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The Rattenne Family The
Rattenne's are not a big clan. The California Rattennes (along with the
Kansas and Colorado Rattennes) originate from Sioux City, IA. Born to Michael
II and Hazel Lamphire, they originally were a family of three boys and
two girls. All three brothers married, along with sister Gerry; sister
Jean died at age 16 from a brain tumor.
Eventually two of the brothers
and a sister found their way to California, though youngest brother Jim
eventually settled in Colorado and middle son Mike in Kansas. In fact,
as of 2012 Mike still owns the Round Tuit Ranch and actively works
on it.
Background on the Rattenne NameThe Rattenne family name is very unique! My preliminary research of our family name yields only one other family branch in the entire United States - and it appears that they are not directly related to our clan. That clan is based on the East Coast - New Jersey to be specific.After contacting one of the East Coast Rattenne's via email I discovered that they were not originally "Rattenne", but rather Rattenni." Sean Rattenne explained to me that when his grandfather emigrated to the U.S. in the early part of the 20th Century he discovered that his American relatives had strong ties with organized crime. Wanting none of it, the grandfather changed the last letter from an "i" to an "e." While I viewed this information as a dead end for my research, I recently re-interviewed my mother about the Rattenne name. She told me that my Dad (Donald) had said that in Europe, our furthest back relative, Mickey Rattenne, had actually been Mickey Rattenni! Apparently, by the time he received his immigration papers he was a Rattenne. So that dead end may not
be one after all.
How do you pronounce our name? Well, it's of French extraction:
The
California Rattennes
Today, only one brother
of original Sioux City clan survive. Family branches are in California
and in Kansas. The California Rattenne's consist of the following:
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