Person Page - 21

     Hannah Hopkins was born in 1670 at Connecticut. She was the daughter of Samuel Hopkins and Hannah Turner. Hannah Hopkins married COL William Whittington II (Burgess), son of CPT William Whittington I and Mary (Unknown), c 1694 at Somerset Co, Maryland. Hannah Hopkins died b 20 Jan 1704 at Worcester Co, Maryland.

     Elizabeth (Unknown) was born a 1685. She married Rev Sam Davis a 1705. Elizabeth (Unknown) married COL William Whittington II (Burgess), son of CPT William Whittington I and Mary (Unknown), c 1710 at Somerset Co, Maryland.

     Judge John Milschleggel Ruff was born on 5 Apr 1783 at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia. He was the son of Jacob Ruff I and Anna Barbara "Barbara Ann" Muhlschlagel. Judge John Milschleggel Ruff married Martha Wallace, daughter of LTC Samuel Augustus Wallace and Rebecca Anderson, on 5 Oct 1804 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia.^7,3,14 Judge John Milschleggel Ruff married Henrietta Brown, daughter of Rev Bernis Brown and Henrietta Rhodes, on 7 Oct 1828.² Judge John Milschleggel Ruff died on 9 Sep 1858 at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia, at age 75. He was buried in 1858 at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia. His estate was probated on 4 Oct 1858 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia.

      Judge John Milschleggel Ruff was an outstanding man in his county and possessed considerable ability. His career moved from one success to another: his hat factory, the Wallace land patents, a rented farm, his country home, his position as judge, handling land claims, and serving as trustee on many boards. John's career was anchored in his family network of Ruffs, Wallaces and Varners where he provided legal action, financial support and cash for real estate. John was a pragmatic man of large means, owning an estate consisting of miles of the fertile valley land stretching south of Lexington, VA. This estate had dwellings, timber, gardens, household and farming goods, carriage, wagons, teams and machinery. He owned other plantations as well. He had a large Lexington in-town home and in later life resided a half mile south of Lexington; this was the country home he referred to as "the Cottage." John also shortened his middle name to Millslag at times.

As a young man at the turn of the century, John established a men's hat making business with all styles and materials including wool, fur, and silk. He moved from apprentice to master hatter and by 1808 had a flourishing hattery business in his home. Hats were paid for by cash or barter including skins, food, wood, lottery tickets and whiskey. His mother was given credit for her hat-making work and later his hat-making apprentice, son Jacob, was charged for room and board in his ledger. Wool hats were the cheapest at $1.50 and decorative military hats the most expensive at $14.75. The Rockbridge Historical Society owns his 1808-1815 ledger book from his hattery business.

John and his wife Martha Wallace were married by Rev. William King in 1804. By 1808 his father-in-law's orphans needed cash and that year sold John and his wife Martha lot number one in Lexington, VA for $166 where her father Samuel Wallace lived prior to his death; in 1812 they sold half the lot for $500. Lot one was later the site of the present-day, large Robert E. Lee hotel.

Virginia and the federal government awarded frontier lands to Revolutionary War soldiers in separate sets of warrants. In 1808 John pursued obtaining patents for the three land warrants totaling 10,666 acres that his deceased father-in-law Samuel Wallace had obtained for the death of Samuel's three brothers during the Revolutionary War. By this time twenty-four years later, however, the choice Kentucky lands were long gone and military lands available were in Ohio. John thereby acquired and managed land in the area of Finley, Ohio and served as attorney for the Wallace interests. This involved travels to Ohio for over four decades. In 1836 John applied for an additionally authorized set of Virginia land warrants awarding Ohio lands. His last trip was in 1844 when he went by horseback to Bellefontaine, London and Columbus, Ohio; on his holdings in the Visiros area on Little Darby River near London he found four squatters on his land.

In 1809 John purchased for $1000 from his father's estate lot 15, Lexington, VA and two lots from John Campbell. In 1811 after settlement of his father's estate, John built a dual purpose building for himself and his brothers on the site of his father's combined home and ordinary. The building incorporated a residence upstairs and his hat factory on the first floor, which he used through the early 1860s eventually buying out two of his brothers. There were also ancillary buildings and stables. His shop was well located for that purpose at what is now 23 and 25 North Main Street, Lexington, VA. The building was a large, plain, brick tin-roofed building which was still in use in 2013 when last visited. There were two broad chimneys capping four stone fireplaces below, which bracket the gable sides of the house. End dormers lit a spacious attic. The street angle was lowered in 1850 forcing John to put in a limestone block basement. The residence accommodated John and his growing family, his brothers Jacob and William who both became master hatters, and his mother Barbara.

As a seat of learning since colonial days, Rockbridge County had several intellectual clubs and debating societies. One of the most notable was the "Franklin Society and Library Company of Lexington" of which John Ruff was an active, enthusiastic leader. The early success of this society was in large part due to John. Prior to 1816 the society was also called the Union, Republican, and Lexington Literary societies during its early years. The Franklin society was a legal organization started about 1800 and incorporated in 1816. The society owned real estate and accumulated one of the best libraries in the region. The purpose of the society was to foster intellectual improvement by weekly discussions of selected issues in members' homes at early candlelight time. By 1813 the society was able to begin purchasing books. In 1816 the society began weekly meetings in John Ruff's hattery. The books given to the society by members and friends were kept at the home of John Ruff until 1826 when Franklin Hall was built.

In 1818 John was prosperous enough to make a $4326 down payment on a 103 acre farm on the west side of Sarah's Run just south of Lexington, VA. He shifted his residence from the town to this property by 1820 when he had eight children. Known as "The Cottage," the home is located south of Lexington on Thornhill Drive, going toward Thorn Hill plantation, past the Lutheran Church (which was the former William Ruff home site), bearing right and crossing two creeks; the Cottage is on the left 200 feet away in a grove of trees at 812 Thornhill Drive, Lexington, VA. The home when last visited in 2010 had the same footprint as when John and his family lived there. By the time of his death John expanded this farm to 297 acres worth $10,400 by adding, among other purchases, Imboden Field (his son-in-law's family name) and Upper Wallace Field (his wife's family name).

The Cottage became the base of his activities starting in 1818 by providing food from the garden and orchard, poultry, field crops, hay, firewood and pasture for cattle and horses. The soil provided excellent harvests, but marketing for corn and livestock was difficult because Lexington was far from an urban market. John did a lot of business shipping grain and stock to Richmond, VA. However, corn was bulky to ship and was more easily made into whiskey. In 1823 John purchased a mahogany bureau and one set of circular dining tables from Speck for $52.

In 1820 John and his wife Martha and John Blair purchased her uncle John Wallace's 312 acre tract and one and a half story federal-style home on the Buffalo River in Rockbridge Co, VA; in 1824 John bought Blair's interest for $1,250. The home, known as the Ruby Farrell home, still stood when visited in 2010 just across the bridge to the right and above the river at Murat at 1920 Highway 251 West toward Collierstown. The brick over stone original structure (which has a new addition) was flanked by single and double-wide stone chimneys, sports gable-end attic windows and was topped with a seamed tin roof. The front faced the highway which appeared to be much higher than it originally was based on the height of the hand-built stone wall along the road. The driveway just off the edge of the bridge was graced with an alley of boxwoods. On the west of the lot, boulders sprang from the soil, and behind the home the land dropped into wide Buffalo Creek which provides clear, rushing water.

John petitioned the county court to build a water grist mill 200 yards from the John Wallace home he had purchased on Buffalo Creek where he owned land on both sides; the court approved the request provided John paid another landowner along the creek for flood damages. With a partner he constructed the Bollivar Mill in 1826. In 1827 John purchased another 136 acres on Buffalo Creek with a partner for $2,500. By 1854 the complex included a corn and rye grist mill, a saw mill and a distillery all in a large stone building. S some of the whiskey was locally cherished as "Old Bolivar." John's pious descendants noted with mirth that the family icon was a distiller. The old Bolivar Mill is reportedly long gone, however this researcher found a water mill nearby the John Wallace property on a side stream in 2010.

Although his primary occupation was farming, John was busy as a judge during court terms over fifteen years beginning in 1828. In the court system of the period three designated justices rotated the chairmanship among them, but John became head of the court and for twelve years served as chief justice. It was said no official decision he ever made was overturned by a higher court. John's large portrait as a judge done about 1850 by noted photographer Matthew Miley is owned by Nels Randolph Benson.

About 1829 John built a home at 21 Main Street next door to his to be used as expanded living space and a hat showroom. The north wall has a brick dated 1783. Shortly after the showroom opened his advertisements in the Lexington newspaper announced "John Ruff & Son." By 1838 the hattery partnership was mutually dissolved. Thereafter each continued their own businesses with Jacob diversifying his goods for sale. The same year John apparently advertized his town home: "...a large stable and every house necessary for the comfortable residence of a large family." In 1850 he deeded 21 Main Street to his son Jacob for $2,500 as an advance on his inheritance; the deed gave Jacob the right to build a future town house between 21 and 23 Main Street.

In real estate ventures John was a partner with John Jordan, a Lexington builder credited with quality building during the 1830s. By the 1850s John served on many boards including the Ann Smith Academy, the Fincastle Turnpike and apparently in the James River and Kanawha Canal Company. He declined a position as Rockbridge County Secretary of Agriculture due to poor health.

Numerous letters written to his granddaughter Martha Harriet Ruff Martin show that John was a kind, pious, educated man who believed staunchly in a close knit, religious, well-mannered family. He carefully but strongly counseled his granddaughter Martha in her behavior, college, health and travels. These letters were written at John's country seat, "the Cottage."

John sponsored progressive developments and invested in the James River and Kanawha Canal stock which he called near worthless in his will. It was on John's land that his young relative Cyrus McCormick tried out his new reaper in 1832. The reaper was not perfected at that point and much wheat was knocked down when the reaper moved across the uneven land. John apparently paced angrily alongside the swath cut by the reaper with pitchfork in hand. He reminded Cyrus he wanted the grain reaped, not threshed and order him to remove his machine from his property. The adjacent farmer, William Taylor, allowed Cyrus to reap wheat on his more level land for the next six hours, and the reaper performed more satisfactorily there. The following winter Cyrus improved and perfected the invention.

By 1850 John traveled less by horseback and more by stage coach, his own carriage, canal boats and sleighs. John's granddaughter Sarah Jane Corner Martin Beall (1851-1923) wrote a family memoir in 1939 in which she recounted her mother Susan Paulding Ruff was one of twelve children; although all other records indicate 11 children were born there is a possibility another child was born about Dec 1821 who did not survive. John no issue by his second marriage to Henrietta Brown Cauthran.

That year John was enumerated on the census as a 67-year-old farmer living with his wife Henrietta age 64; son William a 23-year-old farmer and daughter-in-law Mary "age 22;" and Sally Eastern a 65-year-old black woman.

John became ill 19 May 1855 with a heart condition. He died following a paralytic stroke three years later. His grave is supposedly in the large Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery on South Main Street in Lexington, VA marked by a tall stone and surrounded by other Ruff family members. His tombstone inscription is "Blessed are the dead who _____ saith the spirit from their _____ hours and follow them." At the cemetery Virginia Winslett went through all the old cemetery office records by hand, and there is no record of John Ruff's burial there, although he indeed may be interred therein. John's birth and death dates are recorded in his father Jacob Ruff's bible.

John's will was probated in Rockbridge Co, VA. He was a pillar of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1843 and demolished in the 1870s, the site of which is now occupied by the Robert E. Lee Memorial Church in Lexington, VA; he willed his river and canal stock to the church. John's will dated 11 Apr 1857 and recorded in the Rockbridge Co, VA Clerk's Office, Lexington, VA (Will Book #15, pg 122) on 4 Oct 1858 provides well for his eleven children including forgiving debts; parceling out homes, estates, plantations and land; financing granddaughters' educations; and supporting widowed daughters. John bequested his projects to his progeny with his hat factory going to Jacob, a livestock farm to John and a farm to William; for his daughters he bankrolled some of their spouses and gave land to others. The will mentions a number of slave families and decreed that, if sold, the slaves should be purchased by one of his children and stated no husband and wife slaves were to be separated.

According to Alice Gedge, a street in Lexington is named in John's honor, an old block-long way that has more the character of a lane than a street. Ruff Lane runs through the wide piece of meadow land between Main St. and Randolph St., Lexington, VA. Ruff Lane was on Gray's map of 1877 and has always had a few houses on it without becoming fully developed. The lane had no name for at least the first 150 years of its existence, but in the effort of 1912 to name every public way in town, it was designated Ruff Lane.

Other sources, including Alice Gedge's:
--Will of John M. Ruff, probated Rockbridge Co., VA, 4 Oct 1858, Will Book No. 1, p. 122.
--Carolyn Davidson Carey, Greenwood Village, CO. Cites:
(a) Will of Jacob Ruff, 20 Nov 1794, probated 1795, Lexington, VA.
(b) Typed list of children from family papers.
(c) Paul M. Ruff, Aliquippa, PA.
(d) "History of Rockbridge Co," by Morton, p.463,526.
--Augusta Co., Marriage Records, Old Index 1785-1853.
--Ruff Business Ledger, Rockbridge Historical Society.
--"Augusta County Marriages 1748-1840," by John Vogt & T. William Kethley
Jr., p.177. FHL #975.5916 V2v.
--"First Marriage Record of Augusta County, Virginia, 1785-1813," by Col. Thomas Hughart Chapter DAR, Augusta Co., VA (The McClure Co., Inc., Staunton, VA) p.40. FHL film #0030,415.
--1850 census, Rockbridge Co, VA. FHL film 222963, https://familysearch.org.
--Martin Family Memoir, written by J. C. B. (Sarah Jane Corner Martin Beall 1851-1943) daughter of John Satchell Martin, 30 May 1939; found with the papers of John Satchell Martin in the possession of Elizabeth Perry (1904-1989); copy in possession of Virginia Winslett.

     Martha Wallace was born on 8 Mar 1782 at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of LTC Samuel Augustus Wallace and Rebecca Anderson. Martha Wallace married Judge John Milschleggel Ruff, son of Jacob Ruff I and Anna Barbara "Barbara Ann" Muhlschlagel, on 5 Oct 1804 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia.^5,6,7 Martha Wallace died on 30 Dec 1827 at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia, at age 45. She was buried at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia.

      Martha Wallace and John M. Ruff were married by William King. Martha was a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church. She obtained the William Wallace bible and called it the Ruff family bible. Martha's tombstone dates her death as 1827 although written references indicate 1828, which may refer to her burial date.

     Samuel Wallace Ruff was born on 28 Sep 1805 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. He was the son of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Samuel Wallace Ruff married Helen (Unknown) a 1830. Samuel Wallace Ruff died in Oct 1841 at New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 36.

      Samuel Wallace Ruff, an 1825 Washington College graduate, was employed as a Navy doctor and died from yellow fever.

     Amanda M. Ruff was born on 26 Jul 1807 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Amanda M. Ruff married Jacob G. Sheltman on 12 May 1825 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Amanda M. Ruff died on 2 Jan 1852 at Texas at age 44.

      Amanda M. Ruff's father financed Amanda and Jacob Sheltman's Texas venture.

     Jacob G. Sheltman was born a 1800. He married Amanda M. Ruff, daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace, on 12 May 1825 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Jacob G. Sheltman married (Unknown) Newton on 28 Jan 1855. Jacob G. Sheltman was buried at Texas.

     Jacob M. Ruff was born on 24 Aug 1809 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. He was the son of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Jacob M. Ruff married Isabella Coalter, daughter of George Coalter, on 2 Dec 1835 at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Jacob M. Ruff died c 1880.

      Jacob M. Ruff and Isabella Coalter were married by John Ewing. Their marriage was recorded in the Lexington, VA courthouse 2 Dec 1835 and transcribed from the family bible as 5 Dec 1835.

Jacob took over the family hattery business after graduation from Washington College. His father John built a house at 21 Main Street, Lexington, VA in 1829 to serve as a showroom for the hats and as Jacob's residence; John deeded it to Jacob in 1850. Jacob was treasurer of Virginia Military Institute form 1840-1846 and mayor of Lexington, VA in 1853.

The Jacob Ruff House is an excellent example of a valley Federal townhouse. The Mead Associates restoration found an original Dutch door in the basement with handmade strap hinges. Above the ceiling plaster were handsome chestnut hand-hewn beams. Behind a false wall was a huge stone fireplace complete with an early iron crane. An archeological excavation of the property uncovered an early stable and several nineteenth century walkways.

     Rebecca A. Ruff was born on 12 May 1811 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Rebecca A. Ruff married Henry Imboden on 26 Aug 1830 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Rebecca A. Ruff died in 1869 at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia.

      Rebecca A. Ruff is interred next to her husband in lot 145 just southeast of the cemetary office on the road perpendicular to Main Street in Stonewall Jackson Cemetery.

     Henry Imboden was born a 1810. He married Rebecca A. Ruff, daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace, on 26 Aug 1830 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Henry Imboden died in 1849.

     Magdalen Campbell Ruff was born on 26 Feb 1813 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Magdalen Campbell Ruff married Rev Joseph Spriggs I on 13 Jan 1834 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Magdalen Campbell Ruff was buried at Rustburg, Virginia.

      Magdalen Campbell Ruff is transcribed from the family bible as marrying in 1831 but noted in the county records as marrying in 1834.

     Rev Joseph Spriggs I was born a 1809. He married Magdalen Campbell Ruff, daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace, on 13 Jan 1834 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia.

     Elizabeth Grigsby Ruff was born on 2 Mar 1815 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Elizabeth Grigsby Ruff married Reuben B. McNutt on 28 Sep 1837. Elizabeth Grigsby Ruff died on 18 Feb 1839 at age 23.

     Martha Ann Ruff was born on 28 Jul 1817 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Martha Ann Ruff married COL John H. Finley I, son of William Finley, on 16 Feb 1837. Martha Ann Ruff was buried at London, Ohio.

     Sarah Jane Ruff was born on 21 Apr 1822 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was the daughter of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. Sarah Jane Ruff married Massillon Sehorn, son of Dr Cathey Sehorn, on 26 May 1842 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. Sarah Jane Ruff died on 29 Apr 1843 at age 21.

      Sarah Jane Ruff died with childbirth.

     John Andrew Ruff was born on 12 Mar 1824 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. He was the son of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. John Andrew Ruff married Jane Rebecca Wilson, daughter of James C. Wilson and Sallie McCorkle, on 14 Jan 1845 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. John Andrew Ruff married Rosa C. Holmes in 1860. John Andrew Ruff died on 25 Aug 1879 at Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia, at age 55. He was buried at Stonewall Jackson Cemetery, Lexington, Virginia.

      John Andrew Ruff, a farmer, attended Washington College for two years and Virginia Military Institute for three. He enlisted in Company C, First Virginia Cavalry in 1863. He joined the Presbyterian Falling Springs Church and served as a deacon. John and Rebecca J. Wilson were married by William Trimble and had eight children; by his second wife Rosa, John had no issue. John inherited a live stock farm from his father.

     William Alexander Ruff was born on 28 Aug 1826 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. He was the son of Judge John Milschleggel Ruff and Martha Wallace. William Alexander Ruff married Mary Martha E. Moore, daughter of George Moore, on 29 Dec 1847 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. William Alexander Ruff died in 1905.

      William Alexander Ruff inherited a farm from his father and became a farmer. He and Mary Martha Moore were married by William Trimble. William was the mayor of Staunton, VA.

     Captain Samuel Wallace was born c 1680 at Ireland or Scotland. He was the son of Sir William Wallace. Captain Samuel Wallace married Elizabeth Woods, daughter of Sir John Andrew Woods II and Elizabeth Woods, c 1704 at Ireland. Captain Samuel Wallace died c 1725. His estate was probated in 1725 at Co Down, Ireland.

      In going through the many online and published records for the pre-1750 Wallace lines in Virginia, only one line cannot be firmly connected by a will or similar record to a particular father -- the lines of the Augusta Co, VA Wallaces who arrived there before 1743. This progenitor, Samuel Wallace, a sea captain and merchant, is believed to be the father of our ancestor Peter Wallace.

Samuel left very few records in America; he was noted as having made six voyages back and forth across the Atlantic between the Chesapeake area of Virginia and Maryland and the Liverpool area in England, the hub for the Irish sea vessels covering all the smaller ports including those nearest Glasgow and those in County Down. According to immigration and importation records Samuel made four trips between Liverpool and a large area of Virginia and Maryland; the ships made rounds of all the small ports and larger landings to more directly deliver and pick up goods and people. Samuel also made one trip between Glasgow and Virginia and one between Liverpool and New York.

Samuel died about 1725, around the date of his last voyage, either at sea or at arrival in port. His last official residence apparently was Ireland. Samuel had no will or estate administration found in Pennsylvania, Maryland or Virginia. Other men of that time named Samuel Wallace did leave wills or estate records in America; the existence of records for the other Samuels listed their children and proved our Wallace family of Augusta Co, VA did not connect with those Samuel Wallace families.

An estate administration for a Samuel Wallace in 1725 in County Down, Ireland may be that of our ancestor; that probate data is captured here pending other documents being found. The Wallace family in that county did have the name Peter in a previous generation. This is the only will for a Samuel Wallace found in either Pennsylvania, Maryland or Ireland that fits the timeframe of death usually stated in family tradition and supporting the records showing his wife as a widow by 1729 in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Samuel's wife Elizabeth immigrated in 1724 and settled near Samuel's presumed brother Andrew Wallace in Maryland. Andrew is an important connection because he, as did Samuel, had the only other Wallace family with the names Adam, Andrew, John and William used for his sons. In both Samuel and Andrew Wallaces' families, William appears to be the name of the oldest son. A third brother named William who arrived at the same time as Andrew, also named an older son William.

According to Cecelia Fabos-Becker, from Chalkley's Chronicles as well as Pennsylvania and Maryland records it was possible to create a near complete list of the brothers of Peter Wallace; she also identified three sisters and believes there may be one or two more sisters. Cecelia stated George Selden Wallace missed two of Peter's brothers.

As far the ancestry of Samuel, the history of the house of Failford and the mercantile-sea interests are confirmed by Paterson's History of Ayrshire in which he stated "all the Wallaces who settled in Ireland in the 17th century were out of the House of Failford." The house of Failford used the names Adam, Malcolm, Andrew, John, William and James/Hugh as given names. The name Peter is not a traditional Wallace name but entered the extended Wallace family by marriages to two other families twice -- once near Perthshire and once in Ireland; the two branches that had the name Peter are only distantly related.

     Sir John Andrew Woods II was born in 1654 at Co Meath, Leinster, Irish Republic. He was the son of Sir John Woods I. Sir John Andrew Woods II married Elizabeth Woods, daughter of Sir Thomas Woods, in 1681 at Dunshaughlin Parish, Co Meath, Leinster, Irish Republic.⁵ Sir John Andrew Woods II died b 1724 at Ireland. He was buried at Co Meath, Leinster.

      Sir John Woods is reported to have been a second or third son or the grandson of John Woods and Isabella Bruce who came to Ireland with Cromwell; this descendancy is doubtful because of time gaps among generations.

All the records found by researcher Celia Fabos-Baker thus far point to the origin of the Woods parentage of Michael, Samuel, Adam and their other siblings as County Down, not County Meath, which means it is unlikely that the father of this sibling group and Sir Thomas Woods were either brothers or first cousins. They may have been cousins, but not close cousins.

Celia Fabos-Baker's best theory from research up to 2018 was there was a John Woods who came south from Meath with Campbells and was introduced to Sir Thomas Woods and his daughters by the enterprising lawyer who had his name on dozens of deeds and leases -- Charles Campbell junior, Esq. of Dublin, Meath and Down. Celias stated if she ever finds the estate records she will not be surprised if Charles Campbell, Esq.-- both father and son -- drew up and witnessed papers for a nuptial agreement and dowry for John Woods who married a daughter of Sir Thomas Woods, and then did some of the negotiations on behalf of John Woods and his sons for their marriages to his own Campbell cousins.

The Woods then had a daughter marry into a lucrative, well-connected merchantile house in County Down with the Wallace family that owned ships and ports. Michael and Samuel had not been part of a shipping family.

The Woods sons were raised farmers. When their father died about 1723/4 the sons inherited some money, but no land. With the aid of the Wallaces, they were able to move to Pennsylvania and buy land. The Wallaces, as the extended family, already had by this time "Wallace and Brothers," a mercantile house in Baltimore and ships of various companies were going around the ports of the Chesapeake loading and unloading goods and passengers and then crossing the Atlantic where they were doing the same things among the ports on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The McClenaghan transcriptions of original parish records and civil records for Dunshaughlin Parish (including the castle) in Ireland were made by Rev. McClenaghan who spent years prior to 1922 bicycling twice weekly to the Public Records Hall in Dublin to make long-hand copies of records related to the early Protestant families of his parish. He created over 1,000 pages of which there are known to be three copies, all in Ireland.

According to researcher Celia Fabos-Becker half of McClenaghan's original footnotes and actual transcriptions are missing. When he died, he left the original copy of his work to the Dean who had helped and encouraged him most. When the Dean died, when the book was found, it was not realized immediately that there were two parcels that had been bound with string and once stored together. The widow could not remember what she had done with the second parcel, and descendants continue to search for the parcel more than 10 years after her death among the vast collection the Dean possessed.

The transcriptions and additional Irish records indicated Sir John Woods married his first cousin of the same surname, Elizabeth Woods. The papers noted Elizabeth Woods, who had no brothers, was the heiress to Dunshaughlin Castle as the only surviving child of her parents Thomas Wood/s and Elizabeth Parsons. However Wallace researcher Celia Fabos-Baker stated John and Elizabeth may have been cousins, but there is no evidence they were close cousins.

John was a younger son with a younger son's inheritance. His marriage to Elizabeth is said to have kept the castle and lands in the same family and was arranged for that purpose. John and Elizabeth resided at Castle Dunshauglin, County Meath, north of Dublin, Ireland where their children were born. Dunshaughlin Castle is in ruins but had popular gardens in 1998.

In the records of the Woods in Meath and among their documented relations Celia Fabos-Baker found some strong jealousies and discriminations among family members. There was great bitterness, envy and anger for instance toward the Woods family of Sir Thomas Woods and his sons from the children and grandchildren of John Wood of Rossmead of County Westmeath, who also connected to the Parsons by marriage and had not inherited land in County Meath, from the Parsons, but instead a lease for lands there that continued to be owned by the Parsons instead. The John Wood of Rossmead clan felt they had been cheated by the other families and behaved spitefully toward the Woods who lived in/near Dunshaughlin and Rataoath. This was observed and noted by some of the ministers and was also mentioned in the history of the lease and how it was transferred to heirs in the Registry of Deeds in Dublin. The Wood family descendants mostly sublet the lands out and collected rents, but in turn had to distribute rents, not land, among heirs. This lease from the Parson put the John Wood family in a different status economically and socially from the Woods family, and they clearly resented this.

Celia Fabos-Baker was puzzled by the name Richard appearing in our Woods family in America. A Richard Wood/Woods (records show both spellings) was the Quartermaster in Axtell's regiment under Cromwell, a high ranking officer and acquired a lot of property in Dublin and a small property at Garclony in Meath near the Westmeath line. Richard was the ancestor of the Wood line of Rossmead which failed to produce male heirs past the 1740s. Richard's grandson, John Wood of Rossmead, married Elizabeth Worsop, daughter of Sir Thomas Worsopp and Elizabeth Parsons. John and Elizabeth had no children (hence Elizabeth was not our ancestor despite innumerable trees to that effect) and John passed his estates to a nephew Hans Widman who then had to take the surname Wood to inherit the estate. There was no indication this Richard Wood line married into our Woods line, yet there is a line of Woods in County Meath that intermarried with a daughter of a daughter of this line. So, it is a puzzle as to why and where the name Richard that was prominent in the families of our own ancestors Michael and Samuel Woods originated.

John Woods never married Elizabeth Estell Worsop who was an infant in 1681 when John married. Many sources credit Elizabeth Worsop as being John's wife, including the Woods - Wallace Genealogical History, the Woods - McAfee Genealogy, the papers of David Woods--a great grandson of John Andrew Woods, etc. However, Irish death records (Public Records Office, Belfast, Ireland, T 559, Vol. 42, p. 148) proved John's wife was not Elizabeth Worsop. This conclusion was summarized in "Woods-Wallace Cousin Clues" by Ruth Lamar Petracek which noted Elizabeth Worsop was married to a John Wood (not Woods), and she died childless as is confirmed by their wills.

Removal of Elizabeth Worsop from potentially being our ancestor eliminated linkage to numerous illustrious families, including a handful of European kings. Although disappointing, this is not surprising because one approach to genealogy in the first part of the 1900s was to try to create linkage to extant illustrious lines.

     Clifford Strong was born on 30 Jan 1912 at Kings Co, California. He was the son of James Franklin "Frank" Strong and Lanora "Nora" Katherine Arledge. Clifford Strong died in 2015 at California.

     Elizabeth Woods was born a 1685 at Blair Park, Co Meath, Leinster, Irish Republic. She was the daughter of Sir John Andrew Woods II and Elizabeth Woods. Elizabeth Woods married Captain Samuel Wallace, son of Sir William Wallace, c 1704 at Ireland. Elizabeth Woods immigrated in 1724. She died in 1745 at Rockbridge Co, Virginia. She was buried at Albemarle Co, Virginia.

      Elizabeth Woods may have been born in 1684. Elizabeth was not the Elizabeth Woods who was the daughter of John Woods and Elizabeth Worsop, the latter of an illustrious family.

The Wallace and Woods families were dissenters and Presbyterians; in the early 1720s they joined thousands migrating from Ireland to homes in America where land was abundant and cheap and freedom inviting. Immigration to Virgina began in earnest when one thousand acres in the valley was promised to Benjamin Borden I if he could induce 100 persons to move to the tract south of Staunton, VA and get each to build a log cabin within two years. About ninety people had built within the required time, although there was apparently some fudging on those numbers; with an extension on the two year limit, the developer was finally deeded the land.

After the death of Samuel Wallace her husband, Elizabeth migrated with a large family group from Ireland in 1724 and landed at New Castle, Delaware. Elizabeth may have left one child, a married son, in the North of Ireland.

The earliest records of the widow Elizabeth and her children show they first arrived and lived in the Rising Sun area, the expansion area for the old "New Munster Hundred." She lived very near her supposed brother-in-law Andrew Wallace of the New Munster Hundred, Cecil Co, MD. The New Munster Hundred encompassed land that is now in three states; however, it was first a Maryland settlement. Records of transactions for the widow Elizabeth Wallace and some of her children show Andrew Wallace consistently signed as a witness or in some other way was a facilitator and appeared to be closely related to Elizabeth's late husband.

Elizabeth was next noted in Lancaster Co, PA with her six children and her brothers Michael, James, William and Andrew Woods. Elizabeth settled in Lancaster Co, PA with Michael Woods and his family. Note that borders between Maryland and Pennsylvania were in flux.

According to researcher Cecelia Fabos-Baker there is no reason to disbelieve the tradition Michael and Samuel Woods were brothers to each other and to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was indeed living close to them within a few years after immigration, and children of the three did intermarry and consistently very specifically referred to each other as either siblings or cousins in Pennsylvania and Virginia records.

Michael Woods, with his family, his sister Elizabeth, and other Wallaces, next migrated by way of the Shenandoah Valley to what is now Augusta Co, VA and then to Albemarle Co, VA. Elizabeth moved to what is now Rockbridge Co, VA in 1739. Four of her children married her brother Michael's children. There were many such intermarriages among cousins because there were few marriagable Presbyterian Scotch-Irish; thus the Wallace and Woods families intermarried for several generations in our direct line. The Woods family, so important during the first century of Virginia settlement, strangely disappears during the second century.

According to Cecilia Fabos-Becker there is no evidence Elizabeth ever lived in Virginia and therefore she may have died in Pennsylvania instead. No will or administration record for her has been found, perhaps because Elizabeth lived with her children; she disappears from any records about 1745.

The Old Stone Church, twelve miles from Wheeling, WV, apparently contains many Woods burials, but it is unclear from which century.

     William Wallace I was born in 1706 at Ireland. He was the son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods. William Wallace I immigrated in 1724 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married Hannah Woods, daughter of Michael Woods and Mary Campbell, on 20 Mar 1731/32 at Albemarle Co, Virginia. William Wallace I died in 1766 at Albemarle Co, Virginia.

      William Wallace built Piedmont plantation, which was still standing in 1999, in the Greenwood, VA area. The home was built of brick laid width to end, many of the windows are of the wavy imperfect glass of that early era and one wing was added circa 1800. The two small cabins in back could have been smoke houses; slave quarters; or homes of the Woods family until they could build more imposing homes. The cabins look like early pioneer cabins.

William is reported to have married Hannah Woods in Virginia and in Maryland.

     Hannah Woods was born in 1710. She was the daughter of Michael Woods and Mary Campbell. Hannah Woods married William Wallace I, son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods, on 20 Mar 1731/32 at Albemarle Co, Virginia. Hannah Woods was buried at Albemarle Co, Virginia.

     Susannah Wallace was born a 1722 at Ireland. She was the daughter of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods. Susannah Wallace immigrated in 1724 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She married COL William Woods I, son of Michael Woods and Mary Campbell, a 1740 at Augusta Co, Virginia.² Susannah Wallace died c 1797 at Albemarle Co, Virginia.

      Susannah Wallace reportedly moved to Albemarle Co, VA in 1734 with her uncle Michael Woods. This report does not support the concept that she was already married and had a growing family in 1734.

     Samuel Wallace was born in 1709 at Ireland. He was the son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods. Samuel Wallace immigrated in 1724 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married (1st wife of Samuel Wallace) (Unknown) a 1726. Samuel Wallace married Esther Baker in 1741 at Cub Creek, Charlotte Co, Virginia. Samuel Wallace married Sarah (Unknown) a 1753. Samuel Wallace died in 1800 at Kentucky.

      Samuel Wallace served as a judge and married thrice. He lived in Rockbridge Co, VA in 1739; in Charlotte Co, VA; and then in Kentucky in 1782.

     Esther Baker was born a 1720. She married Samuel Wallace, son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods, in 1741 at Cub Creek, Charlotte Co, Virginia. Esther Baker was buried at Cub Creek, Virginia.

      Esther Baker was the second wife of Samuel Wallace.

     Andrew Wallace was born in 1712 at Ireland. He was the son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods. Andrew Wallace immigrated in 1724 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Woods, daughter of Michael Woods and Mary Campbell, in 1733 at Pennsylvania. Andrew Wallace died in 1785 at Albemarle Co, Virginia. He was buried at Ivy Depot, Albemarle Co, Virginia.

      Andrew Wallace moved to Albemarle Co, VA with his uncle Michael Woods in 1734.

Andrew and Margaret Wallace constructed a home near Woodville [later known as Ivy Depot] which was called Springhill which is still standing nestled in a spectacular setting and is furnished in the rarest antiques in 2004.

     Margaret Woods was born a 1714. She was the daughter of Michael Woods and Mary Campbell. Margaret Woods married Andrew Wallace, son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods, in 1733 at Pennsylvania. Margaret Woods died c 1756.

     Adam Wallace was born in 1715 at Ireland. He was the son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods. Adam Wallace married Sarah Graham a 1735. Adam Wallace died in 1738 at Cecil Co, Maryland. His estate was probated in 1739 at Cecil Co, Maryland.

      Adam Wallace, a mariner, died ostensibly in Cecil Co, MD leaving an "infant daughter." His mother was an executrix of his will. Adam had acquired land that straddled two colonies and four counties, thus his widow Sarah ended up paying fees to fulfill her role as executrix in five counties. By 1739 Sarah moved to Lancaster Co, PA where she lived with another child, near what is now Harrisburg, PA.

Adam's cousin of the same name died in the same county and left a will and probate record. Examination of both sets of records showed they were two individuals and from whom they descended; Adam, an older brother to Peter, was the son of a widow and the other Adam was son of the still alive Andrew Wallace.

     Peter Wallace was born c 1717 at Ireland. He was the son of Captain Samuel Wallace and Elizabeth Woods. Peter Wallace immigrated in 1724. He married Martha Woods, daughter of Samuel Woods I and Elizabeth Campbell, c Mar 1739 at Cecil Co, Maryland. Peter Wallace died in Jan 1786 at 'Thorn Hill' Plantation, Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia. He was buried at Thorn Hill Plantation Cemetery, Lexington, Rockbridge Co, Virginia. His estate was probated on 5 Sep 1786.

      Many things thought to be true during the 1900s and earlier concerning our ancestor Peter Wallace were proved wrong because there were two Peter Wallaces and our ancestor's data was entwined with the data of the other man, to whom we are not related. No evidence shows our ancestor was Peter Wallace junior, son of a Peter senior of York Co, VA; our ancestor was never listed as "Peter junior" in his Maryland, Pennsylvania or Virginia records.

Most of what is in online trees up through 2016 was actually about the Peter Wallace of York Co and was based on either George Selden Wallace's book about the descendants of Peter Wallace and Martha Woods or on the earlier Woods lines' histories published by cousins Neander and Edgar Woods. George Selden Wallace, Worth Ray in "Tennessee Cousins," and other authors seized on the less common name of Peter and linked our Peter Wallace of Augusta Co, VA with the line of an unrelated Peter Wallace who emigrated from eastern Scotland to York Co, VA in 1650 and who did have a son Peter.

George Selden Wallace's son found no documentation in his father's records for his father's claim of our Peter Wallace being the son of a Peter. Thus, Wilma Maie Wallace-Fabos (1922-1987) employed a British research organization in the mid-1970s to confirm or change the earliest Wallace generations as George Selden Wallace had noted them; the report indicated Peter Wallace and his brothers were not children of another Peter Wallace.

Naming traditions often ensured an older son to be named after his grandfathers. These authors noted above ignored naming traditions and did not research the counties fully, especially Lancaster Co, PA. Had they done so, these authors would have found the Peter Wallace line of York Co, VA, to whom we are not related, stayed in eastern Virginia and many of the descendants were well documented

One key to our Peter Wallace of Augusta Co, VA was naming traditions; Peter and his brothers did not use the name Peter for their oldest or even second oldest sons. However, the name Samuel was used frequently for the older sons, leading to the belief Peter's father was a Samuel.

Early Wallace records for our ancestor were mingled across county and and state lines because Pennsylvania was formed after Maryland and absorbed parts of Maryland, and then Delaware was formed from parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Peter Wallace immigrated with his mother via Philadelphia, PA in 1724 to Cecil Co, MD and then moved with the family to the Pennsylvania-Maryland border area. Church records indicate Peter and his family were not in the Donegal Presbytery in Lancaster Co, PA but in a border area of Cecil Co, MD where citizens often attended what became a Chester Co, PA church.

Although his great-granddaughter Susan Paulding Ruff Martin and his great, great grandson John Martin Perry believed Peter first came to Tybee Island, GA, this is incorrect and unsubstantiated by mention in any county records or by the immigration pattern of the family.

Peter was first described as a yeoman farmer; later records record him as a gentleman, which was often used to denote the grandson of a knight. All but his youngest son served as an officer in the Revolution; under the English only gentlemen and above were made officers.

Peter and his wife Martha, who was his cousin, were married in Cecil Co, MD and the marriage certificate in Lancaster Co, PA is reportedly a copy. According to Cecelia Fabos-Becker, Peter was "of age" when he married in the early spring of 1739 just before moving to Virginia from his then residence in Lancaster Co, PA. This means he was at or over 21 and therefore was born in 1717/18, not 1719.

Martha Woods was also of age at marriage. Although in Pennsylvania, unlike some colonies, that meant she was over 18, Presbyterian and Anglican custom would have had her older -- 20 or 21 most likely. Because Martha's youngest sister waited to marry until after the family had moved to Augusta Co, VA, Martha was most likely 20 or 21 when she married Peter in probably Mar 1739.

Peter and Martha settled in the part of Augusta Co, VA which in 1769 became Botetourt Co, VA and then in 1778 became Rockbridge Co, VA. Peter, like most wealthy men of that time, occupied himself with buying and selling property; farming and raising a family. He had land deals in Augusta, Albemarle and surrounding counties. Peter's earliest Virginia land records start in the year 1738. He bought over 500 acres between 1750 and 1768, all near or on the James River and also owned 315 acres on a branch of Buffalo Creek. They sold 150 1/2 acres of land in 1757 at Whistle Creek.

Peter and Martha lived on and farmed the land on the forks of the James River adjacent to land of her brother Richard, sister Magdalena and sister Sarah near Woods River (now New River) and Lapsley's Run; this encouraged a close clan of kinship among the families. Peter Wallace's land may have been one mile south of Lexington, VA on what was the Richard S. Nuckols dairy farm in 1990. Peter, Martha and their relatives founded the Timber Ridge Church.

Peter and Martha attended the Faggs Manor Church at times and the Head of the Christiana Church -- neither of which have many published or online early records.

Peter died leaving one-third of his plantation, a horse, saddle, bed and furniture to his wife; daughter Janet forty pounds, a horse, saddle, bed and furniture; daughter Susanna fifty pounds, a bed and furniture; progeny Elizabeth and Samuel one dollar as they had already received their shares; and son John the plantation, slave Charley and the residual estate.

A family burial plot is within an overgrown pasture at Thorn Hill Plantation, on Thorn Hill Road about a half mile south of Lexington; there are unmarked as well as two marked graves according to the 1990s owner, but no marking for Peter Wallace or his son Samuel Wallace. Thorn Hill mansion built in 1792 became the home of his sister-in-law Magdelena Woods; it is located at 1196 Thorn Hill Road, Lexington VA.