William Ruddick

Information taken from Hanneman, 1993: William Ruddock and his wife were Quakers who lived in Chester Co., Pennsylvania until about 1740, at which time they moved west to Menallen Twp. in Lancaster Co., PA. In Chester Co., they probably belonged to the Londongrove monthly meeting there, however [Hanneman, 1993] found no land records for William Ruddock. In Lancaster Co., William acquired a grand of 100 acres, surveyed on March 20, 1741, and there they attended the newly established Newberry monthly meeting. In 1749, his land became part of York Co. with the formation of that new county, and today it lies within the confines of Adams Co., PA. [Hanneman, 1993] found no deed of sale for the land in Lancaster Co., either to or from William Ruddock, indicating he probably never obtained a grand to his land. Hanneman estimates that he probably died there about 1752, leaving no estate. His wife Alice moved with her son John and his family to North Carolina in 1754. From Lewis M. Ruddick, email of 10 Sep 2009: I also have learned that William Ruddock b. circa 1689 owned a large piece of property in the Manor of Maske, York County, Pennsylvania, with the purchase dating from 1735. He was one of the first of the original purchasers in this Penn Manor. This property is located in today�s Adams County, PA, and is north of Gettysburg and not far from the Quaker Menallen Monthly Meetinghouse. Susan Ruddick Bloom is responsible for this discovery. William died and the family moved south to North Carolina before all of the turmoil over these lands was settled by the Penn family. William Ruddock's parentage is NOT established. There were several clans of Ruddicks, Reddicks, Riddicks, etc., in the colonies at that time, and he may have come from any of those, or he may have been an immigrant himself. As early as 1637 a Richard Redock immigrated from England to the Isle of Wight Co. in Virginia, a John Redicke immigrated in 1643, another John Reddock in 1750, an Alexander Reddock in 1653. A James Riddick b. 1629/30 and m. 1652 to Mary Dunstan lived in Surry Co., Virginia with a sizable family, including a son Robert b. c1653 who has been theorized to be the father of this William Ruddock. In fact, many of the Riddicks in Isle of Wight Co., Va., adopted the Quaker faith, and these Virginia Riddick's were quite prominent and large slave holders. It is very plausible that William Ruddock descends from one of these Virginia Riddick pioneers. There was also another clan of Reddocke's that appeared early in Boston about 1637/8, when John Reddocke/Ruddocke is mentioned as one of the first settlers of Dusbury, Mass. He was a native of Trowbridge, England, and a son of Jollif (d. 1649 Boston). His descendants are later found in Providence RI and Oyster Bay, Long Island. There were also many later immigrants. Anyway, this demonstrates that there are many potential theories for his parentage. Some theories that have been fielded include: * William may have been a son of a Robert Reddick, b. c1665, who resided in Chester Co., Pa, and died at Newton in 1736/7. Unfortunately, the settlement of his estate mentions no heirs. * William may have been a son of Robert Riddick b. c1653 in Nansemond Co., Va., who purchased 100 acres there on 24 June 1671 and was residing there in 1704. This Robert was the son of James Riddick (b. 1629/30, d.aft 1680) who . 1652 Mary Dunstan, and who lived in Lawnes Creek Parish, Surry Co., Va. The direction of migration from Va to Pa is somewhat questionable. * He may have been a New England puritan who was converted to the Quaker faith, perhaps by the teachings of George Fox, William Edmondson, etc. Timeline: 1740: Move to Lancaster Co, PA 1742/3: William and his son James were commissioned to built a road from Marsh Creek settlement (present day Gettysburg) to the towns of Lancaster and York. June 1749: They join the Warrnigton monthly meeting (near Wellsville) abt 1752: Assumed to have died, presumably in York Co., Pa 1754: His widow and son's family move to NC.