Rauch and Titche Family Postcards (Z/2399)

Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Rauch and Titche Family Postcards (Z/2399).
Creator/Collector: Abe Rauch.
Date(s): 1910-1947.
Size: 0.30 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff, Laura Heller, 2023.
Provenance: Gift of Les Burson of Bakersfield, CA, in 2023; Z/U/2023.053.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: Rauch and Titche Family Postcards (Z/2399), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

Biography:

Rauch Family

Ellis “Coleman” Rauch and his wife Mena “Minnie” Rosenthal of Austria settled in Shelby County, Tennessee. The couple had children: Harry Rauch, Lena Rauch, Louis Rauch, Abraham “Abe” Lincoln Rauch, Eva Rauch, Sarah Rauch, Pauline Rauch, Samuel Rauch, and Anna Rauch.

Ten postcards were addressed to Abraham “Abe” Lincoln Rauch between September 1910 and November 1915. Abe was born on February 22, 1889, and lived in Mobile, Alabama, and in Memphis, Tennessee when he received these postcards from friends and family. The archivist has not been able to identify the postcard authors. In 1917, Abe worked as the chief of the railroad yard for the New York Central Railroad in Memphis. He was known as a lumberman when he established the Continental Lumber Company in Argentina, where he lived and worked for about 12 years before moving to Chicago for a short time. He returned to live and work in Memphis during World War II, working as an assistant manager of Wholesale Produce Company. Abe died May 8, 1959, in Memphis, and is buried in the Temple Israel Cemetery in that city.

Pauline Rauch, Abe’s sister, received three postcards possibly from her brother Louis Rauch. She was also living in Memphis when she received this correspondence in 1912-1913. Pauline Rauch was born about 1896, and Louis Rauch was born about 1887.

Abe’s other sister, Eva Rauch, was born on February 20, 1891, in Memphis, and she would later marry Claude August Titche in 1922. She died on January 2, 1972, and she was buried in the Temple Israel Cemetery in Memphis alongside her husband and near other Rauch family members.

Titche Family

The Titche family originates with Abraham “Abe” Titche who was born in 1847 in Venningen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He used the German Teutsch as his surname until 1877. He married in 1882 to Ida Levi/Levy, who was born around 1862. The couple’s children include Harold Marx Titche (1884-1930), Rosa Titche (1886-1975), Herbert Jacob Titche (1902-1959), and Claude August Titche, Sr.

Claude August Titche, Sr., was born on March 9, 1888, in Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi. On June 14, 1922, he married Eva Rauch. The couple had three children: Claude August Titche, Jr. (1928-1979), Ellis M. Titche (circa 1923-), and Aileen Louise Titche (1926-2020). Claude, Sr. died on October 8, 1979, in Memphis. His son and namesake Claude August Titche, Jr., was born on March 21, 1928, in Memphis. Claude, Jr., enlisted in the United States military forces on October 12, 1950, until he was discharged from service on October 8, 1952. Either Claude Sr. or Claude Jr. may have worked as an accountant for the American Snuff Company.

Scope and Content Note:

This collection of thirty postcards primarily concerns the Rauch family of Memphis, Tennessee, and the Titche family from Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi. The two families intersect with the marriage of Claude August Titche to Eva Rauch. The postcards are addressed to Abraham “Abe” Rauch, Pauline Rauch, Eva Rauch Titche (Mrs. Claude A. Titche), and Claude August Titche, all of whom lived primarily in Memphis at the time they received the postcard.

Series Identification:

Series 1: Postcards to Abraham “Abe” Lincoln Rauch, 1910-1915.
Ten postcards are addressed to Abe Rauch of Mobile, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. One postcard is addressed to Abe in care of Rauch Produce Company. Nine of the postcards are sent from residents of Corinth, Tupelo, Meridian, Starkville, and Columbus, Mississippi, and one postcard from Atlanta, Georgia. Often the photographic postcard features a building or place from the addresser.

Box 1, Folder 1

Series 2: Postcards to Pauline Rauch, 1912-1913.
Three postcards are addressed to Pauline Rauch from a Louis, postmarked from three towns in Mississippi: Ackerman, Houston, and Tupelo. It is assumed that the addresser may be Pauline’s brother Louis Rauch. Often the photographic postcard features a building or place from the addresser.

Box 1, Folder 2

Series 3: Postcards to Mr. and Mrs. Claude August Titche, 1911; 1935-1947.
Fourteen postcards are addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Claude A. Titche, either together or individually. All postcards are sent from towns in Mississippi: Biloxi, Cary, Edgewater Park, Edwards, Greenville, Jackson, Natchez, and Pass Christian. Most only signed their first names, however one postcard could be identified as from Claude and Eva’s daughter Aileen Titche. Often the photographic postcard features a building or place from the addresser.

Box 1, Folder 3

Series 4: Blank Postcards, n.d.
Three postcards in the collection were never used for correspondence. These feature scenes from Jackson, Mississippi, and were printed by the Ryrich and Company.

Box 1, Folder 4

Inventory:

Series 1: Postcards to Abraham “Abe” Lincoln Rauch, 1910-1915.

Date	Author	Author postmark	Recipient	Recipient Location	Content / Notes
September 5, 1910	Harold	Atlanta, GA	Abe Rauch	Mobile, AL	Image: Kennedy Hotel, Biloxi, MS
October 1, 1910	Mr. & Mrs. [Dig?] Rothschild and Janet	Corinth, MS	Abe Rauch	Mobile, AL	Image: “Last Line of Union Earth Works erected near Corinth, Miss.”
October 31, 1910	Bertha	Tupelo, MS	Abe Rauch	Mobile, AL	Image: “First Methodist Church, Tupelo, Miss.”
March 3, 1911	Mrs. Mitchell	Meridian, MS	Abe Rauch (c/o Rauch Produce Co.)	Mobile, AL	Image: “Breaking Ground for U.S. Custom House and Post Office Building, Gulfport, Miss.”
March 13, 1913	M.B.	Starkville, MS	A. L. Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Starkville, Miss. Dormitory.” Photographer, J.J. Gill
March 28, 1913	Ruth B.	Starkville, MS	Abe Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Cadet battalion in review, USA Inspection, Mississippi A&M College.” Photographer, J.J. Gill
April 28, 1914	Beulah	Meridian, MS	Abe Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Citizens National Bank Building, Meridian, Miss.”
January 24, 1915	J.J. [Wax?]	Columbus, MS	Abe Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Market Street, Looking North from College, Columbus, Miss.”
April 28, 1915	Beulah	Columbus, MS	Abe Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Market Street, Looking North from College, Columbus, Miss.”
November 23, 1915	E.H.M.	Corinth, MS	Abe Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Post Office, Corinth, Miss.”

Series 2: Postcards to Pauline Rauch, 1912-1913.

Date	Author	Author postmark	Recipient	Recipient Location	Content / Notes
September 20, 1912	Louis	Houston, MS	Pauline Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “High School, Houston, Miss.”
October, 1912	Louis	Ackerman, MS	Pauline Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Court House, Ackerman, Miss.” L.H. Stubblefield
June 16, 1913	Louis	Tupelo, MS	Pauline Rauch	Memphis, TN	Image: “Park Lake, Tupelo, Miss.”

Series 3: Postcards to Mr. and Mrs. Claude August Titche, 1911; 1935-1947.

Date	Author	Author postmark	Recipient	Recipient Location	Content / Notes
October 15, 1911	Sarah [Ives?]	Greenville, MS	Claude August Titche	Memphis, TN (American Snuff Co.)	Image: “Greenville Masonic Temple, Greenville, Miss.”
April 30, 1935	Mrs. Florence	Greenville, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Y.M.C.A. Building, Greenville, Miss.”
June 3, 1938	Uncle Bennie	Natchez, MS	Mr. Bubber Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Alcazar Hotel, Clarksdale, Miss.”
October 20, 1939	Ruth Adele	illegible	Claude Titche, Jr.	Memphis, TN	Image: “Greetings from Cary, Mississippi.”
November 12, 1939	James	Pass Christian, MS	Claude August Titche	Memphis, TN (American Snuff Co.)	Image: “Purple Wisteria Green lawns and Shubbery, Inn by the Sea, Pass Christian, Miss.”
July 16, 1941	Ruth Adele	Cary, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Greetings from Cary, Mississippi.”
July 20, 1941	[Jon?] & Pauline	Biloxi, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Biloxi Hotel, Overlooking the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Biloxi, Miss.”
February 11, 1943	Ray	Jackson, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Heidelberg Hotel, Jackson, Mississippi.”
July 23, 1943	Sadie	Biloxi, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Beautiful Colonial Entrance to Hotel Biloxi, Biloxi, Miss.”
May 26, 1944	Nellie F.	Edwards, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Intersection Cloverleaf, U.S. 49, 51, and 80, Entering Jackson, Mississippi.”
August 10, 1944	[Maurice?]	Biloxi, MS	Claude August Titche	Memphis, TN (American Snuff Co.)	Image: “The U.S.O. Building, Biloxi, Mississippi.”
August 10, 1944	Bessie	Edgewater Park, MS	Eva Rauch Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Edgewater Gulf Hotel, midway between Gulfport and Biloxi, Edgewater Park, Miss.”
March 13, 1946	Ailleen l. Titche, child of Claude & Eva	Jackson, MS	Mr. & Mrs. Claude Titche	Memphis, TN	Image: “Bird Lake, Livingston Park, Jackson, Miss.” Part 2 of a set of cards; missing part 1
August 26, 1947	Louis Rauch	Biloxi, MS	Titche Family	Memphis, TN	Image: “Buena Vista Hotel, Biloxi, Miss.”

Series 4: Blank Postcards, n.d.

Image: “Belhaven College, Jackson, Miss.” A 14153 Ryrich & Co.
Image: “Government Building, Jackson, Miss.” A 14145 Ryrich & Co.
Image: “Court House, Jackson, Miss.” A 14155 Ryrich & Co.