Genealogy Richard Remmé, The Hague, Netherlands » Cornelius Ringo (1739-1824)

Personal data Cornelius Ringo 

• He was born on April 28, 1739 in Amwell Twp., Hunterdon Co., NJ.
• Profession: in Shoemaker.
• (Genealogy-Ringo #1) in RG #1D2E "Ringo Family History".
• He died February 1824 in Henry Co., KY, he was 84 years old.
• He is buried in Sulphur Fork Baptist Cemetery.
• A child of PHILIP Ringo and Jane Cook
• This information was last updated on December 4, 2022.

Household of Cornelius Ringo

He is married to Margaret Switcher.

They got married on November 3, 1758 at New York City, NY in the Dutch Reformed Church, he was 19 years old.

Child(ren):

1. John Ringo  1761-1843 
2. Alburtis Ringo  1763-1852 
3. Jane Ringo  ± 1765-????
4. Mary Ringo  ± 1767-????

Notes about Cornelius Ringo

"Ringo Family History Series," Vol. 2, pgs. 195, 207-209, (incomplete; we do not have pgs. 196-206)
"1D2E  Cornelius Ringo, son of Philip Ringo and Jane Cook, was born April 28th, 1739 at his father's tavern-house in Amwell township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  He was their last child and fifth son.  His father died less than two weeks after he had reached his 18th birthday.

"Information regarding him is sparse but all indications are that he was apprenticed at an early age to become a shoemaker, following the trade of his grandfather, Albertus, and that of his uncle, Cornelius, for whom he was named.

"He was still a minor when his father made a will on April 1st, 1757 which specified the details of his legacy. ; By its terms a plot of land, a bequest of personal funds and his fourth of the remainder of the estate, when he reached the age of 21, were to be his...."

"...In the Fall of 1758 Cornelius Ringo was in New York City, Probably visiting relatives there and viewing his grandfather's cottage, still standing and occupied on Broad Street. It was in that city and at the Dutch Reformed Church of his forebearers, that he was married on November 3rd, 1758 to Margaret Switcher (possibly Switzer, or Swits, a New York family associated in some ways with the Ringos).

"Cornelius Ringo brought his new wife back to the Crossroads in Amwell, where they were probably squeezed into the family section of Ringo's Old Tavern. There they could 'make do' until he came into his father's bequest. In the meantime Margaret must have helped out around the tavern, while Cornelius was out 'skinning the cat' (traveling around the county with his tools to make shoes for the members of the various households).

"By the time set for the transfer of the 25 acre tract, it must have become apparent to both the brothers, John and Cornelius, that this land was a necessary part of the tavern operation, better suited for that than for a part-time farmer with a growing family. There are no known deeds of transfer but in some legal manner the 25 acre tract became the possession of John Ringo, while Cornelius wound up with 18 acres and a house just a few hundred yards south of the tavern on the road to Trenton...."

"By 1767, Cornelius Ringo was finding, as were his brothers, that the little 'hard' money in Circulation was beginning to dry up. Food for shoes was helpful, but only cash could pay off debts. His situation soon became one best described by a letter from 'a gentleman in Hunterdon,' which was published by the New York Gazette, who wrote:

" 'Must I see my Estate torn from me and sold for a Song, when help is so near at hand? The people of Hunteerdon are in Want of Money. They are in Debt, and do not know how to extricate themselves. They are hard pressed by their Creditors and can not pay. They are sued. Judgements are obtained against them, they try to borrow, offer good security for the money, but all in vain, there is no money nor moneylenders. Their effects (are sold) for one fourth or fifth part of their value, because there are really no Buyers who can furnish the Money.' "

"In the February Session of the Hunterdon County Court of Common Pleas in 1768, which was held at Trenton, Joshua Corshon, a local man and frequent patron of Ringo's Old Tavern, 'obtained a Judgement against Cornelius Ringoe.' On November 23rd, 1768, Micajah How, Sheriff of the County, levied against the house and lot of 18 acres in Amwell owned by Cornelius Ringo and sold the same to Jacob Moore, of Amwell.

"Henry Ringo, Cornelius' older brother, who was going through the same problem at the same time, was able to hold out until 1768 by assistance from his brother, John. Indications are that the two families, Henry's and Cornelius', both left New Jersey at this time to make their way to new homes in Loudoun County, Virginia. When the November 1768 sale of his propety took place, Cornelius Ringo is reported as 'late of this (Hunterdon) County.'

Cornelius' son, Burtis, stated in an affidavit that his parents were in 1770 living in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Goose Creek about a mile from the Powers Family farm there. The family must have continued to live in that location for an extended period of time, probably under one of the tenancy leases so common in Virginia, but very little is found in the surviving records of that area during their first ten years there..."

It is apparent that Cornelius Ringo moved from Loudoun County, Virginia to Nelson County, Kentucky as he paid taxes in Virginia in 1795 and in Kentucky in 1796. No mention is found in the records of his wife, Margaret, after 1780 and it is possible that her death could have been the reason for his change of location. Later census records in 1810 would show Cornelius, still in Nelson County as the head of a household with a female between 26 and 45 years of age (perhaps one of his daughters)..."

In the Spring of 1803 at the age of 63, Cornelius made a visit to his brother Henry's place in Montgomery County, well over a hundred miles distance even as the crow flies. Henry Ringo, then in his late seventies was in ill health and on May 12th, 1802 made his will, which Cornelius Ringo witnessed.

pgs. 207-209
"In Kentucky between 1795 and 1815 there were four men, all bearing the name of Cornelius Ringo.  They were:
(1D2E)        Cornelius Ringo, the subject of this sketch.
(1D2E1A)    Cornelius Ringo, Grandson of the above through his son, John (1D2E1)
(1D2B1B)   Cornelius Ringo, son of Philip (1D2B1) and Grandson of Henry (1D2B), the
          ;            brother of Cornelius (1D2E) above.
(1D2B3)      Cornelius Ringo, son of Henry Ringo (1D2B).  He was the nephew
          ;            and namesake of Cornelius Ringo (1D2E), the subject of our sketch.

"The latter Cornelius Ringo (1D2B3), along with his brother, Peter Ringo (1D2B2) [sons of Henry Ringo] were the two earliest members of the Ringo family to visit and explore Kentucky.  Both of them visited the area often while it was still under active threat by the Indians in the years before their father, Henry (1D2B) decided to bring his family there.

"Cornelius Ringo (1D2B3) had married in 1792 in what was then Bourbon County and before 1800 had a farm on the little Kentucky River in Henry County, about 40 miles east of Nelson County.  There he raised his family and attended the Sulphur Fork Baptist Church (near present-day Campbellsburg, Kentucky).  He died in 1836 and is buried in the adjoining cemetery, as are his wife and some children.

"The location of the grave of Cornelius Ringo (1D2B3) in the Sulphur Fork Baptist Cemetery was well known to  family members.  In the early 1930's, the inscriptions on the large flat stones over his and his wife's graves were quite legible.  By 1976 a diminishing congregation and inability to care for the cemetery had resulted in a generation deterioration of all the graves there.  In that year an alert Ringo Researcher found in a volume of D.A.R. Ky., Cemetery Records (1960) under Henry County, Sulphur Fork Graveyard a listing of four gravestones, which it was later learned, were in a section of the cemetery abandoned about 1930.

"This showed that in 1960 there were stones there for Benjamin Haydon (1760-1853), Benjamin Elston (1810-1884), Francis Vories (1766-1843) and ' "Cornelius Ringo" d. Feb. 1824 in his 82nd year.'   While the age was two years short of being correct, there was only one Cornelius Ringo who could fit.  Here was obviously the grave of Cornelius (1D2E), the subject of this reconstruction of his life.

"Apparently Cornelius Ringo as he approached his 77th year of age, in Nelson County, instead of going to live out the rest of his life with his son, John, in Shelby county or with his son, 'Burtis' in Fleming County, had opted to go live with his nephew and namesake, Cornelius Ringo (1D2B3) in Henry County.  He had died there in February 1824, as he approached his 85th birthday."

SOURCES: "Ringo Family History Series," Vol. 2, pgs. 179-209, "The First Five Generations of the Ringo Family in America;" the Fifth Generation, Henry Ringo & Margaret Major's son, Cornelius Ringo 1D2E, and his Descendants, Vol. 9, pg. 3, starting with Cornelius' son John Ringo 1D2E1; from "The Ringo Family History Series", The Line of Descent from Philip Janszen Ringo, 1981. 13 Volumes, published by "The Freeborn Family Organization, Inc., 518 Alahmar Street, Alhambra, CA 91801.

"Ringo Family History Series" Note:
Volume I, Part 1 & 2,  "The Ringo Family in Europe;" the early history and
          ;                          development of the "Ringo"  name - not genealogy).

Volume II      "The First Five Generations of the Ringo Family in America.
          ;            (Has a back section called "Early Collateral Lines" (unindexed
          ;            in Volume II, but indexed in Volume XIII).  This supplement
          ;            contains data on families of Oldenbarneveld, Stoutenburg,
          ;            Van Utrecht, de Marnix (Van Marnix), Cook, Klauw/Clauw, Major.

Descendants of Henry's children can be found in the following volumes:
Volume III     Philip Ringo (1D2B1), 1750, son of Henry Ringo
Volume IV     Cornelius Ringo (1D2B3), 1753, son of Henry Ringo
Volume V      Major Ringo (1D2B4), 1755 son of Henry Ringo
Volume VI     John Ringo (1D2B5), 1758, son of Henry Ringo
Volume VII    Samuel Ringo (1D2B6, 1761, son of Henry Ringo
Volume VIII   Joseph Ringo (1D2B7, 1763, son of Henry Ringo

Descendants of Cornelius' children can be found in the following volumes:
Volume IX     John Ringo (1D2E1), 1761, son of Cornelius Ringo
Volume X      Alburtis (Burtis) Ringo (1D2E2), 1763, son of Cornelius Ringo

Volume XI     "Documentary History of the Ringo Family"
Volume XII    "Ringo Family History Series Update;" Corrections & Additions,
          ;             data on sponsors for Ringo baptisms, later family data, pictures).
Volume XIII   "Master Name Index for all Volumes. (Each Volume has an index.)
          ;           Contains additional material on Van Tienhoven, Van de Water,
          ;           Van Marnix/de Marnix, and Cook.

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Timeline Cornelius Ringo

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