The Rudy Family of Wayne County, Ohio

Among the citizens of Sugar Creek township, \Vayne county, who have built up a comfortable home and surrounded themselves with large evidences of their thrift and ingenuity, few have attained a greater degree of success or won a higher place in the citizenship of the community than David Rudy, a member of one of the old and prominent families of this section of the Buckeye state. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where mem-, lies of the family have been well known for a century and a half, the date of his birth being given as Deceml)er 21, 1816. Thus his life has been prolonged well toward the century mile-post, and now in its golden evening it is a blessing to all those who come into contact with this upright and useful patriarch, a link between the primitive past and the opulent present. He is the son of Christian and Barbara (Alayers) Rndy, the former born December 1, 1790, and the latter born on September 27, 1793, both in Lancaster. Pennsylvania. On October 9, 1834, Christian Rudy came to W’a_\ne county, Ohio, and located where the north edge of Dalton now extends. purchasing ninety acres, on which the family remained until the spring of 1835. when they moved on the farm where David L. Rudy now lives. He secured a good piece of land, which he greatly improved, making a comfortable home, and he became prosperous, being an up-to-date farmer for his day, finally becoming the owner of most of the land adjoining the town of Dalton, in all eight hundred and forty-four acres. He also became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Iowa. He is remembered as a very liberal man, doing many acts of kindness for his neighbors. He was a member of the Mennonite church, and politically a Whig, later a Republican when that party was organized. The death of this excellent man occurred on July 13, 1875, and that of his wife on October 3, 1858. They had a large family, David Rudy, subject of this biographical review, being the second in order of birth. He was a young man when he came with his parents to Wayne county, Ohio. Here he assisted in clearing the land secured by his father, attending the common schools during a brief time each winter until he had obtained a fairly good education for those early days, most of his education having been secured in Pennsylvania. He soon devoted all his attention to farming. He delights to tell of the removal of the family from their old home in Lancaster county to Wayne county, the trip overland being made with a five-horse team which he drove. He assisted with the work on the farm until he was twenty-three years of age.

Mr. Rudy was married on January 15, 1839, to Mary Martin, who was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, September 9, 1819. Soon afterwards David’s father gave him one of his farms, consisting of one hundred and twenty-eight acres, on which he and his bride settled; prospering, they added ninety acres to the same, where the city of Orrville now stands, and at this writing Mr. Rudy is the owner of two hundred acres of fine land where he now resides in Sugar Creek township. He operated a threshing machine very successfully for some time. In 1852 he bought his present farm and in 1853 moved on the same. He met with the misfortune to lose his right leg in 1855, it being caught in the threshing machine, but notwithstanding this handicap he managed to farm until his boys were large enough to carry on the work.

Mr. and Mrs. Rudy became the parents of eight children, namely; Henry, deceased: Fannie, deceased; Levi S., born October 8, 1843: Sarah, born March 19, 1845; David C., born November 1, 1846; Mary A., deceased; Elizabeth M. and Barbara, deceased. All these children received a good common school education. David C. married Julia Chatelain.

Mr. Rudy is a member of the Mennonite church, and politically he is a Republican. He is a man in whom the people of his neighborhood have placed a great deal of confidence and he has settled thirty-one good states. He is well informed regarding the statutes of the state of Ohio, and he is one of the most useful and honored men of Sugar Creek township.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

LEYI RUDY was born in Lancaster i County, Penn., May 27, 1819, son

‘ of Christian and Barbara (Moyer)

Rudy, natives of Lancaster County, Penn. They came to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1834, and located on a farm near Dalton, in Sugar Creek Township, where they lived the remainder of their days. Christian Rudy was a prominent member of the Mennonite Church; in politics ho first voted the Whig and afterward the Republican ticket. He died in 1875, his wife in 1859. Their family consisted of ten children, eight of whom are still living, viz.: David, Sr., in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County; Levi; Sarah, a maiden lady, also in Sugar Creek Township; Maria, living in Illinois; Israel, in Denver City, Colo.; Ann, wife of Samuel Suavely, of Sugar Creek Township; Barbara, wife of Henry Bucli waiter, of Trumbull County, Ohio; David, in Sugar Creek Township.

Levi Rudy, the subject of this memoir, came to Wayne County with Iris parents when fifteen years of age; was reared on the homestead farm, and sent to the schools of the period. In 1850 he ! purchased his present farm on the edge of Dalton, Sugar Creek Township, where ho has since resided. In 1851 ho became united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Ann, daughter of A. C. Cook, of Dalton, Ohio, and to them have been born four children, as follows: Mary Eva is the wife, of,1. study Roebuck, of Baughy man Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, and I has two children, Ina and Laura; Charles, living at home; Laura, wife of Barclay Snodgrass, of Dalton, Ohio, has two children, Frank and Harry; William, living at home. Mr. Rudy is a Republican, and has held the office of supervisor a number ! of years, and school director for over seventeen years. In 1880 he was elected land appraiser, and in 1886 justice of the peace, in which latter capacity he is now serving. His family are members of the Presbyterian Church.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

DANIEL L. RUDY.

One of the substantial as well as one of the most experienced and skillful farmers of Sugar Creek township, Wayne county, is Daniel L. Rudy, who has spent the major part of his long and eminently useful and active life within the borders of this county, although he is a Buckeye by adoption only, having been born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1834, the son of Christian and Barbara (Myers) Rudy, the former born in 1790 and the latter in 1795. When Daniel L. was seven weeks old his parents migrated overland to Wayne county, Ohio, and settled in Sugar Creek township in section 3, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in one tract, also sixty acres south of his first purchase. Christopher Rudy lived on the farm where he settled until his death, on July 13, 1875, his wife having preceded him to the silent land October 5, 1858. Mr. Rudy was an honest, unassuming man, a member of the Mennonite church. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living in 1910, namely: David; Mrs. Horner, living in Illinois; Mrs. Suavely, living in Sugar Creek township, this county; Mrs. Barbara Buckwalter, of Trumbull, Ohio; Daniel L., of this review.

Daniel L. Rudy has had the happy opportunity of spending his life on the home place, living now. on the same farm where he grew up from babyhood. He began assisting his father clear and develop the place when he was old enough to work in the fields. He attended the neighboring schools during the winter months and received a good common school education. When seventeen years of age he quit school and gave his entire attention to the farm. He was married December 31, 1857, to Esther Buckwalter, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1836, the daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Hartman) Buckwalter, both natives of Pennsylvania, having come to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1850. She was reared in Baughman township and received a common school education, principally in Pennsylvania.

After his marriage Mr. Rudy located on the old home place, which he has continued to develop until it ranks with the best improved and most productive farms of the township. He erected a substantial and attractive brick house in 1874, also a large barn. His farm now consists of one hundred and fifty-five acres. He has prospered by reason of his excellent management, and besides retaining his home place he has given each of his children an excellent start in life, equivalent to eighty acres of land. Fortune has favored his family not only in material things but in other ways, but little sickness ever having befallen them, although Mrs. Rudy has been blind for a period of twenty-two years; but she is of a cheerful and happy disposition and a woman of gracious personality.

Mr. and Mrs. Rudy are the parents of the following children: Barbara A., born October 5, 1858, is the wife of E. H. Wenger; Jacob, who was born November 7, 1859, married Mary Plorst; Albert, who was born November 18, 1860, married Margaret Saurer; Christ, born May 23, 1862, married Catherine Sprankle; Clara M., born June 5, 1866, is the wife of Jacob Steele.

Members of this family belong to the Mennonite church. In politics Mr. Rudy is a Republican, but not an office seeker, having always found enough at home to keep him busy. This family is one of the best known and most highly respected in the eastern part of Wayne county.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

LEVI S. RUDY.

Prominent among the worthy representatives of the pioneer element that cleared the wilderness which covered the rich soil of Wayne county and developed therefrom as fine farms as any state in the Union can boast, is the Rudy family, who were also prominent in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, before migrating westward, and of the descendants of the same, Levi S. Rudy, the well-known agriculturist and stock raiser of Sugar Creek township, is a representative and worthy of a conspicuous place in the present volume. For many years he has been a forceful factor in the growth and prosperity of the same, and as such his name and reputation have extended far beyond the limits of the locality in which the greater part of his life has been spent. He is the son of David Rudy and the grandson of Christian Rudy, who came to Ohio in 1832, a detailed history of each of whom is to be found in the sketch of David Rudy, on another page of this work. Levi S. Rudy-was born in Greene township, Wayne county, near Orrville, October 8, 1843. worked on the home farm and attended the neighboring schools during the winter months, attending school in Orrville and Sugar Creek township, and received a very good education. He remained under the parental rooftree until 1864, when he could no longer repress his patriotic pride, and enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteers, and he did very creditable duty until his enlistment expired, four months later, having during that period acted as guard at Fort Ethan Allen and Fort Marcy. Returning to the home farm, he worked on the same until his marriage, in the spring of 1867, to Eliza E. Erwin, who was born in Sugar Creek township in April, 1846. After this event he rented his father’s farm two years and then purchased the farm and there remained for a period of forty years. He prospered from the first, the place consisting of one hundred and sixty-three acres, on which he made all the improvements, and it is safe to say that no richer soil and no better improved farm is to be found in Sugar Creek township. It has been so skillfully managed that abundant harvests are reaped from year to year and the original fertility of the soil has been retained. He has been a hard working man, and no small part of his ample competency has been gained through the successful handling of livestock, especially horses, which he buys, feeds and sells, no trouble being experienced in making sales owing to the fine quality of the animals he handles, being an excellent judge of a horse. He has on the farm a beautifully located home which is cozy and well furnished, and everything about the place shows that a gentleman of good taste and excellent judgment has its management in hand. In fact, no more progressive and up-to-date agriculturist could be found within the prescribed limits of Wayne county. Mr. Rudy built a fine new residence, located a half mile east of Dalton, into which he moved in the spring of 1909.

To Mr. and Mrs. Levi S. Rudy three sons have been born, namely: Clyde, 1874; Guy, 1875; Merle, 1885. All received a good high school and collegiate education and are well launched in business affairs.

Mr. Rudy is a member of the Presbyterian church at Dalton, this county, being one of the ruling elders of the same and active in its various lines of work, also a liberal supporter of the church, and takes an interest in Sunday school work. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic post at Dalton. Politically he is a Republican. He is held in high esteem by all who know him for his public spirit, his exemplary life and his genial disposition and generous nature.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ALBERT M. RUDY.

In all the relations of life Albert Rudy, a well-known farmer of Sugar Creek township, Wayne county, has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought into contact. His capable manage-

13/ ment of his own business interests and his sound judgment have brought to him prosperity, for he is a hard worker and has always had the interests of his community at heart. He is the representative of an excellent old family, members of which have figured prominently in the affairs of this and Lam caster county, Pennsylvania, for at least four generations. The birth of Albert M. Rudy occurred in Sugar Creek township, this county, November i8, 1860. He is the son of Daniel L. Rudy, who came to Sugar Creek township, Wayne county, in 1832, from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, with his father, Christian Rudy, a hardy pioneer, who obtained land here in the wilderness and became a prosperous farmer. Daniel L. Rudy also became a well-to-do farmer.

Albert M. Rudy was the third member of his father’s family, and when he became of proper age he worked on the home farm, attending the (strict schools during the winter months until he had received a fairly good education. He later attended the graded schools at Dalton for four years. From the age of twenty-one to twenty-six years he worked for his father and thus became well grounded in the basic principles of agriculture, which he has made very successful ever since.

Mr. Rudy was married December 14, 1886, to Margaret Saurer, the daughter of Abraham Saurer, a well-known and highly respected citizen of East Union township, where Mrs. Rudy was reared and where she attended school. Her birth occurred in 1863. This union has resulted in the birth of four sons, namely: Raymond, May 10, 1888; Troy, December 10, 1890;

Allen, 1891, and Warren, January 1, 1894. They have all received good education in the common schools.

Mr. Rudy is the owner of a very valuable farm of eighty acres, on which is located the Dalton coal mine. No. 14. General farming is carried on very successfully, and a large part of Mr. Rudy’s annual income is derived from the sale of his heavy draft horses, which he buys and feeds, always finding a ready market for them owing to their excellent quality. He is regarded as an excellent judge of livestock, especially horses.

Politically, he is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church at Dalton, being highly esteemed members of the local congregation.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

CLYDE E. RUDY.

A well known member of a prominent Wayne county family is Cly’de E. Rudy, who is deserving of a place in a work of this nature along with other progressive citizens because he has earned the rewards which have attended his efforts, for, although beginning in a somewhat humble way at the foot of the ladder, he has steadily advanced, overcoming by perseverance every obstacle in the pathway of progress until he now occupies a conspicuous place in the life of his community.

Clyde E. Rudy is the son of Levi S. Rudy and the grandson of David Rudy, and the great grandson of Christian Rudy, who was a native of Pennsylvania and came to Wayne county, Ohio, in the fall of 1832, locating near Dalton, in what is now Sugar Creek township. In the spring of 1833 this old pioneer settled on a farm which he reclaimed from the primeval forest and on which Daniel L. Rudy now lives. Christian Rudy lived there until his death, and from this sterling ancestor a long line of worthy descendants have figured in the social and business life of Wayne county, one of the best known of the present generation being Clyde E. Rudy, whose birth occurred February 4, 1874, in section 2, Sugar Creek township. There he worked on the old home farm when very young in years and attended the district schools during the winter months. Not being satisfied with a common school education, he later entered the University of Wooster, where he made a very commendable record and prepared for a career as teacher, which profession he followed for a period of three years. Not taking very kindly to the life of a teacher, although he was making rapid headway in the same, he gave up that profession and returned to the farm, since which time he has given his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits, with gratifying results. He moved on the farm where he now lives in section 5, Sugar Creek township, which place consists of one hundred and six acres of excellent land on which he carries on general farming and stock raising in a manner that nets him a very comfortable yearly income. He has been a successful dealer in heavy draft horses, which he Iniys, feeds and markets, these animals, owing to their fine quality, always finding ready sales. He has an attractive and pleasant home, surrounded by a good orchard and, in fact, everything that makes country life attractive.

Mr. Rudy was married on December 29, 1897, to Cora Wecht, of Dalton, this township, in which town she was born on November 21, 1875. She is the daughter of Michael and Barbara (Delheimer) Wecht, both natives of Germany, who came to America in an early day and were among the first settlers in this county. They were each accompanied here by their parents. To Mr. and Mrs. Rndy three children have been born, namely: Margaret E., born June 13, 190T; Tmis J., born March 29, 1903, and Paul L., born February 13, 1905.

Mr. and Mrs. Rudy are members of the Presbyterian church at Dalton, this township, and politically the former is a Republican, but he has never aspired to office holding, his extensive private business taking all of his time.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

GUY AL RUDY.

The well-directed efforts of Guy M. Rudy, one of the best known of the younger generation of agriculturists of Sugar Creek township, W'ayue county, have brought him success, his life demonstrating what may be accomplished by the man of energy and ambition, who is not afraid to work and has the perseverance to continue his labors, even in the face of seemingly discouraging obstacles, possessing many of the sterling traits of his honored ancestors who have figured prominently in the affairs of this locality since the pioneer days. He is the son of Levi S. Rudy and the grandson of David Rudy, and the great-grandson of Christian Rudy, who was the first member of this family to settle in Wayne county, Ohio, where he came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. For a full history of these ancestors the reader is directed to the sketch of David Rudy, on another page of this work. Guy M. Rudy was born August 8, 1875, in Sugar Creek township, on the farm where he now resides, and is the second son of Levi S. and Elizabeth (Ervin) Rudy. When he arrived at the proper age he assisted on the farm during crop seasons and in winter he attended the district schools until he was about eighteen years of age, then he spent one term in the Dalton high school; he was a good student and obtained a fairly serviceable education. After completing his education, Mr. Rudy turned his attention to farming and stock raising, which he has since followed in a most successful manner.

Mr. Rudy was married in 1899 to Lulu King, who was reared near Ast Lebanon, Wayne county, but she was born near Mount Eaton, this state, May 21, 1877. Her people have long been influential in that vicinity. She received a good common school education. This union has resulted in the birth of three daughters, Maude, born October 3, 1901; Ethel, born June 19, 1903; Mary, born August 10, 1905.

Mr. and Mrs. Rudy are members of the Presbyterian church at Dalton, of which Mr. Rudy has served as trustee. In politics he is a Republican, and takes considerable interest in the local affairs of his party.

As a farmer Mr. Rudy has been abreast of the times in every respect, owning an excellent farm, well improved and well managed, which yields abundant crops from year to year. He is also interested in stock, especially horses and Jersey cows. He finds a ready market for his stock owing to the fine quality- of the same. Mr. Rudy is a young man of fine characteristics and is well liked by the people of his community who have known him since childhood, and can vouch for his big conception of true American manhood.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.