Barbara Heck

BARBARA RUCKLE (Heck). 1734 Ballingrane (Republic of Ireland) is the daughter of Bastian (Sebastian) Ruckle and Margaret Embury m. 1760 Paul Heck in Ireland and they had seven children of whom four survived infancy d. 17 Aug. 1804 Augusta Township Upper Canada.

Normally the subject of a biography has been an active participant in important occasions or has articulated unique concepts or ideas that have been recorded in documentary form. Barbara Heck, on the contrary, did not leave written statements or letters. The evidence of such things as her date of marriage is only secondary. Through the entirety of her adult life, there are no primary sources that can be used to determine the motives or actions of her. However, she is a iconic figure within the first time of Methodism in North America. It is the task of the biographers to clarify the legend of this particular case and then to attempt to depict the person who is portrayed in it.

Abel Stevens a Methodist Historian wrote about this event in 1866. The progress of Methodism in the United States has now indisputably placed the humble name of Barbara Heck first on the women's list that have been a part of the ecclesiastical story of the New World. Her record is primarily due to the naming of her precious name made from the past of the famous reason for which her name will be forever linked more from the history of her life. Barbara Heck was involved fortuitously at the time of the emergence of Methodism in the United States and Canada and her reputation is built in the natural tendency of a highly effective organization or group to highlight its early days so that it can strengthen the sense of tradition as well as the continuity of its history.