This Benjamin Unruh was the head of the family which accompanied my Ratzlaff and Wedel families to USA in 1907. Benjamin was actually related to the Wedel family too, so all 3 of these families were inter-related. I'm assuming that Benjamin was also a good friend of my great-grandfather Andreas' oldest brother Henry J. Ratzloff since they were both born in the same year. This photo, on display at the Unruh reunion, and given to me by my 3rd cousin Gordon Ratzloff, shows Henry Ratzloff's son, Jonas, along with Benjamin Unruh's oldest son Jake, on their motorcycles in 1913 (that's Jonas on the left and Jake on the right):
A few of the folks at the Unruh reunion had recently been to the Ostrog area in Ukraine and could attest to the fact that the inhabitants nowdays are poor and the land seems to be rather unproductive. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at their photos and hearing about their trip. Some German houses remain here and there in the area and an old-timer or two seem to remember some German names in the villages.
One of the grand-daughters of Jake Unruh (son of Benjamin Unruh) also had a German document which, after translating, was revealed to be a certificate attesting to the fact that Benjamin Unruh and his family were indeed Mennonites. The document is signed by the village minister, Johann Boese, who names the village as "Lilewa bei Ostrog' and the document was even stamped with the church's seal!
This Jake Unruh was also the man who penned the Leeleva map that is of such value today:
Although I wasn't directly related to the Unruhs at this reunion, I was probably related to everyone in the room in some way. After a bit of research, I found that I shared 3 sets of great-great-great grandparents with a few of the folks - I believe that makes me 4th cousins with them, 3 different ways! The Mennonites who lived in Leeleva in the early 20th Century were probably more like one big extended family and I'm sure my Ratzlaff ancestors would be happy to know that I attended the Unruh's reunion. Thanks again for welcoming me!
