John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1871

At the recent Virginia Genealogical Society meeting, one of the pleasures was talking to a Rucker, or Rücker, descendant.  The family considers that the immigrant Rucker was a German who came with the Huguenots to Virginia, though he never lived with the Huguenots.  My memory is not that good, but I believe that these Huguenots came about 1700, give or take a couple of years.

If this is true, then we have another Germanna colonist (i.e., a German who lived on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains) who came before 1714.  I have mentioned that Peter Heide appears to have left Germany in 1709, though his path in the following years is uncertain.  I also mentioned Urban Danner (Urban Tanner) who left Germany in 1709, and who is probably the man in the German Lutheran Church (in the Robinson River) accounts in 1733.  Again, we are not certain when he arrived in America.

At one time, I was writing a short history of the Robinson River Germans and did not even list the Ruckers.  I began to be suspicious that this might be a German family when I noted that the name is to be found in Germany.  Descendants say the immigrant was German but he never lived in the Robinson River Valley.  The Ruckers that were there were his descendants.

If any of you believe you may have Rucker ancestors, you will want to subscribe to “ The Rücker Family Society Newsletter ”.  It was in its fourteenth volume as of March 2003, with a quarterly publishing schedule.  The editor and president is:

Jeannie B. Robinson
304 Charmian Road
Richmond, VA 23226-1705
(Her eMail address is:  ruckerfs@erols.com)

The Rucker land patent that I am familiar with was to the south of Michael Holt.  On some occasions, the families were witnesses for each other.

This would be a good opportunity for readers to come forward with information about the Ruckers.  It would help to solidify in our minds their relationship to other Germanna colonists.
(20 Apr 04)