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.
Spouse: Mary/Polly Hale Children: Rufus; Byron; Lucy;
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.
Author: VTSSAR
Rufus was the 5th of 10 children (3rd son) born of Dan Barnard and his wife Lydia Dodge. Rufus's siblings were: Joseph (b. 1754), Esther (b. 1756), Abigail (b. 1757), Dan (b. 1759), Andrew (b. 1763), Roger (b. 1766), Lydia (b. 1768), Myriam (b. 1771) and Freedom (b. 1773).
In May, 1778, Rufus enlisted under 2nd Lieutenant Ezra Root at Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, for the term of 1 year as a Private in Captain Squire Hill's Company, Colonel Samuel McClellan's Regiment of Connecticut State Troops raised for service in the Continental Army. Rufus arrived in camp on July 1st. During this enlistment, he served at New Haven, Horse Neck, White Plains and West Pont. After serving 6 months, Rufus was discharge at New London, Connecticut.
Later in the year 1778 and in 1779, Rufus performed two tours of militia service of 3 months each. This service was performed at Fort Groton in Connecticut under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard.
Rufus married, April 4, 1781, at Rutland, Rutland County, Vermont, Mary (Polly) Hale (b. 1761) by whom he had 10 children (7 sons and 4 daughters): Lucy (b. 1782), Luther (1784-1831), Rufus H. (1786-1842), Francis (Twin) (1788-1817), Frederick (Twin) (1788-1819), Zeruiah (1790-1831), Lansing (b. 1793), Mary (Polly) (1795-1827), Almira (1797-1824), Norman (b. 1799), and Byron (b. 1802).
References:
(1) Copy of Births, Marriages and Deaths from Town Records, in Coventry, Conn., From 1711 to 1840., pages 9 and 128
(2) US Federal Military Pension File No. W.3644
(3) "The Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution 1775-1783." by Henry P. Johnston, 1889, page 545
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.