Bartholomew County IN Archives Biographies.....Ruddick, Family 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/in/infiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 4, 2007, 5:52 pm

Author: B. F. Bowen (1904)

THE RUDDICK FAMILY.

   No history of Bartholomew county, Indiana, would be complete without mention
of the Ruddick family. As far back as the ancestry can be traced its
representatives have been most reliable in business, loyal in citizenship and
possessing sterling traits of character which have made them valuable
acquisitions to any community. The family, so far as is known, originated in
Alsace Loraine, now a province of Germany. Later members of the family went to
the north of Ireland, thence to Scotland, and thence came to the United States
when this country still formed a part of the colonial possessions of Great
Britain. It was probably in the seventeenth century when the Ruddick family was
established in America.

   The late William Ruddick's father was Jesse Ruddick, while his paternal
grandparents were Solomon and Anna Ruddick. Jesse Ruddick had two brothers,
William and Elisha. Of the latter nothing is known, but William married Rachel
Hyatt and their children were Solomon, Jr., John, Jesse (the late William
Ruddick's father), William, Jr., Mary, Gertrude, Olive and Rachel. Solomon and
Anna Ruddick, before referred to, were residents of Gracer county, Virginia, and
there, on the 4th of May, 1874, was born a son, Jesse, the father of William.
Jesse Ruddick died in Bartholomew county, Indiana, on the 23d of May, 1870. His
wife bore the maiden name of Katharine Baker, and was a daughter of Umphria and
Mary Baker. She was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, October 11, 1782,
and died in Bartholomew county. Indiana, December 19, 1868. By her marriage to
Jesse Ruddick were born eight daughters and two sons, of whom Nancy (the wife of
Louis Marr) and Polly (the wife of John Singleton) were twins. The other members
of the family were Lydia, who became the wife of Nathan Newsom; Lovie, the wife
of Isaac LeMasters; Katharine, the wife of Lewis Aiken; Jane, who married
Anthony Swisher; Amy, who married a Mr. Stewart; Sally, the wife of Jesse
Swisher; Jesse, who married Eliza Swisher, and William, the subject. The
statement has been made that Jesse Ruddick married the second time, but of this
there is no definite information. William Ruddick had a large number of nieces
and nephews. These include Nathan, Jesse R., John Q. A. and W. Terrell Newsom,
also Mrs. Malinda Anderson, all of whom were the children of Lydia and Nathan
Newsom. They reached adult age and reared families of their own. Robert L.
Ruddick married Anna Iker, who, after his death, became the wife of Baker Aiken,
a son of Lewis and Katharine Aiken, the latter a sister of William Ruddick. The
children of Robert L. Ruddick are Robert L., Jr., Kate, May, Rose, Flora and
Jesse, all of whom are yet living, as is their mother and a daughter, Madeline,
by her second marriage. The sisters of the household are all married. Mollie is
the wife of James Cox and the mother of Robert, Frank, Jesse and William Cox.
Kate married Captain Kittle and their children are Joseph and Lyda. Amy is the
wife of John Maas and the mother of Louise Maas. Lyda married John S. Moore, by
whom was born a son and daughter, George and Lyda. Lessie died in early
womanhood. William, Jr., married Clara Robertson, to whom was born Charlotte,
who now lives in Keokuk, Iowa; Clara (Robertson) Ruddick afterward became the
wife of a Mr. Titus. All the above named nephews and nieces are the children and
grandchildren of William Ruddick's brother, Jesse. Emma Swisher, who became the
wife of Josiah Beatty, left no living children. Allie Swisher, who became the
wife of A. H. White, has one daughter, Minnie. Lovie Swisher, the wife of Lon
McNeal, left several children. There is no record of the children of Mrs. Jane
Swisher nor those of Mrs. Amy Stewart, although the latter had several children.
To the writer the known members of the family of Lewis and Nancy (Ruddick) Marr
are. James H., who has three married sons, William, Henry and Edward, and Mrs.
Polly Singleton. Of the others it is known that one daughter, Harriet, became
the wife of William H. Hollowell. Of the children of Mrs. Katharine Aiken there
is probably only a partial record. It is understood that one son resides in
northwest Iowa. Mrs. Lovie McMasters also had a son, William, though of the
other children there is record accessible to the local branch of the Ruddick
family. The children of Nathan and Lydia (Ruddick) Newsom are Jesse R., Nathan,
W. Terrell and Malinda. The children of Jesse R. Newsom are Emma, Albert,
Nathan, Sumner, Lida, Lydia and Jesse. The children of Nathan Newsom, Sr., are
John and William. The children of W. Terrell Newsom are Ora, Chester, Kate,
Terrell, Willis and Court. The foregoing is a partial list of the nephews,
nieces, grand-nephews and grand nieces of the late William Ruddick.

   The Ruddick family was established in Indiana as early as 1816, or prior to
the admission of the state into the union. Jesse Ruddick, the grandfather, came
here and founded his home in the midst of the pioneer settlers, taking an active
part in the primitive development and progress of this portion of the state.
William Ruddick, his son, was born in Bartholomew county, on the 25th of August,
1821. He acquired his early education in the common schools and afterward
supplemented this preliminary knowledge by a more advanced course, be-ins: one
of the early students of the Indiana University at Bloomington. He was also a
student in Hanover College. In this state he was identified with farming for a
number of years. He engaged in merchandising for a time at Hope when
comparatively a boy, and when that town was in the early stages of its
development. He also herded and raised hogs, fattening them on the mash and
grain, after which he drove them overland a distance of fifty miles to Madison,
Indiana, to market. He suffered many of the hardships of pioneer life, but
ultimately the improvements and conveniences of civilization were introduced
into the pioneer settlements and he kept pace with the general progress in all
ways. During the 'fifties he removed to Iowa, settling at Keokuk. He carried
with him some money and engaged in business there, following various pursuits.
He was engaged in real estate operations, in banking, in pork packing, in
dealing in live stock, in-farming and in the machine business. He made money in
some of his business undertakings and lost considerable in others, through the
depreciation in the value of real estate and also through what was known as.
"wild cat" banks and their currency. The failure of an old Ohio trust company
was also a source of loss to him, as he at one time informed the writer. On the
whole, however, he accumulated wealth during his residence in Iowa, but he did
it largely as the result of coming to the conclusion that the safest of all
investments is good land. Though it might not bring a speedy financial return,
it will in time yield a good income as the result of the investment. Mr. Ruddick
became the owner of valuable tracts of land in southwestern Iowa and
northeastern Missouri.

   Twice married, William Ruddick was first joined in wedlock with Miss Dorcas
Chorn, the wedding being celebrated in Bartholomew county by the Rev. Williamson
Terrell on the 3d of August, 1842. To them was born in this county, on the 15th
of July, 1847, a son, William Oscar, who died near Vincennes, Iowa, on the 9th
of November, 1901. While in Chicago, William Oscar Ruddick married Miss Fannie
H. Jackman and they became the parents of one child, a son, who died in infancy.
Mrs. Dorcas (Chorn) Ruddick was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, on the 5th
of June, 1826, and was a daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Chorn. Her death
occurred September 23, 1855, in Keokuk, Iowa, not long after the removal of the
family to that state. On the 22d of March, 1860, William Ruddick was married by
the Rev. Williamson Terrell, in Columbus, Indiana, to Martha Crump, daughter of
Francis J. and Amelia Crump. She was born in Bartholomew county, upon what is
now the home of Charlie W. Crump. Her father, Francis J. Crump, was born in or
near Richmond, Virginia. He was one of the very early settlers of Bartholomew
county, Indiana. He left the old Virginia home in his teens, without a dollar,
and never had any financial assistance from a single individual during his
entire business career. In his younger days he learned the carpenter's trade and
followed that to some extent. After coming to Indiana he became a missionary,
banker and farmer and died at the ripe old age of about eighty-two years. Among
his relatives are numbered many of the aristocratic and wealthy people of
Virginia and many of their descendants are now living in and near Richmond. One
of his sisters married a Mr. Hoggarty and with him she went to Davenport, Iowa,
where both died and probably left children. Francis J. Crump, in connection with
Randolph Griffith, organized the First National Bank of Columbus. To Francis J.
Crump and his wife were born the following children: Smith (deceased), Sarah
(deceased), James (deceased), Mary (deceased), Francis T., Martha (Mrs.
Ruddick), John S. and Elizabeth C. (Mrs. Lucas). To Francis T. Crump and his
wife, Katharine Kyle, were born several children, namely: Minnie (Mrs. Weller),
Hattie (Mrs. Overstreet), Prank J., Katharine (Mrs. Overstreet) and Flora (Mrs.
Schwartzkopf), and of these Minnie, Hattie and Frank J. have children. To John
S. Crump and his wife, whose maiden name was Emma Weber, were born the following
children: Corda (Mrs. Whitesides), Molly (Mrs. Gottschalk), Nettie, John H.,
Charles W. and William. With the exception of Nettie all these are married and
Mollie, John H. and Charles W. have living children. To William J. and Elizabeth
C. Lucas were born Mary C. (Mrs. Lincoln), Frank C, George and Elizabeth (Mrs.
Gould). With the exception of George, all these children are married and Mary C.
and Elizabeth have children, those of the former being Elizabeth, Lucas and Mary.

   To the second marriage of William Ruddick, to Martha Crump, there were born,
in Keokuk, Iowa, seven children, five of whom are now living, and all have
attained to years of maturity, while two are married. The living are Baker S.,
Elizabeth A., Charles A., Albert J. and Martha Inez, while Frank C. died at the
age of four years and Jesse C. at the age of about nine years, both passing away
at Keokuk and are now buried in Oakland cemetery at that place. Albert J. was
married in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy Matthews, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Matthews, of Columbus, Indiana. The fruit of this union is one son,
William, born in Keokuk, Iowa, in the fall of 1903. The children of the late
William Ruddick have been provided with good educational privileges. Elizabeth,
who is a graduate of the Columbus high school, has also completed a music course
in the New England Conservatory of Music, in Boston, and is a lady of marked
culture and refinement. She also took a certificate in voice culture at the
Cincinnati College of Music and in the Indianapolis College of Music. She
frequently sings in concerts and local operas, and has taught voice culture in
the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music. Charles A., who completed a commercial
course, is now devoting his energies to the partial management of his mother's
business affairs. Albert J. is partially managing the farm interests in
-northeastern Missouri. M. Inez, after attending the common schools, became a
student in the music college of Lexington, Kentucky.

   William Ruddick continued to reside in Keokuk, Iowa, until February, 1884,
manipulating his extensive business interests there and then returned to
Columbus, his remaining days being passed in his native county. Through his
careful management of business affairs he gained a handsome competence. In
addition to his own interests, he managed the interests of his wife, which
consists of lands in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and South Dakota, and
also a large amount of government and other bonds and loans on real estate. The
family text was charity. Sisters who had no children left their property to
educational institutions. Mrs. Ruddick's sister, Mrs. Jane Swisher, left ten
thousand dollars to an educational institution in the south and the balance of
her fortune, valued at several thousand dollars, to an Indiana university.
William Ruddick lived to be nearly eighty-one years of age and reared six
children, none of whom died prior to the age of twenty-one years, while the
eldest was fifty-five years old at the time of his death. Yet, at the time of
his death, Mr. Ruddick had no grandchildren, though one, a grandson and
namesake, has since been born. Mr. Ruddick died January 13, 1902, at his home in
Columbus, when about eighty-one years of age, leaving to his family not only the
result of splendidly directed efforts in business life, but also the priceless
heritage of an untarnished name.

   Baker S. Ruddick, the eldest representative of the family of the late William
Ruddick, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, February 25, 1864. He is widely and generally
known in Columbus. He acquired a good education in the graded schools of Keokuk,
Iowa, and afterward pursued a commercial course in the same place. He became
identified with farming in northeastern Missouri. Later he engaged in the
breeding of thoroughbred horses and fine stock near Columbus, and in 1891 he, in
partnership with his father, began the manufacture of ice in this city, in which
business he was interested until the latter part of January, 1903, when he
retired. This industry is now one of the prominent ones of the city, having
steadily grown in extent and importance.

   Baker S. Ruddick has been twice married. On the 29th of December, 1886, in
Columbus, Indiana, he was married by the Rev. Z. T. Sweeney, ex-consul to
Turkey, the lady of his choice being Lorena K. Arwine, the accomplished daughter
of Dr. John S. and Malinda (Mannville) Arwine. She was an unusually bright and
talented girl, a woman of attractive and cordial manner and was well liked by
all who knew her, it mattered not the social standing of her acquaintance. She
was born in Nashville, Brown county, Indiana, on the 9th of October, 1862, and
was graduated in the Columbus high school at the age of sixteen years. She began
teaching in the schools of this city and followed that profession until she was
able, with the assistance of her father, to pursue a more advanced education
along art and elocution lines. After completing elocution courses in colleges at
Louisville, Kentucky, and Indianapolis, Indiana, she began teaching elocution in
Dallas, Texas, and was very successful in her work there. It was only by chance
she was visiting home when she met the gentleman whom she afterwards married. On
one occasion Baker S. Ruddick was sitting with a friend in front of a prominent
hotel when "Lena" Arwine passed with two young-lady friends. Mr. Ruddick
remarked "There goes my wife." A few days later a Leap Year ball was held and,
exercising the prerogative of the occasion. Miss Arwine asked for an
introduction to Mr. Ruddick. The acquaintance thus formed soon ripened into love
and they were a devoted couple. Their married life was most happy until saddened
by the death of their only child, Jesse A. Ruddick, who died in infancy. This
was probably the real cause of the death of the wife, who passed away on the
25th of October, 1891, her remains being interred in the City cemetery of
Columbus in a vault which Mr. Ruddick himself completed. For about eight years
he lived a single life, and then was again married, his second union being with
Miss Laura Ella Hollowell, the wedding taking place April 27, 1899. The lady is
a daughter of William H. and Mahala (Singleton) Hollowell, both of Bartholomew
county. The wedding ceremony was performed by Rev. Frank C. Hood, in Seymour,
Indiana. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ruddick are well and favorably known in Columbus, and
are representatives of old families of Bartholomew county. Generally Mr. Ruddick
gives his political support to the Democratic party, and his religious faith is
that of the Presbyterian church, though he is somewhat inclined to that of the
Universalist church.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY
INDIANA

INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GOVERNORS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF INDIANA

ILLUSTRATED

1904

B. F. Bowen PUBLISHER


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/bartholomew/bios/ruddick881gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/

File size: 16.9 Kb