Barbara Fett, Philipp Bloch and Conrad Rupp

"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Her first marriage was to Philipp Bloch in Freinsheim on 24 Jan 1847. Philipp was the son of Philipp Bloch and Elisabetha Dienst, born 10 Jun 1823 and christened 13 Jun 1823 in Gruenstadt, 8 km NNW of Freinsheim.

Philipp and Barbara had three children, at least one of whom died young. All were born in Freinsheim, and the eldest was buried there:

Barbara then married Conrad Rupp in Freinsheim on 04 Dec 1855. Conrad was the son of Jakob Rupp and Barbara Gerber, but I don't know when or where he was born.

It was a second marriage for both parties. Conrad had previously married Eva Margaretha Webel, the daughter of Jakob Webel and Anna Christina Ahl, in Freinsheim on 27 Dec 1849. However, Eva Margaretha died and was buried on 31 Aug 1854, two months before Barbara's husband. She and Conrad had two children, Jacob christened 01 Dec 1850 and Barbara christened 09 Oct 1853.

Besides their four surviving children from previous marriages, Barbara Fett Bloch Rupp and Conrad Rupp had five children of their own:

I don't know what happened to Johannes Bloch, Jacob Rupp and the younger Barbara Rupp. They may or may not have immigrated to the States. However, I know for sure that Elisabetha Bloch and the five youngest Rupp children all immigrated to the States, as did Conrad Rupp himself.

The couple don't seem to have had any children. In 1880 they were enumerated at 532 Broome Street in Manhattan. Charles was working as a carpenter. After this I lost track of them until 1905, when they were enumerated at 1715 1st Avenue in Manhattan. Charles was working as a carpenter and Elizabeth as a laundress. According to the census records, Charles had been in the States for 40 years and Elizabeth, for 30 years. (Mind that by then they'd been married 32 years.) Both were described as citizens.

Charles apparently died sometime before July 1919, because Elizabeth - now called Lisette - is described on her death record as widowed. She died on 24 Jul 1919 and was buried in the Lutheran All Faiths Cemetery in Queens.

Maria Rupp married Richard Kroether in Manhattan on 25 May 1881. Richard was himself from Freinsheim, the son of Wilhelm Kroether and Elizabeth Selzer. He was christened there on 13 Jan 1861.

"Our" Maria is almost certainly the Maria Rupp who arrived in NYC five days before the marriage aboard the SS P Caland out of Rotterdam. The reason I think this is that when Richard applied for a passport for himself, his wife and his children on 02 Aug 1894, he said that he had arrived in NYC on 20 May 1881 about this same ship. However, he's not listed on the passenger manifest. I have to wonder if he used Maria's arrival records instead of his own.

Anna Rupp married Nicolaus Brucks (originally Brueck) in Manhattan on 13 Mar 1887. (By 1892 the last name had metamorphosed into Brooks.) Nicolaus was the son of Joseph Brueck and Magdalena Steigert of Gräfenhausen, a small district north of Annweiler. He was baptized at the Catholic church in Annweiler on 15 Oct 1859.

By 1900, Charlotte Rupp was living with her sister Anna and Anna's husband, Nicolaus Brooks. The only indication I have as to when Charlotte arrived in the States is the 1905 New York State Census, which says that Anna had been in the States for 25 years and Charlotte, for 20 years.

Georg Franz - "Frank" - Rupp was naturalized by the Superior Court of New York County on 08 Oct 1894. He also served as a witness for his brother-in-law Richard Kroether when Richard applied for a passport on 02 Aug 1894. Richard didn't return the favour. The witness for Frank's naturalization was his other brother-in-law, Nicolaus Brooks.

Frank's US records were consistent in giving his year of immigration as 1888. On his passport application on 07 Mar 1924, he stated that he arrived on 26 Feb 1888 aboard an unamed ship that sailed from Antwerp. However I haven't been able to find him on any passenger manifests.

Frank married Helene Frank in Manhattan on 18 Jan 1902. I wasn't able to find a definite birth record for Helene. The marriage record says that she was born in or about 1876 in "Darkheim, Rheimpfelz, Germ," that her father's name was Friedrich Frank and her mother's last name was Walther. She was possibly the daughter of Friedrich Franck and Catharina Walther of Bad Dürkheim who were married in 1867 and had two other children born in 1867 and 1871.

Conrad Rupp and his youngest daughter, Susanna, arrived in NYC on 16 Aug 1892 aboard the SS Rotterdam out of Amsterdam. Susanna is listed in the passenger manifest by a nickname, "Sanchen." The passenger manifest doesn't include marital status information, but Barbara Fett Bloch Rupp was presumably deceased by this point.

Conrad married a third time in Manhattan on 04 Apr 1894. His bride was a widow named Sophie Weber Ruhl. According to her marriage and death records, she was born in Germany on 13 Dec 1832, the daughter of Johann Weber and Martha Vesper. She immigrated to the States in or about 1869.

This marriage was Conrad's last. He died on 21 Jul 1899 at 541 East 85th Street and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

After Conrad's death, Sophie remained at 541 East 85th Street at least until April 1910, possibly 1915. (She's listed in the 1915 NY State Census as "Suphea Ruff.") By 1920, however, she had moved to 225 59th Street with her stepson Frank Rupp. She died in Manhattan on 14 Apr 1921 and is also buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Susanna married Emil Koetzle in Manhattan on 11 Feb 1900. He was born 08-Feb-1869 in Wangen near Eislingen in Württemberg, the son of Johannes Koetzle and Anna Katharina Steiss.

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In memory of Janet A Werner, 1931-2015