This week we are supposed to write about an Ancestor who may share the same birth date (not year obviously) with ourselves. Elizabeth Rucker is the one closest to mine as she was born on January 6, 1787. I was born on January 13, sometime in the last 100 years!
Elizabeth is my paternal 3rd Great Grandmother. She was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina to Colby and Sarah (Roberts) Rucker. She was the oldest of their eight children. She married John Coffey on March 1, 1804. She and John had twelve children! In 1820 the Coffey’s moved to Grainger Tennessee. I am sad to say that this is all I know about this amazing woman.
Elizabeth Coffey
George Hayes
I do know that her father Colby fought in the Revolutionary War and that he was held captured by the British and escaped. One of Elizabeth’s younger sisters, Sarah “Sally” Rucker married a man named Thomas Hayes on September 19, 1807. Sally and Thomas had seven children. On February 20, 1845 one of their sons George W. Hayes married Elizabeth and John Coffey’s daughter Elizabeth Coffey. That made them 1st cousins. It also makes both of these sisters my 3rd Great Grandmothers!
Genealogy can be like a beautiful tapestry. On the top side we can see the intricate picture woven into place by the threads of many colors and varieties. However when the tapestry is turned over it reveals all of the mess on the underside. Overlapping threads, loose ends, knots and even a few mistakes are revealed. Looking at the finished product we understand that there cannot be the beauty of the design without some of the chaos on the bottom. This is true for Genealogy!
I am a professional genealogist, writer, photographer, crafter, reader, wife, mother, and grandma. I have two books available at Amazon.com: Your Family History: Doing It Right the First Time and Planning Your Genealogy Research Trip. You can also connect with me via Facebook or Twitter.
