Newsletter of the Rudisill Family Foundation, Inc.
www.rudisillfoundation.org
No. 11, November, 2010
The Rudisill Family Foundation is a member of the American Association for State and Local History.
Founder’s Corner
Dear 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 taxexempt 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)
THE FRUITCAKE LADY
By 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.
Marie Faulk Rudisill
Edward (Ted) Rudisill
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.
Page 2
Relations
No. 11, November, 2010
REVISITING
THE RUDISILL
HOMESTEADHans
TOUR
OF 2004
By Gerald [Jerry] Dietz
on the inside of the house and kept the
Weyrich’s oldest son by his first
(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
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 “manhandled” 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.
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].
No. 11, November, 2010
N ovember, 2010
Relations
handwritten manuscripts
of music became
popular on both sides of the Atlantic.
Page 3
Frakturs: Our German Legacy
by H. Clifford Rudisill, based on The Gift Is Small, The Love is Great, by Frederick S. Weiser
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
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 Pastor
In 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.
Page 4
Relations
Letter to a Great, Great, Great Grandmother
Dear 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
No. 11, November, 2010
EMILY KATE RUDISILL
Daughter 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,
Please send your email address to hcrudisill@yahoo.com. Thank you!
Clifford Rudisill