Christmas Past

 

Germany, Ohio, and Indiana

Since the early 1700s, the Roos family lived in the village of Rumbach in what is now Germany. 

The village - still a population of only 400+ - is in the county of Südenwestpfalz in the borough of Dahn in an area known as the Dahner Felsenland. 

This is a part of the Wasgau, which is a range of hills located in a region in the southern part of the Palatinate Forest in Germany and the northern part of the Vosges Mountains in France. 

Rumbach is only three miles from the border with France.  https://rb.gy/3moavd

The area in Germany includes the Palatinate Forest Nature Park (German: Naturpark Pfälserwald), which lies in the southern part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate (one of the 16 German states) in which Rumbach lies.

The nature park covers an area of 684 square miles; 76% of its area is under the woods of the Palatinate Forest, the largest contiguous forest region in Germany. 

For this reason, Rumbach and the area surrounding it is a popular destination for hiking, climbing, camping, and other outdoor recreation.

The photographs on this webpage show what the around Rumbach looks like: https://goo.gl/FsmWqr

In 1836, the Roos family moved to Monroe County, Ohio, located in the southeastern corner of the state along the Ohio River.

An historical atlas of the area published in 1882, noted that the Roos family was “among the early settlers of the township, locating here when it was all woods.”

Note that the county just north of Monroe County, Ohio, is Belmont County – many residents of this area of Ohio relocated to south-central Indiana.

Thus, Monroe County, Indiana, and the small community of Belmont in western Brown County. 

Belmont was founded by the Kent family, which also moved to Brown County from this area of Ohio.

The region of Monroe and Belmont Counties – known as the Switzerland of Ohio – is very similar to Rumbach, Germany: https://goo.gl/7Qbv6y

Monroe County, Ohio, is the second least-populated county in Ohio. Over half of the county is included in the Wayne National Forest – and sounds like the Palatinate Forest Nature Park near Rumbach.

Which brings us to Brown County - - -

I don’t think I have to show photographs of our Brown County scenery for anyone to see that our Roos family loves the beautiful rolling hills of Rumbach, the same topography of Ohio, and our home in southern Indiana.

To say nothing of Brown County State Park, Yellowwood State Forest, and Hoosier National Forest.

The Roos/Rose family lived with the beauty of nature all around them.

All the more reason to visit our relatives in Ohio and in Germany, where we can enjoy the scenic drives, outdoors, and wine!

Whence the Roos?

It is not known when the first Roos family member(s) arrived in Rumbach. The earliest documented is Martin Roos Sr., born about 1702, but birth location unknown. He married Anna Katharina Schaub, who was born in Rumbach, December 7, 1704. 

So, it seems likely that Martin Roos was in Rumbach by the date of his wedding - which is itself unknown, but possibly in the early 1720s. Martin died sometime between 1769 and 1775. Katharina died in Rumbach, September 18, 1778. Ripe old ages for both at a time when life expectancy was about 35-40 years!

So, whence the Roos? It may be of importance that Katharina's maternal line - Caspar Löscher and Anna Ursula Hess - were Swiss. 

Or not. ...

The region in which Rumbach is located - only 30 miles west of the Rhine River - is one of Europe's most important overland routes. For centuries (since conquered by Julius Caesar in the 1st century) the area has been a connector between the lands of Belgium, Saxony, and Germanic states with the Rhone River in France.

The valleys of the Rhine River, which flows north to the North Sea, and the Rhone River, which flows south to the Mediterranean Sea, provide a natural corridor for a north-to-south trade and military route. At their origins, the two rivers approach each other by less than 100 miles. The use and control of this north-south passage exposed the region - and our ancestors - to a continual flow of foreign troops over the centuries.

Following the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the French (who held most of the region from the German Hapsburgs) sought to repopulate the area, essentially inviting immigrants from other countries. After 1648 and until the mid-18th century, numerous immigrants arrived from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Lorraine, and other areas.

It could be that this is when the Roos family arrived.

Or not. ...

Here are three old photographs sent to me by Andrea Kindelberger, who lives in Rumbach today.

These are houses in which Roos family members lived before emigrating to America in 1836.

The Roos Family of Rumbach

On May 5, 1836, the family of Heinrich Jacob Roos left Germany for their new home in America. They arrived at New York on July 17 and then traveled to Monroe County, Ohio. There, immigrants from their village of Rumbach, Germany, had already settled an area of Ohio whose topography was very similar to Rumbach.


Rumbach is located west of the Rhine River in the district of Südwestpfalz in the present state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The coat of arms of Rumbach depicts a fallen tree -

The upper half refers to the arms of Schönau (the meaning of the crown and spade or plow is unknown). Historically, Rumbach belonged to the Amt Schönau or the municipal government of the nearby town of  Schönau, located about 4 miles south of Rumbach.


In the lower half, the pine trees refer to the forests in this heavily wooded region. The trunks refer to the word Ron(e), meaning fallen tree. Rumbach is derived from Ron-bach. Bach means stream or brook which is symbolized by the wavy division line. 

Today, Rumbach is still a very small village of less than 500 residents.

http://www.haus-waldeck-rumbach.de/en/rumbach.html


I think the Roos family of Brown County, Indiana, should plan a trip to visit our homeland -

Not So Long Lost Cousins

Even I am surprised by how long it has been since I started this blogspot.

The idea was to start to share Family History, including photographs and other material, in a convenient way for relatives and friends.

Lately, as a result of a couple of Facebook posts, I have been asked for genealogy.

The latest requests have come from my cousins (not so long lost), sisters Pamela Schrougham Jackson and Gail Schrougham Ypparila.

They are the two little girls at the right-hand in this Christmas-time photograph taken at our grandparent's (Ralph and Rosie Rose) house, Oak Grove.

This must be about 1961.

From left to right in the front: me, Sandy Seitz, Candy Seitz, and Gail Schrougham.

In the back: Roger Rose, Dennis Rose, Kay Rose, and Pam Schrougham.

So, let's try this again. ...

Not wanting to get blogged down, these may be random (not chronological), but I hope will be fully informative for each post, if that makes sense.

Posts may be about various families - Rose (Roos), Kent (Kindt), Rariden/Raridon/Rairdon/etc., Deckard, Day, Bond, and more.

I hope you - anyone - enjoys. Let me  know your questions, too.

Thanks -

Greetings from Hoosier Nation.

The photograph above is the farmstead of Henry Rose in Brown County, Indiana. He was my great-great grandfather. The gentlemen in the automobile are unidentified. A small sign on the siderunner of the car reads: International Harvester Company. The standard who, what, and why are as unknown as the men. [click on the photo to enlarge]

The when is about 1904. A more precise explanation of the where is Kelly Hill about four miles south of Nashville, Indiana, along what is now State Road 46 on the way to Bloomington. This is about one mile south of the West Gate to Brown County State Park.

The house and other buildings are gone and the property now belongs to others.

Henry Rose bought this property, eighty acres "more or less," for $30 from John C. and Sarah Bennington on December 21, 1885, in "the West half of the South West quarter of Section Thirty five (35) Township Nine (9) Range two (2) east."

He and his family sold the property April 12, 1923, to Frank Gentry for $1400, subject to "a certain School Fund mortgage of $400."

[Thanks to my cousin, Sandy Seitz Cain, Brown County Recorder, who confirmed some of the information above after I couldn't read my own handwriting following a visit to her office. The record of purchase is in Deed Record 11, p. 309.]

And so, it begins.


That is St. Simons Island. This was 1983.

I was working at the Atlanta Historical Society and was invited by Bea Yancey to drive with her down to the island for vacation. Bea worked part time at Swan House with Nancy Lester and was dating Frank DeLoach, the founder of the Coastal Bank of Georgia. Frank didn't want Bea driving alone on that big stretch of road between Atlanta and the coast. Since I had no plans for a vacation at the time, I said yes.

We rode in Bea's classic Mercedes, a gorgeous light green with tan leather interior. Bea picked me up and we headed for the coast. Shortly after we were outside of the city, Bea suggested I open the picnic basket in the back seat - and pop the bottle of champagne. I could tell Bea was my kind of gal!

When we were on St. Simons, I spent the week in Frank's son's room. On one of our last nights on the island, Frank, Bea, and I went to dinner at the Cloister on Sea Island - jacket and tie required. I hadn't packed for any evening events and had only brought Polo shirts, khaki shorts, and my all-time favorite World Cup tennis shoes (I'd kill to still be able to get those.)

Frank suggested I wear one of his son's jackets and lend me a tie. Not having met Frank Jr., I didn't realize two things: he had horrible taste and was about twice my size - height and width. So, I enter the Cloister dining room decked out in the loudest plaid jacket you can imagine (*reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons - two men standing around at a cocktail party, and one asks the other about the second guy's tie: "You have a volume control for that thing?").

In the meantime, we didn't bring a tie, so asked for one from the maitre'd, since the club has a hat rack that holds ties for gentlemen who have arrived without one. So, he gives me a wide-cut tie printed in a bold floral design. Perfect with a plaid jacket, huh?

Though there is nothing I can do about the tacky taste, we did solve the problem of the jacket that was clearly too big for me. Being short, with shorter arms, Frank Jr.'s cuffs were somewhere around my fingertips. No problem. I ate my shrimp and crab with the sleeves held up by rubber bands!

But it was a glorious week. For a number of years, I went to St. Simons Island with fond memories of that week with Bea and Frank. Best of all, since I didn't have my own car, Frank let me borrow one of his - a baby-blue Cadillac convertible with white leather interior.

I cruised the island with that Cadillac practically floating on air. My first day out, with the top down, the sun shining, and the wind whipping through what little hair I still had in those days, I turned on the car's radio and the the first song up was Spandau Ballet.

"I know this much is True,
This is the sound of my soul."




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