We know that Ruth Barnes Chapman is buried at Ivy Log but there is no stone. In a book complied by the Historical Society (Cemetery Records of Union County) printed in 1990, her name, birth and death dates are recorded. When the Ivy Log Cemetery Committee, began trying to place the graves in rows and plots we could not find a stone. (ILCC)
Ruthie was married to William Washington Chapman. He is buried in Chapman Cemetery in Brushy Mountain (Taylorsville) North Carolina. They were married March 9, 1807 in Wilkes County, NC. Her parents were Reuben Barnes and Isbell Green. They also had 12 children.
Information furnished by Deborah Fincher Allmon
When Billy Chapman helped Ruth Barnes Chapman from the back of his favorite saddle horse at the John Chapman homestead in the Spring of 1806, he had been titular head of a family for about ten years. Ruth, although not educated in the modern sense, was qualified by training to discharge well those duties expected of a faithful wife of a pioneer settler. She knitted for her family, was adept at the spinning wheel, unsurpassable in the culinary arts, a good housekeeper, and during emergencies worked by her husband's side during the harvest seasons. Her skill with a rifle was recognized by those who knew her. Frequently her table was adorned with turkey and venison as mute evidence of her marksmanship. She stood with her husband and exchanged shot for shot with the Cherokee Indians when on their raids of stealing and pillaging among the pioneer settlers of the Brushy Mountain area. Frequently in the dead of night alone, she would follow a meandering stream a distance of 3 or 4 miles to the home of a neighbor with the horrible news that the Indians were on the "War Path." She served faithfully and with an undivided heart those she loved.
In the pioneer days it was the custom to produce and rear large families of boys and girls. Billy and Ruth were no exception.
They had eleven children in twenty three years, seven boys and four girls as follows:
1. Elisha Chapman 1807 - 1887
2. George Chapman 1809 - 1907
3. Richard Chapman 1811 - 1893
4. Soloman Chapman 1814 - 1894
5. John Chapman 1816 - 1905
6. Elizabeth Chapman 1818 - 1902
7. Edwin Chapman 1821 - 1863
8. Enoch Chapman 1823 - 1911
9. Mary Polly Chapman 1827 - 1900
10. Leanah Chapman 1827 - 1910
11. Adaline Chapman 1829 - 1863
Billy Chapman died in 1868 and was buried in the Chapman Cemetery, Brushy Mountain, near Taylorsville, North Carolina. Ruth died in Union County, Georgia in 1871 and is buried in Ivy Log Cemetery. Ruth was brought to Union County by her son, Enoch, in 1868 and lived the remainder of her years here with her sons Enoch and Soloman. This Information compiled by Dale Elliott, Furnished by Mazie Gray