Many ROWE families in America descend from one common ancestor: Patatine German, Nicholas Rau, who arrived in America in 1710.
In my case I descend from this ancestor through two lines. One of these lines is a direct RAU/RAUH/ROWE line. This is my father's
direct line. But I also have a line of descent through my mother's line, the DUMOND line. This connection was recently discovered.
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Below is a map of the Palatine region of Germany and the city Oppenheim which plays an important part in the history of the
Rau/Steinkopf families. "Marriage of Niclaus Rau and Gertraud Steinkopf, 3 Jan 1696, in the Oppenheim Lutheran Church,
Oppenheim in the Pfaltz; Johann Rau of Hohen-Selsen in Grafschaft Falkenstein. Johann is listed as father of Niclaus."
From: THE PALATINE FAMILIES OF NEW YORK 1710 by Henry Z. Jones
The Rhine-Hesse's leading wine town is OPPENHEIM, midway along the rail line between Mainz and Worms. It has a hilly setting
just back from the river, and is full of half-timbered houses set in narrow little streets. At its highest point is the Katharinenkirche,
a grandiose church built over more than two centuries: the towers are Romanesque, the east end and transept early Gothic,
the nave high Gothic. As an afterthought, the west chancel, which has the appearance and dimensions of a self-contained church
in its own right, was added in late Gothic style. Inside, look for the Oppenheimer Rose, a fourteenth-century stained-glass
window with elaborate tracery, and for the many epitaphs to members of prominent local families.Immediately north of the church
is the Michaelskapelle, which incorporates a charnel house containing the bones of some 20,000 citizens.
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