Rau

Sometime in the mid-19th century, John Peter Rau, from Hesse, Germany, immigrated to Ontario. He married Marianne Schneider, who had arrived in the port of New York in 24 Aug 1832, and made her way to Ontario from there. Marianne’s family was likely from Alsace, a cultural and historical region in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland.

John and Marianne’s son, Henry Rau, was born on 2 August 1869 in Drysdale, Ontario. He married Philomene Laporte on 17 January 1893. They had 12 children in 23 years. He died on 6 August 1933 in Huron, Ontario, at the age of 64, and was buried in his hometown.