John & Mary Rufle

 

John Rufle was born in Switzerland in December, 1813.  The exact day and place of birth are not known.  Also not known are the names of his parents.  John Rufle married Maria Magdalena Kaiser.  It is not known if the couple married in Switzerland before they immigrated to the US or if they met and married after they arrived in America.

Maria Magdalena, known in the United States as Mary, was born in Switzerland in July, 1812.  As is the case with her husband, the exact day and place of her birth are not known, nor are the names of her parents.

After the couple arrived in St. Louis, Mary gave birth to George Rufle on Jan. 16, 1854.  The couple had at least one child, a daughter named Barbara.  John Apparently found work as a laborer.  Sometime around 1874, the Rufle's moved east across the Mississippi River into Monroe County, Illinois, where John worked as a teamster in a small community known as Smith's Landing, west of the town of Columbia.  John died in Smith's Landing on Nov. 8, 1878, about a month and a half before his 65th birthday.  The cause of death is listed as pneumonia with complications from albuminuria which is an indication of a kidney disease.  He was buried in Eagle Cliff-Miles Cemetery, west of Columbia, Illinois.  It should be noted that the small community of Smith's Landing no longer exists as it was completely washed away during the severe flooding of the Mississippi River in the earl 1990's.

Sometime after her husband's death, John's widow, Mary moved back to St. Louis where she lived until her death on Nov. 16, 1889, at the age of 77 and 4 months.  The cause of her death was listed as "debility senile."  Funeral services for Mary Rufle were held at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in St. Louis, with the burial reported to be in St. Peter and Paul Cemetery in St. Louis.  However, the cemetery has no record of her burial.

Click the below links to view more data about this family.

Mrs. Rufle Burial Certificate             Marie Rufle Death Announcement   No. 1   No. 2

John Rufle Certificate of Death

 

Submitted by Gene Block: Note Anyone related to these families is welcome to contact me at gsblock@linkline.com

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