Rutherford Family History

Dec 2007

arrison, Jacob, Nancy, and Sarah Ann, four of the children of John and Cloa Ann Rutherford, each eventually settled in northeastern Kansas. All of the children except the youngest daughter would have been born in Gallia County, Ohio, where the parents had married and probably remained until relocating to Davis County, Iowa, before 1847. By late 1851, the widowed mother and all of her children doubled back eastward to Peoria County, Illinois.

Harrison Rutherford

Tombstone of
William H. Rutherford,
2006 William Harrison Rutherford was the first of the family to move to Kansas. He was born 2 Feb 1831 in Ohio, and married Mary Ann Springer on 4 Mar 1853 in Stark County, Illinois, the county bordering to the north of Peoria County. Earlier while in Iowa, the Rutherfords had been living near the family of Jacob Heidlebaugh, an uncle of Mary Ann, and this may be how the two became acquainted.

Harrison and Mary Ann's first two children were born in Illinois before they left for Kansas Territory between 1857-61. On 27 Sep 1862, Harrison was sworn into the Kansas State Militia during the Civil War. He was briefly ordered into active service from 12-27 Oct 1864 during “Price’s Raid”, but it is doubtful that he saw any action.

Rutherford Family Migration to Kansas
1. Gallia County, Ohio
2. Davis County, Iowa
3. Peoria & Stark Counties, Illinois
4. Doniphan & Brown Counties, Kansas In March 1865, they purchased property near the town of Highland in Doniphan County, and this is where they would have their remaining children. Their family remained near Highland until at least the 1885 state census. By the 1895 census, all of Harrison and Mary Ann's children were married and the couple had moved to Brown County, Kansas, southeast of the then thriving town of Robinson. They were living with the Henry P. and Sascarissa Shafer family at the time. In 1900, the household consisted of Harrison and Mary Ann, their youngest daughter, Dora, her daughter, and two children of their daughter, Sarah. Harrison died later that year on 22 Nov 1900, leaving a will he had written only 20 days earlier and witnessed by the same H.P. Shafer. He was buried in Claytonville Cemetery in Brown County. Mary Ann died 31 Jul 1909 while living in the town of Willis with their son, David. Harrison and Mary Ann had the following children:

David H. (1853-1922) who married Sarah Estella Dawson 1875.
Sarah J. (c.1857) who married William Henry HAMBY 1877. She second married Bert Philburn c.1889 and third Fred F. Martin before 1905. She was living in Horton, Brown County, Kansas, in 1920.
Marianne "Polly" (c.1861) who married A.J. Hunt 1883.
Mary Ellen (1865-1916) who first married a Mr. Green before 1890 and second William Arthur (Arthur) Roberts in 1895. She died in Horton, Kansas.
Rosetta “Etta” (1867) who first married John Henry Martin 1888 and second Jacob L. Stotler c.1909. Jacob was previously married to Hattie A. Roberts, a sister of Arthur Roberts. Rosetta and Jacob were living in Holton, Jackson County, Kansas, in 1920.
Dora (1872-1955) who first married Elsie E. Roberts 1896 and divorced in 1901. Elsie was another sibling of Arthur and Hattie Roberts. Dora then married Charles Ervin "Charley" Wilson later that year. Dora died in Atchison, Kansas.

Jacob Rutherford

Tombstone of
Jacob J. Rutherford,
2006 Jacob J. Rutherford was born Mar 1833 also in Ohio. He married a woman named Mary, and the two had a son named Oliver Wilson Rutherford (1858). On 5 Aug 1862, Jacob and a younger brother, Andrew, enlisted in the Illinois Infantry during the Civil War, but Jacob was discharged after only five months on 12 Jan 1863.

By the time the family had moved to Doniphan County, Kansas, probably around 1870, Jacob had become a widower. He and his son appear in the 1875 state census living next to Harrison's family near White Cloud in Doniphan County. By 1880 they had moved further west in Kansas to Phillips County, but neither remained there. In 1883 Oliver married Rachel M. Stowers in Brown County. A short time afterward, Jacob was living with a widow and her children back in Doniphan County again in 1885. By 1900, he had moved yet again to live with his son's family in Wea Township, Miami County, Kansas. Jacob died after a long illness on 28 May 1906 at the home of his sister, Sarah, in Horton, Brown County, Kansas. He was buried near Harrison in the Claytonville Cemetery with a tombstone showing his military service.

Nancy Rutherford

Nancy Rutherford was born c.1843 in Ohio. She first married Thomas J. Sumner 21 Jul 1865 in Peoria County, Illinois, and they had a daughter named Viola (c.1867) Sumner. In 1870, Nancy was living in Doniphan County, Kansas, but it is not known if she was still married at the time. She then married Jacob C. Springer Jr., a nephew of her sister-in-law, Mary Ann Springer, on 10 Apr 1872 in Doniphan County, Kansas. They had at least two daughters:

Minerva (c.1875).
Birty (c.1879).

In 1880, the family was living in Brown County, Kansas, but they have not been found again after this date.

Sarah Rutherford

Sarah Ann Rutherford was born 4 Mar 1849 while the family was living in Iowa. She first married Peter J. Morris 4 Jul 1865 after they had relocated to Peoria County, Illinois. Sarah then married George Sylvester Hampton 2 Sep 1867 in the same county. They had their first two children here before October 1870 prior to becoming residents of Doniphan County, Kansas. The family apparently lived a short time in Creston, Iowa, where a son was born c.1876. Their next child was born back in Mission Township, Brown County, Kansas, where they finally settled. Sarah died 29 Oct 1923 at her home in Horton, Kansas, and was buried in the Horton Cemetery. Her husband died 04 Apr 1927. They had the following children:

Lorena Ann (c.1868-1896).
William T. (c.1870).
Lewis Edwin (1872-1938) who married Nellie M. Berry 1898.
George Jackson (1874-1876) who died as an infant.
Harve Albert (1876-1958) who was born in Creston, Iowa, and married Viola May Lowry 1907 in Wetmore, Kansas.
Rollie Ernest (1878-1966) who married Evelyn Nancy Kale 1897 and lived in Powhattan, Brown County, Kansas.
Adella Augusta "Della" (1881-1969) who married Kenneth W. Smith 1904 and died in Houston, Texas.

John and Cloa Ann

Tombstone of
Cloa Ann Deavers,
2006 The father of the previous four children was John Rutherford, born between 1801-1810 in either Kentucky or Ohio. Their mother was Cloa Ann Deavers, born Feb 1810 in Virginia. The two married in Gallia County, Ohio, on 8 Mar 1828 and were still living here in 1840. This is probably where they remained and had their first 8 children before relocating in 1846-7 to Salt Creek Township, Davis County, Iowa. Shortly afterward, John died 15 Nov 1848 at Portsmouth, Scioto County, Ohio. It is not known why he was in Portsmouth, but a suspected relative, Anson Rutherford, was living there at the time. Six months later, his youngest child was born in Davis County.

On 14 Jul 1849, the court listed the personal effects that would comprise Cloa Ann’s dower, which is the portion of a deceased husband's estate that a widow is allowed to retain. This included clothing not exceeding $100, spinning wheels and weaving looms, one bed and bedding for every two persons in the family, one cow, one horse, three hogs, ten sheep and their fleeces and the yarn and cloth manufactured from them, three tons of hay, and provisions for the family for six months. The remainder, including 40 acres of land, would be sold to repay the family’s debts. The widow and her children were still in Iowa in August 1850 during the census, along with several other presumably related Rutherford families. Among these were Isaac and Jacob Rutherford who co-signed an administrative bond for John Rutherford's probate in July 1849. This Jacob continued as administrator until final settlement in September 1851.^note

Illinois

Cloa Ann and her family must have left Iowa almost immediately afterward. They moved to Chillicothe, Peoria County, Illinois, where the children began marrying in 1852. By 1860, it appears that Andrew had become Cloa Ann's sole source of support. He enlisted in the Illinois Infantry on 27 August 1862 for three years of service during the Civil War. While in the military, he had been providing her with approximately $11/month for her rent and personal use. This ended when Andrew was shot and killed on 27 Jun 1864 during the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain in Georgia. Two months later, his mother applied for a pension as the widowed mother of a deceased soldier.

In October 1870, Cloa Ann reapplied for her pension after moving to Doniphan County, Kansas, where several of her children were now living. Nancy Sumner and Sarah Ann Hampton provided notarized statements in support of her application that they were neighbors of Cloa Ann back in Illinois and that they provided some financial support to the widow after the death of her son. They were all in each other’s homes almost daily both before and after moving, and her only source of support was from her friends. However, they conveniently failed to mention that these friends were her own daughters, which could have greatly affected the outcome of the application.

Cloa Ann died in Doniphan County on 21 May 1873 and was buried in the Highland Cemetery in Highland, Kansas. John and Cloa Ann had the following children:

Anson H. (c.1829) who married Charity DIXON 1852 in Stark County, Illinois.
William Harrison (1831-1900) previously discussed.
Jacob J. (1833-1906) previously discussed.
Isaac (c.1835).
Andrew J. (c.1838-1864) who was killed during the Civil War.
John (c.1840).
Nancy (c.1843) previously discussed.
George (c.1846).
Sarah Ann (1849-1923) also previously discussed.

Note

[Find more information regarding the unverified Rutherford relatives in Ohio and Iowa here.]

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a Generation of Kansas Pioneers in Atchison, Brown & Doniphan Counties