Hiram Barnett

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15767

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15766

John married Mary Polly Ruiter. Mary (daughter of Henrick Ruiter and Catherine Friot) was born in 1787 in Caldwelll's Manor, Quebec; died in 1869; was buried in Dunkin, Estrie Region, Quebec, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 15761

Other Events:

• Name: Hendrick Ruyter
• Name: Hendrik Ruiter
• Reference Number: 6316

Notes:

Fought with the British during the French and Indian Wars and during the American Revolution. After Burgoyne was defeated at Saratoga in Oct 1777, Henry Ruiter Fled to Canada. His wife stayed in New York until 1780, but then also fled to Canada.

from findagrave.com:
Henry, and his brother John, stayed loyal to the British side at the start of the American Revolution. In 1777, he was forced to hide in the woods outside his home in Pitts Town, N.Y. for three months while revolutionists tried to capture him for his political beliefs. While they tormented his wife and their children, he managed to join the Burgoyne's British soldiers. He probably fought in the battles of Bennington and Saratoga. He escaped to Canada after Benedict Arnold's defeated Burgoyne at Saratoga. He later returned to the Albany area to recruit other Loyalists. He got them to join Major James Roger's Corps of Rangers, a British militia group. They fought with the British regular army and were headquartered in St. John's (St. Jean), Quebec on the Richelieu River.

By 1780, Henry Ruiter was leading his own Company of militia. They fought in battles at Fort Anne, N.Y. and Fort George (Lake George, N.Y.). Captain Ruiter's Company, one of three of Roger's Rangers companies, helped the army by spying on the rebels. They captured local rebel leaders, guarded prisoners of war, scouted, and delivered messages. They helped build defenses and forts. They saved loyalist families by helping them escape to Canada. His wife, Rebecca, and 6 of their 9 children were one of these families, arriving in St. Jean after being moved by the Army. The family was near starving to death. Finally in 1781, the Rangers took part in General Barry St. Leger's attacks along Lake Champlain. They were disbanded at the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783.

In 1781, Henry's wife Rebecca died in St. John's (St. Jean). A few years later, around 1783-84, he was remarried to Katherine Friot. She came from Pownal, Vermont, near where he had fought in the Battle of Bennington in 1777.

Henry Ruiter settled in Dunkin, a town along the Mississquoi River and near Mount Sutton. Many other Loyalists, like his brother John, settled there too. The land was just across from the Canadian-American border and just east of Mississquoi Bay, the northern part of Lake Champlain. Ruiter finally got the legal grant for his farm in 1803. He went on to build several saw and grist (lumber & grain) mills in the area. Ruiter soon became "well off" because of the money he made from his mills, selling land, farming and his military pension.

PARENTS:
It is not clear who the parents of Henry Ruiter were. Genealogical records of the Albany area show the baptisms of two infants named Hendrik Ruyter in 1742. Hendrik Ruyter, baptized 14 Feb, was the son of Philip Ruyter and Geertruy Vander Werken, who were married 20 Mar 1741. Hendrik Ruyter, baptized 26 Sep 1742, was the son of (John) Frederic Ruyter and Engeltie Vander Werken, married 6 Feb 1738. The two young Hendriks may have been double first cousins, their fathers being brothers and their mothers sister. To complicate the problem of identification further, both the Hendriks had younger brothers named Johannes. Both fathers died while the boys were still young, conforming to a family tradition that Henry Ruiter was early left a half-orphan. Frederic Ruyter was buried 19 may 1746. Philip Ruyter was buried less than two weeks later, on 1 June. (from "The life of Henry Ruiter 1742-1819" by Rick Ashton pub. 1974)

I am showing Philip and Geertruy as the parents based upon Hendrik naming his first daughter Geertruy.

Henrick married Catherine Friot. Catherine was born in 1760; died in 1819 in Dunkin, Estrie, Quebec, Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Reference Number: 6318

Notes:

Died:
Ruiters Settlement Cemetery

Other Events:

• Name: Philip Ruiter
• Name: Philip Ruyter
• Reference Number: 8996

Notes:

Birth:
NYC Luth churchbook

Died:
Albany Rural Cemetery-burial date

Johann married Geertruy Van Der Werken on 20 Mar 1741 in Albany, New York, USA. Geertruy (daughter of Johannes Roeloffse Van Der Werken and Margaret Baart) was born on 1 Nov 1718; died on 1 Jun 1746 in Albany, New York, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Geertruy Van Der Werken
• Reference Number: 8953