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Note: 1. From a letter written by Frank Rarick on April 18, 1938: Frank H. Rarick was born April 29, 1854 at Dover Center, Ohio and lived for about 7 years nine miles west of Cleveland, Ohio near what was called Rocky River. Of my earliest recollections was the unveiling of Perry's monument at Cleveland and the sham battle on Lake Eary (Erie?) September 10, 1860. I was at that time a little over 6 years old, but I can remember seeing many boats on the Lake and also the great crowd in Cleveland. They were on the housetops and everywhere. We left Ohio in the summer of 1861 in a covered wagon with about 10 aboard. Father and mother, Mary, Edwin, Frank, Charles and William. Also Uncle Peter and Aunt Almira with cousins Adda and Chick. We had two horses, one black named Barney and one bay named Nell. We came through the Maume Swamp in the evening and had a little rain. Two men in a buggy tried to find out how many there were of us, but when we all talked, they turned out and went by. When we stopped at a hotel a little later, they told us there had been a number of hold ups in that place. We landed in Charlotte, Michigan and Father bought 40 acres of land about six miles west of Charlotte in Concord Township. We lived there only a few years. Father had some log heaps that he had piled up and the man that bought the place gave me the first five cent silver piece I ever had for burning the log heaps. I am not a scotchman, but I have that same 5 cents today-its date 1853. I wonder if we all have hobbys. Mine is keeping things. I have the first five cent piece I earned sometime in 1863. I also have a one dollar bill I got right off the press in Washington, D.C. in 1925. I also have the first razor I ever owned-have had it about 70 years. I carry a watch now that I have owned nearly forty years and the knife that I use every day is at least twenty years old and a good knife today and many other little things that I value. Another hobby or habit has been when I use a farm tool is to put it back when I am done with it where it belongs and I can go to my toolchest the darkest night and get the tool I want. I have had two or three accidents--as close calls as one could wish. One time a horse that weighed about 1800 pounds kicked at me as I was standing two feet from him. His shoe cut the skin above and below my eye. They that saw it said if I had stood one inch closer I wouldn't of wrote this. Another time a 2X6 green oak timber laying on the top of two ten foot posts fell and struck me as I was stooping over and cut a gash on the top of my head. They that stood by thought it a very near escape. In about the year 1869 or 1870 in Kalamo, Michigan with a number of others-Joseph Gridley as leader and Father as a carpenter-we went into the woods to cut the timber that would be needed to finish a brick church. We all knelt and Mr. Gridley and Father prayed that God would lead us in our work of building the church. We cut the timber and Father donated to haul the sand to lay the brick. He was allowed $25 for hauling the sand and I did most of the hauling. I also helped haul the brick. Our minister was Rev. Bennit and he stripped off his coat and helped to unload the brick. We worshiped in that church a good many years and it stands today (1938). Next I went to South Dakota where I helped to build two more churches--one at Bradley and one at Lillian [sic-Lily], S.D. then back to Nashville, Michigan where I helped on the community house and now to California. We have a church 30X50 feet. After the frame was up I did nearly all the carpenter work outside and also finished it inside. I have painted it three times and this all without a cent from man. But God has richly paid me for all I have ever done and I am His. I gave my life to the dear Lord in South Dakota and worked in the church there about six years. In 1901 we went back to Michigan and we found the M.E. church in Nashville. I was a class leader there for about 23 years. I tried to always be ready to do my part. I always loved the prayer meeting and was seldom ever absent. We came to California in 1924 and bought and moved on this place on Saturday, September 20th. The next Sunday we went to Sunday School and in our thirteen years I haven't been absent from Sunday School. I also have had the Bible Class for over twelve years. There has been some of the finest Christian workers I ever worked with in this Sunday school, but I am sorry to say there were some that were not for peas. But as I look over my past life I can see that there is nothing that pays ever in this life but to live a true Christian life. When I have done wrong I have paid very dear for it, but my church work has been the happiest part of my life and my only hope is that someday all of my dear children will someday see that it pays to live a Christian life-is our daily prayer- and that we may be an unbroken family in heaven. May God grant it for Jesus' sake. 2. Census Information: *Frank is listed on the 1860 Rockport, Cayahoga Co, Ohio census (p. 14, line 23, family 103) as being 6 years old. He is listed on the 1870 Kalamo Twp., Eaton Co., Michigan census (pg 9, line 19, family 73) as being 15 years old. *Tax rolls of Kalamo, Eaton Co., MI, 1879 (FHL#2365512) Pg. 11: Rarick, Frank, value personal estate $30, total value $30, total tax $0.52 *From 1880 census, Kalamo Twp., Eaton Co., MI, pg. 254D: Rarick, Frank H., w, m, 26, married, farmer, b. OH, father b. PA, mother b. VT Antoinette, w, f, 30, married, keeps house, b. NY, parents b. NY *From 1900 census, Cottonwood, Clark Co., SD, pg. 26: Rarick, Frank H., w, m, b. Apr. 1854, 46, widowed, b. OH, father b. PA, mother b. VT, farmer, owns free & clear, 126 acres cultivated Cara A., daughter, w, f, b. May 1890, 10, single, b. SD, father b. OH, mother b. Canada, at school Artha E., daughter, w, f, b. Jan. 1892, 8, single, b. SD, father b. OH, mother b. Canada, at school Katie A., daughter, w, f, b. July 1893, 6, single, b. SD, father b. OH, mother b. Canada, at school LaPlant, Fredric, servant, w, m, b. May 1865, 35, m, 13 yrs., b. IL, father b. France, mother b. France, farm laborer Virginia, wife, w, f, b. Apr. 1875, 25, m. 13 years, mother of 3 children, 2 living, b. IL, father b. IL, mother b. IL, housekeeper Virginia, daughter, w, f, b. Feb 1898, 2, b. SD, father b. IL, mother b. IL Fredrick, son, w, m, b. Jan 1891, 9, b. SD, father b. IL, mother b. IL *From 1910 census Castleton Twp., Nashville Village, Barry Co., Michigan, ED 39, Sheet 4A, family 101 (microfilm image): Rarick, Frank H., head, m, w, 56, married (4th) 10 yrs., b. OH, father b. PA, mother b. NY, carpenter, building contractor, owns home Elizabeth M., wife, f, w, 51, married (1st) 10 yrs., b. Germany, father b. Germany, mother b. Germany, emigrated to US 1872 Altha C., daughter, f, w, 19, single, b. SD, father b. OH, mother b. ONT, saleslady in Bakery & Conf. Artha E., daughter, f, w, 18, single, b. SD, father b. OH, mother b. ONT, attended school Katherine, daughter, f, w, 16, single b. SD, father b. OH, mother b. ONT, attended school Hazel, daughter, f, w, 7, single, b. MI, father b. OH, mother b. Germany, attended school *From 1920 census, Castleton, Barry Co., MI, dated 30 June 1920, ED 47, Sheet 9A, family 211: Rarick, Frank H., head, owns farm, m, w, 65, married, b. OH, father b. PA, mother b. NH, carpenter Elizabeth, wife, f, w, 61, married, b. Germany, parents b. Germany *From 1930 census Dist. 250, Eden, Alameda Co., CA, sheet 11B: Rarick, Frank H., head, owns home, w, m, 75, married at 45, b. OH, father b. PA, mother b. NH, farmer, farm Elisabeth, wife, f, w, 71, married at 39, b. Germany, parents b. Germany, emigrated 1871, naturalized 3. From a letter written by daughter, Hazel on July 14, 1977 to her niece, Phyllis Hawes Paulson: "I hope you can interpret Dad's handwriting. Being left handed, he used to say he could write as bad with one hand as with the other!" 4. Remembrances from granddaughter, Phyllis Hawes as told to her daughter, Cheryl: "Grandpa Rarick was a dear man with a cute sense of humor. He loved being around his family and we loved being with him." 5. Remembrances from daughter Hazel Rarick Smith as told to his great granddaughter Linda Hawes Hartanov: "My dad was a carpenter and contractor by trade (wages $3.50/day), although he tried farming while he lived in South Dakota. He was a wonderful father and loved his children. He also loved music and I used to play the piano while he sang. His favorite song was the hymn 'On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand' (See #11 below for the words to this hymn). He loved all of his four wives, but he got a special tone in his voice when he spoke of Ida, his first wife. She and the baby died during childbirth and she was only 17 years old when she died. My Aunt Julia said they had to hold onto my father to keep him from jumping into the grave with Ida. My Dad was very affectionate and sentimental. "His second wife, Lulu's mother, was pregnant with her second [sic-it was her third] child when Frank got erysipelas and his wife nursed him against the doctor's advice. She contracted the disease and she and the baby died. "My dad worked in lumber camps in upper Michigan when he was a young man. He told one story about a man in the lumber camps who came to the cabin that had a wood stove for heat. He was wearing a fur coat and a dog in the cabin came up to him and bit him. He was so angry that he flung the dog onto the hot wood stove! "When Dad was homesteading in South Dakota, there would be terrible blizzards and so he had to tie a rope between the barn and the house so that he could find his way back to the house after caring for the animals. "Because my father was a carpenter, he didn't work much in the winter and he loved to keep the house very warm. The water in the radiators would be boiling! When he went out for awhile, my mother would quickly lower the heat to a more bearable level. "My father had a wonderful sense of humor and I feel this is what helped him through the tragedies in his life. "He and my mother, Elizabeth, came to California in May 1924. Lulu was all ready in California, and so they decided to move out there. My dad had never driven a car before, but he bought a new car and they headed out to California. It was quite an adventure, and he wore out two sets of brakes going up and down mountains on the way. Ray and Altha followed them out to California in October of 1924. "Dad spent the last month of his life with Altha. He was diabetic and had an ulcer on his toe that became gangrenous. He went into a diabetic coma and died in the hospital within 24 hours. The doctor had wanted to cut the gangrenous toe off, but dad said 'You might as well cut it off up at the neck!' 6. Remembrances by great-granddaughter Karen Paulson Saenz: I remember Mom telling how her Grandpa Rarick had diabetes and wasn't supposed to eat sweets, but he always carried around a bag of lemon drops. He would take them out every once in awhile and offer some to the kids and then have one himself! 7. Land Patent (BLM), South Dakota, 20 September 1893: Legal Description: SW 21/ 118-N 56-W No 5th PM SD CLARK Homestead Patent, 23 March 1901: SE 5/ 119-N 57-W No 5th PM SD CLARK 8. Here are the words to Grandpa Rarick's favorite hymn "The Solid Rock":
1. My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name Chorus: On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking stand 2. When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace In ev'ry high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil 3. His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay 4. When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne 9. From "Centennial History, Clark County, South Dakota, 1881-1981", pg. 110: Frank Rarick wrote [above] that he helped to build a church in Bradley...but he doesn't say which one. In this book there are three churches mentioned: the Methodist church, built about 1889 and now is the Lutheran church; the Christian Church, rebuilt after a fire in 1891, now the Baptist Christian Center; and the First Baptist church, built 1897 and now no longer standing. Using deduction, I think Frank Rarick helped to build the Methodist church for the following reasons: 1.) He attended the Methodist Episcopal church in Nashville, MI when he returned to Michigan. 2.) He was not a charter member of the Baptist church as was his wife, Rachel Carey. 3.) He married Rachel in March of 1889 and would likely not have taken the time to help build the Baptist church in 1897 when he had four children and Rachel died in July. This is all speculation and I'm really not sure which church he helped to build. I have pictures of all three of the churches. From pg. 115 'Cottonwood Township', Frank Rarrick is mentioned as an early resident along with Arthur Carey (Rachel's brother) and Ole Sjolie (William Rarick's father-in-law). From pg. 119: Frank H. Rarick is listed as an original landowner in Cottonwood Township, Section 5, SE1/4, 1901, Homestead Patent. 10. From "Day County, South Dakota History" (1981), pg. 733: "Charter members' names (from the Methodist Episcopal Church, the first built in Lily, 1900), taken from the cornerstone when the church was moved, are as follows: Reverend A. F. Houser, Franklin Barbers, H. F. Knight, F. H. RARICK, Geo. Patterson...." This was another of the churches that Frank helped build (mentioned above). 11. California Death Certificate #1807: Frank Rarick died in Highland -Alameda County Hospital in Oakland, Alameda Co., CA on 22 June 1941 at 1:20 A.M. Cause of death was gangrene of the left foot due to diabetes mellitus. He was born 29 April 1854 in Ohio and was a retired building contractor. His father was listed as Samuel Rarick (b. PA) and his mother as Arabelle Clark (b. NY). The informant was Altha M. Hawes. He was buried 24 June 1941 in Mt. Eden Cemetery. 12. Obituary (typewritten by daughter Altha Hawes): "Frank Henry Rarick, son of Samuel C. and Celestia Arabella Rarick, was born near Cleveland, Ohio, on April 29, 1854, and passed to his rest on June 22, 1941, aged 87 years, one month, and 23 days. He leaves to mourn his loss, five daughters, Mrs. Lulu J. Kessler and Mrs. Altha M. Hawes of Oakland, California; Mrs. Artha E. Lake of Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. Kate A. Webb of Nashville, Michigan and Mrs. Hazelle A. Smith of Carmel, California. His beloved wife, Elizabeth Meyer Rarick, preceded him in death on August 10, 1938. At an early age, Mr. Rarick went with his parents to Michigan then a pioneer state, and as a boy helped to clear land for farm use. As a young man he worked in the lumber camps in upper Michigan then later took up a claim on the South Dakota prairie. In 1901 he moved his family back to Nashville, Michigan, where he engaged in building as a carpenter and contractor until he retired in 1924 to come to California to make his home. He bought a small ranch in Russell City near Hayward and his remaining years were spent there. Thoughout his life, Mr. Rarick was a professing Christian and an active worker in the church. For many years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church but since coming to California he has affiliated with the Russell City Sunday School Union. Until his brief illness he taught the Adult Bible Class there and had the fine record of not having missed a Sunday in thirteen years. Many trials and tribulations had beset him during his long life, but each one only seemed to strengthen his faith and is was that constant faith that was his greatest comfort in his last hours. He died praising God for His many blessings."
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