David and Myrtle Rury

Compiled by Kenneth Rury, grandson of David Rury (Rev. 12/28/99) 

Amos Rury Family Photo, about 1914

David Rury is the middle child of 10 children (1902-1982). His father Amos Rury (1871-1943) was a coal miner and farmer in Southern Illinois. His mother Ida Johnson (1870-1953) was of Swedish descent. His grandfather and great grandfather Frederick Jr. (1824-1907) and Sr. (abt 1792-1865) came to America from Germany in 1839 immigrating through Louisiana and up the Mississippi to Steeleville, IL. It is still unclear whether Rury was the original spelling or whether it was something like Rürade. Since these early immigrants spoke German and didn’t write (at least not in English) it was left to others to phonetically spell their name. It was often spelled differently within the same document.      David and three of his brothers Frederick, Alfred and Oren would go North from Sparta, IL (near St. Louis) by train to Galena in the 1920-1950's as share croppers and then return. Would catch rides on the box car trains from Steeleville to Savanna, which was the end of the run at the time. David, Irene, Oren and Fred eventually moved near Galena and Savanna area during these years. Elmer remembers this was during the time when there was a Typhoid fever epidemic.       David only completed 2nd grade having to work in the mines after that. He never really learned to read or write very well. In later years his wife and son would take on keeping the financial records. In the summer David worked construction and in the winter hauled ammunition across the Mississippi from Iowa to the Savanna Ordnance Depot using a horse and wagon. He also farmed at various places. One of those places was the Ford farm which was located next to the Trevethan's where he met Myrtle. He sold his car and bought a horse and other livestock and a older car so he could start farming and get married.      David Rury (26) married Myrtle Trevethan (19) in 1928 at Council Hill, Gilford Twp, Jo Daviess, IL. Myrtle's sister Fannie was maid of honor and Myrtle was maid of honor at Fannie's wedding.      I know very little about Myrtle’s early years. Myrtle was born in Gratiot, WI in 1908 though both her parents were born in Apple River and owned farms in this same area. Due to some kind of sibling/family feud we rarely met Myrtle’s brothers and sisters. Myrtle’s father John Trevethan died young (1872-1930) and her mother Elizabeth Bonjour lived from (1872-1954).      David worked in construction and at a sawmill prior to farming. In 1929 David and his wife Myrtle started farming in Gilford Township. He sold a Model A Ford to buy a horse, cow, 2 sows and an old car. He also would borrow a horse from his brother Fred to make a team. If you don't recall 1929 was the year the Great Depression began. Being on the farm in those years was probably the best place to be and even then it was tough. People came out from Galena just to for for food on the farm. In 1933 they moved to and rented the Miller farm. Then in 1935 they began farming on Myrtle's mothers farm (Elizabeth Trevethan) near Council Hill.       David and Myrtle had two children Val born in 1931 and Joan born in 1943. In 1943 David moved from the Council Hill farm (grandmother Trevethan's farm of 200 acres) to the Schapville farm which was located about 2 miles east of Schapville and 7 miles North of Elizabeth in Thompson TWP. David loved to fish on the Elizabeth farm and through the years taught his grandkids to fish and catch crawdads.      In April 1958, David Rury rented the Elizabeth farm to his son Val, who later bought it. David's health was not well and needed something that required less work. David bought a 15-acre farm located in the middle of Schapville from Anton Schap (namesake of Schapville). Schapville is between Elizabeth and Scales Mound and east of Galena, IL. The farm had gas pumps, an old blacksmith shop and in the upstairs they had even made coffins. The gas pumps were later removed. David raised pigs. When David retired from farming they turned the blacksmith shop into a grocery store and feed store called DAVID RURY FEED in the 60's. The phone number was 29R32 and the switchboard system was operated by a lady from her house just south of the store. They carried a wide variety from penny candy, ice cream, bread and other food stock to grain made out of kelp, salt blocks, Manamar feeds, twine and other farm necessities. People met there to warm up around the potbelly stove, tell stories, and play cards and gossip. Later on David sold all of the livestock and concentrated on the store. They eventually retired there.  Rury Store & most of the town, Schapville Illinois They had a camper that they kept at Leisure Lake outside Dubuque, IA, which they used to vacation to and go fishing. They sold the Rury Store and house in 1974 and bought a mobile home at Leisure Lake to retire at. It was during this time that Grandpa had gotten an infection in his toe, which ended up with a leg being amputated in 1976 and several years later his other leg was amputated. Grandpa didn't let this stop him and he still would get in his boat to go fishing and even flew to Washington in 1978 for his granddaughter Kim’s wedding. They moved to Maquoketa, Iowa in 1977 to be near their daughter Joan and hospital in Maquoketa, IA. In 1978 they had a 50th Anniversary party in Preston, IA. David died at 80 in 1982 and Myrtle at 82 in 1991.      Val Edward Rury was born in 1931 in Gilford Township, Scales Mound, IL. Val was very smart and was promoted from 4th to 6th Grade. He attended the Ford School and the Council Hill one-room schoolhouse located between Galena and Scales Mound to his Freshmen year. Val walked to Elizabeth for his Sophomore school year from the Schapville farm (7 miles). Val completed school by taking his GED. Val worked on his dad’s Elizabeth farm (near Schapville) and at a restaurant as a child. He ran away from home and worked on the railroad as a Candy Dancer and also at the Savanna Ordinance Depot doing construction.       Joan, (daughter of David and Myrtle Rury) lived on the Elizabeth farm from infant (1943) to 15 years old (1958) when they moved to the Schapville store. She was part of a 4H type club and had her own cow that her dad gave her. She had to milk it and keep track of how much milk the cow gave. She remembers hiding in an old house behind the barn whenever her mom wants to brush her hair. Joan had long hair and it was a lot of work brushing, curling and keeping it nice. There was an old house behind the barn that was made out of mud and straw and was not in very good shape. David would store hay or feed in the basement of this house. There was a great climbing tree next to it. Joan didn't swim in the rivers, because they were too shallow then. Later her father David bought 150 more acres below the river and from the main road to the cow paths and did some rerouting of the river. This caused a better swimming hole to form where the two rivers met. Joan would trap animals like skunk, muskrat, and raccoon along the river with her dad. Joan told about a cow that didn't like her and trapped her one-day behind a beam. Val her brother climbed through the cow’s legs to rescue her.      Joan and Val are 12 years apart. Joan says there is very little she remembers of Val as a child, because by the time she was old enough to know him he was leaving home for the Air Force and getting married in New Mexico. Joan remembers having ration cards and still has some. Joan attended 1st through 3rd grade (1949-55) at the Schapville School which was a single room school located down the hill from the Rury Store and Lutheran church and across the bridge. Joan then attended the Hickory Grove school from 4th through 6th grade (1952-55). The Hickory Grove school is located on the Elizabeth-Scales Mound Road across the street from where Skip Schwerdtfeger lives today. It still resembles a school but has been used as farm equipment storage shed since the 1960's. Joan went to Elizabeth Elementary for 7th grade (1956) and then to Scales Mound for High School.      Val joined the Air Force at the age of 20, Nov 1951-1955 and was stationed in San Antonio, Basic Lackland AFB and attended diesel school in Longview, Texas and electrical school in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Assigned to the Kirkland AFB as an Aircraft Electrician. Sept. 1953-June 1954 stationed at Eniwetok, Atol, in the Marshal Islands for the hydrogen bomb test. Worked at an aircraft battery shop as an Aircraft Electrician. Val married Anelle Bagley in Albuquerque, NM in 1953 and their first child Kim as born in New Mexico in 1955 before Val returned home to take over the family dairy farm in Elizabeth, IL from 1955 to 1977.      They raised 6 children Kim (1955), Kevin (1957), Karen (1959), Kraig (1961), and twins Kile and Ken (1963) on that farm. They also raised 3 foster children for several years - Donna & Linda Lawrence lived with them during their high schools years and Clark Spangler lived with them for a short period and helped with the farm work. Donna and Linda did much to help take care of the younger children and also helped farm. Not easy raising 6 kids, but add farming to that and it seems like an almost impossible task. Anelle wrote this about a year after the twins were born. "We had a week or two of 20 below weather. It takes a lot of time to dress the kids for school... The kids have been fine. They are getting so big & rough. They are about to tear the house down these days when they can't get out. The twins are getting worse about getting into things. I am thinking about tying them in one spot so I can keep track of them. I sure need to sew but just can't, the twins get into things when I am busy." It wasn’t easy being a farm wife with 6 children isolated from her relatives who lived in New Mexico. I don’t know how she did it. The boys attended Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts over the years in Elizabeth.      The Rury farm was a dairy, hog and tree farm nestled between three hills forming a 'Y' shaped valley with the Mill creek coming down one valley and the Furnace creek along the other valley, which blended together in the middle of the property. It contained catfish, bullheads, bass, sunfish, crawdads, turtles, water spiders, water snakes and other various creatures. It was the best swimming hole. The cows would go out to pasture and walk along the river. The kids would bring the cows in for milking and would often have to be whistled in by Anelle's famous whistle, which could be heard for miles. Tornados were a frequent occurrence in the valley, often taking down trees and moving buildings around.      In addition to farming Val was a partner of B&V Construction (Bill & Val) from 1971-1976. Mainly house renovations, but did some work in Champaign on a larger building. His biggest construction injury occurred though working on his house in late 1972 or early 1973. He fell off the back of the house on to a cement pad and broke his jaw and some ribs with his pipe. He had to have his face wired up and eat through a straw. None of his children can hammer a straight nail or farm. I guess it’s not all in your genes.      One-year developers from Chicago approached Val to buy the farm to dam the rivers and make a lake. Val refused and they later bought another valley and called it Apple Canyon Lake. It was this same company who bought the farm in 1977 to store equipment. A piece of this property along the river where we used to have our campouts was later sold and a bed and breakfast was built there.      Val enjoyed hunting deer with old fashion muskets and bow and arrow. Friends from Chicago came out each year to go hunting. Labor Day we would all get together to camp by the river, visit, tell stories, sing songs and practice shooting clay pigeons and other targets. Memories of David and Myrtle Rury by Grandson Ken Rury:      Grandpa was a quiet man much like my dad is. If you wanted to learn about Grandpa you had to watch him. He made these marble toys that rolled a marble down a red wooden track back and forth until it reached the bottom. It was a simple toy, but it kept us kids busy for hours. Grandpa would spend hours preparing fishing lures, nurturing his worm bed and cultivating their garden. He loved to fish and catch crawdads and frequently took his grandchildren along. Some of us just didn't have the patients and preferred to swim instead. I remember buying ice cream like the big bomb, which was red, white and blue and is still sold today though I swear it’s a lot smaller and push ups of orange sherbet and Charleston chews. Soda pop was sold for 10 cents in the bottle and eaten with Planters Salted Peanuts was the perfect combination. I remember mowing their lawn, which had to be cut just the right way.      Grandma Myrtle always kept a clean house, with lots of doily cloths around and a glass china cabinet. We used to ring the house from the store on an old fashion crank phone and everybody had a party line and you could hear other people talk. Grandma had an artificial white Christmas tree with red and blue ornaments we would decorate each year. Very rarely we might spend the night there and I can remember the smell of the guest bedrooms. They smelled like an old antique, not a bad smell, but rooms that hadn't been touched in many years. Grandma loved to play cards like Canasta, Kings Corners, Rummy, Spite and Malice, Go Fish, Slap Jack and even Scrabble. As I look back she had a wonderful patience for us kids. I remember her teaching us how to make rhubarb pizza and cookies and often made us birthday cakes. Memories of David and Myrtle Rury by granddaughter Karen Rury:      Grandpa loved blue jays and squirrels. Grandpa always had a big garden in the back yard and remembers helping dig potatoes. Grandpa would keep potatoes in the cellar to plant the next year. I played cards with Grandpa and the neighboring farmers in the store in front of the potbelly stove and drink Pepsi and eat Planters Spanish peanuts. Grandpa used to pay us 25 cents to catch crawdads for bait and catch fish on the Apple River. Grandpa raised rabbits and pigs.      Grandma always taught us how to play cards and was ruthless at it. Grandma gave us $1 or 10 cents per age for our birthdays and one year gave me Noxima. Grandma made us all birthday cakes and the best-fried chicken. Myrtle would specially celebrate our golden birthdays, which was when I was eleven. Grandma would let me answer the door or run the cashier in the Rury store. Grandma loved Cardinals, always had fake flowers, nick knacks and doilies. Whenever I got to spend the night at grandmas she always let me have scrambled eggs for breakfast and chicken noodle soup for lunch, which were my favorite. Grandma kept a well-groomed circle of flowers in the middle of a very large yard. I used to mow the lawn.

Val Rury Family Reunion Photo, 1992

{Kevin, Phoung, Kevin Jr}, {Kim}, {Val, Anelle}, {Kraig, Sue}
{Teri, Kile}, {Ken, Janelle}, {Karen, Heather}

Schapville, IL area:      The head of one family named Schap, a farmer from Saxony, Germany, took, his family from the German countryside and migrated to America. They migrated west to a place in the wilderness of Jo Daviess County. Within a year it was called Schapville (1853), located 14 miles east of Galena, 6 miles south of Scales Mound and 9 miles north of Elizabeth and a little farther from Stockton. Schapville was a village of twenty-four houses, fifty people, two churches, and two cemeteries, Presbyterian and Lutheran. It hasn’t changed much since that time.      Illinois is west of Indiana and east of the Mississippi River. Chicago is its largest city with Springfield as the state capital. Jo Daviess County is in the very Northwest corner of Illinois. Over millions of years the shallow seas retreated leaving rich soil and lead bearing dolomite, which was carved into valleys and ridges. During the great ice drifts of North America nine-tenths of the ruggedness from the Illinois landscape was leveled out, but it bypassed Jo Daviess County leaving it hilly. The Latin word for lead gave Galena, the county seat, its name and its fame. The lead ran out and the gold rush of '49 lured people away, and Jo Daviess County settled into farming. Scales Mound, only ten miles away started as a stagecoach line. With Europe still shaken by the Napoleonic wars migration continued. English, Irish, and German families, wanting to be free of their remaining feudal obligations, migrated to the county.      Two wonderful books written by Archie Liberman describe the families and friends in the Schapville area. The first book was called Farm Boy, the second was called Neighbors, A Forty-Year Portrait of an American Farm Community. This second book has a picture of the DAVID RURY FEED store on the back with the people of Schapville. It also has a picture of Anelle Rury stitching a quilt. If you grew up in Jo Daviess County or find life on the farm and rural community interesting this is a wonderful book.