Brig. Gen. Timothy Ruggles, Jr.

Timothy Ruggles was as an American military leader, jurist and politician. He was a delegate to the first Stamp Act congress of 1765. He was the son of the Rev. Timothy Ruggles; grandson of Capt. Samuel Ruggles of Roxbury and Martha Woodbridge, his wife, who was a granddaughter of Governor Thomas Dudley.

He was graduated from Harvard in 1732; studied law, and established himself in practice in Rochester. In 1735 he married Mrs. Bathsheba Newcomb, widow of William Newcomb and the daughter of the Hon. Melatiah Bourne of Sandwich, Massachusetts.

In May of 1761, James Otis Jr. of Cape Cod, Massachusetts won election to the Massachusetts General Court. The news of the election reached a Worcester dinner party. Attending the party were John Adams and Brigadier Timothy Ruggles, who was chief justice of the Common Pleas Court and later a Tory exile. Ruggles declared to Adams, "Out of this election will arise a damned faction, which will shake the province to its knees."

Ruggles’s prophetic prediction proved even more accurate than he expected for it was 1761 that triggered the Revolution, and the Otis family, father and son, set the wheels in motion.

He was a delegate to the first colonial (or Stamp Act) congress of 1765, which met in New York on October 7, and was elected its president, but refused to sanction the addresses sent by that body to Great Britain, for which he was publicly censured by the general court of Massachusetts.

In 1775, he left Boston for Nova Scotia with the British troops and accompanied Lord Howe to Staten Island. His estates were confiscated, and in 1779 he received a grant of 10,000 acres (40 km²) of land in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, where he settled.

His daughter, Bathsheba Ruggles, married Joshua Spooner, whom she was convicted of murdering. (WIKIPEDIA)

More: Source: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans

RUGGLES, Timothy, jurist, was born in Rochester, Mass., Oct. 20, 1711; son of the Rev. Timothy and Mary (White) Ruggles; grandson of Capt. Samuel Ruggles of Roxbury and Martha Woodbridge, his wife, who was a granddaughter of Governor Thomas Dudley.

He was graduated from Harvard in 1732; studied law, and established himself in practice in Rochester. In 1735 he married Mrs. Bathsheba Newcomb, widow of William Newcomb and the daughter of the Hon. Melatiah Bourne of Sandwich. He removed to Sandwich, Mass., in 1740, and there remained, with increasing reputation and a constantly increasing list of clients, till 1753, when he removed to Hardwick.

He was an impressive pleader, his eloquence enhanced by his majestic presence. His services were in constant demand in adjoining counties, where his principal antagonist was Col. James Otis, then at the height of his fame. At the time of his settlement in Hardwick he had accumulated a liberal fortune, and entered upon a style of living commensurate with his standing and affluence.

He was appointed judge of the court of common pleas in 1756, and from 1762 to the Revolution he was chief-justice of that court, and served as a special justice of the provincial superior court, 1762–75. He was repeatedly elected a representative in the general court of Massachusetts, and while the armies were in winter quarters was speaker of the house, 1762–63.

He was commissioned colonel in the provincial forces under Sir William Johnson, and was second in command at the battle of Lake George in 1755, where he distinguished himself for courage, coolness and ability. In 1758 he commanded the third division of the provincial troops under Abercrombie in the attack on Ticonderoga. He served as brigadier-general under Amherst in the campaign of 1759–60. In 1763 he was appointed by the Crown "surveyor-general of the King's forests," as a reward in a measure for his military services in the French and Indian war.

He was a delegate to the first colonial (or Stamp Act) congress of 1765, which met in New York, October 7, and was elected its president, but refused to sanction the addresses sent by that body to Great Britain, for which he was publicly censured by the general court of Massachusetts.

He was led by a sense of duty "in the halls of legislature and on the platform to declare against rebellion and bloodshed." He was appointed mandamus councillor Aug. 16, 1774, and in 1775 left Boston for Nova Scotia with the British troops and accompanied Lord Howe to Staten Island.

His estates were confiscated, and in 1779 he received a grant of 10,000 acres of land in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, where he engaged in agriculture. [A] daughter Mary married Dr. John Green of Green Hill, Worcester, Mass. Judge Ruggles died in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, Aug. 4, 1795. [Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans

He was commissioned colonel in the provincial forces un

He was a delegate to the first colonial (or Stamp Act) congress of 1765, which met in New York, October 7, and was elected its president, but refused to sanction the addresses sent by that body to Great Britain, for which he was publicly censured by the general court of Massachusetts. He was led by a sense of duty "in the halls of legislature and on the platform to declare against rebellion and bloodshed." He was appointed man-damus councillor, Aug. 16, 1774, and in 1775 left Boston for Nova Scotia with the British troops and accompanied Lord Howe to Staten Island. His estates were confiscated, and in 1779 he received a grant of 10,000 acres of land in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, where he engaged in agriculture. [A] daughter Mary married Dr. John Green of Green Hill, Worcester, Mass. Judge Ruggles died in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, Aug. 4, 1795. [Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans]

http://capecodhistory.us/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I19532&tr...

Update - Member Lenny Dodge has found his burial information listed with Old Holy Trinity Anglican Church Cemetery records and not Pine Grove - Any reference to Pine Grove is most likely in error.

Died after Aug 4, 1795

All records show he was buried at Pine Grove Church in Wilmot Nova Scotia. A book called "The loyalists of Massachusetts and the other side of the American Revolution" published in 1910 "He was buried to the eastward of the chancel of the (then new church), lately known as the "Pine Grove Church," in Central Wilmot, near the present village of Middleton, ,,,"

His birth is correct and his death records are from American Ancestors the source is entitled 'Divided Hearts, Massachusetts Loyalists, 1765-1790' The original text is available for viewing at our research library, call number E277.M3 1980.At the New England Historical Genealogical SocietyLenny Dodge

application of Earle Gladstone Childs to the US Sons of the American Revolution "General Ruggles became Brig. General-served second in command at Lake George 1775. He remarried a loyalist in the [undecipherable] of the American Revolution and was exiled with many others to Nova Scotia where he died in 1795."

Here's the link: http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~dav4is/people/RUGG2... It makes it clear that he was a Brigadier General in the French & Indian War and was exiled from the colonies in 1775, to Nova Scotia where the British gave him a tract of 10,000 acres. He took most of his family with him. But not his first wife or daughter....both named Bathsheba. There are quite a few Timothy Ruggles in the records....several with military titles (which of course change over the career).

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=114169287

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 21 2016, 22:04:33 UTC