Zeb Rudolph

Arabella Mason Rudolph and Zeb Rudolph

NPS

Quick Facts

Significance:

Father of First Lady Lucretia Garfield

Place of Birth:

Shenandoah, Virginia

Date of Birth:

February 28, 1803

Place of Death:

Daughter's home- Mentor, Ohio

Date of Death:

October 20, 1897

Place of Burial:

Hiram, Portage County, Ohio

Cemetery Name:

Fairview Cemetery

Zeb Rudolph was born in Shenandoah, Virginia on February 23, 1803. His parents were John Rudolph and Susan Griffith Rudolph. His family moved from Virginia to a farm one mile north of Garrettsville, Ohio in 1806, and were among the first settlers in the area. Not much is known about his schooling, but it is believed he got his studious disposition from Susan, his mother.

Like many of the young men of his time, Zeb became a farmer, but also learned the carpenter and joiners trade. What is a joiner? It is a form of carpentry that cuts and fits joints in wood without metal fasteners, screws or nails. Zeb was equally at home behind a plow and at a carpenter’s bench. Zeb’s parents were charter members of the Bethesda Baptist Church and Zeb became a member in 1823, at age 20. He could read both Testaments in the original languages: Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. The Disciples of Christ formally organized in Mantua in January 1827, and six of the nine original members were from the Rudolph family. 

In October of 1830, Zeb married Arabella Mason, daughter of a Hiram pioneer. The couple would have four children together: Lucretia in 1832, John in 1835, Joseph in 1841, and Ellen in 1845. 

On June 12, 1849, representatives of the Disciples of Christ voted to establish an academic institution, and Zeb Rudolph was one of the trustees. He was also in charge of the building committee, overseeing the carpentry, and was one of the workmen himself. They would choose the village of Hiram as the site for the school because the founders considered this area of the Western Reserve to be "healthful and free of distractions." The school opened for the Fall term of 1850.  The Rudolph family moved from their Garrettsville farm to Hiram, closer to the college – at the insistence of Arabella, so that her children would have the opportunity to be well educated.  Many of the students came from the surrounding farms and villages of the Western Reserve. Hiram soon gained a national reputation and students began arriving from other states. It was at this school that Zeb's daughter, Lucretia, would cross paths a second time with her future husband, James A. Garfield. For many years, the Rudolphs would open their home as a sort of boarding house for the students. 

In 1879, Arabella died at the age 69. Zeb moved into the home of his daughter, Lucretia, at her farm in Mentor, Ohio where he would help the family run the farm. He lived in the home until his death on Oct. 20, 1897 at the age of 94. He and his wife Arabella are buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Hiram, Ohio.