Ratchford
Family History
A Summary of the Winfield Ratchford Family Ancestors
Alfred Winfield Ratchford and Letitia Jenkins
Letitia Jenkins is
a great-great granddaughter of one of the Patriot heroes from the battle
of Kings Mountain, Colonel Fredrick Hambright. Col. Hambright commanded
the Lincoln County troops and he was wounded in the leg during the
battle. See RATCHFORDS,...I RECKON for more information
on Letitia Jenkins’ family.
Winfield, as he was
called, was a farmer and a blacksmith. He was very active in the
Presbyterian Church. He and Letitia had nine sons: John, Walter,
Earnest, Price, Zeb, Crown, Jasper, George, and Roy. It is the
descendants of these nine sons who formed the basis of our annual
Ratchford Family reunions.
Alfred Winfield is
the son of John Addison Ratchford.
1860 U.S. Census, Gaston County NC: Entry of
John Ratchford and Family
John Addison Ratchford and Elizabeth Ann “Betsy” McKee
Alfred Winfield’s
father was John Addison Ratchford.
John had a large
tract of land in present-day Gastonia where the Schiele Museum of
Natural History currently stands. John Ratchford was a confederate
soldier in the famous “Light Division” commanded by General A.P. Hill,
in the Army of Northern Virginia. He was wounded and captured at
Gettysburg, and then exchanged.
Betsy McKee is
descended from a Revolutionary Soldier named James McKee, who was a
Revolutionary soldier and half-brother to Major William Chronicle.
Chronicle commanded troops at the battle of Kings Mountain. It is not
clear to me whether or not McKee fought at Kings Mountain, but he is
reported to be a documented Revolutionary Patriot.
Betsy died in
1895 of an apparent heart attack. About two years after Betsy died John
married another woman named Mary Price. John lived another six months
after that. He died in 1897.
John is the
son of Joseph and Hettie Ratchford.
Joseph Ratchford and Esther “Hettie” Carothers
Joseph and Hettie
Ratchford had a large plantation in the southern part of Gaston County,
encompassing about 300 acres.
See
Ratchfords,… I Reckon (pages 96-98) for the text of their last
will and testament. Interesting to me is the absence of any mention of
slaves in their wills. I wonder if Joseph never obtained any slaves as
was done by his father, Moses Ratchford.
Moses Ratchford and Mary Campbell
Moses served with
South Carolina militia troops during the American War for Independence.
His last will and testament includes the disposition for 10 slaves to be
given to his wife and various children.[1]
Moses was a member of the South Carolina Militia during the War for
Independence and served for 130 days of active duty. He and his wife
are buried at Bethel Presbyterian Church, Clover SC.
Mary Campbell’s
family probably came from Scotland along with other settlers of that
time. I don’t have any information on her at this time.
Moses Ratchford’s
father was William Ratchford.
William Ratchford and Mary Carroll
William is the
pioneer of the Ratchford family. He was a member of the Colonial Militia
during 1747-1748. He had a land grant of 250 acres in Anson County
(present day York and Gaston Counties). He must have been a trader or
speculator of some degree because he also acquired several tracts of
land, some as big as 600 acres. See Ratchfords,…I Reckon
for more information. William and Mary are buried at Bethel
Presbyterian Church, Clover SC.
Joe D. Friday
Jr.
jfriday@greenvillenc.gov
Derick S. Hartshorn - ©2008
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