Rahe
From Germany, the Rahe family came to the Cleveland area.
Last modified 07/22/2005
Rahe
For information about Rahe ancestors before immigration, see the Rahe in Germany page.
Rahe Immigrant Ancestor - Henry H. Rahe
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Henry H. Rahe was born 14 Feb 1842 in Germany. He came to the United States in 1858, and married Anna K. Ernst around 1865. In 1882 he was a wiredrawer and lived at 8703 Tioga Ave, and in 1910 he was a watchman for the railroad. He died 7 Mar 1918 and is buried in St. John's Cemetery in Garfield Hts. Ohio. Anna Kunigunde Ernst was born 16 Oct 1845 in Vermilion, Ohio. She died 30 Jun 1925. See Ernst. Children: |
 Anna Kunigunde (Ernst) Rahe |
Henry Herman Rahe |
| Henry F. Rahe, b. 11 May 1866 in Cleveland or Newburgh, Ohio. In 1884, at the age of 18, he was listed in the city directory as a clerk at R. Mitchell & Sons Hardware at 2591 & 2753 Broadway (the NE corners of Harvard & Broadway and Miles Park & Broadway). On 20 Jun 1888 he married Frances C.M. Schulte, and was very devoted to her. They had two little boys, Alwin and Elmer, and Henry became Secretary and Treasurer of Mitchell Bros. Co. about 1895 or 1896. They must have been happy about their future. However, about that time, in 1896 when the boys were just 6 and 4, Frances died. Henry was devastated. Raising two small boys was difficult, but fortunately his mother Anna lived next door on Tioga Ave. and helped to raise them. In 1898, only two years after Frances' death, he married Elizabeth Ehlert. She had a farm which she brought to the marriage, and they moved there. They lost a baby girl in 1899 before having three daughters. They had a good marriage. However, Henry never quite recovered from Frances' death. Their daughter Ruth would later tell that Henry would leave fresh flowers on Frances' grave, even when money was tight. It was said that Elizabeth might have had an easier time competing with Frances had she survived! A granddaughter of Frances, Lois, later wished that she had asked Henry more about Frances, realizing in retrospect that he probably would have talked for hours. However, Elizabeth was such a sweet and caring grandmother to Lois and she so loved her that she felt she might somehow be betraying her by asking about Frances. Henry would outlive Elizabeth, too. |
Click on the photo to see it larger. This photo was marked, "Hardware store where Henry F. Rahe worked." |
Henry later worked at Pattison Supply Company on W. 3rd in downtown Cleveland. In WWII, when Henry was nearly 70 years old, they brought back retirees to the workforce to compensate for the labor shortage. Henry would pack a simple lunch and then use the rest of his lunch hour to walk around Public Square at a brisk pace. His posture was ramrod straight, much better than the men around him who were years his junior. Shortly after WWII, he had a stroke, and his great-grandson Jerry remembers him as struggling to walk and being very frustrated because he had difficulty expressing himself. It must have been very hard for someone who so loved to write and had such an interest in history. Henry died Monday, 1 Jan 1951, at the age of 74, on New Year's Day. Lois remarked that it was just like him to choose a big day to make his big exit.
Henry F. Rahe, the writer and historian: Henry wrote in 1942 about his grandparents. The history itself is about Caspar Ernst and Anna Kunigunde Wittich and can be found on the pages for those surnames, but I think the piece also gives you a sense of the writer, what he found to be important, and how he expressed himself. Among his papers we also found a very touching statement of his own Life Principles (pdf file), written in his own hand in 1884 when he was nineteen years old and deciding who he wanted to be.
Frances Clara Marie Schulte, b. 24 Apr 1868, m. 20 Jun 1888, d. 9 Jan 1896, Cleveland, OH. Her headstone reads, "Gelibele Gattin von Henry F. Rahe. Rom. 8.18." Romans 8-18 reads, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us."
Elizabeth C. Ehlert, b. 1870, m. 1898, d. bef. 1951.
Children:
Alwin E., b. 1889, m. Meta Landwehr, d. 2 Jul 1973. [son of Frances]
Elmer Frederick., b. 1891, m. Leona L. Helman, d. 5 Jan 1969. [son
of Frances] [see below]
Mary Louise, b. 6 Jun 1899, d. 9 Jun 1899 at age 3 days. [daughter
of Elizabeth]
Clara E. Frances., b. 1902, elementary school teacher and principal
for 40 years in the Cleveland Public Schools, d. 20 Feb. 1967 [daughter
of Elizabeth]
Velma H., b. 1907, m. Bicker, d. bef. 1969 [daughter of Elizabeth]
Ruth L., b. 1910, m1. Ernest Schmult, m2. Cullen, d. [daughter
of Elizabeth]
Elmer F. Rahe and Leona L. Helman
Elmer F. Rahe, b. 18 Jan 1891, Cleveland, OH. As a young man, Elmer worked for his father as a salesman in the hardware store. He married Leona Louise Helman (b. 24 Mar 1892) on 20 Sept. 1916 in St. John's Lutheran Church. They were married by Rev. H. C. Weidner, who would also perform the wedding ceremony for their daughter in 1938 and their grandson in 1966. Elmer and Leona's wedding reception was held at the farm of Henry and Elizabeth, but it was for a while in question when the night before the wedding the barn burned to the ground. Elmer was often called "Lure" by his friends, perhaps because of a passion for fishing. He grew tomatoes in the yard and Lois remembers Elmer bringing a salt shaker to the garden and eating the tomatoes warm off the vine. When Elmer and Leona were expecting their first child in 1917-1918, they imagined that it would be a boy and chose the name "John." Of course, the baby was a girl, but Elmer was undeterred. Although Leona named the baby "Lois" he continued to affectionately call her "John". Apparently, baby-naming was a challenge in this household. When the second baby came along, Elmer wanted to name him "James" and call him "Jim." However, Leona preferred "Robert". Leona won - he was named Robert Arthur. Or did she? Elmer persisted in calling him "Jim" and it stuck. He is "Jim" even today.
Elmer worked at Strong, Carlisle and Hammond as a mill supply salesman, and in the teens and twenties made good commission and had a car allowance. They bought their first home on South Highland in Garfield Heights in 1924. When the Depression hit, he lost the car allowance and the commissions shrank. However, Elmer and Leona had made house payments ahead of time and were able to keep the house. They were also very frugal, and Leona baked and canned and stretched the money as far as it would go. With resourcefulness and the help of family, they fared much better than most. The 1940s brought WWII, and there was concern for Jim, who was stationed in the Pacific. In the 50s and 60s, when Lois was working at May's deparment store to help support the family, Leona welcomed the grandsons into her home after school. In 1961, Elmer and Leona moved into a smaller home at 10307 McCracken Road. Since Lois and her family lived just down the street, they were able to help with the grandsons as well as be helped by Lois, Joe, and the boys as they grew older. Elmer's health declined in the 1960s. He was frail but elated when his first great-grandchild, Janice, was born on his birthday in 1967. He died 5 Jan 1969 and is buried at St. John's Cemetery, Garfield Hts., OH. Leona remained in the home on McCracken, but never seemed to regain her health after Elmer died. She died15 April 1973 and is also buried at St. John's Cemetery, Garfield Hts., OH.
Children:
Lois Louise, b. 20 Apr 1918, Cleveland, OH, m. 10 Oct. 1938 to
Joseph Gerda at St. John's Church. [see
below]
Robert Arthur "Jim"[LIVING - permission for posting of
detailed info not yet received]
Lois Louise Rahe
Lois (Rahe) Gerda is my grandmother and a BIG contributor to this website!
