Hi Meg: I have quite a bit on this branch of the Rutan family but it is a little murky because some of Jesse's siblings were adopted. Jesse's father was Thomas Benton Rutan (1837-1903)a builder and politician in Brooklyn. Thomas was my great grandfather's brother. He served in the Civil War.

When Thomas' business partner Josiah Heningham died Thomas married his widow Annie Powers and Thomas adopted Josiah's children. I think Jesse (also known as Josiah) was one of the adopted children,

I have info on Jesse, his children and grandchildren and can go back to 1658 the year that Abraham Rutan, a Huguenot and the first Rutan to emigrate to America (1675) was born.

I have Arnold Robert b 1921 m Helen Victoria Curry; she b in Philadelphia and he died in AZ.

Let me know if I can provide any further info. Jim Keegan

helen victorine curry!! yes, jesse was adopted so i guess in truth , we're not really rutans but heninghams. i have a cousin , michael rutan who actually changed his name back to heningham! very interesting. thanks for the info! meg rutan cooksey

Hi again, Meg. I have communicated with Michael in the past. Several years ago he was running for office in Bangor, ME. I happened to be in town and stopped by his campaign headquarters. Unfortunately he was out campaigning,

My software allows me to place adopted persons in my tree so I continue to look for info on your branch. Was your mother Margaret?

Good to hear from you. Jim Keegan

I am margaret! my mother was helen curry rutan, married to bob rutan. my parents had 6 children, barbara, robin,mary,kevin, pat and me! my father had 2 sisters ruth and jean. his brother (who's name just flew out of my head!) married a margaret who was michael's mom.she was called margie i believe. meg

Hi again Meg, I suspected that you were the Margaret but since I had no dates I was unsure. Could you provide your parents' dates? Please let me know if I can supply you with any other information. Best, Jim Keegan

Hi Jim and Meg,

I've been directing energies elsewhere and just started to poke into family history again. I was able to sample my Y chromosome DNA to a Rutan living in Paterson with no match what so ever. It appears our family DNA is linked to indigenous British families. Some good matches to folks living in Wales and Scotland. I'm new to the DNA ancestry and just learning.

Jim, I appreciate all the assistance that you provided in researching the Heningham/Rutan connection. I would love to hear more about Thomas Benton and Josiah being business partners. The last info I have on Josiah in terms of profession is that of a wheelright. This was given to me through the notes of his brother Richards son. I'm guessing they were in some sort of construction business? Josiah traveled to the Manchester UK area soon before dying oh remittant fever. His death record was under Heminsley. His son Josiah D. Heningham changed his name to Josiah T. Rutan, but I'm not sure if that was legally done?

We're living in Sturbridge, MA now.

All the best too all of you

Hey Michael, Good to hear from you aftger these many years. I don't have a lot on the business relationship of Thomas B. Rutan and Josiah Heningham. Off the top of my head I believe that Josiah was born in England and that they were partners for a brief period of time. Thomas was born in 1837 and I think their partnership was over by the time the Civil War started. Thomas enlisted in 1861 or 1862. After the war Thomas briefly lived in Bridgeport CT but was in Brooklyn soon hereafter and was a very successful builder and politician.Note that some of Thomas' adopted children lived in the Bridgeport area later. He was in the "Brooklyn Eagle" frequently because of his political activities and his involvementwith the GAR.

Josiah/Jesse and his wife Laurietta wound up living in Bridgeport during their later years. They lived with one of their sons near the end of their lives (Norman), and his wife. Josiah was buried in Brooklyn, but Laurietta is in Bridgeport. I have had a hard time trying to find her mother's maiden name. Her father was Peter W Birck, born in Copenhagen Denmark. He is a well known Brooklyn Firefighter (1849-1900), and started the first carpenter's union in Brooklyn. Josiah/Jesse met Laurietta while she was in service as a maid for the T.B. Ruatn family.

I always wondered how Annie met Thomas. Back then. it seemed to be a matter of proximity and the circle you lived in. That little nugget of Josiah and Thomas knowing each other fits nicely. Josiah/Jesse was born in 1864. His father Josiah passed away in 1865. Annie and Thomas married in 1868.

Did I tell you that I met Ruth Heningham, daughter of Josiah/Jesse's older brother, Richard Heningham? She was born in 1919 when her dad was well into his fifties. She was filled with anecdotes about the family that her and her brother had collected. Her father passed away during the flu epidemic when she was an infant and they had tried all their lives to find out more regarding the Heningham origins.