I don’t know what the probability is, but it’s got to be pretty low. I came upon another Wiebusch story for today’s post. Yesterday, I pointed out that it was the first time the surname, Wiebusch, had shown up on this blog. Now, I will recount the story of another Wiebusch who is found in our German Family Tree. Today’s birthday boy was the son of the brother of yesteday’s main character, Gustav Wiebusch. That means today’s character would have called Gustav, Uncle Gustav, or Uncle Gus. Another fact I ran across while researching for yesterday’s post was that Gustav was farming in Jackson County with his brother before getting married in 1880. I figure that brother was the father of today’s birthday boy.
Rudolph Christopher “Ralph” Wiebusch was born on February 6, 1884, so today would be his 140th birthday. Ralph was the son of John and Ara (Duncan) Wiebusch. He was born in the Fountain Bluff Township in Jackson County, Illinois and baptized at Christ Lutheran Church in Jacob. We can take a look at his baptism record in the 2 images below. If you look at the 2nd image, you will see both the Wiebusch and Schuerenberg names, which were part of yesterday’s post. One of Ralph’s sponsors was his grandfather, Christopher Wiebusch, but in his absence, Gustav Wiebusch stood in for him at the baptism. Also, you can see in the 1st image that the name, Ralph, is in parentheses. That would be the name he would use throughout his life.
We cannot see Ralph in a census until 1900, and by that time, he was a teenager. Ralph was working with his father on his farm in the Degognia Township. You can see that Ralph was part of a very large family.
At some point during the next decade, Ralph moved to Nebraska. In the 1910 census, Ralph was living in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was one of several lodgers, all single men, living in the household with him. Ralph was a driver for an express company.
Now, we will take a look at the woman who would become Ralph’s wife. Her name was Helen Williams, who was born on October 2, 1890. Believe it or not, this is the first post on this blog in which we find the fairly common name of Williams. Helen was the daughter of Anson and Mary (Brown) Williams. She was born in the same county in which we find the city of Lincoln. In the 1900 census, Helen was 9 years old, and her father was a farmer in the Yankee Hill Township near Lincoln.
I located the photo below of Helen Williams that looks like a typical Lutheran confirmation picture. I do not know if Helen was a Lutheran or not. The person who placed this photo on Ancestry.com says it is likely a graduation picture from high school
Next, we find Helen in the 1910 census at the age of 21. Her father had died in 1908, so her mother was the head of the household. Helen was a public school teacher. I find it interesting that Helen’s brother was a driver for an express company. Perhaps he worked for the same company that employed Ralph Wiebusch.
On November 7, 1911, Ralph Wiebusch married Helen Williams. A family tree on Ancestry.com says that this wedding took place at the bride’s home. This couple had 2 children, both boys. A 1917 city directory for Lincoln includes several Wiebusch names, including Ralph. Ralph’s parents had followed him at a later date to Nebraska.
It must have been soon after that directory was published that Ralph and Helen moved their family to a farm near Broken Bow, Nebraska. It is stated in some biographical information shown below.
Ralph Wiebusch completed his World War I draft registration in 1918. His address is given as RFD Broken Bow, Nebraska, and he is called a farmer.
The 1920 census shows the Wiebusch’s living in the Broken Bow Township with their 2 young boys. Ralph was farming.
Next, we find this family in the 1930 census living in the same place. This time, Oscar Wiebusch, Ralph’s younger brother, was living in their household.
In the 1940 census, we find the Wiebusch’s living in Merna, Nebraska in a different township but in the same county. Just one son remained in their household.
Ralph completed a World War II draft card in 1942. He was called a farmer with a Merna address.
The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Ralph and Helen were living in Westerville, Nebraska. All of the place names mentioned when Ralph was a farmer are located near Broken Bow.
Ralph Wiebusch died in 1959 at the age of 75; Helen Wiebusch died in 1978 at the age of 87. These two are buried together in the Custer Center Cemetery in Broken Bow.
The area where Ralph farmed is not far from the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Back in my Nebraska days, I got the opportunity to drive through the Sand Hills. It is pretty desolate territory, but the place where Ralph farmed was not part of those Sand Hills. The family tree from which I have gotten lots of information about the Wiebusch family the last 2 days includes a few recent photos of the area that Ralph farmed. I will display a few of those photos here to give you an idea of the surroundings that would have been familiar to this Wiebusch family.
It seems like I’m stuck in Jackson County, Illinois lately. This is the 4th consecutive story that involves that location if you count the old post that I shared several days ago. At least this one took us to Nebraska. Perhaps I will find a story tomorrow that will return us to Perry County, Missouri.