Elizabeth (Harrison) Ratcliff (1737 - 1791)

Born 25 Jun 1737 in Middletown, York, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 5 Feb 1791 at age 53 in Middletown, York, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Elizabeth Harrison

Elizabeth was a Friend (Quaker)

Elizabeth (Harrison) Ratcliff was a Virginia colonist.

Origin

Elizabeth Harrison was born on 25 June 1737 (O.S. 1737, 4, 25). She was the daughter of William Harrison and Margaret Maupin.^[1][2]

From the Harrisons of Skimino we learn that, "There were several other intermarriages between the Bates and the Jordans and their descendants, which shows the strong infusion of Quaker blood in William Harrison's family circle. John Bates (1685-1723), the son of John Bates of Skimino, married Susannah Fleming, daughter of Colonel Charles Fleming, of New Kent County, and his son, Fleming Bates (1710-1784), married Sarah Jordan, daughter of Benjamin Jordan (1674-1716), the seventh son of Thomas Jordan of Chuckatuck".^[3]

The family relationships between Elizabeth and her brother (and parents) is shown, "Of the large family of Fleming Bates, two sons, Edward Bates and Elisha Bates, married daughters of William Harrison, and two daughters, Mary and Sarah, married sons of Elizabeth Ratcliffe, who was William Harrison's sister. Thomas Fleming Bates, another son of Fleming Bates, was the father of the Hon. Edward Bates of Missouri, AttorneyGeneral in Lincoln's cabinet, and of George Bates, who was Governor of Missouri."^[3]

Marriage

Elizabeth and William are listed as the parents of William Ratcliff who was born on 14 Jan 1764. ^[4]

Elizabeth and William had the following children:^[1]

Mary Harrison Ratcliffe (born 3/25/1760)

Harrison Ratcliffe (born 3/11/1762)

William Ratcliffe (born 1/1/1764)

John Ratcliffe (born 11/11/1766)

Gideon Ratcliffe (born 5/21/1769>

This listing is at the Cedar Creek Meeting House in Hanover County, but William and Elizabeth are listed as from York. Which corresponds to the records below from the Henrico Meeting.

Society of Friends

In 1768 the Harrisons of Skimino became Quakers, and by the marriage of William Harrison, fourth of the name, with Margaret Jordan there was blended in the blood of his descendants an inheritance of the vigorous and manly character of the Jordans of Nansemond and the Bates of Skimino, who since 1660 had been leaders among the Friends in Virginia.^[3][1] From Hinshaw, in the records of the Henrico Monthly Meeting, it is recorded that William Ratcliff requested membership in the Society in 1767 (O.S. 1767. 1. 3.).^[2]

In 1768 it was reported that William removed to some part of Hanover, VA.^[2] The Cedar Creek Quaker Church, was located in western Hanover County, Virginia, near the village of Montpelier.Notes on Selected Quaker Families of Hanover County, Virginia

In 1770 William and wife Elizabeth moved back to Skimino as they received on certificate from Circular Monthly meeting in VA. dated 1769, 11, 11 and referred to care of the Skimino Meeting where they reside.^[2]

In 1787 William is recorded as deceased at the time of the marriage of his son John to Sarah Jordan Bates.^[2]

Death

Elizabeth died in 1791.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} McReynolds, June Ratcliffe. Our Radclyffe Heritage: a History of the Radclyffe Family In England And Virginia. Roanoke, Va.: McReynolds, 1975. p. 81 - 87.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Hinshaw, William Wade, and Thomas Worth Marshall. 1936. Encyclopedia of American Quaker genealogy. Ann Arbor, Mich: Edwards Bros. p. 209
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Harrison, Francis Burton and Fairfax Harrison. Aris Sonis Focisque; Being a Memoir of an American Family, the Harrisons of Skimino: and Particularly of Jesse Burton Harrison and Burton Norvell Harrison. New York: De Vinne Press, 1910. Archive.org (Pages 4-32)
4. ↑ "Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRRH-77V : 5 December 2014), Elizabeth Harrison in entry for William Ratcliff, 14 Jan 1764; citing , reference ; FHL microfilm 975.5 V2D.

see also:

• Haverford College; Haverford, Pennsylvania; Henrico Monthly, 1781-1806; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: 1116/209