Individual Details

Clarence Ratcliff wrote "Ancestors of Richard Ratcliff of Lancashire, England and Talbot, Maryland." An addendum was added by Donald Ratcliff based on the research of Dr. A. Wayne Ratcliff who had taken two research trips to England and hired a professional genealogist to trace the Ratchilffe family back to the 11th Century. Parents of Richard, born 1614, are said to be John Ratcliff whose wife was Susanne. John was born about 1577 and was an innkeeper. Death is unknown. Children said to be this Richard of Chapel Hill, James & Edward of Haslingden, John of Quaker Farm, Lettice and Susanne.
Others have purported that Richard's father was John "yeoman of Quaker Farm" whose will of 1650 in Halingden, Chestershire, England, names a wife Rachel. Various dates are seen for his birth, some make it highly unlikely he was old enough to be this Richard's father.
I suspect that this younger John was Richard's brother.

The image of the Parish of Whalley, St Mary and All Saints, Lancashire, England show Richardus Radcliffe, baptized (not born) 27 Sep 1614. Father, Johannis Radcliffe.

Parish records indicate as many as 10 children. were born to Richard and Alice. Richard is buried at the Friends Burial Ground, Chapel Hill. Richard gave this plot of ground from his nine-acre estate called Chapel Hill - Quakers could not be buried in the Anglican Church cemeteries. It was originally 15x12 yards surrounded by a rock wall.

In 1665 Richard & Alice, and James his son, and Abraham Hayworth and his wife Isabella Ratcliff [Richard's daughter] were fined for being Quakers. They were cited several times for holding meetings in their homes.

Burials, 1675
Richard Radcliff of Chappell Hil in Rossendale dyed ye twenty sixth and was buryed the twenty eighth day of the second month (April) Anno 1675 at Cahppel Hill. [Ancestry.com: England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage and Death Registers, 1578-1837.

A note about Quaker calendar dating - it is confusing and often dates found in print or online do not make clear whether or not the author had converted the dates to "New Style". In the cases where it can be determined, errors often creep in. The Richard Ratcliff book, source of much of this data, does not always make clear when or if dates were converted.

After 1752, Quakers adjusted to the calendar change by calling January the first month (N.S. calendar), February the second month, December the twelfth month, and so forth. However, even with the calendar change, dates will undoubtedly appear a little complicated for researchers. [My note: it is also true that not everyone agreed to the change immediately]

Quakers almost exclusively used numbers for months. In some cases, researchers will find the number and name of the month, such as "4th month called June" or "the 10th day of the 10th month called December 1690." Any date in March was considered the first month. And Sunday was the first day of the week, Monday the second day, and so forth.

Quakers also wrote numbers in their meeting records, such as "3rd month" instead of May (an example before 1752). Saying July (Julius), after Julius Caesar, or August, after the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, was considered too pagan or worldly.

An example of an early Quaker date might be: 2/10/1720 (with 2 being the second month). This date should be interpreted as 10 April 1720. For examples of Quaker dating practices, see the article by Gordon L. Remington, "Quaker Preparation for the 1752 Calendar Change," National Genealogical Society Quarterly 87 (June 1999): 146-150.

Prior to 1752, the first day of the new year was what we would now call March 25th. It appears the Quakers may have observed the New Year differently.
Samuel G. Barton, in 'The Quaker calendar' (Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society vol 3, 1949, pp 32-9) argues the Quaker year began on 1 rather than 25 March, and a note in an Ifield & Shipley register (printed in Sussex Archaeological Collections, vol 55, 1912, p 81) lends substance to this:
"... the year is ... to Begin the First day of the First Month commonly called March Whereas in the worlds Accompt it begins not till the 25th day of the said Month."

Here is a table of reference for Quaker "months"

OLD STYLE NEW STYLE
(Before 1753 the QUAKER (After Jan 1, 1753)
year began
in March)

March (before 1753) 1st Month January (after 1753)
April 2nd Month February
May 3rd Month March
June 4th Month April
July 5th Month May
August 6th Month June
September 7th Month July
October 8th Month August
November 9th Month September
December 10th Month October
January 11th Month November
February 12th Month December


The Radcliffe family has been extended back as far as Ivo de Tailbois/Taillebois, born in Anjou or Normandy France circa 1030, who married Lucia Malet, a granddaughter of Gruffydd, King of Wales. Twenty-one generations beyond Richard and Alice. This genealogy was done by Dr. A. Wayne Ratcliff who made two trips to England, as well as hiring a genealogist. Much of it said to come from "The Book of the Ratcliffs". More detailed source is not available and there seems to be conflict, confusion and doubt regarding the earliest generations. Many of the dates make those generations unlikely.

Found in a FamilyTree on Ancestry.com:
OUR RATLIFF ANCESTRY IN AMERICA
The Ratcliff family in Lancashire, England, descended from Sir Nicholas de Fiitz-Gilbert de Tailbois (Talbot). His great-grandfather, Ivo de Tailbois, was a Norman knight who invaded England with Williams the Conqueror. For meritorious service in wars in Scotland, the King gave Sir Nicholas the manor of Radcliffe. He was then known as Sir Nicholas de Radcliffe, which became the family surname. During the years it has changed form, and our branch uses the Ratliff form. The only remaining evidences of the manor are the church and the ruins of the tower. The Radcliffe Tower is being protected by the Radcliffe Historical Society in the Borough of Radcliffe, which is located about nine miles north of Manchester.
During the 1600’s the Quaker religion developed in Lancashire. The Church of England was the official state religion and the adherents of Quakerism were subjected to fines and imprisonment in the dungeons of Lancaster Castle. Richard Ratcliff and his wife Alice (Hawthorne) Ratcliff were fined and imprisoned on February 15, 1660/1 for attending Quaker meetings, refusing to swear an oath to the king, and for refusing to pay tithes to the Church of England. The historical novel, The Peaceable Kingdom, by Jan de Hartog gives an excellent account of this period.
One of their sons, Richard, and his wife, Mary (Caterne) boarded the ship SUBMISSION on September 16, 1682, bound for Pennsylvania. On November 10, 1682, they arrived on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay instead of landing in Pennsylvania. It is thought that the Maryland colony paid the captain a bounty for each person delivered to their colony. The Ratliffs settled near Easton in what is now known as Talbot County, Maryland.
They became active in organizing a Quaker congregation there. Their original building is still standing today and is being preserved as a historic landmark. The family is prominent in the Quaker records of that locale.
John Ratliff, a son of Richard and Mary, was born September 15, 1694, in Talbot County, Maryland. He died in North Carolina in December 1771.

Birth	27 Sep 1614	Whalley Parish, Rossendale, Lancashire, England
Marriage	Abt 1640	Lancashire, England - ALICE Rawsthorne
Death	26 Apr 1675	Chapel Hill, Rossendale, Lancashire, England

Spouse	ALICE Rawsthorne (1618 - 1670)
Child	Agnes Ratcliff ( - )
Child	William Ratcliff (1643 - 1645)
Child	James Ratcliff (1645 - 1690)
Child	John Ratcliff (1646 - 1650)
Child	Isabella Ratcliff (1647 - 1687)
Child	Alice Ratcliff (1649 - 1692)
Child	John Ratcliff (1657 - 1735)
Child	Elizabeth Ratcliff (1659 - 1721)
Child	RICHARD Ratcliff (1661 - 1721)
Child	Susan Ratcliff (1663 - 1664)

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