Barbara Heck

Ruckle, Barbara (Heck) b. 1734 in Ballingrane (Republic of Ireland), 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 August. 1804 in Augusta Township Upper Canada.

The person who is the subject of the biography is usually a person who has played a key role in significant historical events, or who has developed unique ideas or proposals that were recorded in written form. Barbara Heck, on the other hand, left no writings or statements. There is no evidence to support such items as her date of wedding is not the only evidence. No primary source exists that could be used to trace Barbara Heck's motives, or her actions during most of her lifetime. She has nevertheless become heroized in the beginning of North American Methodism time. It's the responsibility of the biographer to clarify and define the myth for this particular case and to try to portray the individual who is included in it.

Abel Stevens was a Methodist scholar, who published his work in 1866. Barbara Heck's name has become the first name in the ecclesiastical histories of New World because of the growing popularity of Methodism. The magnitude of her record must chiefly consist of the creation of her gorgeous name based on the story of the great cause which her memory is forever associated more so than from the story of her own life. Barbara Heck, who was unintentionally involved in the formation of Methodism both in America and Canada was a woman whose fame stems from the trend that an established institution or movement can be celebrated for its origins in order to strengthen their sense of continuity and tradition.