Isaac Ruddell

Infobox Person
name = Isaac Ruddell


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birth_date = c. 1737
birth_place = Shenandoah County, Virginia Colony
death_date = January 1812
death_place = Bourbon County, Kentucky, United States
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nationality = American
other_names = Isaac Ruddle
known_for = Early Kentucky frontiersman and pioneer; founder of Ruddell's Station in Bourbon County, Kentucky.
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occupation = Militia officer, Revolutionary War Viriginia State Line officer and landowner
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religion = Presbyterian
spouse = Elizabeth Bowman (1750/65-1812)
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children = 5 children
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relations = George Bowman, father-in-law
Isaac Bowman, brother-in-law
Joseph Bowman, brother-in-law
John Jacob Bowman, brother-in-law
John M. Ruddell, grandson


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Captain Isaac Ruddell (1837-January 1812) was a 18th century American Virginia State Line officer during the American Revolutionary War and Kentucky frontiersman. He was an officer commanding a company under BGEN George Rogers Clark (1777-1782). He was the founder of Ruddell's Station, one of the earliest settlements in Bourbon County, Kentucky. During the American Revolutionary War, the settlement was destroyed by a joint Canadian and Shawnee party under British officer Captain Henry Byrd in 1780. He and his family were held prisoner in Detroit for over two years before their release.

He was also a brother-in-law to Kentucky pioneers Isaac, Joseph and John Jacob Bowman. His grandson, John M. Ruddell, was a prominent Kentucky statesman and landowner.

Biography

Born in the Colony of Virginia, Ruddell was a captain in the Washington County militia and, in 1750 or 1765, he married Elizabeth Bowman. In 1774 or 1775, he accompanied the Bowmans to Kentucky and, while living in Boonesborough, Ruddell joined his brother-in-law John Bowman who was en route to Harrodsburg with two Virginia militia companies. Ruddell would later replace John Dunkin as one of Bowman's officers. [Hammon, Neal O. and Richard Taylor. "Virginia's Western War". Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2002. (pg. 62) ISBN 0-8117-1389-X] He also served under General George Rogers Clark during the Illinois campaign, in charge of the Corn Island party and of the military stores left there. For his service, he was awarded 3,234 acres of Clark's Grant in the Indiana Territory. Hayden, William. "Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778-1783". Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill Company, 1896. (pg. 142-143)]

In 1779, he established a fortified settlement known as Ruddell's Station in Bourbon County one mile from present-day Lair Station. The fort was built on the site of Hinkston's Station which was previously abandoned several years before. Kleber, John E. "The Kentucky Encyclopedia". Louisville: University Press of Kentucky, 1992. (pg. 107-108) ISBN 0-8131-1772-0] Along with Martin's Station, the settlement became home to a large number of Pennsylvania German families over the next year. During the American Revolutionary War however, an Shawnee raiding party led by British officer Captain Henry Byrd left twenty settlers dead. The survivors, along with he and his wife, were force marched to Detroit where they remained prisoners until the end of the war. [Randall, Emilius O. and Daniel J. Ryan. "History of Ohio: The Rise and Progress of an American State". Vol. II. New York: Century History Company, 1912. (pg. 280)]

During the march to Detroit, Ruddell was separated from is wife and children. Shortly after arriving in Detroit, Ruddell protested to the commandant of Byrd disregarding his agreement of safe passage in exchange for their surrender. He was reunited with his wife and two daughters, however his two sons were turned over to the Shawnee who were eventually adopted by the tribe. Stephen Ruddell, 12-years-old at the time of the attack, was accepted into the family of Chief Blackfish and eventually became the adopted brother of Tecumseh. The younger son, Abraham Ruddell, when repatriated from the Indians, by the War Department in 1794 could barely speak English and later settled in Arkansas. [Tucker, Glenn. "Tecumseh: A Vision of Glory". New York: Cosimo, Inc., 2005. (pg. 39-40) ISBN 1-59605-207-4] . [ Film: (1967)"The Last Frontiersman" [.

Shortly after their arrival in Detroit, Ruddell and his family were allowed to live on a nearby island where they grew corn and supplied food for their fellow prisoners. He also reportedly helped several men to escape from the camp. He and several other prisoners were allowed to return to Virginia in 1782. Soon after arriving however, Ruddell was accused by several of his fellow prisoners to collaborating with the British and was charged with treason in Frederick County but was acquitted. [Dicken-Garcia, Hazel. "To Western Woods: The Breckinridge Family Moves to Kentucky in 1793". Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson Press, 1991. (pg. 84-85) ISBN 0-8386-3342-0] His friendship with the commandant is thought to have been based on Byrd's poor treatment of Ruddle's party as well as both men belonging to the Masonic fraternity.

Ruddell gave a written account of the attack which began appearing in newspapers in late-1783. Returning to Bourbon County in 1784, they built a home on a branch of the Licking River four years later. He also built a grist mill on the northside of Hinkston Bridge and, in 1795, a saw mill which was operated by his son Abram. The mills are still in existence, known today as Ruddell's Mills. He also donated land to the Stoner Mouth Church and cemetery. [Wells, Dianne; Melba Porter Hay and Thomas H. Appleton, ed. "Roadside History: A Guide to Kentucky Highway Markers". Frankfort: Kentucky Historical Society, 2002. (pg. 162) ISBN 0-916968-29-4] He died in January 1812.

References

Further reading

*Drake, Louise Carson. "Kentucky in Retrospect: Noteworthy Personages and Events in Kentucky History, 1792-1967". Frankfort: Kentucky Historical Society, 1967. ISBN 0916968006
*Eckert, Allan W. "The Frontiersmen". Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1967. ISBN 0-553-25799-4
*Hoeman, Andree Sieverin. " Partial History of the Riddle--Beavers Families of Botetourt County". Beavers-Riddle Family Association, 1981.
*Wayland, John W. "The Bowmans: A Pioneering Family in Virginia, Kentucky and the Northwest Territory". Staunton, Virginia: McClure Co., 1943

Persondata
NAME = Isaac Ruddell
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Kentucky pioneer, militia officer and landowner
DATE OF BIRTH = c. 1737
PLACE OF BIRTH = Shenandoah County, Virginia Colony
DATE OF DEATH = January 1812
PLACE OF DEATH = Bourbon County, Kentucky, United States