Re: Leonard, Michael Grant Co., KY (Of Ruddles Station)
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In reply to:
Leonard, Michael Grant Co., KY (Of Ruddles Station)
Ralph Kelly 5/05/04
The following book may be talking about the Michael Leonard who was captured at Ruddell's Station, though the story they tell is confused recollection I would assume.
Seven Hundred Ancestors by Lewis Keeler Leonard and Melvena Burris Leonard.
Peter Leonard, bapt. Mar. 14, 1748, along with his father and four brothers fought in the Revolutionary War.Daniel Boone lived near by and influenced him and other young men of the area to migrate to Kentucky.In the meantime he had married Barbara Hege, daughter of John Jacob Hege.
With his wife and several small children Peter Leonard left for Kentucky and settled somewhere in Mason County or that area.The exact location is not known and some of the facts of what happened next vary according to different sources.
The family was attacked by Indians, the home burned and the father and mother killed.One source states that some children were killed.It seems most likely that a son, Michael, escaped and that another son, Valentine and two sisters were captured by the Indians and taken away with the tribe.We do not have the name of the sisters.The story is that one married an Indian Chief and spent her life with the Indians.The other was eventually returned to the white settlement and married a man named Logan who lived near Oxford, Indiana.
As Valentine was taken away he kept dropping flowers to leave a trail.The Indians discovered this and tied him to a stake and made arrangements to burn him to death.As he showed no fear they decided to let him live.
About the time of the Revolutionary War and after it is interesting to note that there was contact between the Germans of Pennsylvania and the Germans of North Carolina.A Peter Lehnert of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania operated as a teamster between there and Abbotts Creek in North Carolina.Other Leonards that immigrated to America from the Palatinate at about the time of the immigrant, Valentine, settled in Pennsylvania.
The date that Peter Leonard and his wife were killed by Indians is very uncertain but it must have been before his sons, Valentine and Michael, appeared in Salisbury to claim the inheritance of their father, Oct. 2, 1793.The most likely date would seem to be about 1785 although some of the stories relating to the massacre would conflict with this date.
The known children of Peter and Barbara Hege Leonard were:
1. Valentine Leonard, b. in Virginia about 1767 according to the 1850 Vermillion Co., Ill. Census.
2. Michael, he appears in the 1800 census for Nicholas Co., Kentucky but apparently left the area sometime later.There is some indication that he may have moved to Indiana.
3. Female, captured by the Indians, married an Indian Chief and remained with the Indians the rest of her life although she visited from time to time with white relatives.
4. Female, captured by the Indians but was eventually returned to a white settlement and married a man named Logan and lived near Oxford, Indiana.
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There is a will for a Michael Leonard dated 1838 in Grant Co., KY.Probably the same fella. I have not seen any info on a wife or children.
Then there is the Mrs. Katrine or Kitty Leonard who was captured at Ruddell's Station and later released at Fort Finney in 1786.Her husband was killed at the fort when it was captured in 1780.Not sure of the relation, maybe she was the mother??? Haven't found any proof that Barbara Hege was the mother either.
I hope this helps.
Jim Sellars