Sharing from Scott Knerr:
"The "Ruck" family name has been here in Auglaize County from the very beginning. I thought it was time to honor and learn about them.
" The Ruck Family"
Heinrich Jacob (he went by " Jacob" once in America) Ruck Sr. was born Sept 29th 1803 near Bavaria Germany where he spent all his childhood years. I found conflicting arrival dates to America but he came here sometime between 1828 and 1832. His port of entry was in Baltimore Maryland. Jacob spent a few years living in Baltimore where he met a lady named Barbara Lutz who was also a immigrant from Bavaria.
The information I found shows Jacob and Barbara married sometime in 1834 with Jacob being 21 and Barbara 17. Their first son was born May 15th 1834. They named him Heinrich Jacob Ruck Jr. Through his young years of life Heinrich Jr. was nicknamed Henry which stuck all through the rest of his life.
Within a month of giving birth to Henry, Barbara was again pregnant. It was during this time that Jacob and Barbara loaded up all their things and started the long journey to a new life in Ohio.
They arrived here in what was then Allen County sometime in the late part of 1834 or January of 1835. Birth records show their next child who they named Jacob was born February 12th 1835 in Pusheta Township of Allen County. Henry and Jacob Jr. were just nine months apart in age.
Around 1839 Jacob Sr. had a brother named George from Germany join him here. About a year later another brother named Christian also made the voyage and came here to join his brothers. In 1846 another brother was suppose to come named Friedrich. But something happened over in Germany and Freidrich died suddenly at the age of forty five. Two of his daughters did make it to America and settled in Clermont County.
The next time the brothers show up is in the 1848 Auglaize County first year of tax records. All three brothers own land around the Fryburg area and are farming. By 1860 Jacob Sr. and Barbara have twelve children, George has at least five, and Christian also had at least five children.
Our Civil War vet Henry had a huge family around him growing up. He spent his whole childhood growing up on a farm just outside of Fryburg. At the age of 16 he moved from the farm into Fryburg.
In 1850 Henry moved in with the family of Joseph and Elizabeth Flick. Joseph was a immigrant from France and was a well known wagon maker around Fryburg. Henry moved in with the Flick family to be an apprentice at Joseph's side.
Henry met a lady named Barbara Hensky who he married on Dec. 26th 1855 in Fryburg. By the 1860 census they had two daughters and he was a seasoned wagon maker in Fryburg with ten years experience. He was also treasurer of the township from 1858-1861
In 1864 Henry was drafted into the Civil War at the age of 30 and mustered in Sept.23rd. 1864 into Company C Ohio 64th Infantry Regiment as a private. Company C was one of the lucky ones. The war was beginning to wind down so this regiment didn't engage in any real battles. They mainly guarded prisoners and helped bury the dead. Henry mustered out of service June 16th 1865.
Shortly after coming back home Henry and his family moved into Wapak. The 1870 census shows he is now a Inn Keeper. He has four men as tenants. Christian Faubel 34 is a Tailor, Moore Cramer 28 a Tailor, Rheinten Herbst 28 a Cooper, and George Frind 24 also a Cooper. Henry was also Justice of the Peace in Wapak at this time and served from 1872-1876.
From 1874 until 1880 Henry was the Auglaize County Recorder. By the 1880 census he and Barbara now have seven children living at home aging from 20 to 1 year old. Their oldest daughter Elizabeth 22 years old has since moved out on her own.
Henry died June 13th 1888. He suffered from diabetes most of his life. This affected his health later in life. He also came down with malignant carbuncles. This disease was a cancerous skin infection which was caused in part by his diabetes and also ended his life at the age of fifty four. He is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery
The Ruck family had another branch of their family move into our area sometime in the 1850s. This branch I haven't studied too deep yet, but I do know they had a Civil War Soldier among them also. His name was George Ruck and I learned he lost a arm during the war. But that's another story.
Hope you enjoyed learning about this well known family. Many of their descendants have done great things in making life better for many generations of families. Until next time..."
