Help finding marriage record

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aruffalo
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Help finding marriage record

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Hello! Coming here for a little help if people are able to. I am looking for a marriage record for my great-grandfather and my grandfather's mother so that I can find out what state to request the certificate from. I have access to Ancestry and have been searching every which way I know how. I am pretty sure they were married, but can't seem to find any record and was wondering if anybody might have suggestions on places to search and what to do. His name is Bennie V. Ruffalo (or Ruffolo) and her name is Doris E. Rittenhouse and they were probably married around 1930 but I have no proof at this point.

Also, if they were never married, does anyone know how to go about this for dual citizenship purposes??

Thanks in advance!
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johnnyonthespot
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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As a quick help, Ruffalo is not a valid Italian surname (well, it does not appear in modern Italy) whereas Ruffolo is somewhat common.
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aruffalo
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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johnnyonthespot wrote:As a quick help, Ruffalo is not a valid Italian surname (well, it does not appear in modern Italy) whereas Ruffolo is somewhat common.
Yep, I've looked under Ruffolo and her maiden name as well and didn't find anything. I know that he was still living at home during the 1930 census but my grandfather was born in 1934 so I am pretty sure they would have married between that time, although I don't know for sure at this point.
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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Have you figured out which of the many Ben* Ruffolo's on Ancestry is your great-grandfather? What was his year of birth? Where was he living during the 1930/1920/???? censuses?
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Esigente.
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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If either one of them were here before the 1930 census, most likely they are in a record somewhere. You have to work backwards. Were they born here? Where were their parent's from? There is an immigration record somewhere if one of them 9or family before them)immigrated. If he was living at home in 1930 and if the census takers didn't miss his residence he is somewhere in a census report. You have absolute no idea of where he was married?
What region of the country they lived?
If not you have some search intensive work to do.
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aruffalo
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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johnnyonthespot wrote:Have you figured out which of the many Ben* Ruffolo's on Ancestry is your great-grandfather? What was his year of birth? Where was he living during the 1930/1920/???? censuses?
Sorry, I should have included more info in my original post. Bennie V. Ruffalo, born Dec 1911 in Kenosha, WI and died 1986 in CA. I've only been able to locate him in the 1930 census in WI along with his parents and siblings and not anywhere else. Its also possible that he moved to Illinois between 1930 and 1934, but my grandfather was born in Kenosha so probably not likely.
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Esigente.
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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johnnyonthespot
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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aruffalo wrote:I've only been able to locate him in the 1930 census in WI along with his parents and siblings and not anywhere else.
Found this 1920 census at Ancestry . com.

Jim/James was a common anglicized name for Vincenzo/Vincent. Don't ask why - I suspect no onw knows - but we see it all the time. Rest of the names look good; Arthur's age may not be clear, but it says 2-8/12 meaning 2 years and 8 months.

Name: Jina Ruffalo
[Jim Ruffalo]
Home in 1920: Kenosha Ward 4, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Age: 34 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1886
Birthplace: Italy
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Helen
Father's Birth Place: Italy
Mother's Birth Place: Italy
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Rent
Year of Immigration: 1908
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 393
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Jina Ruffalo 34
Helen Ruffalo 33
Frances Ruffalo 10
Benny Ruffalo 8
Jakie Ruffalo 7
Frakie Ruffalo 6
Arthur Ruffalo 2 8/12
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johnnyonthespot
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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Do you know anything more about Doris Rittenhouse? Siblings? Parents?

I found only a few likely candidates at Ancestry . com, the earliest born in 1917 (resident in California in 1930, another in Georgia, and a third in Arizona) which would make a 1930-ish marriage unlikely.

Anyway, if we can figure out where Doris lived, there would be I think a 50-50 chance that she married there as well. Women - especially young women - nearly always wed in their home towns it seems.
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aruffalo
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Re: Help finding marriage record

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johnnyonthespot wrote:Do you know anything more about Doris Rittenhouse? Siblings? Parents?

I found only a few likely candidates at Ancestry . com, the earliest born in 1917 (resident in California in 1930, another in Georgia, and a third in Arizona) which would make a 1930-ish marriage unlikely.

Anyway, if we can figure out where Doris lived, there would be I think a 50-50 chance that she married there as well. Women - especially young women - nearly always wed in their home towns it seems.
Hi Johnny, thanks for your replies (and sorry mine have taken so long). Unfortunately, the post above is not the correct family, but thank you for the advice in the other thread about the requirement and the consulate. I may try to contact them to see what they say.

The only information that I have on Doris is from my grandfather's birth certificate which lists her birthplace as Nebraska and her age 17. The California one you found might make sense, but since my grandfather was born in WI, that seems like a lot of travelling for her at such a young age and being pregnant. The certificate also says that he was the second child, so it might even be possible that they were either married when she was 15/16 or that they didn't marry until after she turned 18 (or possibly never officially married). I'm also still trying to find family members who might know or have documents, but no such luck still. Sigh, so frustrating as this is the last piece of the puzzle.
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Re: Help finding marriage record

Post by LRuffalo »

Doris was my grandmother. She was my father's mother and Rittenhouse was not her real last name. She was born in Nebraska.
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