listed as Rachui on some US censuses. I still have no idea why or exactly when my branch of the family added a 'g.'

I hope to have more definitive info for you soon.

I also want to point out that we have several in-law families that have close ties to us, like the Kruegers, Kunkels & Bernhardts - not to mention the Schulzes who have combined their annual reunion with the Rachuigs for several years now. We hope they'll all join us at the family reunion at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Norse, Texas in July.

I'll have more details about the reunion on this blog. I hope to see you there.

Charles Adolph Rachuig

Many of you know that Charles A. Rachuig died earlier this year. (I've provided a link to his obituary below.) He and his family have been the linchpin in maintaining our family reunions over many decades.

I think I speak for all of us who have participated in these reunions when I say thanks to Rocky & his family for all they've done for the extended Rachuig family. He'll be missed.

Link to obituary

My thanks to Robert & Joyce Rachuig for providing these pictures of Rocky from a previous reunion.


Charles Rachuig


Robert & Charles Rachuig


Joyce & Charles Rachuig