The Rudisill Family Foundation is a member of the American Association for State and Local History.

Founder’s CornerDear Cousins: There is no better time than the present to renew the past and to connect with your extended Rudisill family history. Recently, I read “…Nothing is intelligible without the past, not because it is the past but because it is the missing body of the present.” Only we can record and pass on the unique information we know about our ancestors. These oral histories and primary source materials are critical. Photographs and letters are vital records; yet, it is our personal experiences that enable us to identify the ancestors in those pictures or who wrote and were written about in those letters. Human history requires connectedness to have continuity, and it is the ability to connect with our ancestors that gives us a much deeper meaning to the word family. The Rudisill Family Foundation, Inc. is the only not-for-profit and IRS recognized tax-exempt national Rudisill family organization in the United States. We are dedicated to preserving and perpetuating the history of the extended Rudisill Family in America. A cousin once wrote that we should remove her name from our mailing list because her family name was spelled differently from the spelling we used. I replied that they were indeed our Rudisill cousins even though they did not use the same spelling. In America, there are 44 different spellings of our name! Our ancestors came from Switzerland via Germany to Philadelphia in the early 1700s. Ship records show that the original “Rudisuli” spelling was Anglicized to “Rudisill” which remains the most common spelling today. Many examples of the different family spellings may be found in past editions of our newsletter and in genealogical books, especially The Rudisill Genealogy published some 10 tears ago by our cousin Edward (Ted) Rudisill. Our website, rudisillfoundation.org, and this newsletter are the channels we use to share family history. Our headquarters, The 1896 House in Nacogdoches, TX is our museum. Cousins, your participation is the only way we can fulfill our commitment to collect, preserve, and share our heritage.

(continued on p. 4)

Newsletter of the Rudisill Family Foundation, Inc. www.rudisillfoundation.org No. 11, November, 2010

THE FRUITCAKE LADYBy Ted Rudisill

In the late 1980’s, I sent out several mailings in search of family data, and one of the respondents was James Edwin Rudisill in Hudson, Florida. In 1999, I received a RFA membership from his widow, Edna Marie Faulk Rudisill. Since she lived near our condo in Duneden, Florida, I telephoned to thank her. A very verbal person, she gave me a thumbnail version of her life. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama with all the traditions of the Old South. Her parents died when she was young, and she was raised with her nephew, Truman Capote by their two aunts. Early on, she bucked the system, fell in love and married a Japanese man. Family pressure was relentless until she filed for divorce. Later, she married James Edwin Rudisill, of Cherryville, N.C.

Unfortunately, this was not a marriage made in heaven, but, in the end, they stuck it out until he died in 1990, leaving one son to live with his mother. Marie developed considerable expertise in antiques; and, for many years, she wrote an antiques column for the St. Petersburg Times in addition to several books on Truman Capote and southern cooking. In the 1990s, she became an avid fan of Jay Leno until one night when he went on a rampage trashing fruitcakes as the worst food on the planet. Marie was incensed and wrote him a stinging letter and challenged him to eat one of hers. (Several of her fruitcake recipes are in the Rudisill cookbook.) One of Leno’s producers read the letter and sensed a little fun; so, he called her and promised first class transportation to Hollywood and a suite at the Beverly Wilshire if she would appear on the show to prove her point. Flattered by all the attention, she accepted. All she was told was that they would set up a table with all the ingredients for a fruitcake and that Jay and another guest would work under her direction to make a pair of cakes. There would be no rehearsal. The guest turned out to be Mel Gibson who conspired with Leno to give her a hard time making the cakes. They deliberately messed up; and, as expected, Marie exploded, convulsing the audience. The show was a big hit, and Marie did three more similar shows with Jay, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tom Cruise, and Hugh Grant. Jay loved Marie’s feisty, sharp-witted humor, and they became fast friends. When Marie became too frail to travel to Hollywood, he devised a new program called “Ask the Fruitcake Lady” in which people could send in questions which she would answer in front of a camera set up at her home in Florida. During her stardom on TV, I had numerous phone conversations with Marie, and proposed writing a Rudisill Family Cookbook together. She agreed, and submitted a number of her Fruitcake recipes; and I gathered recipes from the RFA membership. Our cookbook was a family success, complete with a picture of Marie and me (see above), plus a short history of the Rudisill family, and a number of early Pennsylvania-German favorite dishes. (Special offer for free cookbook on p. 4.) Marie, age 95, died in November 2006, at her home in Hudson, Florida. She left a legacy of 8 published books, loads of laughs for generations to come, and a lot of publicity for the Rudisill Family that she grew to love in her final years.

Marie Faulk RudisillEdward (Ted) Rudisill

By Gerald [Jerry] Dietz(son of Bernice Romaine Rudisill Dietz)

After several years of researching the Rudisill family on my own I finally came across Ted’s outstanding work on our family. Eagerly, I searched the pages for my grandfather, Luther G. Rudisill, but to no avail. There were his siblings, and the extensive record of the family right back to Switzerland, but no “Grandpa Rudisill.” Thus began my journey with the Rudisill National Reunion, “Uncle Ted,” and “Brother Rudi.” Suddenly, I was involved in the upcoming National Reunion to be held in September 2004! Before I knew it, we were helping Jim and Doris clean up the Rudisill Cemetery in Lancaster County where the family would dedicate a beautiful historic marker. Then, the planning and coordinating historic tours, meals, and social activities; and there was always the guiding hand of Pastor Fred, who, even with his failing health, kept us on task to provide a memorable reunion experience. Because my personal research included locating original Rudisill homesteads and burial sites, it was decided to include as many of the properties in our tour as possible. I feel the most historically significant one had to be the Hans Weyrich Rudisill property. I admit to being just slightly partial because he was my sixth great grandfather, but he was the early pioneer who planted the Rudisill name in both York County, PA and Lincoln County, NC. There probably isn’t a state or a lot of foreign countries that haven’t been visited by one of Hans Weyrich’s descendants. Using old York County documents and maps, off I went searching for the old homestead. Would I ever find the location of the original log house, let alone find it perhaps covered by several layers of siding? Luckily, York County is rural enough that dirt roads still faithfully follow those old paths. Sure enough, the old maps were still valid and led me to the right farm lane. Now named after the current owner, Shearer Lane led off Brown Road in Codorus Twp, south of Porter’s Sideling, York County, PA. As I first drove pass Solomon Rudisill’s 1839 brick house, then Johann Weyrich Rudisill’s 1750 log house, now covered with siding, my hopes began to soar. There, at the end of the lane, was the beautifully restored Hans Weyrich Rudisill 1737 log house in a neat farm setting! After introductions and explanations why I was so interested, the very gracious Rodney Shearer family gave me a tour and shared how they had bought the farm and lived in the 1750 log house while they restored the 1737 log house. How they kept the logs exposed

on the inside of the house and kept the integrity of the rooms as much as possible. For energy efficiency, it was necessary to

insulate and put nice siding on the outside. Wanting to share with visitors our ancestor’s building skills, the Shearers left huge logs exposed under the protection of a full length porch. I’m told that, because of the lack of tools on the frontier, the men literally “man-handled” the logs into place. Shearer told how they couldn’t save the fallen down summer house which had been built over the spring in order to prevent unfriendly Indians from poisoning the spring. Needing the water for the modern family, it was necessary to confine the spring and install pumps, purification, etc. Hans Weyrich Rudisile brought his family to America in 1737 and apparently “squatted” on this homestead, as I have never been able to find a record of Warrant. I’m told this was not uncommon on the frontier in order to avoid paying taxes. This was very early because the Penn family had just signed the Indian treaty with the Iroquois opening the west side of the Susquehanna River to settlement on Oct. 12, 1736. Haggling over land rights would go on with various Indian tribes, right into the 1756 French and Indian War period. Local homesteaders and their Indian neighbors lived under constant threat of attack by an occasional “rum crazed” local Indian or more likely “southern Indians.” Written records never say clearly who these “southern Indians” were; perhaps Catawba from North Carolina. According to Abraham Rudisill, there is a 1738 note written in the margin of the old Rudisill Family Bible that says, the Rudisill family watched a battle between the local Wiota Indians and another tribe as they fought in the trees by the creek. My personal observation is that is a distance of 100 yards away from the house. For some reason, the Wiota Indians were friendly to and tolerated the Hans Weyrich Rudisill family laying claim to 200ac. in their midst. Wiota Rd. formed the northern boundary of the farm until it was recently changed to Thoman Rd. Rev. Stoever baptized Weyrich’s youngest daughter, Anna Johanna “Hannah” at Codorus (York, PA) in 1740. Johanna “Hannah” married Henry Dellinger in Lincoln County, NC, giving rise to another branch of Rudisill descendants. Hans Weyrich’s wife died in 1753, and in 1754 he took up 200ac in Anson, NC, on Lincoln County’s Hoyle Creek. Some of our researchers tell me that Hans Weyrich is buried near Johanna “Hannah” and Henry in the Smith-Dellinger Cemetery near Lincolnton, NC.

Hans Weyrich’s oldest son by his first marriage was Johann Jacob Rudisill born in Germany in 1715. Jacob, as we’ll call him, sailed on the ship, “Brothers,” and arrived in Philadelphia 2 Sept 1752 with his wife, Anna Eva, and family. Jacob held “interest” in the Rudisill homestead in the 1753 Warrant. I’m told the family still has the 1766 Warrant from

King George III (Warrant 4022/Draft 5104, 7 Aug 1766) known as “Split Spring.” Jacob was naturalized in 1761. In 1783 Jacob was taxed for 300ac, 4 inhabitants, 1 house, 1 outbuilding, 3 cows, 2 horses, and 4 sheep. Prior to 1795, the 100ac Michael Rudisill farm was split off the east end of the farm [Michael was the son of Ludwig and grandson of Johann Jacob]. Upon Jacob’s death in 1807, son Ludwig took over the farm until his death in 1825. Ludwig’s son, John Rudisill, Sr took over the farm until his death in 1840. Based on the settlement of his Will S-422 in N. Codorus, written 28 May 1840 and probated 14 Sept 1844, the farm was known as “Mansion Place.” When sold to settle the estate 5 Aug 1845, it contained 200ac and was sold to Moses Senft for $28.62 1/2/ac. The farm was sold 16 Sept 1846 to George Cromer for $1958.70. And that, dear cousins, is the story of the Hans Weyrich Rudisile homestead in York County, PA.

Note: It is my inclination to believe a local Rudisill family researcher who asked me if I was aware our Rudisills were intermarried with the Wiota. I have since researched the Wiota, finding that they were properly called “Wiota Oyate.” Dr. Belcher, a Dakotah language specialist, tells me the name means “People of the Sun Nation,” and they have been traced back to the eastern coast of North Carolina. The Wiota were Dakotah or Woodland Sioux who migrated north along the Chesapeake Bay, then up the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers, and, then, west to the western end of the Great Lakes. The Ojibwes fought a big war with the Wiota and pushed them out to the eastern prairies of what are now the Dakotas and Minnesota, where they became the Siouian people known as Dakota, Nakotah and Lakotah. One early local record says the Wiota were once part of the Susquehannocks, but because of a religious difference, the Wiota separated and moved to the western side of the hunting grounds in what is now York County, PA. The Wiota may have lived with the Susquehannocks for a time, but had very different languages and religions. Wiota spoke Dakotah [Siouian] and Susquehannocks spoke Huron [Iroquoian].

Page 2 Relations No. 11, November, 2010

REVISITING THE RUDISILL HOMESTEAD TOUR OF 2004

In May of 1995, I was privileged to be among a small band of cousins who traveled to Germany and Switzerland to explore sites where our Rudisill ancestors lived, a trip organized and directed by Ted Rudisill and Fred Weiser. Afterward, Fred sent me a copy of his book on Fracturs, a labor of love and considerable scholarship, and a legacy for all Rudisills to appreciate. The following is a paraphrased sampling from Fred’s book. One of the most lively, most cherished and most widespread aspects of Pennsylvania German culture was a series of drawings that are classified and known as frakturs. They were made in all religious groups in every geographical area in which these colonial immigrants settled, and they were made in great numbers until the 1830s when acculturation of these folk to the British-based society around them occurred as Pennsylvania inaugurated its common school system. Frakturs are filled with a combination of color, whimsy, piety and design; and today they are prized as major examples of American folk art and provide a remarkable window into the soul of America’s largest cultural minority. By the late 1720s, the Pennsylvania “Dutch” numbers were so great that the English government demanded an oath of loyalty to the Crown. In fact, they settled so heavily in some areas that they were able to retain much of their Germanic culture. But, this culture was not a replica of what they had known in Europe because they came from diverse parts of German-speaking Europe: Switzerland, and Alsace (now part of France) and what Winston Churchill once called the “pumpernickel principalities” which slowly united to become Germany. These immigrants built a new Germanic world in America and established here the Easter rabbit, Christmas cookies, and Groundhog Day, among others. And they kept their dialect, a rich collection of folksongs, proverbial wisdom, and folk tales. Out of this environment the fraktur was created in many forms. The most widespread was the taufschein, a highly decorated birth and baptismal certificate practiced in the Lutheran and Reformed Church. They were all hand drawn for about 70 years. Then, they were joined by those struck by printing presses in more than a thousand variants. These Frakturs were seldom displayed on the wall but were frequently pasted inside a chest. Another fraktur was the embellishment of hymn texts. These meticulous drawings on handwritten manuscripts of music became popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Vorschift, or “writing example” for young students to follow were used in elementary education and were passed from teacher to student. These writing examples had texts that were scriptural, hymnic or catechetical. Large frakturs of completed texts, usually religious, are the masterpieces of the craft. They are carefully planned, a definite unit, and usually elaborate. They were often presented to outstanding students, friends of the schoolmasters, or children of the influential and wealthy families. From the Vorschift, there developed a booklet of four pages with examples of various ways to form letters. They have a decorated title page with the name of the children to whom they were presented. These booklets were often sewn inside a blue, tan or grey paper cover. They were presented to students as a reward for doing well in school. The kleines Andacht-bild or “holy card.” were treasured by the recipient as if they were holy. These tiny drawings were often placed in a Bible or hymnal. They were souvenirs of that special time in a young life when a teacher opened vistas by teaching, reading, story-telling, music, poetry, and art, including the art of fraktur drawing. The only form of fraktur to survive into the present time is a fancy ex-libris or bookplate. A few Amish people who have mastered fancy penmanship provide this service to their brethren. While many fraturs dealt with serious themes such as death and piety, most of the drawings were playful, of birds and flowers. They are meant to be enjoyed. There are bright colors and intricate combinations of them. There are flora and fauna and symmetrical graphic presentations. Enjoy the example we share with you here, and delight in this rich legacy that our cousin, Pastor Fred, has preserved for us to enjoy!

ANNA CHARLES – In this red, yellow, green and black drawing the Lord’s Prayer is crowded into the circle in the center flower.

Rev. Johann G. Arends,

First Lutheran PastorIn Lincoln County, NC

By Beth Rudisill According to The Annals of Lincoln County, Johann Gottfred Arends (also J. Arendt) was born Dec. 11, 1740, in Goettingen, Germany, and died July 9, 1807, and was buried in the Beaver Dam Church Cemetery. He graduated from the Teacher’s Seminary in Hanover, Germany. His certificate as a school teacher in NC was dated Oct. 16, 1772. He was 32 years old when he came to America. About this time, the Lutherans in Rowan County, NC, sent a committee to Germany to seek aid in church work here in NC. This committee brought back the Rev. Adolphus Nussman to preach; and, a young man to teach the children. Johann G. Arends was ordained as a Lutheran minister after teaching two years. His ordination took place in the old Organ Church in Rowan County on the eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 1775, making him the first minister ordained in NC. Other preachers in the state were of the missionary type and had been ordained elsewhere. Many Lutherans had settled west of the Catawba River for about 30 years, but they had no local preacher. So, Rev. Arends located in Lincolnton, NC, in 1786. About this same time, the German Reform Church sent the Rev. Andrew Morettz to Lincolnton. Rev. Arrends and Rev.Morettz became friends and together built the “old White Church” – which was formerly “Beaver Dam Lutheran Church” located east of Cherryville, NC. A 1788 deed gave the two congregations two acres for the payment of 10 shillings (about $2.50). Later, the Lutherans bought the Reform’s interest. Rev. Arends married Sarah Hannah Rudisill on Oct. 24, 1776, in Rowan, NC. She was the daughter of Johann Michael Rudisill, one of the first settlers in Lincoln County. She died March 5, 1831, and was buried at Beaver Dam Lutheran Church cemetery. Their children were Catherine, John, Elizabeth, Hannah, Susanna, Jacob, Frederick, and Mary. (The Rudisill Genealogy, p. 40). A forceful speaker who believed in the law of the church, he was instrumental in organizing the NC Synod and became its first president. Rev. Arend’s health failed several years before his death, and he eventually became blind. He was said to be a saintly man. A handsome man with blue eyes and long auburn hair, he was of medium size and always well dressed. On May 8, 1858, Beaver Dam Lutheran Church moved to its present site and renamed the congregation St. Marks Lutheran Church.

Frakturs: Our German Legacyby H. Clifford Rudisill, based on The Gift Is Small, The Love is Great, by Frederick S. Weiser

No. 11, November, 2010 Relations Page 3 N ovember, 2010

Page 4 Relations No. 11, November, 2010

EMILY KATE RUDISILLDaughter of

Mr. And Mrs. Guy Venson Rudisill, Jr.of Eden, North Carolina,

was one of the 16 young ladies from throughout the United States selected to make her bow at the 61st National Debutante Cotillion Thanksgiving Ball of Washington, D.C. on Nov. 26, 2010, at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________Founder’s Corner(continued from p. 1) (1) Please take time now to gather the information about your branch of this wonderful family. Share your history, stories (true and documented or legends) and published articles with us so we can share them with present and future cousins. (Copies or originals are equally welcome.) (2) Please send your $15 now to renew your newsletter subscription. A donation amount above $15 is tax-deductible, and you will receive a free Rudisill Cookbook. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Fathfully, your cousin,Clifford Rudisill

Letter to a Great, Great, Great GrandmotherDear Juliana, Though I'm only ONE of your many great, great, great granddaughters, you've had me baffled for years. You've left very little recorded information, and my search to know you has met numerous detours. Perhaps somewhere among family branches can be found prized information obscured for so long. I do know that you were either first or second-born to Jonas and Maria Elizabeth Maul Rudisill in York, PA, about 1755 or 1756. Your siblings' births were recorded at Christ Lutheran Church where your grandfather, Bartholomew Maul, was once schoolmaster. Your mother had a sister named Juliana Maul Hey, and I'm wondering if you were named for her. Your first marriage was to Henry Conn, perhaps in York, but not recorded. With Henry, you had four daughters, Catherine, Rosina, Elizabeth, and Susanna. Henry died in Lincoln Co, NC, around 1784, and you deeded the land you and Henry owned to your daughters, who sold the land to Michael Arnold, your second husband. This marriage also was unrecorded, but with Michael you had three sons and one daughter, Michael II, George, Jonas Rudisill, and Polly Arnold Fooshee. Your family moved to Knox Co, TN, from NC and then on to Roane Co. TN, where you and Michael are buried near Eblins Cave, but even your graves are unmarked. My line descends through your oldest son, Michael II, and his wife, Fanny Funk Arnold, oldest child of Samuel and Elizabeth Cordell Funk from Strasburg, VA, and later Scott Co. IL. Their son, Rudisill Arnold, who married Permelia Jane Ethel in Morgan Co., IL, was my great grandfather. Rudisill's daughter, Fannie Arnold Flowers, was my grandmother, and her youngest child, Alton Roy Flowers, my dad. In the 1850s when railroads were being built across the country and passing through Central Illinois, Rudisill Arnold sold valuable farmland and built a three-story landmark hotel in Exeter. Though Exeter was a thriving town at the time, the terrain wasn't ideal for steam locomotives, and the railroad was routed through Bluffs, a few miles north, thus stifling Exeter's future. For several years Rudisill operated the hotel, hosting legendary dances, known as Rude's Balls, in the unique ballroom with guests coming from far and near by riverboat. By 1871, though, Rudisill had sold out and moved his family to Grayson Co. TX, where he and Permelia Jane are buried in Liberty Cemetery near Lake Texoma. Copies of the balls' invitations are on display at the fully restored hotel now serving as a Bed and Breakfast hosted by Paul and Kate Herring who reared their family in the hotel while restoring it. Juliana, your descendants have spread across the country, but someday we hope that the heritage you provided will open a storehouse of information about you personally and secure your link to future generations.

Your loving gr, gr, gr granddaughter, Jane Flowers Duffie Wichita Falls, TX

Please send your email address to hcrudisill@yahoo.com. Thank you!