I received this email on June 4, 2011:

I am Kenneth Henderson, grandson of Kenneth Unruh, and i found your sight and address on genealogy sight and was hoping to ask some questions/get more info about the Unruh’s. According to the stories in our family great (great?) grandpa Jake was smuggled out of Russia in a fishing boat and that how we came to America. My Unruh side is from Kansas, and moved out to California when my grandpa was young. His parents were Rudolph and Rosa. They were all native German speakers. In fact my grandpa didn’t speak English until he was 5. Sadly he lost the language and forgot it, but always got a dreamy look in his eye when I spoke it for him. I’m hoping you might be a link to learn more about my German/Unruh ancestry. If you have time please get back to me and perhaps we can share notes?

My reply:

Thanks for the email. I’ll take a look at my information and see if I can find your family. Off the top of my head I don’t remember a Rudolph and Rosa Unruh, but I do have passenger lists that list many Unruhs who immigrated from Russian Poland to Kansas. I know my grandmother, Ruby Unruh, spoke what she called “low German” until she was five also. She had a nephew named Kenneth Unruh, but his parents were named Henry and Katherine.

From Kenneth:

Thank you for getting back to me. Actually the grandparent that immigrated was Jake Unruh, his son was Rudolph who married Rosa and had my grandpa Kenneth. Also something about twin cousins? Herman and Harold I think? If not closely related could we be a extension of clan Unruh? Any info would be great.

I had no additional info, but anyone who does can contact me and I’ll pass it along.

Thanks for reading!