Ancestry Saturday: The Right Reitenauer?

I found a copy of the book "Genealogy of the Ridenour Family" at the Ohio Genealogical Society library yesterday. This book has been a source for information/references on my fourth great grandparents David Reitenauer and Catherine Fiscus in the book "Ancestors are Forever." Pages 131 and 132 had a great find!

Part 5 of the five-part book has a 1910 letter from John Spratt Wrightnour who wrote a book titled "The Ritenour Family: It is of German Origin" and who has a great deal of information on David and Catherine.  Much of JS's book came out, though,  before his 1910 letter.

You'll note that his 1910 letter seems to correct his error in the book about David descending from Henry (son of the oft-cited Nicholas who came to America in 1739). Instead, he cites a cousin who had first-hand contact with David Reitenauer and indicates he came from Germany. He cites 1763+/- as a birth year, which matches others' research too.

The piece is not rock solid proof, but it sure is compelling evidence.

If this is correct, then it makes it that much more likely that my 4GG David was either a brother or son of Michael Reitenauer, father of Pennsylvania Governor Ritner, solving another mystery.

Ancestry Saturday: Family History on Vacation

I have to admit. My kids think Hurricane Arthur chased us from the east coast early so that's why we went and made a family history stop instead. Honestly, it was already planned. Arthur just accelerated things.

The stop at Hagerstown, Maryland brought us to the German Reform Church (now the Zion United Church of Christ) that has operated since 1770. It's the building where my fourth great grandparents were married in 1796. David Reitenaeuer and Anna Catherine Fiscus had at least one daughter, Susanna, also baptized there.

Some day my kids will appreciate setting foot where their ancestors did 218 years after the fact.

Ancestry Saturday: A Reitenauer Book About Ritenours By a Wrightnour

A Reitenauer book about the Ritenour family by a Wrightnour.

My great great grandfather's middle name was Reitenauer.  I honestly am not sure how he spelled it, though.  The name came from his mother's maiden name. 

The recent publishing of Pennsylvania Death Certificates sparked another look at this family branch in my tree.  It led to a book by my second cousin, 3X removed, John Spratt Wrightnour titled "The Ritenour Family. It Is of German Origin."

The book, I had hoped, would take me further back than I was.  Regrettably, 100+ years haven't added anything to Wrightnour's research.

It seems he had the same problem I have had.  It's this:  It's the variety of name spellings.

The five most common are:

Reitenauer
Ritenour
Ridenhour
Ridenour
Reidenauer

However, there are also these variations, be they misspelled variations or variations actually used by my ancestors.

Rittenauer
Ritner
Reitnauer
Reydenauer
Rightenour
Wrightnour
Writenour
Wrightneur
Ritenhour
Ritenoeur
Rittenour
Reudenauer
Ridenhower
Rightenauer
Rightnour
Reidenuer
Ritnour
Reidenaur
Reidnauer
Redenaur
Reudenauer
Rietenhower
Rietnawer
Wrightnomer
Reydenaure
Reitenower
Reidnour
Reutenauer
Ridenauer
Ridnower

That's 34 variations.  Yikes.

Ancestry Saturday: Governor Ritner's Relative

The 8th Governor of Pennsylvania was a relative.  He's Joseph Ritner.

How close a relative?  That's the ancestral mystery.

Ask my Aunt and see the notes my Dad left and you'd believe he's my 4th great grandfather.  That's not correct, though, by any data I can find.  I have traced my great great grandfather with Ritenoeur as his middle name and make no grand parent connection at all.

Rely on the family bibles passed down in some families and a piece in one county history book and you'd believe he's a great grand uncle.  Those sources claim he and my 3rd great grandmother Anna Katherine Ritenoeur Smith were siblings.  I can't find anything that confirms that, though, and have many doubts.

A 1838 gubernatorial biography makes no mention of a sister Kate and every Census reference to Kate places her birth in New York and New Jersey, not Pennsylvania, where all the other siblings of Governor Ritner were born.

I have a distant cousin baiting me to debate her on it, but I'm believing the third option.

Still another county history source labels him "a distant relative."  My research puts David Ritenoeur appearing more likely to be Kate's father, not Michael Ritenoeur who is Joseph's.  Census records before 1850 didn't reveal any family members other then the head of a household, usually the father only.

I've used this last one for my family tree, but a conclusive connection from Kate to the Governor has not yet been made by my book.