Friday, 30 October 1987
A German Newspaper Article from the Kraichgau
by
Wilhelm Bauer
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Photograph on balcony at house of
Hans Michel Raudenbusch, 1666-1747/48
Built 1687, Renovated 1986
Steinsfurt, Sinsheim County, Germany
From “Sinsheim County” by “Dragon” to Philadelphia
American Family on the trail of their forefathers that emigrated from Germany in 1732—
They found roots in Steinsfurt and Reihen
A lot of times this is a very demanding task which has no end in sight. And, quite a few times, the only place to find information is going back to the 17th or 18th century church registration or book and sometimes in Voting Protocals or even in the tax lists. Every once in a while you may find something in War Records and anals, the later especially in the Kurphulz area. But, a lot of times, certain records are lost. But, sometimes, a long search with a lot of diligence can pay off and lead to success.
This is the case of the Baumholder stationed, of German origin, Major W. D. Roudabush. Excited by his wife who found her relative’s past in Hessen, he started a family tree beginning with his relatives who came to Pennsylvania. Hans Heinrich Raudenbusch with his two brothers from “Sinsheim County” (Grosschoft) came to Philadelphia from Bremen on the clipper ship Dragon on 30 September 1732.
After these finds all other discoveries ended in the United States and had to be continued in Germany. W. D. Roudabush got a map and started searching for “Sinsheim County” and with his wife who had experience in tracking, he started the search for Sinsheim.
On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in August 1986, the Roudabushes took a trip in the family car to the Sinsheim graveyard to find the family name on the gravestones. As luck would have it, a Sinsheim lady was walking through the graveyard with her granddaughter and inquired what the couple was looking for. Even though they had a lot of problems understanding each other, the lady understood after awhile. She told them their name would not be found in Sinsheim. As a last hope to the Americans, she told them of a person who had been in Sinsheim a long time and could probably help them out, since he was well-versed in history.
After looking in the phone book for other Raudenbusches, they found a Raudenbusch, but of no relation since they had moved there from elsewhere to Siegelsbach. Then they looked up Rudolf Petzold, a man well-versed in home story and family lines, he in turn checked protestant/catholic church archives in Karlsruhe, from there the trail led to Steinsfurt.
Telephone calls to the church in Rohrbach, where the books for the area around Steinsfurt are found, brought about a quick find. Emil Schumacher from Rohrbach, who was busy researching his family background around the same time in history had a curious coincidence. He had seen the name Raudenbusch on a side branch of his family tree.
Heinrich Raudenbusch, who in September 1732 sailed on the Dragon to Philadelphia, was born in Steinsfurt on 6 January 1712. His father, Hans Michel Raudenbusch, was born 1 July 1666 in Reihen, died on 1 March 1748 in Steinsfurt. A cousin of Hans Michel Raudenbusch (a forefather of Emil Schumacher), also named Hans Michel, built the restaurant Steinsfurter “Kaserne” on Lerchennstrasse. The grandfather of Hans Heinrich Raudenbusch, the Miller Peter Raudenbusch, born 1614, died on 22 April 1704 in Reihen at the ripe age of 90. The mill which belonged to him was located between Steinsfurt and Reihen. The (Reihen) mill is still working today (30 October 1987).
The great grandfather of the immigrant Hans Heinrich Raudenbusch, another Peter Raudenbusch, was the oldest person who could be traced back. He was one of 19 Steinsfurt citizens who lived through the Thirty Years’ War. He was also the court of the town. The Kurphalz government paid homage to him after the Thirty Years’ War by giving him the mill. Peter Raudenbusch was the hereditary tenant. The church books from Steinsfurt and Reihen started in 1650 (after the Thirty Years’ War) which made any further research impossible.
On Sunday, 25 October (1987), William Donald Roudabush visited. He is the name carrier who can be traced back 11 generations. He came with his wife Carol Ann, daughter Stefanie Sue and son Brian Keith and met with his relatives Emil Schumacher and the town of Steinsfurt where his forefathers came from. Hans Appenzeller told the American family all about the history of the region and their family story, also about the old mill, which was also visited and photographed from all sides, Naturally, Hans Appenzeller insisted on giving a brief description of the “Lerchennest” and Frederick the Great’s stay there in 1730.
Through Ittlingen, Hilsbach and Weiler, the trip went on up to the Steinsberg. There the visitors looked at the tower and land around Sinsheim County, the homeland of their forefathers. That evening a happy good-bye was said with best wishes and a promise to see each other soon.
A note from Bill:
I was born and raised in Bedford Co., PA. I am retired from the US Army and am currently working as an engineer (I am a registered professional engineer, civil) in Alexandria, VA and living in MD.
There have been MANY hours spent on finding 'dead' people, as my wife so aptly puts it. We got the opportunity to visit the mills worked in the mid-1500's, and still operating in 1987, while I was in the Army in Germany. That was pretty neat!
The German genealogy documents came from my 12th cousin, Herr (Mr.) Emil Schumacher (in my file). He is the one listed in the German newspaper that said his ancestors included Peter RAUDENBUSCH. It was his home we had a Sunday evening dinner with his family, some of the entourage that went from site to site with us, my family and a friend with us. My kids were there with their 13th German cousins. It was quite an experience! My 16 year old daughter did essentially all of the translating.
The fun continues,
Bill Roudabush
Please browse through the next few pages and see photos of his trip to the homes/mill of Hans Peter RAUDENBUSCH and Peter RAUDENBUSCH as well as the home of Michael RAUDENBUSCH. The basement photos from Michael RAUDENBUSCH's house show the secret meeting place of the Mennonites, a banned religion.
