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Isaac Ruddell Story in Kentucky and
the Formation of Ruddell's Station
Isaac
Ruddell, son of John Ruddell, owned 900 acres of Frederick County,
Virginia land and sold it in 1796. He was fairly well off financially
and moved to
Washington County on the Virginia-North Carolina border where he
organized a
company of Militia and attained the rank of Captain. Captain Isaac
Ruddell's company
was commissioned and paid by the courts of Virginia to help fight the
British and Indians
in Kentucky and Illinois. He was to serve under Col. George Rodgers
Clark. It was while
he was in Kentucky, that he discovered the land was cheap and good, so
he moved his
family and a number of relatives to what was the Hopewell Settlement of
Kentucky.
While there, he established Ruddell's Station, (also called Ruddell's
Fort). A station was a
cluster of cabins arranged for defense against Indians. Ruddell's
Station also had a
stockade, where the whole Hopewell settlement could come for protection
when
threatened. It was built in the spring of 1779 and was located on the
east bank of the
South Fork of the Licking River, 7 miles from present-day Paris, the
County Seat of
Bourbon County.
Colonel George Rodgers Clark
During
the Summer of 1780, word got around to the various settlements in
eastern
Kentucky that a very large British military force, consisting of 800
Indians and 150
Canadians and 50 British Red Coats, under the command of Colonel Bird,
an officer of
the British Army were making their way to Kentucky. This force was also
accompanied
by four pieces of artillery. There was no Fort or Settlement Station in
Kentucky that
would be able to turn away such a large contingent of men, with 4
artillery pieces. No
one in the Hopewell Settlement had any cannon or large quantity of
powder to shoot and
it was basically all a family could do, even within the settlement
walls, just to have a
man’s wife make lead balls for him to shoot with what little powder they
had on hand in
their powder horns for their long rifles. The Hopewell Settlement and
surrounding areas
had heard that this force of men was coming their way and had little
time to make their
way to Ruddell’s Station which was on the Harrison County side of the
Harrison /
Bourbon County line and to Martin’s Station a few miles south in Bourbon
County that
was actually closer to the Hopewell settlement than Ruddell’s Station
was. By the 22nd
day of June, 1780 this British lead band of Marauding Indians had made
their way to
Ruddell’s Fort and the Hopewell settlement and trapped everyone in
Ruddell’s and
Martin’s stations but it was the first blast of cannon fire that let
people know that this
force was just outside the timber and wood walls of Ruddell’s Station.
Col.
Bird came up to the Ruddell Station walls and demanded to speak to the
man
in charge of the Fort; Capt. Ruddell came to talk. He said that he
wouldn’t consent to any
surrender unless conditions were met that any prisoners that were taken
from the Fort
would be kept under the protection of the British and that they would
not be harmed in
any way by the Indians that were with the war party. Col. Bird agreed.
All of the settlers that made their way to Ruddell’s
station before the British
cannons were fired, some 200 or so, were to remain in the station all
night until the next
day. As daylight came and the hour moved on to 9 o’clock, everyone
inside the station
laid down their weapons and the gates of the station were opened.
The Indians rushed through the gate and each Indian
seized the first person he
could lay his hands on and claimed him or her as his own prisoner. This
was how they
separated and broke up the families. The children were taken from the
grasp of their
mother’s arms, screaming and crying as they went. The men were kept away
from the
women. One man and two women were killed as soon as the Indians rushed
the gates and
the massacre started. Later on, after the massacre and the Indians had
their fill of blood
and scalps, Ruddell was taken to Col. Bird. He angrily complained at the
insolence and
barbary of the Indians conduct and that it was contrary to the terms
they agreed upon the
day before. Bird only said he couldn’t control such a large contingent
of Indians.
It was said later that Isaac Ruddell acted honorably
with his decision to surrender
the Station without a fight since he was initially guaranteed the
protection of the British
forces but the truth is that there weren’t enough Red Coats to withstand
the hoard of
Indians that came to fight and they didn’t want to do anything that
would run contrary to
the Alliance they had with the Indians or they would be murdered along
with the settlers
as well. There was no military type discipline with the Indians and
Ruddell knew all too
well that he was vastly outnumbered and in surrendering the station he
thought he might
save the lives of the women and children. As it turned out, however,
Fighting may have
been a better solution considering the carnage that followed after the
Station guards
opened the gates.
"The
number of prisoners taken at both Ruddell’s and Martin’s Stations is
reputed
to have been 470 men, women and children. Most of the children and a
large number of
adults fell victim to the Tomahawk and the scalping knife and were just
slaughtered. At
the end of the massacre as the Indians were taking scalps, the Warriors
would go around
from one dead white man to the next and thrust an arrow into their
scrotums as a “sign”
to those whites who came later and looked upon what had happened here,
that this white
man’s seed was dead “Forever” and that they would know that no white man
was
welcome by the Indian in the Ken-tuck-ee.
Col. Bird did manage to take quite a few of the
prisoners away from the Indians
and brought some of them to the fort in Detroit and some he sent north
into Canada to the
Miami River area, including Isaac Ruddell his wife and most of his
children, save for his
two young sons, Abraham and Stephen. They were adopted into the Shawnee
Tribe and
became the Brothers of the Shawnee Warrior Chief “Tecumseh” and his real
brother who
was known as “The Prophet”. It’s even been said that Col. Bird married
one of the
captive women but you have to wonder if that’s because his conscience
got the best of
him and he tried to “save” one more or if he indeed was as ruthless as
this massacre
allows him to be and he kept this woman for himself.
Capt. Isaac Ruddell and his wife, Elizabeth Bowman and
the majority of their
children were released two years later in a prisoner exchange and
returned to Virginia, in
October, 1782, by way of Lake Champlaine. It would be 2 years more
before some of the
others would be released and for Abraham and Stephen Ruddell, they would
be kept with
the Shawnee Tribe a full 15 years from the day of their abduction. Just
after Isaac
Ruddell’s return to Fredrick County, Virginia, he was tried for treason
for this event.
As mentioned previously, two of Isaac Ruddell’s young sons were taken
captive
and raised by Tecumseh’s parents. These were Stephen Ruddell, then
twelve years of age,
(The same age as Tecumseh) and his younger brother, Abraham, who was 5
or 6 years of
age. They evidently were taken into the Shawnee Tribe and lived their
childhoods with
them.
A written story penned by a man name of Colonel Daniel
Trabue claims that he
was a witness to many of the later events that involved the Ruddell boys
and wrote their
story as follows:
"In the summer of 1795, I was with General Wayne at
Greensville at the Indian
Treaty. General Wayne hired some of the first Indians that came to the
Treaty to go to the
other towns and get the Indians to come to the Treaty."
"The Indians were hard to persuade to bring in the
prisoners, but gradually they
came in, and brought a large number of prisoners. A number of men and
women that
came to the Treaty had been captured when children and they now looked
like Indians. I
was at Fort Jefferson about six miles from Greensville and at a
distance, in the parade we
saw an Indian riding up toward the Fort, and when he got to within the
distance of about
200 yards, he halted. Captain McColester beckoned to him, and told him
to advance; so
he came up some higher and stopped. Captain McColester went out to meet
him, and I
went with him. We took no arms with us, and the Indian told us he was a
Chief and he
was willing to talk about the treaty.”
"He could speak broken English. When he told us what
Nation of Indians he
belonged to, Captain McColester asked him if he knew Stephen Ruddle and
Abraham
Ruddle. He said he did, so Captain McColester told him that the Father
of these Ruddell’s
was then at Greensville, and wanted very much to see his children. The
old Captain
Ruddell had given many presents to other Indians to go to his children
and persuade them
to come in."
“Captain McColester invited the Indian when he first
came up, to come in to the
Fort and drink some whiskey. He refused and after talking some time and
asking more
particularly about the Ruddells, he said, "Me" and struck his hand
against his breast
saying, "Me, Stephen Ruddle.” The Captain and I immediately shook hands
with him and
told him how glad we were and we knew his Father was not far off and
that he, the
Captain, would send a message for old Captain Ruddell.”
"Captain
McColester then went with the Indian (Stephen) to where his company was
and
there they found Abraham Ruddell and Abraham's adopted brother. They all
alighted and
came in, and all had the appearance of Indians; silver trinkets hanging
about their necks,
and breasts, and some brooches in their breech cloths and beads in the
leggings and
moccasins, they were painted and very dirty. I suppose they thought
themselves fine."
"We gave them something to eat, but none could speak English, but
Stephen, and he, in a
very broken manner. He and his brother, Abraham Ruddle had been taken
prisoners at
their Father's Fort in June, 1780.
"When Capt. Ruddle came, Capt. McColester conducted him
to his children. Old
Captain Ruddle cried out aloud, and fell down on the floor crying, and
bewailing his
condition. Said he, "My children are Indians." Stephen took hold of his
Father, and said,
"Hold your heart, Father, hold your heart." The Indians, the white
women, and some of
the soldiers cried aloud and Capt. Ruddell continued crying aloud
whenever he would
look at his children. The next morning Capt. Ruddell gave his sons clean
clothing and got
them to wash off the Paint and put on the clothes. I gave Abraham’s
adopted Brother a
shirt, and he was very glad to get it. We told Capt. Ruddell he ought to
give Stephen's
wife something, but he refused. As there was a Store in this Fort, some
of the soldiers got
some calico and the white women in a little time sewed it up, and when
this was given
her, she was highly pleased."
"The next day Old Capt. Ruddell and his children, and
the Indians who were with
him all went to Greensville, and after two or three days, old Mr.
Ruddell told me he knew
I could be of benefit to him. He said his son, Stephen, thought a great
deal of me, and he
wanted me to talk with him, and persuade him to leave his squaw and go
home with his
Father. But Stephen told me that although he was willing to go home he
would not give
up his squaw for any woman in the world, she would do anything for him
and was mighty
good to him." "One night at Greenville, Stephen said that all of his
company's horses had
run away. I asked him if we were going to hunt them, and he said no, his
squaw would go
after them alone. After two or three days she brought them all back from
a distance of
forty miles, five horses in number. I then thought that she was worth
all the rest of the
company together.”
Shawnee Chief Tecumseh
Tecumseh’s Brother: The Prophet
Mr. John
W. Wayland, in his “History of Shenandoah Court” had the following to
say about Stephen Ruddell. The Reverend Stephen Ruddell was born (in
Frederick
County, Va.) in 1768. He met Tecumseh when both were 12 years of age and
grew up in
the same village. Stephen was with the Indians in several fights against
the whites. After
his return (from Indian captivity in 1795), he was converted to
Christianity, given some
education, and became a Baptist preacher. From 1805 to 1811 he made
yearly missionary
visits to the Shawnee and Delaware and introduced Christianity among
them. He acted as
interpreter for John Johnson, Indian agent at Upper Piqua, during the
War of 1812. He
preached in Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, dying in
the last named state
in 1845. Rev. Stephen Ruddell's son, John M. Ruddell, represented Adams
County, in the
Illinois House of Representatives, 1846-48. The people of Bourbon
County, Kentucky,
remembered with respect Rev. Stephen Ruddle."
Eckert, in his book, “The Frontiersmen” writes: "Sinnanatha
- Big Fish - was in actuality
Stephen Ruddell. It was in 1780 that he was taken and adopted into the
Shawnee tribe.
Since he was only 12 at the time, “the same age as Tecumseh”, they
became extremely
close companions. The Ruddell’s adapted to Indian life well. They were
bright, cheerful
youngsters, and held their own with the other boys in the tribe. Stephen
and Tecumseh
taught each other their languages and by the end of their first year
together Tecumseh
could speak English unusually well and Sinnanatha was nearly as good in
the Indian
tongue."
Abraham Ruddell
Because of the fact that Abraham was six years younger
than Stephen when they
were adopted by Tecumseh’s parents, the influence of the Indian
association was much
more evident in him than in his brother. Abraham and Stephen Ruddell
were raised by the
parents of the Shawnee Warrior Chief “Tecumseh” and Abraham, Stephen,
Tecumseh
and Tecumseh’s real brother, “The Prophet” all lived in this tribe.
Mr.
Wayland makes the claim that Abraham never became "civilized", but was
always in manner an “uncouth” Indian. This was somewhat of a ridicules
observation to
make. If Mr. Wayland would have researched just a little bit more he
would have
discovered that Abraham Ruddell, after his release from captivity,
married into the fine
Daniel and Esther (Chapline) Culp family originally from the Martinsburg
area of
Berkeley County, Virginia by marrying Mary Culp, their daughter, on
August 23, 1797 in
Bourbon County, Kentucky. The Culps had moved into Cynthiana Township,
Kentucky
in 1780 after the attack on the Hopewell Settlement to the south.
Abraham Ruddell and
Mary Culp continued on to raise a fine family of their own in the
Arkansas Territory on
the White River in Batesville, Arkansas.
Wayland further stated that Abraham was a spy and
interpreter for Gen. Harrison
in the War of 1812 but I don’t think this is true. Abraham Ruddell and
his wife, Mary
Culp moved to the Missouri Territory just after they went to Indiana to
sell off a piece of
land that was owned by his father, Isaac Ruddell. Isaac Ruddell had past
away in
February of 1812 and later that year Abraham and Stephen and their wives
went up to sell
this land (their inheritance) and afterward, followed their brother
George and moved out
to the Missouri Territory. Thomas B. Culp also lived in Maucopin County,
Illinois at the
time as well and after Abraham and his sister Mary passed thru to first
settle into the area
of Pike County, Missouri, Tom Culp was soon to follow as well. By 1814,
Abraham
Ruddell and his wife Mary Culp were living in the Batesville area on the
White River.
We found them on the Lawrence County (Arkansas) Tax List of 1814. Tom
Culp shows
up on the Lawrence County Tax List in 1816. Abraham’s brother Stephen,
moved back
into the Illinois Territory to the small Mississippi River community of
Ursa, Illinois
which still exists today. His church and cemetery are also there. It is
just north of Quincy,
Illinois on the Mississippi River. George Ruddell stayed in Pike County,
Missouri
Territory and lived there until his passing. So Abraham being a Spy
during the War of
1812 is a bit hard to swallow as he was in Indiana to sell the land his
father left them after
his death and after the sale was final, they traveled to the Missouri
Territory thru the St.
Genevieve Crossing on the Mississippi River during mid to late 1812.
They did have to travel thru Illinois however and Fort Kaskaskia is on
the Illinois
side of the river across from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. If General
Harrison were at Fort
Kaskaskia during the War of 1812, perhaps it was ”Stephen” Ruddell that
was a
translator for him to the Indian Tribes they encountered there and to
the north along the
Mississippi River.
Abraham Ruddell was said to be a very withdrawn individual after his
release
from the Shawnee except to the people that were very close to him.
Stephen Ruddell, on
the other hand, was very outspoken and later when he took the Christian
religion into his
life and became a minister, use to travel to the various Indian Tribes
in the Ohio River
Valley and tried to convert many of them to Christianity. Being in
Illinois at the ferry
crossing across at St. Genevieve however would be the only opportunity
we are aware of
that Abraham Ruddell would have had to be a translator / spy but we
would certainly
have to do a bit more research ourselves before we would even consider
stating
emphatically that Abraham Ruddell was NOT a spy. We just think it would
have been
Stephen Ruddell and Not Abraham since Stephen was known as a Shawnee
Chief to
many other Tribes and could acquire more sensitive information of
Military significance.
Abraham Ruddell? A Spy? We just don’t see it and would have to dig much
deeper into the subject.
Judge Asa C. Jeffrey of Batesville, Arkansas, a life long friend and
acquaintance
of the Arkansas Ruddell’s (Abraham and Mary (Culp) Ruddell) wrote - one
short account
of the family which was published in the Melbourne (Arkansas) Clipper in
1877. He had
the following to say of Abraham:
"Old Abe Ruddell was captured by the Indians in the settling of Kentucky
while a
small boy and was not changed or given up till nearly grown. He talked
very brokenly
and always had a decided Indian appearance. He shunned people except his
intimate
acquaintances. On one occasion he went to witness a ball and when some
compliments
were paid to a young lady's dainty foot and ankle while dancing, old Abe
said, "Yes,
looks jes like pins stuck in a pumpkin seed."
As for Abraham and Mary (Culp) Ruddell, they would go on to raise a fine
family
of 8 children after becoming two of the Earliest settlers of the
Batesville area. We do not
have their children’s dates but their names are: Abraham Jr., Daniel,
America Ann
Ruddell (married Andrew Caldwell by the way another family from the
east), Elizabeth,
Esther, Sarah, David and Isaac.
By 1815, Tom Culp, Mary (Culp) Ruddell’s youngest brother, would join
them
here and also start building his own life. He had moved north into
Maucopin County,
Illinois for a short while and after a visit there by his sister, Mary
and the Ruddell
brothers on their way to the Missouri Territory in 1812, it wouldn’t be
a few years later
that he would sell off his land and also move to the Missouri Territory
and join the
Ruddells there. Tom Culp and Abraham Ruddell both are listed on the
Lawrence County
tax roles of 1816.
Isaac Ruddell Continued:
After his release from British captivity, Isaac Ruddell and his family
went back to
Frederick County, Virginia where he was Tried for Treason against the
United States.
Some of his fellow captives accused him of having some kind of
indifference to their
being held. He was acquitted of all of these charges in Virginia and
then went on in the
courts to collect a debt of several hundred pounds in order to get a
fresh start. Isaac and
his family lost everything they had in the attack except for his land in
Kentucky. He gave
his friends Colonel Abraham Byrd and Captain Isaac Bowman, power of
attorney in
September 1783 so he and his family could go immediately to Kentucky to
pick up the
pieces of their lives and start fresh. They relocated on their property
and built a gristmill,
sawmill, and later, they would even build a tobacco warehouse. Ruddell's
Mills is a small
village today.
Isaac Ruddell lived to be 81 and died in February, 1812 and is buried in
the Stonermouth
Presbyterian Churchyard at Ruddell's Mills, next to his wife, Elizabeth
Bowman. He
deeded the cemetery land to the church. His gravestone is a simple one
lettered only:
"Isaac Ruddle - Va. Mi. - Rev. War."
The life that Isaac Ruddell’s family had to endure since the Indian
Attack of Ruddell’s
Station in 1780 was not the peaceful existence they had in mind when
they moved into
the Hopewell Settlement in the late 1770’s. They were all very lucky
however, to still be
alive into the 1800’s.
Ancestry of Isaac Ruddell
Isaac Ruddell, born 1729 in East Nottingham Twp, Chester County, PA;
died 1812 in
Ruddell’s Mills, Bourbon County, KY. He was the son of John Ruddell and
Mary Cook.
He married Elizabeth Bowman August 02, 1750 in Cedar Creek, Virginia.
Elizabeth Bowman, born March 18, 1736/37 in Cedar Creek, Shenandoah, VA;
died
Abt. 1815 in Bourbon County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of George
Bowman and
Maria Elisabeth Hite.
Notes for Isaac Ruddell:
Was a Captain in the Revolutionary War and was captured by a
Revolutionary War party
of British lead Indian forces at Ruddell’s Station in 1780. He was
released from captivity
in 1782.
Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786 by Lewis Preston Summers 1966
"The next order of importance entered by the court was on May 5, 1773,
when the court
ordered that Isaac Riddle, Wesley White, James Young, and James
Montgomery do view
the nighest and best way from Eleven Mile creek, on Holstein, by Jones'
place at the
crossing place, going to Watauga, and report.
The commissioners made their report on July 6, 1773, and the road was
established, and
James Montgomery, James Young and Isaac Riddle were appointed
overseers."
Page 608-9 The report of the Road from the Eleven Mile Creek to the Ford
of the
Holstein as you go to Watago returned & Road Established agreeable to
said Report
James Montgomery appointed Overseer of said Road from thence to Isaac
Riddles and
Isaac Riddle from thence to Ford of the Holstein and Capt. Bledsoe to
allot the bounds of
the lands for each overseer.
Page 620 Ordered that Isaac Riddle be Fined Forty Shillings for a
Contempt offered to
this Court and that the Sheriff keep him in Custody til he pays said
Fine.
Page 962 Ordered that Isaac Riddles Mark which is a crop & half penny of
the right ear
be recorded and his Brand which is 3K be recorded.
Page 966 Ordered that Isaac Riddle, William Ingram, Samuel Smith,
Jonathan Drake &
James Hughs or any three of them first sworn appraise the Estate of
Benjamin Coop
deceased and make return to court.
In a Court held in Frederick County the 21st day of January 1783 for the
examination of
Isaac Riddle on suspicion of having lately committed Treasonable
practices against the
United States
Present
Edward McGuire, James G. Dowdall, and Thomas Throckmorton.
January 1783
Joseph Longacre, Elisha Williams, and George Noble, Jr., Justices
The Prisoner was led to the Bar, and it being demanded of him whether he
was Guilty of
the facts wherewith he stood charged or not said he was in no wise
thereof Guilty.
Whereupon sundry witnesses were examined on consideration of who’s
Testimony and
the examinations attending, the same it is the opinion of the Court that
he is not guilty
and thereupon he is discharged.
The minutes of these proceedings were signed by Edward McGuire
HOOSIER JOURNAL OF ANCESTRY Vol VI #2 page 5
Clark County Indiana Grants: #34 - Surveyed for Capt. Isaac Ruddell to
whom it was
deeded 18 Jul 1788.
The heirs of Isaac Ruddell: John and Elizabeth Mulherin: Stephen and
Suzanna Ruddell;
Abraham and Mary Ruddell all of Bourbon County, Kentucky sold 100 acres
to Emery
Sylvester of Clark County, Indiana on 18 Nov 1812 and 292 1/2 acres to
John
McClintock the same date.
Stephen and Rachel Ruddell and John Mulherin and Elizabeth all of Adams
County,
Illinois sold 70 acres to Sylvester heirs and 100 acres to John White on
19 Apr 1841.
Stonermouth Church at Ruddell’s Mills
According to the Minutes of The Transylvania Presbytery, Stonermouth
Church,
which was mentioned for the first time in those minutes in October 1786,
was the oldest
Presbyterian Church in Bourbon County. One year after the church was
mentioned in the
records of the presbytery, two acres of land were acquired, for the sum
of five schillings,
from Isaac Ruddle.
STONERMOUTH CHURCH AT RUDDLE'S MILLS
Isaac Ruddell of Bourbon County, Stonermouth Presbyterian Church--Deed
Bk. A, p.
128--16th Oct. 1787--Isaac Ruddle to John McCord, Wm. McLaud, David
Wilson and
George Reading, all of Bourbon, Appointed Trustees by the Presbyterian
Church in the
forks of Stoner and Hinkson of South Fork of Licking and on said South
Fork and on the
waters thereof to purchase a lot of land for a graveyard and to build a
Meetinghouse
thereon and whereas said Isaac Ruddell, out of a benevolent disposition
and as an
encouragement to have the Gospel preached, made a kind offer to two
acres on forks of
Stoner and Hinkson forks of South Fork of Licking on the rising ground
South Eastward
of his house towards Stoner Fork for the purpose aforesaid which said
Trustees with the
consent of the Church accept. October 16, 1787.
The statutes at Large being A Collection of all the Laws of Virginia
Vol. VII, Chapter
XIX, p. 677-8
An act for establishing an inspection of tobacco, on the lands of Isaac
Ruddle, in the
County of Bourbon. (passed the 18th of November, 1788)
I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That an inspection of tobacco
shall be, and the
same is hereby, established on the lands of Isaac Ruddle, at the
confluence of Stoner's
and Hinkson's forks of Licking creek, in the county of Bourbon, to be
called and known
by the name of Ruddell’s Warehouse.
II. And be it further enacted, That it shall not be lawful for the said
Isaac Ruddle, or any
other person, to build any dwelling-house, or other house, in which fire
shall be at any
time used, within fifty yards of the said warehouse.
III. There shall be allowed and paid annually to each of the inspectors,
at the said
warehouse, the sum of thirty pounds for their salary. Provided always
that if the quantity
of tobacco inspected at the said warehouse, shall not be sufficient to
pay the usual
charges, and the inspectors salaries, the deficiency shall not be paid
by the public.
IV. The court of the county of Bourbon, shall as soon as the said
warehouses are built,
nominate four persons to execute the office of inspectors at the said
warehouses, two of
whom shall be commissioned as inspectors, and a third as additional
inspector, in the
manner as the inspectors at other warehouses within this commonwealth.
The said
inspectors shall enter into the same bonds, be subject to the penalties,
and in all respects
be governed by the rules and regulations prescribed by the laws in force
for regulating the
inspection of tobacco, and exportation thereof.
Notes for Elizabeth Bowman:
Will of Elizabeth Ruddell
In the name of God Amen. I, Elizabeth Ruddell being weak in body and
consider the
uncertainty of this mortal life
The Children of Isaac Ruddell and Elizabeth Bowman are:
i. John Ruddell, born Abt. 1752; died 1801 in Bourbon County,
Kentucky.
ii. Isaac Ruddell, born 1754; died June 1794; married Nancy Foster
June 23, 1790 in Bourbon County, Kentucky.
iii. George Ruddell, born February 14, 1757 in Frederick County,
Virginia; died March 10, 1846 in Independence County, Arkansas;
married Theodosia Lynn April 12, 1779 in Ruddell's Station, KY;
born June 15, 1763 in VIRGINIA; died September 30, 1830 in
Independence Co, AR.
Notes for Theodosia Lynn:
Smutz: Obituary from the Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, 6 October 1830
Departed this life, in the 69th year of her age, at her residence in
Independence County, on the 30th day of September, 1830, after a
protracted and painful illness of several months, Mrs. Theodosia
Ruddell, consort of George Ruddell, Esq. In this estimable lady were
combined the qualities of a kind and dutiful wife, obliging neighbor and
affectionate mother. Mrs. Ruddell was a native of Virginia, and was one
among the first settlers of Kentucky (after Col Boon (sic). She was
taken
prisoner at the siege of Ruddell's Station by the British and Indians,
in
1779, and continued with them about two years, in upper Canada,
undergoing many privations and difficulties without a murmur. She
received a slight wound during the above siege while engaged in
preparing balls for husband and others, but this did not deter her from
arduous task which she had undertaken. Her noble example stimulated
others, at the time which tried men's souls.
iv. Cornelius Ruddell, born Abt. 1759 in VIRGINIA; died July 02,
1787 in French Lick, Tennessee; married Jane Mulherrin 1782 in
French Lick, Tennessee (now Nashville, TN.); born January 25, 1761
in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania ?; died Abt. 1835 in Boone
County, Kentucky.
v.Mary Margaret Ruddell, born Abt. 1763 in Shenandoah County,
Virginia; died 1806; married Daniel DeWitt.
vi.Stephen A. Ruddell, born September 19, 1768 in Frederick Co, VA;
died October 17, 1845 in Ursa, Adams, IL; married (1) Indian Bef.
1795; married (2) Catherine Kingrey October 02, 1797 in Kentucky;
married (3) Susanna C. David July 06, 1809 in Bourbon Co, KY;
married (4) Rachel Highsmith Woods April 06, 1834 in Lincoln Co,
MO.
vii.Abraham Ruddell, born August 03, 1774 on Holstein River,
Washington County, VA; died February 25, 1841 in Batesville,
Independence County, AR; married Mary Culp August 23, 1797 in
Bourbon County, KY.
Notes for Abraham Ruddell:
CAPTURED AT RUDDELL'S STATION IN 1780 and
SETTLED IN BATESVILLE, ARK EARLY IN 1813
viii. Elizabeth Ruddell, born August 26, 1776 in Washington County,
VA; died October 25, 1854 in Clarksville, Pike County, MO;
married John D. Mulherrin January 31, 1789 in Bourbon County,
KY; born January 15, 1758 in Lancaster County, PA; died February
20, 1850 in Paynesville, Pike County, MO.
The names of his sons follow the pattern of his brothers: John, Isaac,
Jr., George,
Cornelius, Stephen, and Abraham. The girls were Margry and Elizabeth.
The first two
sons died without heirs, so are not included in his will. Cornelius was
also deceased but
left daughters, Polly and Nancy and they are given their father's share,
which is also true
of Margry's two sons.
Isaac left many descendants in the west, some of whom are listed in the
work done by Dr.
Barb. This branch of the family retained the Ruddell spelling.
The following story about Isaac, Jr. was found in a Family Bible by
Ridlon:
"Isaac Jr. was a great hunter and Indian fighter. He had a revolving
rifle before Colonel
Colt, the celebrated inventor of the revolver, was born. When hunting
with a companion
named Martin, on Kingston Creek, Isaac took the right hand of a hill and
Martin the left,
to meet on the table-land above, where they expected to see some bison
or buffalo.
Martin had proceeded cautiously about a quarter of a mile when he heard
the report of
Ruddell’s rifle, and in a few seconds another report from the same
direction. He
immediately ran to the top of the hill, and down to where Ruddle was,
and found him
scalping an Indian. He asked Martin to load his rifle while he scalped
another Indian
below. He had just time to get the second scalp and grasp his rifle when
he was hotly
pursued by two Indians. Ruddle knowing of a large oak ran round and
through its forks
where he stopped and watched his pursuers. An Indian swung round a
dogwood to look
for his victim, when Ruddle sent a ball through his feathered head. The
other Indian came
running with raised tomahawk when Ruddle drew a heavy horse-pistol from
his belt,
which caused the Indian to fly to the thick woods below. It is said the
lone Indian was
asked by his tribe where his companions were, and replied that they had
seen the devil,
which killed three of them and would have shot him had he not run. This
was the same
tribe that captured Daniel Boone."
As Cornelius, son of Isaac, was one of the subjects of Harriette Simpson
Arnow in two of
her books, Seedtime On The Cumberland and Flowering Of The Cumberland,
it seems
appropriate to give a few paragraphs to the story at this point. Arnow's
books show how
an old, old culture shaped in Europe British Colonial became American
and built a
culture and a society that would in time influence much of the
southwest.
Cornelius served 3 years during the Revolution and was not at Ruddell’s
Station when it
was captured in 1780, as he was on duty at the Falls of the Ohio. In
1782 when he was 23
and she was 21, he met and married "the beautiful Jane Mulherrin." Her
brother, John,
later married his sister, Elizabeth; they were children of James
Mulherrin. The wedding is
described in Guild's Old Times In Tennessee. Four couples were married
at the same time
in what is now the city of Nashville and the ceremony was performed by a
trustee of the
colony. The description, in part, follows:
"The colony was then in its infancy and the settlers were not supplied
with the means or
appliances necessary to make a wedding occasion brilliant, either in the
way of gorgeous
dresses, a table laden with rich viands and luxuries to tempt the
fastidious appetite, and a
fine band to furnish music while the guests' tripped the light fantastic
toe' as the older
settlements could do, but there was not wanting the disposition on the
part of those more
immediately interested to make the affair as grand and imposing as
circumstances would
admit, especially as it was among the first weddings in the new
settlement. They were
well supplied with game of almost every description, with which to
prepare the most
savory and tempting dishes, but there was neither flour nor meal in the
whole colony with
which to make bread, nor had there been for six months. In this
emergency two of the
settlers were mounted on horses and hurried off to Danville, Kentucky,
for a small
quantity of corn to supply the wedding table with bread. Only a few days
elapsed before
the couriers returned, bringing with them each one bushel of corn, which
soon found its
way to the mortar and pestle, where it was speedily converted into
excellent meal, and
from it was baked the first 'bride's cake' of which this new colony
boasted. It was made
with pounded corn meal, with no other ingredients than a little salt and
water. Amid the
dangers that environed the settlement, the hearts of this band of
pioneers grew happy
while celebrating the wedding with song, dance, and feast, rendered
exquisitely delightful
by the introduction of the wedding 'pound cake' and perhaps no cake on a
similar
occasion, before or since, was enjoyed with more zest."
Two little girls were born (Polly, Aug. 1784) and (Nancy, March 1786).
In November of
1786 Cornelius went turkey hunting and was ambushed by Indians. An
inventory of his
estate was made January 1787 and is on record in Davidson County,
Tennessee, Will and
Inventory Book 1784-1794. From this inventory Arnow, whose books are a
study of the
first settlers, weaves a story showing the Ruddells to be an example of
a Cumberland
pioneer family. |
