History

When we refer to Germans, we must be certain that we understand that German means people who spoke. German, but not necessarily people who came from Germany because Germany as a nation did not exist until Bismarck established the nation of Germany in 1871. Prior to that date the word German simply meant ethnic groups of people who spoke not only some type of the German language but who lived in duchies and small kingdoms, such as the Hessians or the Prussians. The victory over other language speaking peoples gave the German-speaking people not only an ethnic identity but also a language cohesive identity. These identities did not, however, at any time rule out people thinking themselves Germans and being proud of it. The term German came from the Latin, Germani. Die Deutsche is the name for the Germans for the last 500 years.

My Ruge family came to America in 1884 and worked in farming in the state of Wisconsin (Marathon Co.) but finally settled in Chicago, IL in 1910.

 

 

Name Origin

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Spellings & Pronunciations

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Nationality & Ethnicity

Our Ruge family came from Walkendorf, Germany. 

Famous People named Ruge

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Early Ruges

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