Ludwig Rittel and Katherina Graf wedding picture. Taken in a studio in Streeter, North Dakota, ca 1888.
Ludwig Rittel and Katherina Graf Rittel. This photograph has hung for many years on the wall of my mother's home. It was taken in Herington, Kansas, in 1926.
Ludwig Rittel
Katherina Graf Rittel at the age of 59 (around 1927). This is my favorite photograph of Great Great Grandmother, a woman of strong character and beauty. The back of the photograph bears her inscription in ink: "Wan 59 gahr [jahr] alt"--"At age 59 years".
The seven sons of Ludwig and Katherina Rittel. From left: Edward (Ed), Ludwig, Jun. (Louie), Arthur (Art), Adolph, Jacob (Jake), August (Gus), and Samuel (Sam). Probably taken about 1925. One son, David (born 1896), died in infancy.
Sons and daughters of Ludwig and Katherina Rittel. From left: Ed, Louie, Art, Julia, Adolph, Jake, Bertha, Gus, and Sam. Bertha and Julia were the two youngest daughters; the oldest child in the family, Lydia, is not pictured here.
The entire Rittel family, except for the oldest daughter Lydia Rittel Grentz, who lived with her husband in Canada. This photograph was probably taken in front of the family home on South Freeborn Street in Marion, Kansas. From left, back row: Edward, Louie, Art, Adolph, Jake, Gus, Sam. Front row: Bertha, Katherina, Ludwig, Julia.
Katherina Graf Rittel with her sisters in 1952. On the left, Margaret Graf Wentz; on the right, Christine Graf Buck. Both sisters, and probably most of Katherina's extended family, lived in North Dakota.
Ludwig Rittel. Probably taken in the early 1940s. Ludwig passed away in 1943.
Katherina Graf Rittel. Probably taken in the early 1940s.
Jacob and Lydia Schmerer Rittel. Jake was the fourth oldest child in the family. He and Lydia bore one daughter, Ruby Rittel. They lived in Cordell, Oklahoma.
Jacob and Lydia Schmerer Rittel later in life.
Posterity of Jacob and Lydia Schmerer Rittel. Back row: Maurice M. Huls, husband of Ruby Rittel Huls; Ruby Rittel Huls, Lydia Schmerer Rittel, Jacob Rittel. Front row: Maurice Huls, Jun., Glenna Lue Huls, and Maurine Huls. Ruby was the only child of Jacob and Lydia Rittel.
Ruby Rittel Huls, daughter of Jacob and Lydia Schmerer Rittel. This photo was probably taken in the early 1940s.
The young man sitting in the left chair is Louis Rittel, son of Ludwig and Katherina. The entire family, including Father Ludwig, seem to have learned the trade of barber.
Ludwig Rittel, Jun. ("Louie").
Left: Arthur Rittel; right: Louie Rittel. The boy sitting in front is unidentified.
(LEFT) Lawrence Rittel, son of Adolph and Heinericka "Tessie" Kuebler Rittel. Lawrence was the youngest of four siblings; his oldest brother, Edwing, died in action during World War II.
From left: Katharina Graf Rittel, ???, Mary Hilderman Rittel (wife of Louis), Gus Rittel, ???.
Ezra H. Riffel and wife Bertha Rittel Riffel. If that isn't confusing for a family historian! Ezra and Bertha lived near San Diego, California.
From left: Doraine Riffel Kroskey, Bertha Rittel Riffel, Ezra H. Riffel, Katharina Graf Rittel.
Edward and Nettie Irene Rempel Rittel, about 1940. Ed and Nettie lived their entire lives in Marion, where Ed worked in a chicken packing firm. Nettie and her oldest son Richard both passed away in the spring of 2002, the last of their generation to call Marion home.
Julia Anna Rittel, about 1925. Julia was the youngest daughter in the family.
Julia Anna Rittel (LaRue), 1920s photograph.
Gravestone of Ludwig and Katharina Graf Rittel in Marion, Kansas.
Left) Jerold ("Jerry") Dean Rittel with grandparents Ludwig and Katherina. Jerry is the son of Ludwig, Junior ("Louis"). He is the last Rittel remaining who grew up in the Marion-Herington Kansas area. Today he owns and operates Rittel's Western Wear in Abilene, Kansas.
Rittel's Western Wear in Abilene, Kansas
Gravestone of Ludwig and Katharina Graf Rittel in Marion, Kansas
