Is anyone working on the Rodenberg name in Richmond around 1870? Supposedly, my great
grandfather, Frank Leebrick, who was raised in Dublin, Indiana proposed marriage to a
girl, Fannie Rodenberg, of Richmond about 1870. He shared with her his dreams of going to
Kansas, getting cheap land and becoming a great rancher. Fannie's parents refused to
allow the marriage, saying she could do better than a dirt farmer. Whereupon, Frank up
and moved out to Kansas anyway, alone. He married another girl out on the prairie and
they lived happily until her in 1940.
As fate would have it, Fannie had also gotten married, to a Mr. Toland, and after a long
marriage in the Chicago area, he passed away. Fannie began inquiring of the whereabouts
of my great grandfather, and after a miraculous series of post office mail forwardings,
her letter reached my recently bereaved great grandfather. He got on the next train to
Chicago, and they were married a few days later. The marriage was covered by the Kansas
City Star and several Chicago papers. They got to enjoy a few years of married life as
senior citizens before they both died.
Anyway, I'd like to know more about Fannie's family. Presumably, she was about 20
in 1870. Any leads?
Dave Leebrick Farm Kid at Heart