From: Barbara Hill
Subject: [REDWINE] "Sir Russ Redwine (Rhotwein)" fable
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 22:37:19 -0800
Dear Redwine researchers,

I thought that the book by Martha Redwine Nelson ("Redwine: Ancestors and
Descendants of John and Sarah and Other Redwines") would have finally put
to rest the silly fable about some purported "Sir Russ Redwine" (or
Rhotwein) who was knighted by Frederick the Whatever of Prussia, as having
been the family progenitor.

But alas, a search of the WorldConnect Project at Rootsweb.com still brings
up a lot of databases which have bought into this nonsense, including
something about his son "Frederick Redwine" and wife "Barbara Stoner"
having been the parents of Jacob Redwine, the Revolutionary War veteran who
was born in 1751, died 1840 in Coweta County, Georgia. I guess those
database owners are not REDWINE-L subscribers.

Nelson's book clearly shows that Jacob's father was named (originally)
Ludwig RIETHWEIL (or "READWILE") and that the name evolved (or devolved?)
into "Lewis Redwile" and then "Redwine." (Ludwig in German is Lewis/Louis
in English.) Her book includes photocopies of Bible pages showing the
evolution of the surname, and a copy of Ludwig/Lewis's will naming his son
Jacob among others.

Ludwig was indeed married to a woman named Barbara, last name
unknown. Maybe it was STONER as per legend, or maybe it was STEINER which
would have been probably the German equivalent and more likely. But it is
not known whether this Barbara was the mother of all of Ludwig's children
(five known).

The surname RIETHWEIL in turn seems to have been shortened from
"RIETHWEILER" in Germany. This surname means "someone who comes from
Riethweil." There just happens to be such a place - Riethweil - in
Switzerland. You can find it on a good map. "Rieth" is German for "reed"
and "weil" is a peculiarly Swiss-German dialect form of the old Latin word
"villa" meaning a village or town. I once mentioned the place name
Riethweil to a Swiss citizen, and he said he had been there, and that it is
located in a swampy or marshy area (thus "reed village"). This origin of
the surname would seem to match the origins of the Palatinate Germans, who
were largely of Swiss origin and who moved into the upper Rhine Valley of
Germany after its population had been decimated by war (if I recall
correctly). Martha Redwine Nelson's book has lots more information but it
was published in 1990 and may be out of print and I don't know if she is
still around. Most of it follows her own line, but the first 50 pages are
of interest to all Redwine descendants.

Nelson's book shows that a Ludwig "Readwile" was a passenger on the Ship
Osgood which arrived in Philadelphia on 29 September 1750. She reproduces
his name on the ship's list, just above a fellow passenger, Johann Michael
"Riethweill." Both men took the oath of allegiance to King George II on
29 September 1750. Furthermore, an account of the voyage has been
published as "Journey to Pennsylvania" by another fellow passenger,
Gottlieb MITTLEBERGER. Check your local public library for help; it's a
slightly well-known historical work. (If that spelling doesn't work, try
Gottlieb MITTELBERGER or even MITTELBURGER, I don't know the correct
spelling.)

Census records indicate that there was a Frederic(k) Redwine indeed, in
Montgomery Co., NC in 1790, but his relationship to Jacob is not clear. He
could have been the ancestor of other Redwines, I don't deny that. He just
wasn't Jacob's father and I doubt that he was born in 1699 as the legend
seems to say. That would make him 91 years old in 1790 which wasn't likely
at that time.

Can anything be done to clear up and correct this ridiculous legend? The
Internet is said to be dangerous to good genealogy because it can spread
misinformation like lightning. Well, it can spread corrections too, though
no doubt more slowly. If there is a definitive website that anyone knows
about which contains the correct information, plus definitive proofs, maybe
we can all make a project of gently steering the people who have
unwittingly believed in the old legend to that site, and hope they will
correct and update their databases.

How about it, subscribers?