Isaac Ruddell
Captain Isaac Ruddell (1737-January 1812) was an 18th-century American Virginia State Line officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Kentucky frontiersman. He was an officer commanding a company under BGEN George Rogers Clark (1777–1782). He was the founder of Ruddell's Station, or fort, on the Licking River in present-day Harrison County, Kentucky. In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the settlement was destroyed by joint British Canadian and Eastern Woodlands Indian forces under British officer Captain Henry Bird. He and his family were held prisoner in Detroit for over two years before their release. Two of his sons were later taken captive by Shawnee, one of them becoming adopted brother of the famed warrior Tecumseh.
Isaac Ruddell | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1737 Shenandoah County, Virginia Colony |
| Died | January 1812 Bourbon County, Kentucky, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Isaac Ruddle |
| Occupation(s) | Militia officer, Revolutionary War Virginia State Line officer and landowner |
| Known for | Early Kentucky frontiersman and pioneer; founder of Ruddell's Station in Harrison County, Kentucky. |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Bowman (m1750s-1812) |
| Children | 5 children |
| Relatives | 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 |
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.