# The Rudolph Family ## Origins in Europe The Rudolph family came from Bempflingen, a village in Württemberg, Germany, just south of Stuttgart. The region was steeped in Swabian culture, known for its fruit-growing hills, strict Lutheran pietism, and deeply rooted family structures. Jacob Rudolph, born in this rural setting, faced tragedy early on. His wife, Anna Maria Raisch, died young, leaving Jacob with two children—Marie and Christian. Unable to care for them alone, Jacob sent the children to live with their maternal grandparents, Christian and Christiana Raisch. ## Emigration to America Jacob emigrated to the United States in 1881, settling first in Philadelphia. There he remarried Anna Hofbauer and started a second family, including a daughter named Carrie Roehm. Despite the distance, Jacob stayed in touch with his daughter Marie, who remained in Germany with her grandparents. In 1893, at the age of 15, Marie and her younger brother Christian were sent across the Atlantic to join relatives in Philadelphia. Christian, who had a physical disability, struggled to adapt and felt himself a burden to Marie. In 1896, at the age of 17, he tragically took his own life in a Philadelphia park. Marie, meanwhile, found work as a housemaid and began to build a life in her new country. She stayed with her aunts—Mrs. Engelman and Mrs. Pfoff—and began to learn English and American customs. ## Life on the American Frontier While visiting another aunt, Elizabeth Scholz, in Washington State, Marie met Charles Daubel, a son of the German immigrant blacksmith Ludwig Daubel. Marie never returned to Philadelphia. She married Charles in 1902, and they went on to have eleven children on a farm near Elk, Washington. Marie’s childhood of displacement, caretaking, and personal loss gave her a quiet strength. On the Daubel homestead, she worked alongside Charles, raised her children without the aid of doctors, and maintained correspondence with her half-sister Carrie Roehm. Her story, preserved in family letters and oral history, reveals the sacrifices and tenacity required of immigrant women. In her daughter Rosie’s recollections, Marie's early years were marked by hardship: “She had to learn to speak English, work at housework, and support her sick brother.” Yet, her life in Elk was a testament to endurance and love. She raised a large, self-sufficient family, and her descendants maintained close ties across generations. ## Key Individuals * [[Rudolph, Jacob (1853–1933)]] – German immigrant, laborer in Philadelphia * [[Raisch, Anna (1855-1880)]] – Marie’s mother, died young * [[Rudolph, Marie (1878–1939)]] – daughter, pioneer mother of eleven * Christian Rudolph – brother who died by suicide at 17 * Carrie Roehm – half-sister, maintained contact with Marie’s family ## Family Tree and Photos * Rudolph and Raisch family tree * Portrait of Marie and Charles Daubel * Letters from Carrie Roehm to Herman Daubel