Barbara Heck

BARBARA(Heck) born 1734 in Ballingrane (Republic of Ireland), daughter of Bastian and Margaret Embury. Bastian Ruckle was married to Margaret Embury in Ballingrane, Republic of Ireland. The couple had seven kids from which just four survived to adulthood.

The typical biography includes an individual who was a prominent participant of important events or made unique statements or ideas that were recorded. Barbara Heck did not leave any letters or written statements. In fact, the evidence for the day she married was a secondary issue. There is no evidence of original sources that can reconstruct her motives and her actions throughout most of her lifetime. She is still a very significant figure at the start of Methodism. It is the task of the biographer to describe and define the myth in this case, and then to attempt to depict the person who is portrayed in it.

Abel Stevens a Methodist Historian published a piece on this incident in 1866. Barbara Heck, a humble woman from her native New World who is credited for the development of Methodism throughout all of the United States, has undoubtedly been a leader in ecclesiastical histories of New World. Her record is based more on the importance of the cause she was connected to than the personal life. Barbara Heck, who was not in the least involved in the beginning of Methodism both in the United States and Canada she is one of the women known for her fame due to the tendency for a successful institution or movement to exalt the roots of its founding to enhance the sense of continuity and tradition.