The Ruckman family history

 

The Ruckman family history, as detailed in the sources, begins with Samuel Ruckman, a native of England, born in 1643. He brought his family to Long Island, New York, in 1682. That same year, a son, Thomas, was born. The next in the ancestral chain is James, son of Thomas, born in New Jersey in 1716. James had a son, David, born in New Jersey in 1747.

David Ruckman (1747-1822) is described as the progenitor of the Ruckman family relationship in Highland and Pocahontas counties. He came to what is now southeast Highland County, Virginia, and settled in Back Creek valley around 1784, near Bethel Church. David married Susanna Little, of New Jersey. Susannah Ruckman (1757-1843) was said to have had "high aspirations and longed for something better than she could get in New Jersey." She seemed to have been disappointed when she reached their destination and found "not earthen floors really meant, she was so disappointed that she would have liked to return at once".

David and Susannah Ruckman had four sons and four daughters: Samuel, John, James, David Little; Elizabeth, Sophia, Mary and Hannah. Two sons died in infancy, one named David and one named Johnathan. They raised four sons and four daughters, named Samuel, John, James, and David who lived in Highland, and married Nancy Hartman and Margaret Slaven, daughters of John Slaven.

David Little Ruckman (son of David and Susannah) was born on Little Back Creek and located on Pocahontas in 1832. He came to the plantation now owned by Fred Ruckman. He married Priscilla Wade, daughter of Otho Wade. David Little Ruckman is described as "a tall and wiry person, who was quick and nervous in his movements, and usually rode in a rapid trot". He was a constable of the Levels District and he "usually got what he went after, as he always meant business". He died in 1841. His wife, Priscilla, died in 1860. David and Priscilla are buried at the Ruckman Cemetery near Mill Point.

The children of David Little and Priscilla Wade Ruckman were:

• Charles, their eldest son, married Margaret Griffin and went to Ohio.
• Samuel died at age fifteen.
• Colonel John Wade Ruckman married Margaret Ann Moore.
• Their son, Mathew, married Margaret Hogsett.
• James Watts Ruckman married Caroline Bruffey.
• Their son, Wallace Ruckman, married Elizabeth Patton.
• Their daughter, Nancy Priscilla, became the wife of Winfield Slaven.

James W. Ruckman's second wife was Caroline Arbogast. Their sons included the late F. Ruckman, O.W. Ruckman and James R. Ruckman. A Ruckman reunion was held at the home of one of these sons. W. Ruckman was a Confederate soldier and died as a prisoner of war in the War between the States. He served in the 19th Virginia Cavalry, Captain Wm. McNeel's Company. Another son, David Jr., was a Confederate soldier and fell mortally wounded at Morristown, Tennessee.

Other Ruckman family members mentioned in the sources include:

• Elizabeth Ruckman married a Mr. Givens and went West.
• Sophia Ruckman married John Gum and was the mother of the late Mrs. Margaret Harper of Knapps Creek.
• Mary Ruckman married James Slaven and went to Ohio and left one child.
• Hannah Ruckman married Timothy Holcomb and settled on Stamping Creek and then went West. She had a daughter, Mrs. Susan Reynolds, and other children.

The family also held a reunion at the home of James Renick on July 3, 1932, at the old Ruckman Homestead, near Millpoint. This reunion was to commemorate the time when, one hundred years earlier, the David Little Ruckman family moved to Pocahontas County. The age of the house was not known, but it was at least 100 years old at the time of the reunion and was still used as a dwelling. The idea of having a Ruckman reunion was brought to reality by Miss Maggie Ruckman. Ninety two people attended the first reunion. The reunions became an annual affair held the first Sunday of July each year, except during World War II.