Person:Amanda Dunlap (1)

Who was the wife of William Rutherford?

FamilySearch Family Tree, Geneanet^[2] and many Ancestry Public Member trees have the same information for the wife of William Rutherford - that she was Amanda Jane Meadows, daughter of James Meadows and Rebecca Arthur. However, not only is there no evidence to support this, but there is evidence it wasn't true.

The daughter of James and Rebecca Meadows is listed in their household, as Amanda Meadows, in both the 1850 and 1860 census records. She was born about 1836, and appears to be their third child - certainly not born before they were married in 1830. Since Amanda Meadows was in the 1860 census with her parents, and Amanda Rutherford was in the 1860 census with her husband and 5 children, it is highly improbable that they were the same person.

The death certificates of 3 children of William and Amanda Rutherford (Joseph, Mary Elizabeth, and Sarah), identify her as Amanda Jane Dunlap. Her son Emory Preston Dunlap was born in 1851, and gives his parents' names as William and Amanda Dunlap in his marriage record. It is entirely possible that he was an illegitimate child, father unknown, and used his step-father's first name in his marriage record.

The closest candidate for Amanda Jane Dunlap in the 1850 census is a Jane Dunlap, age 21 (born about 1829), living in Washington County, Virginia in the household of Orr Grinson^[4] (apparently Thomas Orr Grinstead, and probably Jane's step-father).

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Find A Grave.

   Amanda J Rutherford
   Birth 31 Dec 1829
   Death 11 Feb 1893 (aged 63)
   Burial
   Mountain View Cemetery and Cremation Gardens
   Bristol, Bristol City, Virginia, USA
   
   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/158715966/amanda-j-rutherford

2. ↑ Geneanet Community Trees Index.

   Name Amanda Jane Meadows
   Gender F (Female)
   Birth Date 31 déc. 1829 (31 Dec 1829)
   Birth Place Glade Spring, Washington (Glade Spring), Virginia, USA
   Death Date 11 févr. 1893 (11 Feb 1893)
   Death Place Bristol, Sullivan (Bristol), Tennessee, USA
   Father James Meadows
   Mother Rebecca Arthur
   Spouse William R Rutherford
   Child Catherine Virginia Rutherford

3. ↑ Washington, Virginia, in United States. 1860 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M653).

   William Rutherford, age 25, born in Virginia
   Amanda Rutherford, age 31, born in Virginia
   plus 5 children and a 17-year-old woman named Nancy Newcom

4. ↑ [1], in United States. 1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432).

   Orr Grinson, age 27
   Margaret Grinson, age 40
   Jane Dunlap, age 21
   Richard Dunlap, age 15
   all born in Virginia