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<\/a>The Rittenhouse Family in America has been studied at some length and genealogies have been published covering all branches in America. The earliest identified Rittenhouse was Wilhelm (1644-1708) who married Gertrude Pieters (1646-1708) in 1665 at Mulheim, Westphalia, Germany. This couple immigrated to Philadelphia shortly afterwards, where at least two children were born. Their son Garret or Gerard married Mary Shoemaker and had at least two children, one of whom was William, born in 1696, below.<\/p>\nOne noticeable characteristic of the Rittenhouse family is their tendency to marry several times. Their spouses seem to have been susceptible to dying early. You may notice there are many \u201a\u00c4\u00fac.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9s and question marks on the birth-death dates. Many members of this family are not well documented. Please feel free to add corrections or additions in the Comments section, below. (For more information on the Rittenhouse family, see Rittenhouse Cemetery, part one<\/a> and The Rittenhouse Tavern<\/a>. Also Rittenhouse Tavern, part two<\/a>.)<\/p>\n