The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Birth: 14 Mar 1747/1748 / Philadephia / PA Death: abt 24 Jun 1780 Ruddles Station / Harrison / KY
Qualifying Service Description:
DAR - FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT SERVICE
FATHER OF THIS MAN, VALENTINE LEONARD, 1718-1781, A069353, IS IN NC DUR REV
PETER HAS A SON B. 1760 IN ROWAN CO, NC
PETER LEONARD IN PENNSYLVANIA IS A DIFFERENT MAN
Served in Captain John Lopp's Company of Light Horse in the Rowan Militia, during 1st Cherokee War 1776
Additional References:
Rev War Graves Register. Clovis H. Brakebill, compiler. 672pp. SAR. 1993
SAR Rev War Graves Register CD. Progeny Publishing Co: Buffalo, NY. 1998
Spouse: Barbara Hege Children: Valentine; Michael;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
It is presumed that Peter & Barbara Leonard are 2 of the 20 unidentified settlers who where killed at Ruddles Station on June 24, 1780 and were re-interred in 1845 by Charles Lair
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Author: Frederick Douglas Learned
Johan Peter Leonard was born on 14 March 1748 in Philadelphia, the firstborn child of Valentine Leonard (P-235626), founder of the Pilgrims Church, and his wife, Elizabeth Wallacher.
Peter's wife, Barbara Hege, was also a member of the Pilgrims Church. Thus, we can reasonably presume that Peter Leonard and Barbara were married about 1765 at their home, Pilgrim Church.
He, his four brothers, his father, most of their neighbors, and the pastor of their church were all known Patriots during the American Revolution. In 1779, Peter and his wife Barbara, and perhaps others from the Pilgrim Church, headed west to Kentucky, encouraged to do so by Daniel Boone's promotions.
The DAR notes Peter and/or Barbara's deaths occurred "ANTE 10-2-1793" based on the Indenture of their two sons that are cited below. However, Peter and Barbara's deaths occurred on 24 June 1780, when the Ruddles Station community of Kentucky was overwhelmed by nearly 1,000 Native American warriors. Those in the authority of the frontier fort attempted to surrender to the few British who could not stop the enemy attack.
Peter and Barbara's two young sons, Valentine and Michael, and three daughters were captured and taken to Detroit. British records don't note any killings, only that more than 400 people were captured and taken as prisoners to Detroit. However, they were the lucky ones, as Peter Leonard and his wife Barbara both lost their lives that day on the frontier settlement of Ruddle's Station, Kentucky. Their two sons, Michael and Valentine, survived and decades later would separately tell others of what they had endured as children and their three years of captivity in Detroit.
Sources:
Old Lutheran Church Records 1757-1848, Lexington, North Carolina, compiled 1969 by Mrs. David G. Koch
Indenture, dated 2 Oct 1793, by Valentine & Michael Leonard (both of Mason, KY), heirs of Peter Leonard, dec'd
Rev War Pension App of Michael Leonard of Grant County, KY, s30542 (and w6379)
Illiana Hist. Soc., Danville, IL cites "History of Vermilion County, IL" and "Leonard/Leonhardt History" by Don Claypool
Valentin Leonhardt, the Revolutionary Patriot of NC, Article by Rev. J.C. Leonard D.D. of Lexington, NC, published in The Pennsylvania-German, Volume XI, No. 1, 1910, pgs 10-20
700 Ancestors, by Lewis Keller Leonard & Melvina Burris Leonard, self-pub. 1976, pgs 78-89
Destruction of Ruddle's and Martin's Forts, by Maude Lafferty, KY Hist Soc., Vol. 54, Oct. 1956, No. 189
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Additional Information:
He and his wife were killed defending their home and family near Ruddles Station, KY
Their two young sons and three daughters were taken prisoners to Detroit where they were held and not released until after the war ended