Men were not the only Rutledges found in Maryland in the 17th century. Elizabeth was transported into Anne Arundel County before 1650 by Ralph Hawkins.[1] There are no Rutledge entries in the Anne Arundel County Land Index from 1653-1718. There is no mention of Elizabeth in Hawkins's 1679 estate inventory[2], yet, in 1669 he wrote that the maidservant and others that he brought out of England were to either stay with his wife or be sold to satisfy his debts.[3]

But was it Elizabeth or Elijah that Hawkins transported? A Rootsweb entry listed the people Hawkins transported, but the transcriber listed Elijah.[4]

In Coldham's book the source for Elizabeth's arrival is RY1/228. After many hours of research, a reference to RY1 was found in Provincial Court records. The MSA helpdesk did not find RY 1 when I initially contacted them but armed with this new information, they quickly located the record and sent me the link.[5] The record does use an abbreviation, but it is clearly Eliza Rutlidge.

This 1715 request to Charles Calvert to honor the land warrant given to Ralph Hawkins for 150 acres states that Ralph transported himself (now deceased), Margaret Hawkins, William Jerman, Richard Moss, John Cole, Eliza Rutlidge, Ralph Hawkins Junior, William Hawkins, and Mary Hawkins. Since Elizabeth is the only non-Hawkins female and Ralph calls out the maid he brought from England, Elizabeth Rutlidge was this maid. Ralph Junior died in his minority and without issue.

Hawkins property was located almost due north of Annapolis, on the landmass between the Severn and Magothy Rivers[6]. The area today is mostly sod farm.

A National Park Service report of a Quaker settlement in Providence, Maryland describes Ralph Hawkins as a Quaker.[7] However, George Fox founded Quakerism in 1652 in England and William Penn arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682. So, Hawkins was not a Quaker in Maryland in 1650.[8]

The original documents naming the people Hawkins transported were not found. I suspect the entry was an abbreviation, just like the copy in RY1, and some transcribers interpreted it as Elizabeth and others as Elijah.[9]

[1] Coldham, Peter Wilson, Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783, p. 581, Rutlidge, Elizabeth, reference RY1/228. Maryland State Archives SE23-50, http://guide.msa.maryland.gov/pages/item.aspx?ID=SE23-50. Page 146 of PDF. [2] Maryland State Archives, Security reels, http://mdhistory.msa.maryland.gov/msaref10/msa_te_1_064/html/msa_te_1_064-0067.html .

[3] Maryland State Archives, Security Reels, http://mdhistory.msa.maryland.gov/msaref09/msa_te_1_246/pdf/msa_te_1_246-0184.pdf

[4] Rootsweb entry

[5] Maryland State Archives, https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se23/000000/000050/pdf/mdsa_se23_50.pdf image 146 is page 228.

[6] Early Land Grants of the Severn River Area. Personal files of Cindy Barber. [7] National Park Service, Providence, MD: Archaeology of a Puritan/Quaker Settlement near the Severn River. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-MPS-11.pdf .

[8] https://haygenealogy.com/hay/quaker/quaker-PA.html

[9] Coldham, Peter Wilson, Settlers of Maryland, 1701-1730. Liber AB&H:280 - surveyor report of land laid out. Of Anne Arundel County by 1652; in 1666 gave up his right to land upon the Seaven Mountains Transcript: 10:216; 11:223 (not found); Original: FF:217 (mention of Hawkins rights to Seaven mountains parcel) ; GG:203 (pages missing from scan), MSA SC 4341