Ancestor of the Day: Moses Ruyle (1780 - 1864)

Moses Ruyle is Donica's 5th Great Grandfather. Her descent from Moses is as follows: 

Moses Ruyle (1780 - 1864)

Andrew Ruyle (1814 - 1897)

John Ruyle (1852 - 1937)

Della Ruyle (1890 - 1954)

Floyd Davis (1911 - 1992)

Floyd's daughter

Her son

Donica

Moses Ruyle was born April 10, 1780 in Hampshire County, Virginia. He is often cited as the son of Henry Ruyle (1715 -1790), and his mother is identified as Catharine (1735 - 1810). Moses was the tenth of twelve children born to Henry and Catharine, their children are as follows:

Henry (1753 - 1840s)

Andrew (1756 - 1840s)

Mary (1758 - 1840s)

Magdalene (1760 - 1792)

John (1761 - 1842)

Margaret (1764 - 1794)

Elizabeth (1768 - 1851)

Catherine Celia (1770 - 1868)

Solomon (1777 - 1847) 

Moses (1780 - 1864)

Aaron (1781 - 1849)

Peter (1783 -1869)

By the time Moses was born, his elder siblings were in their twenties and the family had lived in Hampshire, Virginia for decades. At the time of his birth, the colony was one of four fighting for Independence during the American Revolutionary War. 

Possibly the only surviving print of Moses Ruyle, ca. 1860

Sometime between 1783 and 1790, the family relocated to Sumner County, Tennessee. Shortly after the move, Moses's father, Henry Ruyle died in 1790, when Moses was just 10 years old. Below are the paragraphs from Henry's Last Will and Testament that pertain to Moses:

"I leave and bequeath unto my sons John Ruyle, Solomon Ruyle, Moses Ruyle, Aaron Ruyle, and Peter Ruyle the plantation and land whereon I now live, with its appurtenances to be equally dividing it in such manner as my son Peter Ruyle, being the youngest may have the cleared the land that now is, to my said sons, their heirs and assigns forever...

Also it is my will and desire that the remainder of Stock of Cattle and Sheep undisposed shall go to the use of raising and Schooling my sons Solomon, Moses, Aaron and Peter they being the youngest, except in the case my som John Ruyle should make a crop or two on the plantation in order to support the family he is to have part of said Stock as a recompense for his labor and care...

I lastly constitute, nominate and appoint my wife Catharine Ruyle and my son John 
Ruyle to be Executrix and Executor to this my last will and Testament. In Testimony whereof I have herewith set my hand and seal this 16th day of Feburary, Anno Domini 1790.

Signed, Sealed, published and delaired by the said Henry Ruyle to be and 
contained his last will and testament.

Wit. N. Phillips, Jno. Cravens, Edward Jones
Proved: 1790 July"

During the decade after his father's death, Moses lost two older sisters, Magdalene (d. 1792) and Margaret (d. 1794). 

Moses married first Mary Goldston (1778 - 1809) in Sumner County, Tennessee in 1804. The couple had at least three children: Mary Jane (b. abt 1805), Catherine (1805 - 1850) and Moses Ruyle, Jr. (1807 - 1808) who died in infancy. Mary died during the winter of 1808 or 1809 and the cause of her death is unclear, though most likely related to childbirth given her age and birth of her last child. 

Marriage bond for Moses Ruyle and Elisabeth Kizer

As was customary in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Moses remarried soon after the death of his first wife, this time to Elisabeth Kizer (1788 - 1851) on May 19, 1809 in Sumner County, Tennessee. Moses's second marriage produced nine children as follows:

Austin (1810 - 1879)

Emily (1811 - 1910)

Elvira Ella (1812 - 1909)

Andrew (1814 - 1897)

Polly (1815 - 1896)

Sarah (1817 -1858)

Washington (1818 - 1907)

Parlee Ann (1820 - 1893)

Henry (1822 - 1913)

Littleton (1824 - 1871)

All of Moses and Elisabeth's children were born in Tennessee. According to family sources, Moses moved to Macoupin County, Illinois in 1829. Near the end of his life, Moses had relocated to Greene County, Illinois and was living with his youngest daughter, Parley Ann and her husband, Washington Hix. Moses Ruyle died in Scottsville, Macoupin, Illinois, USA on April 10, 1864 and is buried on what was his own property, now known as the Ruyle Cemetery in Scottsville, Macoupin, Illinois.

Moses Ruyle's headstone in Scottsville, Macoupin, Illinois