SOLOMON A. RUDY, whose excellent farm of eighty-three acres is situated in Monroe Township, on the Gingham and Frederick Turnpike, is one of the prosperous farmers and tobacco growers of this section and is also one of the reliable and respected citizens. He was born May 2, 1871 in Bethel Township, Miami County, Ohio, and is a son of Joseph M. and Louisa (Young) Rudy.

Joseph M. Rudy was born in Bethel Township, Miami County, not far from West Charleston, on the pioneer farm on which his father, Joseph Rudy had settled when he came into what was then a wilderness, from Pennsylvania. Joseph Rudy had five children: Emanuel, Solomon, Mahala, Elizabeth and Joseph M. The last mentioned grew to manhood on that farm and helped to clear it. Shortly after his marriage he engaged in the butcher business for a short time but subsequently returned to his farm and followed agricultural pursuits all the rest of his life. Throughout Ohio and possibly through other States, there is a certain prolific wheat much in favor with the farmers and known as the "Rudy wheat." Its origin is very interesting. One day, George W. Rudy, the eldest brother of Solomon A., noticed some heads of wheat waving in the wind which seemed to have far outstripped the rest of the grain, then ripening evenly. As a matter of curiosity, Mr. Rudy gathered these heads, four in all, and took them to his father. The latter decided to experiment with them and planted them, for trial, in the garden. The result was surprising, the yield being far beyond that of any other specimen and several years later, Mr. Rudy had a yield of 1,736 bushels, which he placed on the market and received for it $1.50 per bushel. It has since been called the Rudy wheat, and it was the means of adding largely to Mr. Rudy's income from his wheat lands. He died on that farm when aged sixty-eight years. His widow survives and lives at Tippecanoe City. She was formerly Miss Louisa Young and was born and reared in Bethel Township. They had ten children, namely: Montgomery M., George W., Anna, Lillian, Ella and Ida (twins), Joseph, Solomon A., and Flora L. and an infant, both of whom are deceased.

Solomon A. Rudy spent his boyhood days on the home farm and was educated in the district schools, spending one winter in the High School, and one term at college, at Ada , Ohio. He then took upon himself his share of the work at home and continued to live with his parents until his marriage, when he purchased his present farm from Mrs. John F. Idemiller. He found it necessary to do quite an amount of improving, and using good judgment in the matter, he now has a very comfortable home with substantial farm buildings of all kinds. He grows the usual grains that do well in this section and usually devotes about five acres to tobacco.

Mr. Rudy was married January 2, 1893, to Miss Lilly M. Smith, a daughter of John and Mary (Idemiller) Smith, of Monroe Township, and they have six children Mildred, Emerson, Joseph, Mary, Paul and Harold. Mr. Rudy and wife are members of the Dunkard Church.