Ratcliffe
RATCLIFFE
A Richard
Ratcliffe (1614-1675)
of Rossendale, Lancaster, England and his wife, Alice Rawsthorne (1618-1670),
daughter of Nicholas and Mary
Rawsthorne ,
were early converts to the Society of Friends, called Quakers. Several
times they were fined and imprisoned at the Castle of Lancaster for attending
Quaker meetings and for not tithing to the Anglican church. Richard established
a cemetery for the Quakers and were buried there in the Chapel Hill Friends
Cemetery. Their children were: Agnes, whose husband, James Rishton, also
a Quaker, died in prison for his beliefs; William; James; John; Isabella;
Alice; John, the second of that name; Elizabeth; Richard, our immigrant
ancestor; and Susan .
Richard
Ratcliff (c. 1638-?), son (or nephew) of this Lancaster family, would
seem to be the member of this family whose children are listed in Quaker
records of Chuckatuck Meeting in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He married
Elizabeth Outland
, the daughter of
Cornelius Outland of the same Quaker community.
Elizabeth
Ratcliff ,
their daughter was born in 1668 and died in 1695. She married James
Jordan
in 1688.