Mayor Edward Eidt Ratz

Other Events:

• Elected Office: Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; alderman - Kitchener
• Name: E. E. Ratz
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-52104
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Saw Miller
• Occupation: 1911, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Bookkeeper, Forwell Foundry
• Residence: 1911, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelical
• Elected Office: 1927, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mayor - Kitchener
• Residence: 1934, 20 Betzner Ave., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Edward E. Ratz, 80, a former mayor of Kitchener and a partner in the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Service, died June 2 [grave marker is Dec. 2 1954]. He was a Kitchener Alderman from 1917 to 1925 and was mayor in 1927 and 1928. Henry E. Ratz, 77, former Waterloo mayor, alderman, warden, reeve and deputy reeve, died July 29, at his home, 63 Alexandra Ave., Waterloo. He possessed one of the longest civic records in the Twin Cities.

"Two Brother Mayors Died in 1954," Waterloo Historical Society, Volume 42 (1954), p. 42

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Edward E. Ratz, 80, a former mayor of Kitchener, and a partner in the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Service, died last night at K-W Hospital after a brief illness. Mr. Ratz, a resident of Kitchener for the past 46 years, lived at 20 Betzner Ave. He was born Oct. 22, 1874 at Gadshill, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ratz.
Was School Teacher

He taught school in his native village for three years before opening a combined furniture, funeral directing ad sawmill business in Wellesley. Later he operated sawmills throughout northern Ontario. He was manager of the old Forwell foundry in Kitchener for 12 years. From 1917 to 1925 he was a Kitchener alderman and he was mayor of the city in 1927 and 1928. He was a member of the PUC for several years. He was also chairman of the K-W Hospital Commission. He was a member of the Kitchener Kiwanis Club. Mr. Ratz was a member of Zion Evangelical UB Church and formerly a member of the finance board. At his death, he was a trustee of the church and vice-chairman of the board of administration. He taught Sunday school for more than 25 years. In 1927 he formed the Ratz-Ashcroft Funeral Service and in 1928 combined this with the Bechtel Funeral Service to form the Ratz-Bechtel firm.
Married Twice

Mr. Ratz was predeceased by his first wife the former Clara Fleischauer, in 1924. He married the former Bertha Miller Sept. 15, 1926. She survives. Also surviving is one sister, Mrs. Emma Sutter of Stratford. The body will be at the Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home until Sunday at 1 p.m. when removal will be made to Zion Church for funeral service at 2: 30 p.m., conducted by Rev. F. M. Faist, assisted by Rev. G. F. Barthel. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery

"E. E. Ratz, Funeral Firm Partner Dies," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, December 3, 1954, Third Page

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Hill & Ratz.

Here is a firm that conducts as large a business as any other two men in the county. They have a large saw and planing mill, furniture factory and undertaking establishment. They also manufacture sash, doors, blinds, etc. In fact, they are prepared to turn out everything in the wood line required in the building of a house and furnishing it. They also manufacture cheese boxes. Their establishment is equipped with the most modern and up-to-date machinery. Their large wareroom, a short distance from the factory and saw mill, is filled to its utmost capacity with parlor and bedroom sets and other household furniture. They have probably as large and fine a display of the latest styles of furniture as you will find anywhere in the county. In the display is a bedstead that particularly attracted the attention of the writer It was made entirely by Land by one of their workmen. It is an exquisite piece of work, the carving especially showing the taste of a skilled mechanic The undertaking department is supplied with everything necessary for the proper burial of the dead. Messre. Hill & Ratz are energetic young business men, and in the course of a year turn out a vast amount of lumber and furnish the material for a large number of residences throughout this section They also have a fine trade in the furniture line They also deal in shingles, of which they sell many thousands. Mr. Ratz, who was formerly a school teacher, came in as a partner with Mr. Hill last January, has just about completed a handsome, commodious residence in the immediate neighborhood of their works. In locking over their premises I became somewhat surprised, as I was under the impression that a village of not more than eight hundred inhabitants could not afford a manufacturing industry of the extent of that of Messre. Hill & Ratz The saw mill was established by Menno Bechtel in 1876, and who also operated a steam mill. The saw mill still has a large patronage and thousands of logs are annually converted into timber.

Waterloo County Chronicle, 14 Jul 1898, p. 8

Edward married Bertha Miller 15 Sep 1926, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada. Bertha (daughter of Heinrich "Henry" Miller and Elizabeth Barbara Welz) was born 12 Jul 1883, Milverton, Mornington Twp., Perth Co., Ontario; died 2 Apr 1955; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Edward — Clara L. Fleischauer. Clara (daughter of Fleischauer) was born 12 Dec 1873, , Ontario, Canada; died 30 Aug 1924; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-165523
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelist

Notes:

Henry Ratz owned and operated a sawmill at Gads Hill, north of Stratford. He had been born during the voyage of his parents to Canada in 1828, from Hessen, Germany. When his parents arrived in Waterloo County his father, Valentine Ratz, opened a blacksmith's shop in Waterloo and his mother, Anna Gertrude, contributed to the family income by knitting items of clothing to sell to her neighbours. The first small family sawmill was opened at St. Jacobs, and then a larger mill at Gads Hill which in time was operated by Henry....


Woman of Waterloo County edited by Ruth Russell

Henry — Christina Eidt. Christina (daughter of Johannes "John" Eidt and Maria Christina "Christina" Stiebing) was born 30 Jun 1834, , Hesse-Cassel, Germany; died 31 Oct 1887, Gadshill, North Easthope Twp., Perth Co., Ontario. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Christina Ratz
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-74146
• Residence: 1851, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-43182
• Birth: CALC 19 Aug 1798, , Germany
• Occupation: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelist
• Occupation: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelist
• Occupation: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Blacksmith
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesleyan Methodist

Notes:

...Valentine Ratz, opened a blacksmith's shop in Waterloo and his mother [wife], Anna Gertrude, contributed to the family income by knitting items of clothing to sell to her neighbours. The first small family sawmill was opened at St. Jacobs, and then a larger mill at Gads Hill which in time was operated by Henry....


Woman of Waterloo County edited by Ruth Russell

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Valentine Ratz, the forebear of numerous millers, built a sawmill west of the village on the Conestoga River in 1844. Jacob C. Snider, in 1848, bought a farm on the south side of the Conestoga and after constructing a dam across the river, erected a saw-mill, a flour-mill, and a woollen-mill. Those industries attracted more mechanics and stores. In 1852 the village was named St. Jacobs after Mr. Snider. The "Saint" was added to his first name "for the sake of euphony." He sold the mills to his son Jacob in 1855. From 1856 until 1870 there were five different owners. In December of 1870 E. W. B. Snider purchased the flour-mill and operated it till 1917, when he sold the enterprise to W. W. Snider, who incor-porated the business as the Snider Flour Milling Company. The latter later sold the business to Walter J. Snider of Conestoga, whose heirs still operate it.


Waterloo Hitorical Society, Annual Volume 1933 pg 20

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It is reported that Valentine was born in Grebenau, Vogelsbergkreis, Hessen, Germany, no source yet

Valentine — Anna Gertrute "Gertrude" Lanz. Anna was born 2 May 1798, , Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany; died 14 Jul 1872, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Wilmot Centre (Geiger) Cemetery, Wilmot Township, Waterloo Region, Ontario. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Anna Gertrute "Gertrude" Ratz
• Name: Garhutte Lanz
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-43183
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelist
• Residence: 1861, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelist
• Residence: 1871, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesleyan Methodist

Notes:

Gertrude's mother died on board the ship coming to North America in 1828. Her name was Anna Gertraud Fleischauer wife of Jacob Lanz

Other Events:

• Birth: , Hesse-Cassel, Germany
• Birth: , Hesse-Cassel, Germany
• Name: John Eidt
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-124686
• Occupation: 1851, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1851, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite

Notes:

John is reportedly born in Hatterode, Hessen, Germany, documentation needed

Johannes — Maria Christina "Christina" Stiebing. Maria was born 1800, , Hessen, Germany; died 7 Sep 1883, Ellice Township, Perth Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Oetzel Evangelical Cemetery, Ratzburg, North Easthope Twp, Perth Co., Ontario. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Christina Stiebing
• Name: Maria Christina "Christina" Eidt
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-124685
• Residence: 1851, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite
• Occupation: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Yeoman
• Residence: 1861, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelical Methodist

Notes:

Maria Christina reportedly was born in Hatterode, Hessen, Germany, documentation needed.

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-45204

Johannes — Anna Margaretha "Margaret" Thamer. Anna was born 1777, Hatterode, , Hessen, Germany; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Anna Margaretha "Margaret" Eidt
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-47951
• Residence: 1851, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mennonite