George Hird RITCHIE, (son of Thomas RITCHIE), b. 15 Aug 1834, Forfarshire now Angus County Scotland, d. 1 Dec 1862
Birth info comes from 1841, 1851 census Forfarshire. And his extracted actual birth record on Family search gives exact date. I m not aware of any relations named Hird (George's middle name )however in 1841 the Hird family lives right next door to the Ritchie family and the man is about Thomas's age, perhaps a good friend. George Ritchie lists his occupation as drapers apprentice in 1851 living with his parents in Forfarshire. It is thought by family legend that this brother comes to the United States and fights in the civil war, supposedly on the confederate side according to one aunt and on the union side according to another aunt. It was said that this brother of Margaret Ritchie's had a horse farm in Kentucky and even some land in Fort Scott Kansas that he willed to his sister Margaret Ritchie. This brother became supposedly a colonel. If this story is true it would have to be George and not Margaret's other brother John Brown Ritchie, as he dies in 1856 in Scotland four years before the civil war and Margaret did not have any other brothers according to birth records or any census's. It is said that the brother dies in the Civil war and he had willed the land to Margaret Ritchie. Because Margaret dies in 1881, the land would then pass to her husband Daniel. And this is supposedly one of the reasons Daniel McDonald his brother in law, came over here. However, it is a bit odd that if her brother died in the Civil War which ended in 1865 they would expect to claim that land as late as 1884 19 years later. Most estates are executed within a certain time span or estates turn back to state property. Whatever the case, the story goes that the courthouse which housed those records which would be in Bourbon County Kansas was burned by Quantrell's raiders during the civil war and Daniel therefore had no way to prove the will and he was gypped out of the land. . However, I have found no record of this particular county been burned by Quantrells raiders. I believe that certain elements of this story certainly must be true. However, I do suspect that there may be two other possibilities. One ,perhaps, rather than the courthouse being burned Daniel was told that coming to claim land 19 years after the fact was not done. Perhaps the state told him so and it was more glamorous or acceptable to say he was denied it due to outlaws rather than not understanding the complicated estate laws. My second theory is, did George Ritchie live through the civil war and die much closer to the 1884 date when Daniel finally decided to come here.? There is a Colonel who fought at Gettysburg who was born in Scotland who is living in PA after the civil war,I am not saying I have proof this is our George Ritchie but it is the only known Colonel I can find. It should be known that many many civil war rosters particulary on the Confederate side were destroyed. The losing side was punished harshly in reconstruction after Lincoln was assinanated. Efforts to investigate this scenario further are ongoing. Updated info on George Hird Ritchie. Ritchie Family Bible lists his death as being Dec 1 1862. It does not list the place, however this would be during the Civil War which is rumored to be when he died in the US. Also it is interesting to note that when using the index on the official site for Scotlands death certificates there are four George Ritchies who die in 1862 in all of Scotland but none within a 10 year span of George Hird Ritchies age and none that have that middle name. While I can't get a look at all those death certificates it is reasonable to assume that he did not die in Scotland as his age would not have been a full ten years off. Another clue that he probably did die elsewhere and in the US as reported by my source LaVon Schwarzenholz.