Barbara Heck

RUCKLE, BARBARA (Heck) b. Bastian Ruckle (Sebastian), as well Margaret Embury, daughter of Bastian Ruckle (Republic of Ireland) got married to Paul Heck (1760 in Ireland). They had seven children, of which four lived to adulthood.

The typical biography includes the person who was an important participant in significant events, or who made distinctive statements or suggestions that were documented. Barbara Heck, on the other hand, left no writings or statements. The proof of items as her date of marriage is only secondary. No primary source exists that can be used to reconstruct Barbara Heck's motives and actions during most of her time. However, she has become a heroic figure in early North American Methodism theology. In this instance the biographer's task is to define the myth and explain it and, if it is possible, to identify the actual person featured in the myth.

A report by the Methodist historian Abel Stevens wrote in 1866. Barbara Heck is now unquestionably the first woman in the historical record of New World ecclesiastical women, because of the advancements made by Methodism. Her reputation is more based on the importance of the cause she is involved in than on her private life. Barbara Heck had a fortuitous role in the establishment of Methodism within The United States of America and Canada. Her name is built on the inherent characteristic that any successful organization or group must emphasize the cause of its movement to enhance the feeling of history.