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Ruth (Unknown) Tilghman (abt. 1600 - abt. 1694)

Ruth Tilghman formerly [surname unknown]
Born about in Selling, Faversham Hundred, Kent, Englandmap [uncertain]
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 94 in Manokin, Somerset County, Province of Marylandmap [uncertain]
Profile last modified | Created 11 Mar 2013
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US Southern Colonies.
Ruth (Unknown) Tilghman resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776.
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Contents

Disputed Origins

A previous version of this profile claimed, citing only an unsourced Wikipedia article,[citation needed] that Ruth was born about 1600 in Selling, Kent, England, the illegitimate daughter of Charles Blount (8th Baron Montjoy, KG) and Penelope Devereaux-- both supposedly eminent members of the British aristocracy and courtiers of the aging Queen Elizabeth I.[citation needed] These parents have been detached. According to the ODNB and a law case, Charles Blount had five surviving children with Penelope Devereux, whose married name was never Devonshire, but not one of them was named Ruth. Consequent errors in the biography below will need editing.

Charles Blount supposedly was later named the 1st Earl of Devonshire (hence Ruth's adopted name: "Ruth Devonshire").

See Penelope Blount Countess of Devonshire article on Wikipedia for a full account of Lady Penelope's life, including mention of her 4 illegitimate children by the Earl of Devonshire, who died less than a year after the two finally married in 1605 and he legitimized their children (but in midst of a scandal that continued to "taint" Ruth and her sister Elizabeth Blount). Lady Penelope died in July 1607, leaving all her Blount/Devonshire children as minors.

Biography

Ruth, whose origins have not yet been documented, married Christopher Tilghman, whose mother, Ann Saunders Tilghman, was a great-great grand-daughter of King Edward III by Philippa of Hainaut. Christopher was a second son and had been born about the same time as Ruth in Selling Parish, Kent.[citation needed]

It's probable that the pair were married in Kent, where Christopher Tilghman had obtained possession of Rhodes Court, formerly owned by Thomas Bealde, in about 1621 (his majority year). In "The Visitations of Kent," Christopher Tilghman is described as "of this parish, gent., who owned [Rhodes Court] in 1621 and [later] sold it to Thomas Carter..."[citation needed] Rhodes Court is described as being a manor situated in the southeast extremity of Selling parish, in the borough of Rhodes. Selling Parish, adjoins Boughton to the south of Graveney. A small part of it, within the Borough of Rhodes, is within Faversham Hundred, Kent.

Some genealogies say that Christopher and Ruth married in 1630; this seems logical but is unproven. It is possible that two of their four children were born in Kent, England. These were:

  1. Mildred Tilghman, b. ca. 1631 in Boughton Under Bleane, Kent
  2. John Tilghman, b. ? in Faversham Hundred, Kent, England

There may have been other children who died in infancy; that may be the reason why some genealogies state that Ruth was born in 1625 (it may have been a first daughter named Ruth who died young).

In 1638, Christopher Tilghman, who, according to family tradition, had had a violent dispute with his older brother John, agreed to "seek his fortune" in Virginia. This solution would have met with favor among those who knew his wife's origins and who sought to "export" her to the distant British colony of Virginia.[1]

In "Cavaliers and Pioneers," by Nell Marion Nugent, it is stated that Christopher Tilghman came to Virginia in the party organized by George Mynifie, a merchant, on April 19, 1638.[citation needed] No mention is made of exactly where he settled, nor of his wife and children (leading some to guess that he married Ruth Devonshire in Virginia, but 38 was very old for either a man or woman to marry at that time). Land records indicate that the family settled on land near the Charles River in Charles City County and later moved across the Bay to Accomack County on Virginia's "Eastern Shore".[2]

Christopher and Ruth (Devonshire) Tilghman had 2 children in Virginia:

  1. Roger Tilghman b: 1641 Charles River, Charles City Co., VA
  2. Gideon Tilghman b: ca. 1652 in Accomack Co, VA

Christopher Tilghman died in 1673 either in James City County, Virginia, or, as family tradition asserts, at the home of his son Gideon Tilghman, located on the Manokin River in Somerset Co., Maryland. His wife survived him and died in 1694, most likely also at her son Gideon Tilghman's home in Somerset Co., Maryland [citation needed]

Sources

  1. Mayo, ashton, coplin, comer, salinas and lystra families and supporting families - Christopher Tilghman. A well-researched family genealogy that cites the family Bible and traditions, recounting Ruth & Christopher's situation. See also: Ann Devonshire by the same authors.
  2. See preceding note; cited in family genealogy from secondary sources. Better sources sought.

See also:


Acknowledgments

  • Thank you to Bob Nichol for creating WikiTree profile Devonshire-17 through the import of Hamilton.ged on Mar 9, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Bob and others.
  • Thank you to Margaret Moyer for creating WikiTree profile Devonshire-18 through the import of mmcook3.ged on May 24, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Margaret and others.
  • Thank you to Fran Mason for creating WikiTree profile Devonshire-22 through the import of Mason Family Tree.ged on Oct 28, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Fran and others.
  • Thank you to Crickett Lucero, for creating WikiTree profile Blount-430 from firsthand knowledge. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Crickett and others.
  • Thank you to Chet Snow for researching this person, cleaning up sources in preparation for merging so there is just one profile for his historic personage, on December 1, 2015.




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Comments: 6

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Given the disputed origins section, is there any evidence for a maiden name? Should she be changed to Unknown?
posted on Devonshire-17 (merged) by Jillaine Smith
Lacking a response from profile managers, and given what's documented about Ruth's supposed origins, I've changed her LNAB to Unknown.
posted by Jillaine Smith
After reading this bio, I tried to follow the line from Ann Saunders Tilghman (or Anna Sanders/Saunders as she's also listed) back to King Edward III. Did not find any trail leading to the king. Something's wrong somewhere. Can anyone shed light on this?
posted on Devonshire-17 (merged) by Stormy Knight
Devonshire-17 and Blount-430 appear to represent the same person because: Same vital details. Please see the Biography section of Devonshire-17 for explanation of Devonshire surname.
posted on Devonshire-17 (merged) by Bob Nichol
Devonshire-18 and Devonshire-17 appear to represent the same person because: Both profiles are the wife of Christopher Tilghman and the mother of Roger Tilghman.
posted on Devonshire-17 (merged) by Kay (Johnson) Wilson
Devonshire-28 and Devonshire-17 appear to represent the same person because: Both profiles are the wife of Christopher Tilghman and the mother of Roger Tilghman.
posted on Devonshire-17 (merged) by Kay (Johnson) Wilson