Rudolph, Nichols and Sullivan Family History

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Thanks for visiting our shared family history website. Here you can:

Click any of the photos in the circle of ancestors to the right as a starting point for exploring our shared family history.
or type a name in the First and/or Last name boxes at the top left corner of this page, and then click "Search" to look for a certain person or people with a certain first/middle or last name.
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What's New

Dec 7, 2013

A 90-minute audio recording of a family history interview with Evelyn Louise Baumgartner from 12 Nov 1986 was added. Evelyn sat with her grandson Robert Charles Rudolph and his wife Elizabeth Anne Sullivan and discussed primarily Rudolph family history. Evelyn briefly touched on the Hopkins and Lee families as well. We were going to ask her to discuss her Baumgartner family history on another evening but very unfortunately never got to it. Click the headphones below to listen to the 90-minute interview. The interview is also available in the Recordings section of Evelyn's page

Dec 1, 2013

Robert Ernest Rudolph was Director of Traffic for the City of Cambridge, Mass. from July 1962 through April 1969. Below are five newspaper items from his tenure there. This position was a high point in his career and he was always proud of what he'd accomplished there. The following five newspaper items were framed and hanging on the walls of his study until he passed away.

Click the thumbnail images below to read the newspaper articles. All of these items are also available in the Histories section of Robert Ernest Rudolph's page.

Cambridge had never had a Director of Traffic before. He was hired to bring order to the chaos, which he accomplished quite well. I remember one time when I was about six years old and shortly after he took the position, he brought me to the top of a tall building on the edge of Harvard Square to observe the traffic there. This may have been a view of Central Square, I was quite young, but I believe it was Harvard Square. As I remember looking down into Harvard Square, there were five or six streets that came together in Harvard Square at irregular angles. The square itself was a vast plain of umarked paved black asphalt. There were no lane markings of any kind, nor traffic lights, islands or crosswalks. Cars came in from the various streets and fought their way through the square to get out to one of the other streets. There were no orderly streams or lines of cars making their way through the square. Each driver crawled toward any opening that appeared to the left, straight ahead or right of where their car was at that moment. There were constant horns honking. It sure looked like chaos to me!

The position of Director of Traffic was contentious and political. He embraced and experimented with new approaches, some succeeding and some not. He attended the City Council meeting every Monday evening and usually came home drained. As he explained it to me, some members of the City Council had an axe to grind, or a business interest somewhere in the city that they wanted traffic to flow past, and if possible be stopped in front of their business interest, so that drivers would notice their business. He introduced alternate side of the street parking and parking bans during snow emergencies, which exasperated Council members if their home or their friends' home were on the side of the street that lost parking.

During snow emergencies, he drove the streets in his city-issued black Ford Galaxy 500 sedan directing city towing operations to enforce the parking ban. He became quite the excellent snow driver, once taking me with him during one of these snow emergencies. It was snowing hard at night and the streets were deserted. We crept down a narrow snow laden street with cars parked along both sides. We got to the end of that stretch and he needed to reverse direction to see it traveling the other way. So at the end of that stretch in the middle of the 4-way intersection under the functioning traffic light, he did a slow-motion 180-degree doughnut turn, rear tires spinning the whole time until through the 180 degrees, and then slowly crept back up the street the other way. Casual and under control. I asked about the doughnut turn and he said 'I do these all through every storm to get around.'

I remember in one of these snow storms, a particular City Council member who was especially unpleasant to him at many Monday night City Council meetings and who was unaccepting of the snow emergency parking in front of his house, had left his personal car illegally parked in front of his house during the storm. Robert happily directed the tow trucks to the council member's car and the car was taken away to an impoundment lot. Of course the council member called in wanting to know where they'd towed his car too. But they just couldn't seem to find the councilman's car! As I remember, it was three days before they located the car!

I remember him describing his approach for awarding a contract for purchasing parking meters for the entire city. Parking meter vandalism and coin theft was a constant problem. Each bidder for the parking meter contract supplied one of their candidate parking meters. The candidate parking meters were then installed by the city in a row beside three parking spaces. Then all on the same day, the bidders were invited in for a competition. Each bidder was allowed to designate one guy, bringing with him whatever tools he wanted, to break into his competitors parking meter for theft. The last parking meter still holding its coins would win the contract. So one big guy with sledge hammers and crowbars at each of the candidate parking meters, Go! But Robert said that in the end it had been unfair because one the bidders had gotten their competitor's parking meter up out of the ground, laid it flat on the concrete sidewalk and then wailed away at it with the sledge hammer, smashing it open. But the rules of the competition were the rules and that smashed parking meter lost, although Robert thought that perhaps it had been the best one.

At the end of his tenure as Director of Traffic, traffic in the city was dramatically improved. The current design of traffic patterns in Central Square and Harvard Square are his best known successes, lane markings on the streets, all modernized traffic signals and a computerized traffic signal control system. His default picture on his page here shows him sitting on one of the traffic control islands in Central Square, as designed by him.

Dec 1, 2013

Ten baby pictures of Barbara Jean Hughes were added, including the picture below at age 22 months. The ten pictures are available in the Photos section of Barbara's page

Oct 14, 2013

The Thorpe line, and related Evans and Bedford lines, were nicely expanded. Francis Charles Thorpe's four siblings and parents Joseph Thorpe and Frances Evans were added, as well as a 1901 picture of his maternal grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Click the pictures below for details. Thank you Elizabeth D'Attilio for the pictures.

Oct 1, 2013

A number of people sent in fresh pictures. Hover over the images just below to see their name. Then click the image to see the full size picture and their other pictures too!
(Hint: To see their other pictures, first click the image below and then click their 'Individual' tab)

Sep 12, 2013

The Estate administration papers of Thomas Rudolph of Upper Darby, 1793-1843. All Rudolphs descendants included in this website claim this Thomas Rudolph as a great grandfather, somewhere between a 3rd and 6th great grandfather, depending on your generation! This pair of important family history documents tell us many things about Thomas Rudolph and his family at the time his death on 07 June 1843. The papers include information on his wife Hannah, their five children Abram Powell, Mary M., Thomas, Hannah P. and Sarah Ann, their approximate ages, the fact that a William Rudolph of Ridley became the children's guardian, where they all resided, the exact location of the three large farms he owned and who the neighboring land owners were (they can be found on the 1848 Ash Map of the Delaware County that shows property boundaries and owners), which single farm of the three was ordered sold to pay off the estate's debts and provide for the welfare of the children. The bond filed by the administrators to protect the interests of the young beneficiaries of the estate in 1843 was $18,000 or $450,000 in 2013 dollars. The family was prosperous.

Jul 25, 2013

Six original newspaper articles about Bert Erskine Rudolph are now available. The first two article below are about Bert being appointed, and then later elected, Mayor of Stone Harbor, NJ in 1939. The first article mentions in a sidebar that his mother, Emma Louise Erskine Rudolph Johnson known as Grandma Johnson or Mrs. John C. Johnson, just missed his being appointed as mayor, despite religiously attended all Council meetings. The next four articles are about his life, death and funeral. The best of this series of six newspaper articles is the last one, a rich tapestry of his life; inspiring.

Click the thumbnail images below to read the original newspaper articles. All of these items are also available in the Histories section of Bert Erskine Rudolph's page.

Bert's business card is available from when, at the time of his death, he had 300 people reporting to him at the Weekly Industrial Department of the National Accident Health Insurance Co. of Philadelphia, which operated in 20 states.

Jul 24, 2013

On this the birth date of Robert Ernest Rudolph, two new items about him have been added. Click any of the thumbnail images to see the full size item.

Business Cards of Robert Ernest Rudolph, representing his career. Read down left column, then right column.

Rudolph, Robert Ernest - Obituary

See his complete page including the 81 pictures he appears in by clicking Robert Ernest Rudolph's page

Jul 22, 2013

This series of four membership cards in Bert E. Rudolph's name from 1939 and 1940 were sitting on EBay for $9.99. I purchased them and present them here for everyone to enjoy. The four cards are in his name and possibly filled in by Bert himself; the handwritting looks familiar. The cards are for the Masonic Club of Stone Harbor, City of Cape May courtesies, Avalon Theatre and Park Theatre of Stone Harbor. Click the picture to the left to view the four cards. They are also available in the Histories section of Bert Erskine Rudolph's page.

Jul 21, 2013

Letter from Evelyn Louise Baumgartner to her sister Eleanor Catherine Baumgartner written on 06 Dec 1986. From Faith Hopkins. Click the thumbnail to the left to read the three page letter.

Picture of Francis Charles Thorpe, Jr - June 1937 - Age 2 1/2. From the photo collection of Elizabeth D'Attilio. Click the picture to the left to see it full size.

Picture of John Bazememt Hopkins and his wife Margaret Bentz. Taken in the early 1940s at their home on Shipley Ave, Harman, MD. From the photo collection of Faith Hopkins. Click the picture to the left to see it full size.

The obituary for Juli Nichols 1958-2013 and article about her life in the Boston Globe. Click the picture to the left to read the wonderful article.

Jul 19, 2013

The Rudolph Research Timeline was updated to include all Rudolph households in the United State Federal Censuses of 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840.
From the 1850 United State Federal Census, the Rudolph Research Timeline now includes all Rudolphs born before 1820 and all members of their "census family". For example, Abram Powell Rudolph and his wife Elizabeth have been included because they were both born before 1820, but also included are their three daughters from "census family" No. 122 who were all three born after 1820. For every person included, the timeline gives their birth state or country, their estimated year of birth based on their age, where they resided in 1850, and all members of their census family. (The 1850 United State Federal Census was the first to list every member of the household individually, along with their state or country of birth and their age on the day the census taker visited the household).
The Rudolph Research Timeline now includes all Rudolphs in the available early tax lists of the Pennsylvania towns of Lower Darby, Upper Darby, Haverford, Middletown, Radnor, Tinicum and Upper Providence. The earliest Rudolph tax list entry is John Rudolph in Lower Darby in 1746. The tax list entries run through approximately 1815.

Our Circle of Ancestors

When we understand where we came from, we better understand and accept why we are who we are now. The circle of ancestors below can be a starting point.

Do you know the names of all eight of your great grandparents? Some of them may be below. Click any ancestor in the circle below to see their decendants.

Rudolph

Luongo

Baumgartner

Lepore

Lee

21st Birthday Celebration
for Ernest John Rudolph in 1903

Notice the painting on the wall
painted by Emma Louise Erskine,
the clock, dishes and glasses,
all of which have been handed down
unbroken through the years.

Sunderland

Hopkins

Nichols

Sullivan

Deslaurier

Dorsey

Grogan

Resources for Rudolph Family Historians

Below are some genealogy resources that you may find useful. Please send us others that you may know of:

Rudolph Research Timeline My known Rudolph ancestors resided in Southeastern Pennsylvania in the 1700s. In researching these ancestors, I have accumulated a repository of genealogy information on many of the Rudolphs, Rudulphs, Rudolfs, etc., of who lived in the Pennsylvania counties of Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester during the 1700 and 1800s. The timeline attempts to share that repository with other Rudolph researchers. This page is meant only as a finding-aid for other researchers. Most items listed here are not original records nor primary sources and should not be relied upon. They are presented here merely to save other researchers time or give clues for finding their own information. Hope you find something helpful here.
Rudolph Families is a list of Rudolph families and those researching them. i.e. other Rudolph genealogists. But the email addresses are all from 1998...

Most Wanted

Our research into our Rudolph line has not hit a brick wall. It's more of a stone wall to be scrambled over or an interesting puzzle to be solved! We could use your help.

The Rudolph oral history, as passed along by my paternal grandfather Robert Erskine Rudolph (1912 - 1983), is that there were three Thomas Rudolphs in succession who were caretakers of the Friends' Southwestern Burial Ground Quaker cemetery in Upper Darby, PA. The oldest of the three Thomas Rudolphs, born in 1793, is my 4th great-grandfather. He is mentioned in a biographical sketch included in A History of Delaware County Pennsylvania and Its People by John W. Jordan, Editor, Librarian of the Historical Society of PA, 1914. Thomas' portion of the biography is included below, or you can read the entire sketch by clicking here.

Thomas Rudolph was a farmer and drover, and became very prosperous, owning two farms in Springfield township. He married Hannah Powell and had children: Abraham, at first a farmer, then removed to Woodbury, New Jersey, where he engaged in the grocery business; Thomas, see forward; Hannah, married Joshua Longworth, and lived in Abington township; Mary, died young, unmarried; Sarah, married Joseph Longworth, a farmer.

The trail becomes harder to follow with Thomas' parents. We have some census records mentioning his possible parents John and Judith, who would have been born in approximately 1776. We have his 1816 marriage certificate when he married Hannah Powell from the Wilmington Delaware Quaker Monthly Meeting (a Quaker monthly meeting being a church, parish, congregation.) We believe that Thomas travelled from Pennsylvania to Wilmington, Delaware to marry Hannah, and that they then resided in Springfield, Pennsylvania immediately or soon after.

The 1816 marriage certificate mentions a Judith Rudolph attending the wedding, possibly Thomas' mother. There are numerous Powells listed as being in attendance and interestingly several Bonsals, the Bonsals being among the founding families of Darby and Upper Darby. The Bonsals of Darby are well researched and documented. The active genealogists in that family are very happy to help, especially Ruth Flounders. Some Flounders ancestors purchased the Springfield house of Thomas Rudolph mentioned in the biographical sketch above, and they have some pictures of the house.

So here's our "to do" list of next steps in researching our Rudolph line:

Try to find better source information on this oldest Thomas Rudolph and Hannah Powell who married in 1816. They are not buried in the Friends' Southwestern Burial Ground, even though their son was the caretaker there. This possibly implies that the oldest Thomas was not a Quaker, or that the timing of their passing was not when their son was caretaker.
Try to verify Thomas Rudolph's possible parents John and Judith who would have been born in approximately 1776 and possibly resided in Darby or Upper Darby.
Travel to Woodbury, NJ. Thomas' oldest son Abraham or Abram, moved to Woodbury, New Jersey. He married Elizabeth Dillon and they had three daughters, whom I don't believe any of which had any children. Abram being the oldest, may have been the recipient of any Rudolph family history information, particularly a family bible if the family kept one. Where would this family history information have ended up if it was in Abram's possession when he passed away and none of his children had any descendants? Woodbury, New Jersey has an excellent Gloucester County Historical Society that I have not had a chance to visit. But there is nothing lised in their Vertical Family Files online index on Rudolph, but there is a Dillon file...
Try to establish a well-documented link with the Rudulphs of early Darby especially a John Rudulph born in 1719.
Try to establish a well-documented link with the Rudolphs of Head of Elk, Cecil County, Maryland, especially Michael Rudulph/Rudolph of Prussia born 1696 immigrated to Cecil County, MD.

Any thoughts, research and particularly, documented sources, are greatly appreciated!

From the Photo Collection

John Mason Rudolph Sr.

Hopkins Family Reunion on August 10, 2024 at the residence of William Paul Sturm III

Three Nichols Women approximately 1933

Robert Erskine Rudolph (1890-1940)

Robert Erskine Rudolph (b. 1912) in the hardware store on Broadway in Baltimore, MD

John Mason Rudolph Sr.

Sullivan and Grogan Grandparents and Grandchildren - About 1965 - 58 Oakdale St, Wethersfield, CT

[View all photos]