The Families of John Rudd, Sr., & Avis Whitaker
and John Rudd, Jr., & Hannah Russell
Updated August 23, 2021
My interest in the Rudds of Henrico and Chesterfield Counties in Virginia is because my ancestor, Simcock Cannon, married Jane Rudd, daughter of John Rudd, Jr., and Hannah Russell. John Rudd, Jr., was the son of John Rudd, Sr., and Avis Whitaker (Whittaker, Whitacre, Whiteker, various spellings). These relationships were proved by the wills that these four people left in Chesterfield County for which transcriptions are given on this web page.
The earliest evidence of John Rudd, Sr., and Avis Whitaker is their arrival in Virginia, recorded for both on the same day, October 14, 1701, but imported by different people who claimed land based on their importation (see file entitled "Rudd Family Time Line"). This date may be the date the importers claimed land, rather than their arrival. It is possible that they knew each other before coming to Virginia. They probably were from England, but no records have surfaced yet to show where they were from. The name, John Rudd, was very common in England, almost like John Smith, making it very difficult to ascertain his origin if he was from that country. The name, Avis Whitaker, is much less common but no baptismal record for an Avis Whitaker who might be about the right age to be her has been located. A few Avis Whitakers from earlier times occur in the few available records; however, not enough data is available to connect them with the one who came to Virginia. John Rudd Sr. was not the son of Capt. John Rudd/Rudds/Ruddes the mariner, as some people mistakenly believe. No documents connect these two men. See file called "John Ruddes the Mariner Notes."
John Rudd, Sr., and Avis Whitaker both were indentured servants, according to records generated after Avis died, and a dispute among the heirs occurred (see the file entitled "Rudd Chancery Dead Papers"). The central issue was whether or not John Rudd, Sr., and Avis Whitaker were married before the birth of their first two children (Rebecca and John Jr.) and whether one or both of these were fathered by John Rudd, Sr., or someone else. Neighbors testified about this many decades after these children were born, and their depositions conflicted as to the facts. If these issues were resolved, the records showing this no longer exist. The 1744 will of John Rudd, Sr., available on this web page, gives no indication that John Rudd, Jr., and Rebecca were not his children. His will did not mention daughters Mary and Elizabeth, who married Alexander Brown and Daniel Brown, respectively, so they appear to have died before then. Avis's will in 1754 did not mention these daughters, either, but she did name a grandson, Daniel Brown, and two other grandsons, as well as her son, Thomas. The identity of daughters Mary and Elizabeth is clarified in the chancery papers, which indicate that these daughters died relatively young.
I have not included family group sheets and timelines for all the children of John Rudd, Sr., and Avis Whitaker, nor of all the children of John Rudd, Jr., and Hannah Russell, although my data for those families is included in the family trees I have posted at Ancestry.com and Rootsweb's WorldConnect Project called "Famconnections8" or versions of this name with higher numbers. More recent updates will end with higher numbers to distinguish among them. My webpage with information about Simcock Cannon and his Cannon descendants is here: simcockcannongenealogy.com. I have included the family group sheet for John Rudd, Jr., and Hannah Russell twice, once under the Rudd listings and once under the Russell listings to make it easier to find Hannah Russell if looking only at the Russell listings. Also, I have added approximate dates of birth and death to facilitate finding individuals and families of interest.
The Family of Anne Russell
in Prince George, Amelia, Chesterfield, Lunenburg,
and Charlotte Counties in Virginia
The particular Russell family of interest to me because of their connection to my Rudd family is that of Anne Russell and her known children, William, Hannah, and Elizabeth. Anne (born about 1687, as a rough guess; died before Jan 1741) appears in early Prince George County and Amelia County records without a husband. Because of record loss in Prince George County and other Virginia record losses, I do not know if she arrived in Virginia as a widow or if her husband accompanied the family but died relatively young. The family appears to have come from Ireland according to a document about Anne's son, William Russell (c. 1710-1788). It states that William's first wife, Mary, was the widow of a Mr. Cannon. It is available, courtesy of Steve Hatchett, gen@hatchetts.com . Although this document was available on the internet a while ago, it is not now. For this reason, I have posted it on the present webpage. (The previous web address which no longer works is: www.hatchetts.com/hatchett/documents/manus-wmrhatchett.html ). It is the transcript of a paper dated Sept. 1, 1840, written by William Russell Hatchett, grandson of William Russell, which reports that William Russell was from Ireland and came to Virginia when he was very young. It also says that his first wife was Mary, widow of a Mr. Cannon, by whom he had five children (Edward, William Jr., Joseph, James, Mary), and his second wife was Anne Ferguson, by whom he had 4 children (John, Nancy, Thomas, Margaret). Mary Cannon had a son named James Cannon. I have wondered if James's name really was James (and was Simcock instead). One reason for this is that William Russell had a son named James Russell by Mary, widow Cannon. It seems odd that she would have two sons named James, although such a thing is not unheard of. I have found two other families that named two children the same first name in other research. Since Simcock Cannon's parents have never been established, it may be that his father died young and his widowed mother remarried soon afterward, perhaps to William Russell, Sr.
Hannah Russell (c. 1712-aft 1771) married John Rudd, Jr., and they had five known children: Avis Whittaker, Anne, Jane, John III, and Hannah. Elizabeth Russell (c. 1715-bef Oct 1771) was the wife of John Storey (Story, Storie). The Storeys had only one known son, Edward.
I have researched these families for more than 20 years and want to make the results available to other descendants. I also have put my database online atwww.ancestry.com. Look for a database called Famconnections (numbered 7, 8, or higher numbers as it is updated). I would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of information on the Rudds and Russells from Jean Jones of Longview, Texas; Darren Altom of Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas; the late George Ely Russell of Ijamsville, Maryland; Mary Gregg of Austin, Texas; and Victor Dunn, Certified Genealogist of Ashburn, Virginia; the late Lo Moss Moore of Hurst, Texas; and the late Dewel Lott of Hartselle, Alabama, among many other genealogists who have kindly shared family data over the past 20 to 25 years. If you use any of the research on this website, please give appropriate credit. If you find errors or new information, please let me know. You can contact me at:
Cecilie Gaziano, 4511 Fremont Avenue So., Minneapolis, MN 55419-4744, USA; cgaziano@prodigy.net OR cgaziano1@gmail.com