Elizabeth (Rutherford) Galloway (1752 - 1845)

Born 27 Feb 1752 in Donegal Twp, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Wife of Patrick Galloway — married 1770 (to about 31 Dec 1775) in Paxtang. Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 1845 at about age 92 in Iredell, North Carolina, USA

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Biography

Elizabeth "Betsy" Rutherford was born on February 27, 1752, to Agnes Jean Mordah, age 39, and Thomas Rutherford, age 44. She married three times and was widowed twice during the Revolutionary War. She passed away in 1845.

The Rutherfords of Paxtang The following paragraphs were taken from the ``The Rutherfords of Paxtang´´, published in the 1800´s in Pennsylvania. ^[1]

``In the year 1689, several brothers, of the Scotch family Rutherford, joined the army of William III when he invaded Ireland and were present and fought at the battle of the Boyne. Two were company officers, and the third was a Presbyterian clergyman. They all remained on the island, one settling in the county Tyrone, another in the county Down, and the minister in the county Monaghan. Several of the sons of these men emigrated to America during the decade between 1720 and 1730; among them was Thomas Rutherford, the progenitor of the family in Paxtang. As an instance of how family likeness is preserved through ages, it may be here stated that the portrait of David Rutherford, grandfather of Sir Walter Scott, which hangs in the dining hall facing the river Tweed at Abbottsford, would answer equally well as a portrait of the late Dr. Rutherford of Harrisburg, although the Doctor's ancestor left Scotland two centuries ago. No likeness of Thomas Rutherford is in existence, and the only description of him is a traditional one, which represents him as a dark haired, wellbuilt man, about five feet ten inches in height, full of energy and obviously of such business abilities that led to financial success.

There was a spice of romance connected with his early manhood which may not be uninteresting to the reader. His attachment to Jean Mordah (whom he afterwards married), was reciprocated. The Mordahs were about to sail for America, and Thomas, fearing he might lose his Jean, proposed and was accepted, but poor Jean was scarcely sixteen and her parents said "no," and took her with them across the sea. On the cover of his memorandum book, preserved in the family, Thomas inscribed the legend, "Enquire for Dennygall." This was the location of the Mordahs in Pennsylvania, and in the following year, 1729, he appeared in person at their door and claimed his Jean. Mr. Mordah, doubtless, still thought the pair too young, and in order that more time might be gained, required his prospective son-in-law to be the possessor of a certain sum of money, with which to begin the world, before he would entrust the young lady to his keeping. Thomas, like Jacob of old, was obliged to acquiesce, and took his departure for Philadelphia. When he returned, he was mounted on a good horse and had with him the documents which satisfied the old gentleman's requirements. They were married in 1730, and lived in Donegal until after the death of John Mordah, in 1744, when they removed to Derry, and, in 1755, to Paxtang, where they spent the remainder of their days.´´

Elizabeth "Betsy" Rutherford had a very unfortunate and sad life. She buried three husbands within 20 years (sic). She first married Patrick Gallaway and had three children by him. He joined the Colonial Army and never returned. She next married Patrick Harbison, who was either killed by the Indians or killed in the war also (two researchers give differing reasons for his death). Next she married Thomas Archibald who only lived 15 more years. Patrick and Betsey settled in Paxtang, Pennsylvania near her parents. Patrick joined the Colonial army in 1775. He marched off to do battle with the British and was killed in the ill fated charge on the British garrison at Quebec, Canada on December 31, 1775. After the death of Patrick, Betsy moved with their three children to live with her sister, Jean and bro-in-law, Thomas Mayes, in North Carolina. While living with them, she met and married Patrick Harbison. She and Patrick had one child, Elizabeth "Betsy" Harbison. When Harbison was killed she was widowed for the second time in 2 years. After his untimely death, she next married a widower, Thomas Archibald in Iredell County, North Carolina. They had four children. She was once again widowed in 1800 by the death of Thomas. She was 48 years old and thrice a widow within a twenty year (sic) span.

Betsey's grave has not been found. No record of her death is available at this writing. Some assumptions however are in order. Her oldest daughter, Jean Galloway Beall lived in Iredell County, North Carolina at the time of the death of Betsy's third husband, Thomas Archibald. Jean evidently thought so much of Thomas that she named her son, born just four days before Thomas' death, Thomas Archibald Beall. It must be assumed that they had an excellent relationship for her to name her son after her second stepfather. One can assume that Betsy may have spent the rest of her days with Jean and her family since they lived in the same area. Although Betsy was a relatively young woman at the time of the death of her third husband, there is no record of her marrying a fourth time. Her only child by Patrick Harbison, Betsy Harbison, married and moved to Madison County, Alabama where she died in 1815. Her oldest son, Thomas Galloway, moved to Fayette Co., Alabama about 1822. She may have been dead by that time. She did, however, have four children by Thomas Archibald and could have lived with them until her death. One of these children, a daughter, married and settled in Mississippi. Betsey was surely a woman of determination. To go through the heartbreaking events in her life and persevere, is a legacy that we can admire. She obviously was a survivor, as were so many of her early American frontier contemporaries. As I research these early pioneers, I am constantly amazed at their toughness. They had to battle the elements, hostile Indians, primitive housing and endure hardships that we can only imagine. They built this country and we owe them a debt of gratitude that is impossible to comprehend. As I read about the many heartrending episodes in Betsey´s life, it was a moving experience for me. To be widowed three times with small children each time, living in hostile country, with no means of support, had to have been a terrible ordeal for a young mother to face. Elizabeth ``Betsey´´ Rutherford Gallaway Harbison Archibald is one of my favorite antecedents. I am proud to be one of her fourth great grandsons. What a great great lady!. What an inspiration! What a lesson in life for all of us. '85'85. lew

Sources

1. ↑ Pennsylvania genealogies; chiefly Scotch-Irish and German by Egle, William Henry, 1830-1901 Pg 632

See also:

• Betsy Rutherford - from "The Hollingsworth-McCarthy Quarterly" Vol.5
• Pennsylvania Genealogies: Chiefly Scotch-Irish and German, 1700-1895, VII. Elizabeth Rutherford ,2 (Thomas ,1) born February 27, 1752 .
• Ancestry.com, Commemorative biographical encyclopedia of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania : containing sketches of prominent and representative c (The Generations Network, Inc.), www.ancestry.com, Database online