From Iowa to Nebraska
As discussed in the Rupipers of Iowa page, seven children of Heinrich Wilhelm Rupiper and Maria Catharina Hoevener loaded their families onto a train in 1868 with the intention of settling in Nebraska. Not all of them made it that far, however, as a few of the siblings stopped and settled in Iowa, particularly in Carroll County. Four of the siblings, however, got off the train in Nebraska.
Frances Mary Rupiper and her husband Johann Heinrich Joseph Schumacher stayed in Bancroft County, NE, but I believe they soon moved back to Iowa.
Anna Maria Gertrude Rupiper was born 18 Feb 1843 in Suderwich, Prussia. In 1864, while living in New Vienna, Iowa, she married Herman Witte, who emigrated to America with his parents in 1844. Herman and Gertrude Witte homesteaded on a farm about one and a half miles east of Menominee, Cedar County, Nebraska. They had 12 children. After retiring from farming, the couple moved into the town of Menominee where they lived upstairs in the old school. Gertrude died in 1915 and Herman in 1925.
Mary Clara Rupiper, born in Iowa, married Henry Backman, who was born in Oldenburg, Germany and came to America at the age of 16. In his youth Henry had some adventures working on Missouri River Steamboats. The couple homesteaded near Menominee, NE and later moved to Bow Valley, NE; Green Island Bottom, NE; and Wynot, NE. The Backmans had 11 children.
Another Branch from Wisconsin
Besides the Rupiper siblings who moved West from Iowa, another Rupiper decided to make Nebraska his home, a cousin of theirs from Wisconsin. Joseph A. Rupiper was born Aloysius Joseph Rupiper in Recklinghausen, Prussia 22 Nov 1839. He was about six years old when he emigrated to America with his parents, Johann Henrich Wenceslaus Rupiper and Johanna Maria Nieman. They first settled in Cincinnati, OH and then in Waterford, Racine County, WI. Joseph A. Rupiper served in the 39th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. They were part of the forces assisting in the defense of Union-held Memphis, TN, in the Second Battle of Memphis, 21 Aug 1864. Joseph reached the rank of sergeant before being mustered out of service a month after the battle.
Joseph married Fidelia Mary Foat. They lived in Wisconsin until 1879, when they moved to Harvard, Clay County, NE. There Joseph opened a furniture and undertaking business. Joseph and Fidelia had one daughter, Josephine C. Rupiper, born in Wisconsin in 1863. She married Thomas H. Bennett, who took over Joseph’s business. As far as I know, Joseph A. Rupiper did not have any sons, so he left no Rupiper descendants in Clay County, only Bennetts.
South Dakota Rupipers
Henry John Rupiper, the son of John Rupiper and Elizabeth Lammers, lived most of his life on farms in Boyd County and Cedar County, NE. By the time of his death, however, at least one of his children, Clarence A. Rupiper, had moved across the Missouri River and established themselves in Yankton, South Dakota, where Henry John died. Clarence and his wife Bernadette Boehmer had nine children, resulting in a sizable branch of Rupiper descendants in the Yankton area.
Jerome John (Jerry) Rupiper, son of John J. Rupiper Jr. and Anna M. Werthman, also moved from Nebraska to Yankton, SD. Jerry Rupiper was a World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Plaque. He was a painting and decorating contractor for over 60 years and the owner of Jerry’s Color Center in Yankton.
Learn More
For a more extensive and detailed history of the Nebraska and Iowa Rupipers, download this pdf file: The Descendants of Heinrich Wilhelm Rupiper and Maria Catharina Hoevener
I have not included any footnotes within these historical essays. For information on my sources look up the names of individuals in my genealogical database. All source information is listed there.
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