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Note: Matthias Ruba was born on January 1, 1842. I have written to the archives of the Czech Republic attempting to find out more family information. On June 24, 1996 I received the following reply from the Archives of Kladruby in the Crech Republic They state that this is the only information they found on the family. Luckily for us, it is our ancestor. I am in the process of hiring a private Czech researcher to look for more records. The note reads:
"Zadane zapisy nenalezenyani Statnim oblastnim archiven v Plzni ani Mestskyn uradem v Horsovskem Tynu - v matrice byvale obce Bukove byl matrikarem Obecniho uradu v Klardubech nalezen pouze zapis:
Matthaus Ruba, narozen 12.1.1842 v Bukove, otec Joseph Ruba, rolnik a matka Barbara, rozena Schlegel-ova.
This was translated by a friend as follows: 'The submitted entries were not found in the State Archives in Plzen nor in the city offices in Horsovsky Tyn. In the former town of Bukova the only entry was found is in the city hall of Kladruby:
Matthaus Ruba, born Jan 1, 1842 in Bukova, his father was a farmer Joseph Ruba and his mother was Barbara, born Schlegel.'
The town of Bukova is also known as Mukowa. The main Catholic church for the parish was in the village of Prostibol. Matthias had two brothers.
About 1865 he married Margaret Glockl and they started their family. As the children grew, the three older girls left the moved to America. They appear to have come in two groups. Elizabeth, the oldest, arrived sometime before June 1884 when she married Peter Raschka. She would have only been 17 or 18 years old at that time and I can not imagine that she would have traveled alone. I wonder if she came with some other family members or family friends?
It appears that Mary and Catherine came in 1892 - probably together. No ship record has yet been found. On June 21, 1894 passenger the ship the S.S.Havel
arrived into the port of New York from Bremen, Germany by way of Southampton, England. There were 314 passengers listed with Ticket Number 4406 being the family of Mathias Ruba. The passenger list reads:
Mathias Ruba age 52 married farmer - citizen of Bohemia Margaret Ruba age 49 married Anna Ruba age 18 single Josef Ruba age 14 single Johann Ruba age 11 single Margretha Ruba age 9 single Georg Ruba age 7 single The list states that their Intended Destination was Ludington, Michigan.
The following narrative was written by Carol Mero Ruba. Her account of the Ruba family will be divided into two sections. The first part here and the second will be under Joseph George Ruba. Her husband, Charles, was the son of Joseph George.
" I, Carol Ruba, have been asked to write a history of the Joseph George Ruba family. Joseph was my father-in-law. I shall use what facts I can from the family trees prepared by Marie Raschka Meyer for the Rubas. I shall also use events and episodes related to me and some of my own observations. I shall try to keep the material as true to fact as possible.
Joseph did not often talk about the past. To him it was the present and future that was important but I did get him to talk some about his youth.
Joseph George was born in Mukowa, Austria on November 11, 1879. He was the sixth child and first son born to Mathias and Markaret Glockl Ruba.
I questioned Joseph about his childhood in Austria. He stressed that the Rubas were German not Austrian. He said they lived in a small village with the church as its unifying force. It was common practice for the land owners to build their homes in a central location and walk out to till their land.
According to Joseph's statement, the Mathias Ruba's owned 80 acres of land which was more than most of their neighbors had. He said is was customary for the daughter to inherit the land and the sons were expected to marry a girl with property.
Mr. Ruba stated "Ma came from a family of two, a brother and herself, so she inherited all the land her parents had". He also stated the land had been owned by nobles who split it up into small parcels of 2 or 3 acres or larger so that one child did not inherit all the good land and another all the poor.
Joseph also remembered that the largest city about 40 miles away was Pilsen, the home of Pilsener beer.
Mukowa was about 12 or 14 miles from the Bohemian border. However, Joseph stated the Rubas were not Bohemian, they were Germans.
I was impressed by the coincidence in the lives of Joseph and Anna Tushek Sladick. Anna was born in Bohemia on November 11, 1879, the exact date of Joseph's birth. I do not know how far apart their birthplaces were but they were certainly in the same general area of the world. Anna came to America to "Polish" town in what is now the fourth ward in Ludington in 1903. She later married James Sladick and moved to a home in Hamlin Township on what is not Jabavy Drive. The home is still occupied by three of Anna's children, George and Joseph Sladick and Agnes Roche Sladick. The Sladick home is not more than five or six miles from where Joseph lived all his life after he arrived in America. Both the Sladick and Ruba families were life long members of Sacred Heart Church from the time it was built in 1899.
One of Joseph's memories of the Old Country was that the families who owned no land worked as hired hands for those who did. Their wages for a year were, he thought, about eighty American dollars. This was not enough to support a family so at threshing time the workers wore garments with huge pockets. Each day they filled these with grain and took this home to eke out a bare existance. This was a gray area transaction. The farmers know they did this but he also knew they needed it for food so nothing was ever mentioned.
When Joseph was thirteen years old his parents decided to emigrate to America. The second oldest daughter Wenzel had died at the age of four in 1875. The oldest daughter Elizabeth had married Peter Raschka and moved to a farm in VictoryTownship. Mary was married to John Gullander and they were running a grocery store in Manistee. Catherine or Kate was married to Martin Timpy and they were settled on a farm in Victory Township. Joseph said his parents wanted to move the rest of their family before some of them married and settled in Austria. Then the family would have been divided forever.
The trip to the United States must have been made in summer because Joseph remembered getting to Ludington in the morning by train. They were met at the station by Joseph's brother-in-law, Peter Raschka. After a nine or ten mile ride in the wagon under the hot sun they were given lunch. Then Peter furnished the adults and older children with hoes and they hoed corn all afternoon.
There were five childred left at home yet. Anna, who later married Joseph Utz, lived all the rest of her life in Ludington. Next younger than Joseph was John who was ordained a Catholic priest in 1911. Next younger was Margaret who took nurses training in Manistee because there was no hospital in Ludington offering that service. She became a registered nurse and at age 46 married Olias Vanier, a lawyer. George, the youngest, married Mary Korn and lived all his married life on the family farm which is located on Dennis Road. George's son Bob and wife Sophie still live there.
Peter Raschka helped his father-in-law purchase the farm because Mathias was handicapped by not knowing the English language. The Ruba farm was about three miles from the Raschka farm and only about a mile from Kate and Martin Timpy's farm. The Danish settlement was just south of it and the Swedish settlement just to the north.
Joseph was nearly fourteen when school started in the fall and he found it very difficult because he knew very little English. He attended school only one year in America.
Several Catholic families in Hamlin and Victory Townships assembled in private homes for a Mass whenever they could get a priest to come out from Ludington. Plans were made to build a church but dissension arose because the residents of each township wanted the church located near them. Peter Brown donated the land where Sacred Heart Church now stands on Fountain Road in Victory Township. The church was dedicated in 1899.
Marie Raschka mentioned that her father, Peter, remembered Mathias Ruba being quite frustrated when the church was being built. He wanted to take an active part but he could not stand heights. He had to be content with what he could accomplish on the ground while others did the framing and roofing.
Father John spent a lot of time hand carving religious objects for the new church. He hand carved the altar which was made of sturdy wooden packing boxes from the Gullander grocery store in Manistee. He also hand carved the wooden plaque with the name Sacred Heart Church and the date 1899 which is displayed at the entrance inner doorway of Sacred Heart Church. I also have a black candle stand about three feet high which was turned out on a lathe. Charles believed this was one of a set of six made by Father John for the church. The picture which Father Martin Tullis has set up in the choir loft as the center of a shrine in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary was brought from Rome by Father John Ruba. He studied in Rome and brought is back as a gift for his family. It was later presented to Sacred Heart Church by Margaret Ruba Vanier."
Narrative continued under Joseph George Ruba in the next generation. The Ludington Daily News of 1957 had the following article on Sacred Heart Church and the families that started it:
" GROUND BREAKING ---- Ground was broken for a rectory at Sacred Heart church in Victory Thursday morning by George Ruby and Frank Sladick both of whom assisted in building the church 58 years ago.
Left to right in the picture are George Ruby, the Rev. Fr. Benedict Marciulionis, John Ruba, James Ruba, Mrs. Ruba and daughter Kathryn, Mrs. James Sladick, Mrs. Garman Winey and daughter Margaret, Stanley Strzelec, Frank Sladick and George Sladick.
Frank Sladick's parents Mr. and Mrs. John Sladick of Hamlin and George Ruby's parents Mr. and Mrs. Mathias Ruba of Victory were original members of the church. As lads of 15 and 12 respectively Frank and George accompanied their fathers to run errands and perform whatever tasks were within their ability as far as the building program was concerned.
Both men have always made their home in his parish. Also present at the ceremony was Mrs. James Sladick who has been a member of the church for 55 years.
Mrs. Alma Fugere of Ludington and Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Beaune of Hamlin are the only surviving adult members of the first congregation.
Bishop Allen J. Babcock notified the Rev. Fr. Marciulionis pastor of Sacred Heart Church Wednesday that plans for the rectory had received final approval. Digging the basement is expected to begin immediately.
The proposed building will be 28 feet wide and 56 feet long with a full basement which will be used for church social affairs. Plans for the basement and ground floor will be divided into eight rooms, featuring an office, reception room, two bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and three bedrooms with ample storage space. The building will face south with the office and reception room adjacent to the church.
The land in the church lot was donated by the Peter Brown family. A unique and attractive feature of Sacred Heart Church is the hand carved altar. This was done by the late Father John Ruba brother of Charles Ruby."
Family Reunions have been held since 1961. The following are the minutes of the second Ruba family reunion held in 1962:
"The second annual family reunion of hte Mathias and Margaret Ruba family was held Sunday, July 15 at Victory Community Hall with Anton Raschka serving as chairman and Mrs. John Utz as secretary. Mrs. Peter Ruba was chairman of the dinner committee.
Following a bounteous pot luck meal served in the basement dining room a short meeting conducted by Mr. Raschka was held in the hall upstairs. It was voted to hold the next reunion at the same place on the third Sunday of July each year and Robert Ruby was appointed chairman and Mrs. Lawrence Timpy secretary for 1963.
Mrs. Hiram Meyer, nee Marie Raschka, spoke to the group about some of the history of the Ruba family. She mentioned that Mathias Ruba was born in Mukowa, Austria, residence No. 10 and his wife was the former Margaret Glockl of Mulhafan, Austria residence No. 23.
The first high school diploma in the family was earned by Margaret Ruba Vanier, daughter of Mathias and Margaret Ruba, of Sullivan, Indiana, who was unable to attend. She was a charter member of the American Red Cross nurses and was one of the first 13 nurses to become Public Health nurses and was listed in the Catholic "Who's Who in America".
The second high school diploma was earned by John Ruba, the late Father John Ruba, who later became a Catholic priest. He studied in Rome and was procurator and professor of St. Joseph's seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Father John Ruba hand carved the altar still in use at Sacred Heart Church in Victory of which his parents, Mathias and Margaret Ruba, were charter members. Two of the Ruba daughters, Elizabeth and her husband Peter Raschka and Kate and her husband Martin Timpy, were also among the charter members at Sacred Heart. George Ruby was just a boy at the time Sacred Heart church was built but he remembers the event. He has resided all his life on the old family home less than a mile from the church. He and his wife, Mary, and their family have been active members and have faithfully served in many capacities. The late Joseph Ruba and his family also resided less than a mile from the church and have been active members.
Mrs. Meyer was the third member of the family to receive a high school diploma and later she taught school. The fourth member to get a diploma was the late John Timpy who worked hard to earn a vice presidency in American Motors Corporation. Mrs. Meyer memtioned that John Timpy is mentioned often
in a book written by George Romney, former Vice President of American Motors and now candidate for Governor of Michigan.
Mrs. Jeffrey Holcomb and Mrs. John Buchianani were appointed as historians to keep scrap books of important events in the lives of members of the family. Mrs. Lawrence Carrier will act as collaborating secretary and will forward clipping to the historians.
Present at the event were Mr. and Mrs. Antone Raschka and son Leo Peter, Mrs. Hiram Meyer, Miss Ann Raschka, Mr. and Mrs. John Buchignani of Wisconsin, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carrier and children, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Holcomb of Lansing, Mrs. Ted Slack and Miss Ruth Ruby, and Mrs. and Mrs. George Gzym and daughter Karlene of Muskegon, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Carrier, Mr. and Mrs. John Utz, Misses Doris, Barbara and Joan Utz of Ludington and Mrs. George Ruby, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ruby and children, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Timpy and daughter Beverly, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Dennis and daughter Linda, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Ruba and family and guests Patricia Harley and Kathlene McCarthy, Mr. and Mrs. John Ruba and family, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ruba and children and guest Larry Lyewski, Ralph Ruba and Joseph Ruba."
The Ludington Chronicle of April 23, 1913 reads:
" DEATH OF MATTHIAS RUBA - Matthias Ruba died at his home in Victory Tuesday evening, April 15, at the age of 71. Death resulted form paralysis of the throat. Mr. Ruba was born in Germany and came to this country nineteen years ago. All this time he has lived on his farm here. He is survived by a widow and eight children -- Mrs. P. Timpy, Mrs. P. Raschka, Joseph and George Ruba of Victory, Mrs. Gulander and Mrs. Utz of Ludington, Father John Ruba of Bay City and Margaret Ruba of Detroit. Funeral services were held from Sacred Heart church Saturday morning conducted by Father Malone of Ludington, assisted by Father John Ruba. Interment was made in the Catholic cemetery at Hamlin."
The Ludington Daily News of January 2, 1929 reads:
" MRS. MARGARET RUBA, 85, PASSES IN VICTORY HOME -- After an illness of several months, Mrs. Margaret Ruba answered the summons of her Maker, Monday, December 31, 1928 at 3:30 pm at her home in Victory township, at the age of 85 years.
Mrs. Ruba was the widow of Mathias Ruba, who preceded her in death in 1916. Eight children were born to them of whom two, Rev. John P. Ruba, and a daughter, Mrs. Peter Raschka, preceded the mother in death.
Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Mary Gullander, Mrs. Joseph Utz, Mrs. Martin Timpy and Miss Margaret Ruba and two sons, Joseph and George Ruba and an adopted son, William Burke; also 24 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held in the Victory Catholic church at 9 am Thursday, Jan. 3, 1929 with a solemn requiem high mass. Interment will be in Pere Marquette cemetery Ludington."
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