Samuel Ruggles (1795 - 1871)

Born 9 Mar 1795 in Brookfield, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 6 Sep 1871 at age 76 in Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Wisconsin, United States

Biography

Samuel Ruggles was a missionary and pioneer teacher at the Hawaiian Islands.

Samuel Ruggles was born in Brookfield, Connecticut, March 9, 1795, the youngest of nine children. He was the son of Samuel Ruggles and grandson of Capt. Joseph Ruggles. His father died in 1795, the year of Samuel's birth, and he was cared for by his brother, Isaac W. Ruggles.

Samuel entered Yale College, but owing to ill health did not complete his course of study.

He entered the employ of the American Board as their agent in soliciting funds from the New England churches for the support of the foreign mission work, and for the mission school at Cornwall, Connecticut. When the American Board decided to undertake the carrying of the gospel to the Hawaiian Islands, Mr. Ruggles offered himself to the work.

Samuel Ruggles united with the Congregational Church in Brookfield, May 19, 1816. He was dismissed by letter in September, 1819, at the time of his departure for the Islands.

Samuel married Nancy Wells on September 22, 1819 in Connecticut.^[1]

Mr. Ruggles also persuaded his sister, Lucia Ruggles, then a teacher, to join the group going to the Sandwich Islands. She and her husband, Dr. Holman, sailed with the company October 23, 1819. Mr. Ruggles was assigned to a station at Waimea on Kauai Island. He later was at Hilo in 1824; at Kaawaloa in 1828; at Waimea in 1831.

Samuel retired from the work in 1834. With him were his wife, four children, all born on the Islands, and a daughter of Dr. Hiram Bingham. They sailed on the ship Telegraph and reached Sag Harbor, Long Island, June 19, 1834.

Mr. Ruggles and family resided in his native town, Brookfield, Connecticut, for some years.

In 1860 Samuel and Nancy lived in Koshkonong, Jefferson County, Wisconsin. While the entire listing is not clear, he does describe himself as a missionary to the Sandwich Island.^[2]

In 1870 Samuel and Nancy were living in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Their daughter Sarah and her husband George Stafford were living just a few houses from from them.^[3]

Samuel died in September 1871 at age 76 and was buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. His memorial has a brief biography and links to those of parents, wife and children.^[4]

Mrs. Ruggles died there February 26, 1873, aged eighty-two years.^[5]

Ruggles was involved in the early development of the coffee industry in Hawaii. ^[6]

Not to be confused with Samuel B. Ruggles, his first cousin, once removed.

Sources

1. ↑ Nancy Wells, "Connecticut, Marriages, 1729-1867" FamilySearch.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1860"
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1870"
4. ↑ Samuel Ruggles memorial at Find A Grave.
5. ↑ This material is based heavily on: Emily Carrie Hawley: The Introduction of Christianity Into the Hawaiian Islands. p. 55,56
6. ↑ http://www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org/History

• Emily Carrie Hawley: Title: The Introduction of Christianity Into the Hawaiian Islands: And the Development of These Islands Through the Agency of the Missionaries and Their Descendants, 1820-1920. January 1, 1922. Press of E.L. Hildreth. A Google E-Book: ECHawley
• Nancy Wells, "Connecticut, Marriages, 1729-1867" FamilySearch.
• "United States Census, 1860," Year: 1860; Census Place: Koshkonong, Jefferson, Wisconsin; Roll: M653_1413; Page: 347; Image: 353; Family History Library Film: 805413.
• "United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch 1870 US Census: accessed 26 Dec 2013), Wisconsin > Jefferson > Fort Atkinson; citing NARA microfilm publication M593.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #96377393
• Hawley, Emily. Historical Sketch of the First Congregational Church of Brookfield, Connecticut, and of the Town of Brookfield (Brookfield Center, Conn., 1907) Page 135-6.