American and Irish Routledges

   Most American Routledges, Rutledges, and Ruttledges can trace their roots back to Ireland, but does this mean they are automatically descended from Border Reivers? Well there is a good chance your not. But not all is lost. If you're a Routledge the you're safe. If your any other spelling then there is a chance your nothing to do with the Border Reivers. To best explain this and help you understand its best if we start with Ireland back in the 15th Century when the Routledges first appear in Hawick and Bewcastle.

Irish Routledges

   I remember doing the 'History of Ireland' for my GCSE History course and never thought I would ever have to use it again. I remember getting a sense that as an Englishman I should spend the rest of my time apologising to anyone who was Irish. So far on this web site religion has not really had a place; other than the Curse that is. That is not because the Border Reivers were not Religious, its because before Henry the VIII everyone was a Catholic and that was it. But things were about to change across these small islands and have repercussions across Europe.

But before that happened lets go back to the first record of Routledges fleeing to Ireland. In fact it has already been covered. It was some time after the march of the 500 in 1528 when they would have crossed the Irish sea, not for a new life, but to save the one they had! In many books and records it tells of how the Routledges where chased and scattered. Some to Scotland adopting the names off the clans and some to Ireland where they lost the 'o', which I find ironic as any good Irish name is not with out an 'O'. The first recorded Routledges in Ireland never seem to keep the same spelling twice.

It takes about 40 years after the march of the 500 before we first popped up in the Irish records and it is as Ratlege in 1568 as a band of twelve northern Horsemen from England. And by 1585 there is a Thomas Rutledge owner of Castlecoote and an Andrew Rutledge living near by. The Castle as only built in 1570. The term broken clan can, as I've already said, means a family with out a chief. Perhaps we fled to Ireland and built up our wealth to own a Castle. Today not much survives of it but there is a guest house in its old grounds.

So now with two Castles in history to the Routledge name, ish, we can move on a bit. While Elizabeth the I reign in England was coming to an end there was trouble in Ireland, and not for the last time. For in 1594 the nine years war began between the English and an alliance of Irish Chiefs. Although this was fought throughout Ireland it was mainly in Ulster and this was before Northern Ireland existed. But already you can see the seeds being planted over 300 years before hand. The Irish, who were loosing the war, held out till the week after Elizabeth the I died and surrender. By now James the I of England sat on the throne and was the first King to govern, in a way, over all four nations; England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. James as a Scottish king had found the troubles alone the Anglo-Scottish Border a thorn in his side throughout his entire reign. And now he had the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

He needed to crush the Reivers but also on his plate he had to strengthen his hold in Ulster. Not content with executing the Reivers he wanted them out of his land. And what better way, then to send them to Ireland as English Planters (settlers) in Ulster and secure his claim there and the English hold. So in 1606 began the removal of whole families from the borders. In total 25000 English and Scottish were forced to move to Ireland. Making it the second time in history the Routledges have been kicked out of there home and lands. It was not just the Routledges though, the Armstrong's, Elliots, Grahams, Nixon's and a few more found themselves banished from their homeland once again.

And with this brings up our next batch of Routledges to arriving in Ireland. In fact the very first one was called Richard. And we know this as he is recorded at the time, as the first Routledge to come to Ireland along with his wife and six children, William, Stephen, Thomas, Peter, Ann, and John. He is first recorded in 1607 and then in 1609 and 1611. Richard is very easy to trace in his early years as he is described as 'an Englishman and Protestant', and being the only Protestant Rutledge makes it even easier. In 1611 though he owns a Castle at Canbo and half of Bally-murry castle and by 1616 is referred to as a Lieutenant, which makes you wonder as to where his rank and wealth came from if he was supposed to be kicked out of England? It is not know when he was born or died, but his son Thomas's grave can be found at Headford Church, Co. Galway. He died in 1685 aged 74 meaning he was one of the first born in Ireland.

Cromwell's Army

Oliver Cromwell came to power after the English civil war and the beheading of Charles the I. But before that in Ulster, the Irish gave rise in 1641 against the Planters (the protestants settled by the English), in what was nothing more than a massacre, The Irish-catholic native farmers slaughtered 4000 Protestant-Planters and Cromwell would not forget this. He responded by invading Ireland with an army of 20000 men. His armies invasion was so harsh it was named 'the curse of Cromwell'. Thousands were slaughtered, priests were tortured, villages pillaged and rebels sold into slavery. In 1641 59 percent of the land was owned by Catholics. By 1714 they owned only 7 percent. So where did the Routledges, or rather Rutledges, fit into all off this. When Cromwell conquered, he took 11million acres of the Catholic land owners and gave them to English protestant, and this is where the Rutledges fit in. There are lists from before the invasion and after it listing land owners. Also there is a list of soldiers and officers who gained land by serving in Cromwell's army. Either local protestants or troops that came over from England.

Before the invasion there were three prominent Rutledges owning lands in three separate counties, but all close to each other. One of them is the above mentioned Richard Rutledge and is heirs who in 1633 was mortgaged a total of 228 acres of land near Roscommon. The other was a Jeffery Rutledge who owned a small area in Co Cavan. But the final one was a big figure. As for in 1610 an Edward Rutledge had been granted all the towns and land of Doughbally, 'containing 24 polls or 1200 acres' and was to 'hold forever' providing he paid the annual mortgage of £121. He is described in the list as a Gent, which implies he was no Border Reiver refugee.

After the invasion though is a different story. In a list of those who had their lands confiscated it list the above and also a Stephen Rutledge, perhaps a son of Edward as he is in the same area owning a large amount of land. But that was not the end of the Rutledges in Ireland. Under Cromwell, two officers gained lands by the name of Rutledge. A Lieutenant Edward Rutledge and a Lieutenant Thomas Rutledge. But it was in the list of the soldiers that was the most interesting. There was three more listed that were awarded lands; another Thomas Rutledge, a Nicholas Rutledge and surprisingly a Francis Rowtlidge. So it was not always Rutledges in Ireland. At least one Routledge slipped in in the early days.

Mulderig

But the Rutledge name was not about to stop there. It was about to have a massive inject off fresh new blood and expand their number to the point where they became one of the most common English name in Ulster. England not content with suppressing the Irish religion, way of life and standard of living needed to go one step further in what was to be know as the Anglicisation of Ireland.

Basically they where going to take Irish surnames or place names and change them to 'proper protestant ones', and among them was the Irish surname Mulderig which meant Red Chief. So when they changed the names they at least tried to look for something that was similar in English meaning. And if they did not want to change their name they had the option to take the name of their landlord, such as Rutledge for example, but that was not the expansion I referred too.

Mulderig, as I've said, meant Red Chief. So the easiest name change was to Reid which means red. But the other option was Rutledge, which as we know means Red lake or pool. So if your a Rutledge and you trace your family tree back to Ireland and it completely disappears between 1641 and the 1750's start looking for Mulderig's. So next time your a Rutledge claiming to be descended from the Border Reivers, Make sure your tree goes back before 1641 in Ireland, or traces back to main land UK. Unless your surname is Routledge then your safe, Rutledge only came from Ireland or the occasional miss-spelling here and there. Its easier to loose an 'o' rather than gain one.

American Routledges

   After having read the above your probably distraught thinking that everything you've claimed to be is wrong. Don't panic just yet though. About the same time as the Planters were being sent to Ireland there was Settlers heading for the new world, such as Jamestown established in 1607, and many others along the coast. Ship after ship crossed the Atlantic ocean in promise of a new life and between 1607 and 1625 there was a total of 41 ships going back and forth, some more famous than others; such as the mayflower that first travelled, or even the James. But things were to pick up as England put more and more pressure on Ireland and the mass exoduses of the Irish continued. The nine years war had taken its toll and with Cromwell around the corner many families felt the need to get out. Also at the same time ships where leaving ports like Liverpool, Gravesend and Plymouth, and by 1635, 39 different ships  in one year were going back and forth making journey after journey taking Irish and English to America.

   Among these ships was one called the 'Merchants hope' a 300 ton ship built in 1613, which arrived somewhere in Virginia on July 31st 1635. Then in 1657 near Jamestown there was a town built called Merchants Hope which was name after a ship belonging to the towns founder. And in this town is the oldest church still in use in America.

   But it was who was onboard this ship that we are more interested. Among the passengers sailing from Gravesend to the new world there is a Jo Rowlidge aged 19. And having been through the  passenger list of every ship before this one going back to the Mayflower, I can defiantly say that this is the first Routledge in America. Unlike the ones in Ireland I have no idea as to what became off him. But I do know where he came from. He was from Kingston Upon Thames and from a family of seven children. Jo, or John, was the oldest followed by Mary, Elizabeth, Robert, Susan, William and George. And his parents were William Routledge and Elizabeth Atkinson who married on February 6th 1614. The passenger list is a one of those that arrived so I know he survived the journey, but after that is a mystery. Did he marry, start a family, die of disease or even killed by native Americans; Who knows?

But what is know is that Rutledge is the dominant spelling in America now. And many of these trace there family roots back to Ireland in the late 1600's. So there is a chance that these may be Mulderig's and not Routledge by descent. But not all is lost. The Rutledge's of America went on to produce some great historical figures such as Ann, John and Edward Rutledge.

Ann Rutledge was the alleged mistress of Abraham Lincoln for many years.

John Rutledge was George Washington's opponent in the presidential elections, but we all know who won. If it had been John then the Rutledge name would have been a lot more common and the Routledge name pushed into a back note in history. Also it would be Rutledge DC, not Washington.

And Edward Routledge, who was the above John's younger brother, was a signer of the Declaration of independence and is shown in the famous painting below as the furthest man standing on the left side.

But the impact on America does not stop with these people. It goes a little bit further to the point where there is even ten cities spread throughout the USA going by the name of Rutledge. They can be found in states of Oregon, Florida, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Minnesota, Georgia and Wisconsin. Most of which are on the East coast but as for how they got to be named Rutledge, I have only managed to find out a few.

The one in Georgia gained its name when the railroad to Atlanta passed through a Hezekiah Rutledge's land and was founded in 1845.

The one in Pennsylvania was a railroad workman's town which just stayed there and was founded in 1885.

The one in Missouri is also a small railroad town formed in the late 1800s.

But the one in Tennessee was named in honour of General George Rutledge and was founded in 1798, making it the oldest out of the Rutledge towns I can find.

The Rutledge Impact

   Basically what I'm trying to say is that the Rutledges had a greater impact on America than the Routledges in England. In England there is three street names in Manchester, Stockton and Hartlepool that bear the name Routledge and a stream in Cumberland. There is no signs of our once great family, no castles, no legends, nothing. But in America and Ireland the Rutledges left behind a string of castles and land, towns named after them and two Rutledges even rubbed up against the President in more ways than one, while another signed the greatest America document.

Its a nice thought though that if John had won the election it would have been Rutledge DC and not Washington. And perhaps  this may have lead to the Border Reivers receiving the Hollywood treatment I have always felt it needs. But who knows what the future holds for the Reivers and the Routledges. Perhaps a big director called Routledge or Rutledge will look into his name and get some ancestral spark of inspiration. But the Reivers have been waiting 600 years, I think we can wait a bit longer.

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