From Barbara Leroy:
"I got this information from John Ruedger who was raised by the Blesch family after his parents, John and Margaretha (Gurrad) Ruedger, died in the 1880s. Mary Rosa Blesch (wife of Jacob Blesch) was a younger sister of Margaretha (Gurrad) Ruedger, and the youngest of the Gurrad family to reach adulthood. Their father (Mary Rosa and Margaretha) was Lenhardt Gurrad, who was a merchant of some kind in Europe, who traveled around. He was born in Alsace. When he came to the United States on 11 Jun 1846, he had a money bag full of gold! He used it to purchase a lot of land in south Cook County near what was then called Bremen Station, and is now Tinley Park. At least two of his sons, Francis and Mathias, enlisted and served during the Civil War-Francis being captured and sent to Andersonville Prison! One of Lenhart's sons, John, was a photographer, which is why I have so many Gurrad photos! As Lenhart and his wife, Anna Mary (nee Miller) grew older, they gave the farm over to Mathias. Anna Mary died around 1879; Lenhart passed 20 Jan 1882, leaving a substantial estate to be divided among his living children. The photo below is Lenhart himself.
--Photo and Comments from Barbara Leroy. June 2018.
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