Barbara Heck

BARBARA RUCKLE (Heck). 1734, in 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.

The subject of the biography is a major participant in significant occasions or has articulated unique concepts or ideas that were recorded in a documentary form. Barbara Heck did not leave writings or letters. Even the proof of the day she married was not important. In the majority of her life as an adult it is not possible to find original sources to allow us to reconstruct her intentions and actions. In spite of this she was a cult figure during the early days of Methodism. In this instance the biographer's job is to identify the myth and explain it and, if feasible, describe the person who is enshrined within it.

Abel Stevens a Methodist Historian recorded the event in 1866. Barbara Heck, a humble woman of her native New World who is credited with the advancement of Methodism throughout all of the United States, has undoubtedly made it to the top of the history of the church in the New World. The magnitude of her record will be largely due to the naming of her important name, derived from the story of the major causes with which her legacy is forever identified more than through the events of her own lives. Barbara Heck was involved fortuitously in the inception of Methodism in both the United States and Canada and her fame rests in the natural characteristic of a very successful movement or institution to celebrate its origins for the purpose of enhancing its traditionalism and the continuity of its history.