The Rauch Book

This revised edition of The Rauch Book is based on research by the author, a Rauch descendant, over the past 25 years. The discursive history of the John Baptist Rauch-Anna Maria Mayer/Sybilla Schmidt family written by the author's father in 1977 has been revised to incorporate many new findings from Austrian, German, and American records. In addition, new discursive histories of the William Herman Rauch-Elizabeth Adelia Woerdehoff family (the author's grandparents) and of the Rufus William Rauch-Margaret Beryl Rice family (the author's parents), based on family records left by Rufus Rauch and on the author's personal knowledge and research, have been added, so that the narrative histories now span three Rauch generations. Documentary evidence supporting the ancestries for each family has now been provided, and copies of historical documents and photographs are also included, so that Rauch descendants and genealogists in the future may have ready reference to them. A documented genealogy showing how descendants of Rufus and Beryl Rauch are descended from John Alden, the Mayflower pilgrim, has also been added. Finally, appendices elaborating on aspects of the immigrant John Baptist Rauch's life and times, including a documented history of the sailing ship on which he came to America, are presented.