Rudes Family Reunion

 ANNUAL REUNION VERY PLEASANT; RUDES REUNION IS WELL ATTENDED 

The second annual reunion of the Rudes family was held at the old homestead, Maple Grove Farm, Sunday, Aug. 2d.  The 1926 reunion will be held at the same place.  A bounteous picnic dinner and supper was served on tables under the maples.

Forty-six members of the family were present: Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Rudes, Fred Rudes and Avis Rudes of Helena, Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Rudes and two children of Port Clinton, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Rudes, Mr. and Mrs. M.B. Rudes and two children, Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Rudes and three children, Mr. and Mrs. Verne Rudes and son Charles, all of Genoa, Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Rudes and three children of Toledo, Mr. and Mrs. Will Hessman, three sons and daughter Elda of Luckey, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Martin and two children of Fostoria, Mr and Mrs F. Weber and two children of Woodville, Miss Helen Whittaker of Akron, Mr. R. C. Rudes and Miss Minnie Rudes, also two guests, Miss Beulah Ruch of Luckey and Mr. Farr Tuttle of Cleveland. 

The men enjoyed quoits and indoor baseball with music and games for the younger people.  

The above is an article from The Genoa Gazette on 7 August 1925.  It was front page news!  I love little articles like this for several reasons but first let's see if we can figure out who all the 46+ people are and how they are related.  

• Mr. & Mrs. G. A. Rudes - Nothing like starting out with a fun one.  There are two G.A. Rudes' and both were married at the time.  I am assuming this is George Adelbert Rudes (1862-1934) and Avis Tuttle (1862-1947).  George would be the son of George Rudes and Louisa Baxter.
• Fred Rudes - This would be Fred Tuttle Rudes born in 1907.  He is the son of George Rudes & Avis Tuttle.  
• Avis Rudes - This might be a double listing as of right now I only know of 2 Avis Rudes'.  One is the wife of G.A. Rudes and one is their granddaughter via E.H. who is possibly listed with her fathers family so I will need to do more digging on this one.  
• Mr. & Mrs. L.C. Rudes & 2 children - I think this is Lester Rudes (1887 - 1942) and Lucy Sampson (1891-1976).  They had Robert & Margaret before 1925.  Lester is the son of Heselton Rudes & Fanny Butheway.   
• Mr. & Mrs. Harry Rudes - I'm fairly confident that this is Cecil Harold Rudes (1887-1951) & his wife, Minnie Arndt (1888-1948).  Cecil regularly went by Harry and is the son of Carlos Rudes & Lillie Hatch.  
• Mr. & Mrs. M.B. Rudes & 2 children - I think this is the family of Merrill Basil Rudes (1890-1939) & Della Matilda Wilhelmina Meyer (1891-1963).  The two children would be Merrill Basil "June" Rudes (1920-1994) & George Rudes (1923-2007).  Merrill is the son of Carlos Rudes & Lillie Hatch.  
• Mr. & Mrs. R. S. Rudes & 3 children - I think this is the family of Raymond Sandwich Rudes (1895-1972) & Pearl Crossman (daughter of Charles Easton and Emma Crossman; 1895-1959).  At the time the children would have been Mary (1920-2003), Raymond (1921-1985) and Kathleen (1923-1929).  Raymond is the son of Carlos Rudes & Lillie Hatch.  
• Mr. & Mrs. Verne & Charles - This is Verne Rudes (1891-1970) and Mildred Belle Schroder (1894-1969).  To my knowledge Charles is their only child, born in 1914 he died in a car accident in 1932.  Verne is the son of Heselton Rudes & Fanny Butheway.  
• Mr. & Mrs. E. H. Rudes & 3 children - I am thinking this is Emery Harold Rudes and his wife, Johanna.  In the 1930 census their children are Avis, Delbert & Emery Jr.  I will be digging a little deeper to see if there are two Avis Rudes' or if she was just listed twice.  Emery is the son of George Rudes & Avis Tuttle.  
• Mr. & Mrs. Will Hessman & 3 sons & Elda - William Hessman married Alice Rudes.  Alice was the daughter of George Rudes & Avis Tuttle.  They had four sons and all of them were born before this event so I'm not sure which ones were in attendance but you have Willard (b. 1907), Lowell (b 1913), Ross (b. 1916) and Robert Claire (b. 1922).  Elda was born in 1908 and later became Mrs. Forrest Wight.  
• Mr. & Mrs. Lester Martin & 2 children - Lester Martin married Esther Rudes.  Esther is the daughter of George Rudes & Avis Tuttle.  The children should be Lois & Gerald with Jane being born sometime in 1925.  
• Mr. & Mrs. F. Weber & 2 children - This would be Franz Weber and Inez Rudes.  To my knowledge they only had 2 children total, Thornton Weber (1917-2004) and Marian (later Mrs. Kesler; 1921-2010).  Inez is the daughter of George Rudes & Avis Tuttle.  
• Helen Whittaker - Helen is the daughter of Albert Whittaker & Metta Rudes.  I am attempting to location more information.  She would be the granddaughter of George Adelbert Rudes & Avis Tuttle.  She was listed as Mrs. Helen Wilson in her fathers obituary however that has been almost as fun as a Smith or Jones to track.  
• R. C. Rudes - I am going to assume this is Roy Castle Rudes (1874-1945).
• Minnie Rudes is the daughter of George Rudes and Louisa Baxter. She was born September 2, 1864 in Genoa, Ottawa, Ohio and died May 22, 1939 in Clay Township, Ohio and to my knowledge was never married.
• Beulah Ruch
• Farr Tuttle

I will work on seeing if Beulah and Farr end up fitting in here somewhere.  I am assuming Farr Tuttle is some relation to Avis Tuttle Rudes.  Some of this is just a rough draft or from the 1930 census as I have yet to follow some of these lines and some I'd never heard of until I found this article.  

So, now that I have them mostly assigned to families.  How are they all related?  They are all the descendants of George Rudes and Louisa Baxter.  G.A., Heselton (deceased), Carlos (deceased), Roy Castle and Minnie are the children.  Fred, Lester, Harry/Cecil, Merrill, Raymond, Verne, Emery, Alice, Esther and Inez all come from one of the above children.  You then obviously have various great-grandchildren.  Of the eight children of George and Louisa, 5 were there or had children there.  Metta, Amy and Bribner to the best of my knowledge never married or had children.  Neither Metta nor Am reached the age of 10 before their deaths.  

I look forward to seeing what I can learn about these families in the coming days (or years).  

Rudes hopes to remain probate judge

A New Year's baby is seeking re-election as Ottawa County's probate and juvenile judge.  Merrill B. Rudes, who has filled that post since February 1973, was born in Genoa, Jan. 1, 1920, the son of Merrill B. and Della Meyer Rudes.  His mother was a native of Clay Center. 

Married to the former Mary Carey Leutz, an Oak Harbor school teacher, Judge Rudes is father of four children.  He and Mrs. Rudes live on South River Road, Oak Harbor, with their pet cat "Nicki".

Judge and Mrs. Rudes are parents of Ms. Diane Windischman, family abuse coordinator for the prosecuting attorney in Lansing, Mich.; Merrill B Rudes, an electronics engineer in Chicago; Attorney Terrence Rudes, Oak Harbor, assistant Ottawa County prosecuting attorney, and DeIla Rudes, who is assistant administrator of the 500-bed Anderson, S.C. hospital.  There are also six grandchildren. children.  [sic]

Rudes' family has lived in Ottawa County many years.  His grandfather owned and operated a grocery store in Clay Center and his father operated the Ford agency in Genoa for many years. 

After graduation from Genoa High School, Judge Rudes attended Ohio State University and won his doctor of jurisprudence degree at the University of Toledo Law School in 1955, the same year he was admitted to the Ohio State Bar.

Before that, Merrill B Rudes owned and operated the Rudes Grocery Story [sic] in Clay Center for 10 years, was co-manager with his brother George of the Nick Stevens Motor Sales in Genoa, and was editor of the Woodville News for a year. 

For six years after becoming a lawyer, he was a partner in the law firm of Rosentreter and Rudes in Oak Harbor.  Judge Rudes first bore that title after he was elected judge of Port Clinton Municipal Couty and served in that capacity from November 1961 to February 1973. 

Elected judge of the Ottawa County probate and juvenile court, he has been on that bench since February 1973.  He has received six Ohio Supreme Court awards for superior judicial service during those years and served several years on the executive committee of the Ohio Municipal Judge's

With nearly 17 years of experience as a judge, Rudes seeks re-election on the basis of his lengthy experience, his background and his proven qualifications.  Lookwood Zeis is his campaign manager, and Zeis and his committee workers are conducting an active campaign throughout the county for Rudes' re-election. 

Rudes served four years in the 90th Infantry Division during World War II, and rose from private to captain.  He served 20 months in the European theater, from the Normandy invasion to Czecho-Slovakia.  He was recalled from 10 months during the Korean conflict, and served as a troop commander at Camp Atterbury, Ind. 

An active member of the Oak Harbor American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts, Rudes has served as past post and county council VFW commander.  He also is always on duty to help prepare and serve the Memorial Day breakfasts and the Armistice Day stews at the Legion post.  

Source: "Rudes hopes to remain county probate judge," News Herald, 30 October 1978, Front page, whole bottom.

 

**UPDATE** The Wives of Oscar Leutz

 Two updates in two days?!  My goodness I must be on a roll or something.  And oddly enough it is on the same topic as yesterday.  If you will recall I was attempting to sort out the four known wives of Oscar Leutz.  Today I confirmed Uncle Bob once again.  Oscar's marriage to Bertha Woods was in fact very short lived.  They were married December 28, 1920 and were divorced in October, 1921.  As found in the newspaper announcing the separation...

In the case of Oscar Leutz vs. Bertha A. Leutz, Judge Wierman has granted a divorce to the plaintiff on the grounds of gross neglect of duty, and the defendant divested of all property rights of plaintiff by way of dower or otherwise, and defendant has been restored to her maiden name Bertha Woods.  

 

**UPDATE** The Wives of Oscar Leutz

I have new information regarding Oscar Leutz and his four wives.  If you need a refresher, the previous update can be found here.  I have recently come across some information regarding wife #1, Myrtle Long.  In fact I have a fair bit of information thanks to a very beautifully written obituary. 

Death of Mrs. Oscar Leutz 

Mrs. Myrtle Long Leutz, second daughter of Mr and Mrs. Edwin Long, of Toledo, was born near Elmore, January 1st, 1888, was married to Oscar Leutz, Dec. 10th, 1904, and died at her home in Oak Harbor, on Oct. 12th, 1907, after an illness of only one day.  She leaves a husband, son, father, mother, two sisters and two brothers, besides a host of other relatives and friends, to mourn her untimely departure.  

Very early in life, she united with the Second Baptist church of Toledo and remained a faithful member of that organization.  She was a member of the Christian Sunday School, of Oak Harbor, also of the Ladies' Aid society of that church. 

The funeral, Tuesday, was from the Christian church, conducted by the pastor, Rev. C. L. Morrison.  The floral emblems were numerous and beautiful, mutely testifying of the love of the living for the dead. 

The fair young mother with her infant daughter, which died at birth, resting peacefully on her quiet breast, was indeed a touching sight, and the large concourse of sympathizing friends mingled their tears with those of the desolate husband.  Only the tender, softening hand of Time, and the hope to "Some day greet with pleasure, the dear ones waiting there," can console him. 

Extra special shout out to Uncle Bob who thought she'd died in child birth with her son, Ivan.  The dates didn't line up but I just assume Uncle Bob didn't know she'd had another baby, especially so close to the birth of her son.  The babies were about 1 year and 7 months apart.  What a tiny little fella to lose his momma.  Also, for those of you that didn't do the math, Oscar married Myrtle when she was 16 and buried her at 19.  I'm so glad to finally be able to add more information regarding this young woman to the tree and help her short life be remembered in some fashion.   

Where it fits:  Oscar Leutz is the son of Gustav and Mary (Washa) Leutz.  This makes him the brother of Leon Leutz who was the father of Mary Cary (Leutz) Rudes.