Individual Notes

Note for: Robert Ray Rittenhouse, 23 May 1896 - 25 Jun 1951 Index

Nickname:   Bob

Birth Note: Source:    Signatures of Louise J. Rittenhouse, Robert R. Rittenhouse, and F. A. Rittenhouse on document. Also included in file are: (1) List of notes for Robert Rittenhouse, April 15, 1915 - to Dec 21, 1916,in account with law offices of F. A. Rittenhouse, Johnson Building, Chandler, Oklahoma; and (2) similar list for Aug. 16, 1916 through May 1917 with some notes from 1914 also included; and (3) one note from Geo. B. Rittenhouse and two notes from F. A. Rittenhouse to Robert R. Rittenhouse, marked paid.

Individual Note:
     ~TEMPLE WORK: David Allen LaForge, former husband of Judith Rittenhouse (then Judith Lamb LaForge) did endowment work for Robert. Ref 8134502 32 S/N 00102-8 072 73.

PAPERS: Obituary, some papers, and several books of poems in possession of Judith Lamb Rittenhouse Carpenter, 2434 E. Contessa St., Mesa, AZ 85213-7706

DEATH: Died at Veterans Administration Hospital at Sulfur, Oklahoma.

AFN: Robert Ray Rittenhouse is also on Ancestral File as AFN 1796-QZ, Endowment same but Sealed to Parents as 29 April 1982. Spouse Gladis Mary McMurdo.

MARRIAGES: Robert Ray Rittenhouse was married seven times to five different wives. Here's the scoop from Elizabeth Rittenhouse Lamb to her daughter Judith for me privately:
#1. Gladis Mary McMurdo, divorced and married #2.
#2. (I can't remember her name) div. her and remarried wife #1.
#3. Gladis Mary McMurdo, wife #1 (div her and remarried wife #2).
#4. Wife #2. Div. her.
#5. Jessie Lee (age 19) her mother and five brothers and sisters came to live with them. Uncle Bob soon div. her.
#6. Corrie ___? (x-wife of one of his clients who was in prison. The x-husband said he was going to kill Bob when he got out, so Bob divorced Corrie 6 mos. before her x husband's prison term was over.
#7. Edith ___, a school teacdher, the nicest wife he had. They were married when Daddy and I had our Oklahoma City wedding. Edith was his last wife.
      So Uncle Bob had 5 wives and seven marriages. After he div. Edith he never married again but had a girl friend living with him until he got sick with cancer of the kidney & Mother & Aunt Mig put him in a Vets Hospital at Sulphur, Oklahoma. He was age 52 when he died, about six months later (from entering the hosp.). Age 52 was given by Aunt Olive, Mother, & Aunt Mig. However, his birth and death dates show he was really 55.
     E-mail on 23 May 2006 to Judith from David Ellison, Thanks for straightening this out. One thing I might add: Mignon died 4 Jul 1948, her brother-in-law, Bob, died 25 Jun 1951 - almost two years later. I agree he would have been 55, but if Mignon helped put him in the hospital, he was there longer than 6 months. She was fairly sick herself, though kept it hidden to the end.
TIME LINE: 1896: Robert Ray was born 23 May 1896 in McCook, Red Willow, Nebraska.
        1900: Census of McCook, Red Willow, Nebraska says that Robert Rittenhouse is 4 years old, born May 1896 in Nebraska and living with his mother Louise Rittenhouse.
        1910: Census of Chandler, Lincoln, Oklahoma, on Marvel Avenue gives address of 1001?, dwelling 487, family 496, Rittenhouse, Louise, Head, F, W, 53, WD, 4 children, 4 living. She and both parents were born in Iowa. Austin, son, male, white, 26, single, born Neb., father born Ohio, mother born Iowa. Robert, son, M, W, 13, single, born Neb., father born Ohio, mother born Iowa.
        1917: World War I Draft Registration Card on June 5 for Robert R. Rittenhouse, age 21, living in Chandler, Okla. Born 23 May 1896. Natural born in McCook, Neb., U.S. Working as Law Clerk for State of Oklahoma, Adj. Gen's Office. Is a private in the OKNG (Oklahoma National Guard), for 2 years maybe 9.7 months. No one responsible for. Registrar's Report gives him as tall, medium build, brown eyes, brown hair, not bald. Any disabilities? No.
        1919: There is an envelope addressed from Olive Rittenhouse in Chandler, Oklahoma, to Mrs. L. J. (Louise Jane) Rittenhouse, Lebanon, Tennessee % Odium (?) APts., dated December 16, 1919. Letter inside is addressed to Grandmother and mentions, "Glad Robert is getting along well." Why did his mother go with him to college? Was that the thing to do?
        1920: Married Gladys M. McMurdo on 16 Oct 1920.
        ____: Sometime he married a Joe (sic) Catherine Richie of Okemah.
        1922: Graduated from Cumberland law school in 1922.
        1922: Certificate made out to R. R. Rittenhouse by the Western District of Oklahoma to certify that he is duly admitted and qualified as an Attorney and Counselor, Solicitor, Advocate and Proctor of said District Court on 16 Jan 1922.
        1923: Admitted to the bar. (Maybe the newspaper was off because we have the certificate in 1922 above.) Served in law firm with brothers George B. and F. Austin Rittenhouse in Chandler, Oklahoma.
        1925: A newspaper article about the death of G. B. Rittenhouse listed his brother Robert R. as living in Ponca City, OK at the time.
        1933-1948: Practiced law for 15 years in Oklahoma City before retiring three years ago.
        1949-1951: Sulphur Vets Hospital.
        1951: Frank Austin Rittenhouse's obituary on 27 Jan 1950 says he's survived by brother Robert R. Rittenhouse, Oklahoma City lawyer.
        1950: Lived in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Was in the Ardmore American Legion, Oklahoma Bar Association, Chandler Christian Church.
        1951: "Robert R. Rittenhouse City, Chandler Attorney Died" - News article on 25 June 1951 states that for the last two years he has been in the Sulphur Vets Hospital. He served overseas in World War I, graduated from Cumberland law school in 1922. Sulphur, Oklahoma,the county seat for Murray County, OK, is in the South Central part of the state.

WORLD WAR I: Dear Ms. Rittenhouse: Indeed, the 45th Infantry Division was not organized until 1923. The 45th Infantry Brigade came into being after the 45th Division was deactivated in 1968. By law we can have no personnel records here. If your uncle was mobilized then his records will be maintained at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis Mo. The link below will get you to their site. Follow the links to the SF - 180 (Request for Military Personnel Records). Please be advised that a fire at that facility in 1973 destroyed 80% of the WWII records, and some WW1 records. . If you know in which county of what State he lived in after the war, you might contact the county seat and inquire if he filed a copy of his documents there. All soldiers are encouraged to do so. Good luck, Michael E. Gonzales, Curatorwww.45thdivisionmuseum.com
----- Original Message ----- From: Judith Rittenhouse To: curator@45thdivisionmuseum.com Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 12:44 AM Subject: Robert Ray Rittenhouse Dear Mr. Gonzales, I have been researching one of my grand uncles whose World War I Draft Registration Card said he was a Private in the Oklahoma National Guard, serving as a law clerk in the State of Oklahoma’s Adjutant General’s Office on 6-5-1917. I was trying to find out more about Robert Ray Rittenhouse’s National Guard Unit and thought it might be the 45th Infantry Brigade. I found the history of that unit and from that I see that the 45th Infantry Division was not organized until 1923. Robert was living in Chandler, Oklahoma, in 1917, and his obituary said he saw service overseas for the war. I’d love to know where he served overseas, etc. Any help you can give me in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely yours, Judith Rittenhouse jrittenhouse@cox.net