Rauscher Family Tree: November 2022

Rauscher Family : Generation 5 : Arthur Leo Rauscher and Mary Francis English

(1) Arthur “Art” Leo Rauscher (my grandfather) was born 31 Dec 1925 in Rochester, NY to (2) Joseph Casper Rauscher and (3) Leona Loughlin Rauscher. He was the 6th child of 10. He died in Gordon, Wilkinson County, GA on 13 Oct 2008.

Mary Frances English (my grandmother) was born 1 Nov 1924 in Gordon, Wilkinson County, GA to Franklin Smith English (1892-1957) and Alice L Branan English (1901-1984). She was the older sister of Zelda English Myrick (1930-1989) and Jeanine English Webb (1934-2018).

On 6 Jan 1944, Art registered for WWII. He was 140lbs, 5’6”, had a light complexion, black hair, and brown eyes. He went to Robbins Air Force Base, in Warner Robins, Gerogia, for basic training to become a pilot. The war ended before he was deployed. After the war, he worked at Robins Air Force base as a draftsman.

While at Robins Air Force base, he met Mary Frances English at a dance. She was from Gordon, GA. They would soon marry, but it is not clear if they were married in Georgia or in New York. They then moved to Seneca, NY and started their family.

Art and Mary Francis Rauscher 40th. Anniversary

In the 1950 census, Arthur Leo is listed as a school bus driver and they have two sons, Arthur Franklin (1948) and Donald J (1949). But Mary Frances missed her family, so they moved back to her hometown of Gordon, Ga.

After moving to Gordon, Art worked at the Kaolin plant, Southern Clays. The plant would eventually change names and become Freeport Kaolin, and later Engelhard. Art was a machinist, draftsman, and design engineer.

On 21 Nov 1960, Art and Mary Frances had their 3rd and final son, Kevin.

In 1966, their family home burned down as the result of a grease fire. They rebuilt the home and lived there for the rest of their lives.

They also had a lake house located on Lake Sinclair near Milledgeville, GA. They would spend most of the weekends during the summer boating, fishing, and water skiing.

Lake Sinclair Cabin

Later in life, he also ran a professional upholstery business out of his shop, next to his home. He would re-upholster everything from furniture to fancy show cars. He also had many hobbies including boat building, inventing, billiards, country and gospel music, and golfing. As an inventor, he used his upholstery skills to create plastic pouches to safely store everything from fishing poles to tennis rackets. His love of music lead him to help his son, Kevin, produce a country record.

Art in his Shop

Art's Pole Pouches

Arthur Leo Rauscher died on 13 Oct 2008 of complications with his liver. He was 82 years old. Mary Frances English Rauscher passed away on 22 Oct 2014. She was 89 years old. They are buried next to one another in Ramah Community Cemetery in Gordon, Wilkinson County, GA.

Arthur Leo Rauscher (1925-2008) and Mary Frances English (1924-2014)

Arthur Franklin Rauscher (1948-)
Donald Joseph Rauscher (1950-)
Kevin Lee Rauscher (1918-1988)

Videos:

Pictures:

Mary Francis, Arthur Franklin, Marsha, Kay, Clint, Donnie, Christopher, Kevin

Kay, Christopher, Donnie, Kevin, Clint, Marsha, Arthur Franklin, Mary Francis

Kay, Arthur Franklin, Alice Brannan English, Mary Francis (English) Rauscher, Kevin, Clint, Arthur Leo, Christopher, Dereck, Marsha, Donnie

Mary Francis, Leona, Joseph, Art

Thanksgiving Picture (Donnie, Marsha, Dereck, Clint, Lee, Penny, Crystal, Kevin, Christopher, Mary Francis, Art)

Mary Frances (English) Rauscher, Jeanie (Webb) Smith, and Jeanine (English) Webb

Rauscher Family : Generation 4 : Joseph Casper Rauscher and Leona Mae Loughlin

(2) Joseph Casper Rauscher (my great-grandfather) was born on 28 Nov 1897 in Mt. Morris, Livingston County, New York and died May 1981 in Hunstville, Alabama. He was the first son of (4) George Andrew and (5) Flora Hilbert Rauscher.

(3) Leona Mae Loughlin Rauscher (my great-grandmother) was born 22 Nov 1901 in Charleston, SC and died 26 Jan 1993 in Vincent, Alabama. She was the daughter of (6) John James Loughlin (1869-1915) and (7) Jessie M Brace Loughlin (1880-1964). Her father, John James Loughlin, was born in England and immigrated to the US as a child. Leona’s grandfather, (12) Martin Loughlin, was from Ireland. It is not clear why Leona was born in Charleston, since both of her parents were from New York.

Joseph’s mother died tragically, at a Dentist office, when he was just 7 years old. For a number of years, he and his two younger brothers lived in St. Mary’s Boys Orphan Asylum in Rochester, NY, before returning to their father’s home.

It seems that Leona had a difficult childhood as well. Leona spent her early years in Corinth, NY. In the 1910 US Census, her father is listed as a Barber. In an interview she gave her daughter, Carol Ann, she remembered staying with her father in the hotel that he managed, in Mechanicville, NY during her summer vacations. They would play some sort of Chinese ballgame with rackets and go to horse races. Her father’s nick nickname was Jack and was possibly the Chairman of the Democratic party in New York State (I have not been able to find any evidence of this).

In 1915, her father died. He was just 45 and Leona was 14. Leona remembered that after her father’s death, her mother sent her to live with an old lady, who would make her shovel 10 pails of coal for the furnace every morning. It was under these conditions that Leona marries Ernest C. Potter, just one day after her 14th birthday, on 23 Nov 1915. She, or someone, lied on the marriage license and claimed that she was 18. But on the 1930 census, there was a question, “Age at first marriage?,” and she answered, “14.” Ernest Potter was 21 at the time, and the marriage produced four sons, Joseph (1917), Orville (1917), Brenton (1918), and Victor Ivan (1921).

There is no record of Leona and Ernest getting divorced, and Ernest did not die. In the 1925 NY census, he is shown living with his parents. So they must have separated around the time of Victor Ivan’s birth in 1921. According to an interview with Leona, by her daughter, Carol Ann, her 4 sons lived for 2 years in the Hillside Home for Children in Rochester, NY.

On 23 Mar 1923, Joseph Rauscher and Leona are married in Ontario, Canada under the Church of England. They were both Catholic, so this must have been because she was not divorced, or the Catholic Church would not perform a wedding ceremony for a divorced woman. It is not known what relation Ernest had, if any, with his children, but the 4 boys would be adopted by Joseph and would go by the last name of Rauscher for the rest of their lives. Joseph must have felt for the boys having to live in a children’s home, as he had lived in an orphanage himself for a few years.

In July of 1924, Joseph and Leona Rauscher would have their first child, Dixie Mae.

Dixie and her older brothers Orville, Brenton, Ivan

They would go on to have 5 additional children: Arthur Leo (1925), Leona F (1927), Theresa (1930), Donald Phillip (1935) and Carol Ann (1943).

Joseph, Orville, Brenton, Victor, Dixie, Arthur, Leona, and mother Leona abt 1930

They lived most of their lives in Rochester, NY, but later moved to Danville, IL and then Hunstville, AL.

In 1920, Joseph is listed as a farm laborer working on his family’s farm.

In 1930, he is listed as a Mechanic working in an automobile garage. He rents a home at 79 Brag Street in Henrietta, NY and have no radio. He is listed in the city directory as a machinist. The 1930 Rochester city directory lists Joseph as an auto body worker, and the 1939 directory as an auto mechanic.

In 1940, they are living at 12A Ridge Road East in Irondequoit, NY and Joseph works at the Buick Assembly plant in Rochester. In 1941, on his WWII draft card, he is listed as employee of Consolidated Machine Tool Company on Blossom Read in Rochester. He is 5’3”, 140 pounds, a dark complexion, black hair, and brown eyes.

On 28 Feb 1948, Leona’s twice-widowed mother, Jessie Brace Loughlin Pickett marries for the 3rd time in Rochester, NY. The wedding was attended by her 39 grand-children and 19 great-grandchildren. According to a report, she wore a “frilly pink hat.”

Jessie Brace Loughlin

In 1950, they are living in Lyons, NY and Joseph is self-employed. In 1951, Joseph and Leona are listed in the Danville, Illinois City Directory. He is listed as being employed by Danville Manufacturing. They later moved to Gordon, GA where Joseph worked at the clay plant, then Nashville, GA, then Leeds, AL.

Joseph Casper Rauscher and Leona Loughlin

Joseph and Leona

Joseph Casper died in Hunstville, AL in May of 1981 at the age of 83. His obituary read:

Joseph C. Rauscher, 83, of 2225 Golf Road, died Friday at a local hospital. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by Laughlin Service Funeral Home. Mr. Rauscher was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Leona Rauscher; three daughters Mrs. Carol Amelang of Hunstville, Mrs. Leona Perry of Odenville and Mrs. Dixie Paradise of Pasadena, Texas; fives sons, Orville Rauscher of Naples, NY, Victor of Canandaigua, NY, Arthur Rauscher of Gordon, GA, Donald Rauscher and Brenton Rauscher both of Houston; 40 grandchildren and 43 great-grandchildren.

Leona would die in Vincent, AL on 26 Jan 1993 at 91 years old. She is buried in Faith Memorial Park in Madison, AL.

Notes of Interest:

Leona told her daughter, Carol Ann, that her favorite book was “Eyes and Ears of the Woods.” I could not find that book, but I think she may have meant, “The Eyes of the Woods: A Story of the Ancient Wilderness” by Joseph A. Altsheler, from 1917. This book would have been a popular young adult book when Leona was young.

Joseph Casper Rauscher (1897-1981) and Leona Mae Loughlin (1901-1993):

Joseph (Potter) Rauscher (1917-)
Orville Conrad (Potter) Rauscher (1917-1999)
Brenton David (Potter) Rauscher (1918-1988)
Victor Ivan (Potter) Rauscher (1921-1999)
Dixie Mae Rauscher Paradise (1924-2011)
Arthur Leo Rauscher (1925-2008)
Leona F Rauscher Perry (1927-2019)
Theresa E Rauscher (1930-1930)
Donald Phillip Rauscher (1935-)
Carol Ann Rauscher Amelang (1943-2011)

Pictures:

Dixie Leona Arthur abt 1930

Dixie, Leona, Arthur

Joseph Dixie (hand up) Arthur (hugging dog) Leona and baby Theresa abt 1930

Joseph and Dixie (Rauscher) Paradise

Kay, Art, Clint, Donnie, Christopher, Marsha, Leona, Joseph, Kevin, Mary Francis, Arthur Leo

Joseph and Leona (Far Left)

Joseph and Leona (Far Right)

Mary Francis, Joseph, Leona, Arthur Leo

Leona (Rauscher) Perry, Carol Ann (Rauscher) Amelang, and Dixie (Rauscher) Paradise

Rauscher Family : Generation 3 : George Andrew Rauscher and Flora Hilbert

(4) George Andrew Rauscher (my 2nd great-grandfather) was born on 8 Nov 1869 in Vernon, Oneida County, New York and died 19 Jan 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the first son of (8) Frank Joseph and (9) Rosiene Kaiser Rauscher.

(5) Flora Hilbert (my 2nd great-grandmother) was born about 1877 in the Ithaca, New York and died 2 Sep 1905 in Rochester, New York. She was the daughter of (10) Casper Hilbert (1847-1925) and (11) Sarah J. Slaughter Hilbert (1847-?). Sarah’s father immigrated from Wurttemberg, Germany in 1854. Flora came from a long line of US soldiers. Her grandfather (22) Henry Slaughter was a civil war soldier for the Union Army, who was wounded at Gettysburg. Her great-grandfather, (34) Thomas Sloughter, served in the War of 1812. Her 2nd great-grandfathers, (46) John Sloughter and (48) Corp. Jacobus “James” Personius, both served in the Revolutionary War in the same Regiment as her 3rd great-grandfather (57) Gysbert Van Der Mark. All of these ancestors' individual lives will be covered in future posts.

George and Flora married on 23 Oct 1894 in Rochester, New York. He was 24 years old and she was about 18 years old. At this time, they begin to build their family, having 5 children between 1895 and 1902: Martha b.1895, Rose b.1897, (2) Joseph Casper b.1897, Leo Andrew b.1899, and Fred H b.1902.

The 1905 New York census shows the family living Gates, Monroe County, New York. On September 2 of that year, tragedy strikes according the following news story:

Announcement of Flora's Death at Dentist Office

Flora’s death had disastrous consequences for her family. In the 1910 US Census, George is 40 years old, listed as a widower, and is living with his two daughters, Martha and Rose. They are living at 861 Cottage Street in Rochester, New York. He is renting a house and is listed as a contractor/decorator. His three boys (Joseph 12, Leo 11, Frederick 7) are listed as boarders at St. Mary’s Boys Orphan Asylum run by the Sisters of St. Joseph. I think it is safe to assume that George simply could not take care of, and provide for, 5 children. It was probably safest to put the boys into the Orphanage, but this must have been traumatizing for all involved. By the time of the 1915 NY Census, the whole family was back together again.

By 1920, the whole family is still living together, except Martha, who got married in 1916. They are living in Lima, Livingston County, New York on Doran Road. George owns his own house and is now a farmer.

By 1921, it appears that things have changed, yet again. On 31 Aug 1921, George marries Bertha May Green in Arkansas. And then, on 21 Mar 1925, George and Bertha get divorced. To make things even stranger. In the 1930 census, George and Bertha Rauscher are renting a house in Memphis, Tennessee and renting rooms out to boarders. He is listed as a contractor. At first, I thought this must be a different George A. Rauscher, but on his death certificate it lists his parents as Joseph Rauscher and Rose Kaiser AND the informant for the death certificate was Bertha Rauscher.

In 1940 US Census, George is living with his daughter, Rose Freida’s family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is listed as a laborer and we find out that he only completed 8th grade, he worked 40 hours the previous week, worked 52 weeks in the previous year, and made $906 (about $20,000 in 2022). So, at 71, he was still working and making very little. We do not know what happened to Bertha during this time.

And to complicate things further, in the 1950 census, George and Bertha Rauscher are back living together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is still working at 81 years old and made $2,000 that year ($25k in 2022).

On 19 Jan 1951, George Andrew Rauscher dies of cardiac decompensation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 81 years of age.

On 7 Sep 1916, his daughter, Martha, married William Weidenborner and they had 3 children.

In 1923, his daughter, Rose, married John Freida and they had 4 children.

Also, in 1923, his son, Joseph Casper, would marry (3) Leona May Loughlin, my great-grandparents. They would have 10 children total, the oldest 4 would be adopted by Joseph.

In 1927, his son, Fred G, married Isabelle Mallaber and they had 3 children.

In 1935, his son, Leo, married Joyce Brown and they would have no children.

George Andrew Rauscher (1869-1951) and Flora Hilbert Rauscher (1878-1905)