Relatively Speaking Blog

When I began gathering information for my family tree, I was told my great-grand Uncle Will Ludwick had lived in Nebraska and was a minister. Will, formally William Edgar, was brother to Eden and my great-grandfather Alpheus. They were orphaned before they were teenagers, and perhaps because of this, they held a strong value for family and stayed in touch throughout their lives. Although subsequent generations lost contact, some time ago I connected with the wife of Will’s grandson who added to the anecdotes told by my family, which census enumerations helped to substantiate.

Will, the youngest of John Ludwick and Ester Rugh’s five children, was born on January 26, likely in McKeesport, Allegheny County, PA where the family lived in 1860. Will stated his birth year as 1860 on numerous documents. Although the census information was not always accurate, the 1860 census enumeration listed Will as 1 year old, suggesting he was born in 1859. Along with Will and his parents were his two older brothers, Eden, 3 and Alpheus, 2. The two eldest children in the family, a boy and a girl, had died in infancy. His father’ occupation was a miller, and family accounts indicate he was successful at his trade.

During the next decade, when Will was about 4 years old, his father died after a short illness. The family did its best to make ends meet, but five years later their mother died. Parentless, the brothers were sent to live with different families. Will lived with his maternal Aunt Anna Margaret and her husband, William Truxall in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, PA as reported by the 1870 census. It stated Will attended school in that year. According to family Will worked on his uncle’s farm for his boarding and whether it was the perception of a child, or a real lack of affection in his aunt’s house, he felt more like a hired hand than a member of a family.

1870 Census Unity Township, Westmoreland County, PA
Name	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
William Truxel	59	farmer	PA
Annie Truxel	48		PA
Sophia Truxel	28		PA
Lucinda Truxel	22		PA
Cyrus Truxel	20		PA
Elmira Truxel	14	school in year	PA
Jacob Truxel	11	school in year	PA
William Ludwick	9	school in year	PA

When Will was old enough he left his aunt and uncle’s house and pursued a higher education. He attended different schools in Pennsylvania working at various jobs to support himself, including as a laborer in Henry Clay Frick’s coke ovens. In the 1880 census William Ludwick, 20 years of age, was found in north central PA in Shippen Township, Cameron County, where he worked in woods, probably at a lumber camp. Although it is not definitively proven, I believe this is my uncle living in the household of Samuel Kirk, a lumberman who put up a number of other boarders also working in woods.

By the next surviving census in 1900, Will had completed his education, earning a degree from an Ohio seminary school to become a minister. A church assignment had sent him to Greenville, one of Ohio’s most western counties, where he and his family resided in 1900. He and his wife Minnie—whose maiden name was Meshinger—had been married 15 years; she was the mother of four children, all of whom were living. Their first child was born in Michigan verifying they had lived in that state during their early married life before relocating in Ohio. I was surprised that Will’s occupation was not minister, but an insurance agent. I later learned he had completed his duties in Greenville before the decade ended; insurance probably was a way to supplement his income. He was successful in his ventures as he owned his house free of mortgage.

From Greenville Will moved his family further west, settling in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lived in the city’s 7th ward on Vine Street during the 1910 census and once again owned his own home, mortgage free. The family also owned a radio. Will’s occupation was minister having gained a position in the Reformed church. His four children still lived in his household, with the two oldest sons having studied to become professionals; Karl a civil engineer and Ralph a dentist.

Although searches for Will and Minnie in the 1920 census have not been successful, they were known to be living in Lincoln at that time. They had sold their house as another family lived at the house Will and Minnie had owned in 1910. A manual search of a few of Lincoln’s many wards did turn up one of his married sons, but Will and Minnie were not found. Perhaps Will moved outside the city proper, but it appears they were either missed by the enumerator or their name has been incorrectly indexed.

The 1930 census was the last enumeration for both Will and Minnie. They resided in Diller Nebraska, about 60 miles south of Lincoln, where Will served as congregational clergyman before his retirement. When they moved to Diller is unclear, but unlike other places, they did not own their house but rented for $10 a month. Within a year they returned to the Lincoln area where Minnie died in July 1932 and Will in December 1933. Both are buried in Lincoln.

As a child Will faced the misfortune of losing both his parents and then being forced to live apart from his brothers. But with hard work and determination, Will grew from an orphaned youth into a successful man. Will had many accomplishments in his life including obtaining higher education, having a career as a minister, and raising four sons with his wife of over 45 years. Whether his ability to succeed was his own resilience, or an inherent trait, Will, like many on the Ludwick line, overcame hardships and enjoyed an abundant life.