It is important to distinguish between different men named Elias Rudd. There was an Elias Rudd who was the son of George L. Rudd. He was probably born in North Carolina, moved to Scriven County, Georgia, then Barnwell County, South Carolina and later to Goose Creek, South Carolina, where he died before 1848. Elias David Rudd lived in southern South Carolina, around Beaufort and Colleton Counties, later migrating to Florida. The record shows he lived until the mid-1870s. When researching the Florida records, one must distinguish Elias David from his son, Elias Trowell, who may also be identified as Elias Rudd, Jr. The records are also confused by similar names such as Ely and Elijiah.

Elias David served in the army as a Private during the War of 1812. He was drafted twice: June 5, 1813 to June 12, 1813 and October 22 to December 2, 1814. In the first instance, sworn affidavits assert that he was enlisted at Cossahatchie, Beaufort District, South Carolina, for a term of six months and that he was discharged at the Town of Beaufort. That same affidavit says that he was mustered in at Sister's Ferry on the Savannah River in the spring of 1814 and discharged at the same location. Sister's Ferry was located on the river between present day Clyo and Stillwell, Georgia, just east of present day Tillman, South Carolina. (IX)

Research into the probable parentage of Fannie Breeland Tanner also supports the early history of Elias David. Working on the hypothesis that the "Tanner" name represented Fannie's maiden name and that the "Breeland" name probably represented Fannie's mother's maiden name, a search for those surnames in the area was conducted. Official documents (X) list Robert Tanner, William Breeland and Elisha Breeland living in Beaufort County, South Carolina, in 1800. Each of these head of households had very young female children, one of which could have been Fannie. The conclusion is that Robert Tanner was Fannie's father.

The answer to the puzzle of who might be the parents of Elias David requires that one accept that Elias David was born around the Beaufort County, South Carolina, area. In later years, he states for the census (V) that he was born in South Carolina. His children also state that they think that he was born in South Carolina, obviously reflecting his statements to them. The official record does not show that a Rudd family lived in the Beaufort County area in the 1790 timeframe, but the Barnwell County records list several. Barnwell County is close enough to the Beaufort County area to qualify for inclusion in the analysis. In Barnwell County, there are two families that might have been Elias David's parents: William and George L. Rudd, Jr. While William's family in 1800 lists a child of Elias David's age, as does George's, it is believed that George is the most probable. This belief is largely based on the close family ties in later years between Elias David and the offspring of James, who this author believes was the brother of George, the junior.

Since the parentage is inferred from the relationship between the children, a digression is needed to establish the plausibility and probability of who were his and Fannie's children. Because I believe that the preponderance of evidence supports the thesis that Wesley and Burrell were not Elias's children, and that Seth was, I am led to delve into the lives of four other people. They are the sons of George Loundesdale Rudd, who was the second son of the first Burlingham Rudd, who lived and apparently died in Anson County, North Carolina. George Loundesdale Rudd had four sons: the junior George Loundesdale, Ely, James and Luis. (XI) George L. Rudd, Sr. migrated to Georgia in the 1790's and later moved to the Charleston area. George, Jr. apparently stayed in the Barnwell County area just across the Savannah River from Scriven County, Georgia.(XII,XIV) The other three boys went to Goose Creek, South Carolina, as they appear in that census living side by side.(XIII) The question of Luis's presence is hazy, since  the name used in South Carolina was Burrel. I  have  not been  able to establish that Burrell and Luis are one and  the same, but his proximity to Ely and James tends to support  that position.

At Goose Creek, James married Sarah Bowman, the daughter of Jacob and Sarah Bowman.(XVIII) They had two boys and a girl.(XIII) It is  my belief that the boys are Wesley and Burrell who  show  up in 1840 in Dale and Coffee Counties, Alabama. I base this contention on the similarity of naming of their children and on the statements of Wesley that his father was born in North Carolina, not South Carolina as had Elias David. If one evaluates the naming patterns for the children of Burrell and Wesley, one has a strong argument that these two boys are very closely related. Both named their first sons for their grandfather, James. There were other similarities in the naming of their children so that one has to conclude that they were related. (XV)

By regressive analysis of all of the references which document Elias and Fannie's children after they moved from Jefferson County, Florida, one can identify each of the children who appear in the household in 1830, except for one male child and one female child born between 1790 and 1800. It is my contention that the girl was named Nancy who later married her second cousin,  Seth, the other male child. (6) Nancy has always  been  a mystery person, viz-a-viz, her parentage and James's and Sarah's daughter has not been located anywhere following the 1820 Census in South Carolina. All of Elias David's other children can be identified by their clannish congregating in Wetumpka, Florida. Yet, Seth and Nancy did not move with them. It is not too unreasonable to assume that either Seth or Nancy was Elias David's child. Seth is the more probable of the two to be so assigned because of his age compared to Elias Trowell. The mystery of Nancy's parentage, while not fully solved, is greatly illuminated by supporting my hypothesis. If it is correct, the mystery goes away.

By evaluating the birthplaces of Seth's and Nancy's children, one is able to conclude that there was a strong bond between the Elias David family and theirs. Seth and Nancy were married in 1838 in Georgia. They moved to Alabama and stayed with Wesley off and on during the 1840s. They apparently moved back to Georgia several times as some of their children were born in Georgia and some were born in Alabama. Those crossings of the Chattahoochee River ceased after Elias and Fannie moved to Florida after 1850. However, Seth's oldest son moved to Florida, where Elias David lived, after he became of age. So the family ties between the family of Seth and Nancy towards Elias and Fannie was strong. Likewise, the association with Wesley in Alabama clearly demonstrates a familial connection. These family ties probably had a strong influence on the conclusions drawn by some that Wesley, Burrell and Seth were brothers and sons of Elias David and Fannie. However, the plausibility and probability that Nancy was the daughter and Wesley and Burrell were the sons of James and Sarah raises the probability that Elias David was the son of George L. Rudd, Jr., not some other person, such as the William Rudd, who appears in the Barnwell County census of 1800.

My conclusions, then, are as follows:

1. Elias David Rudd was the son of George L. Rudd, Jr.
2. Elias David was born in the Barnwell County, South Carolina area in 1790.
3. Seth J. was Elias David's oldest son; he was born in 1816, in South Carolina.
4. Nancy Rudd, Seth's wife, was probably the daughter of James Rudd and Sarah Bowman, who lived in Goose Creek, South Carolina. She then probably moved to Florida, after her parent's demise, under the care of her older cousins: Elias David and Fannie Tanner.
5. William Wesley Rudd and Burrell Rudd were sons of James Rudd and Sarah Bowman.
6. Fannie Rudd, Elias David's wife, was the daughter of Robert Tanner of the Beaufort District of South Carolina.

1. There are three different birthdates recorded for Elias David. In reference I,II,III,IV and VI, the date is either 1790 to 1800, or inferred by the age listed. In reference V, he is listed as being 78 years of age which calculates to 1791 or 1792 depending on the month of his birth. In references VII and VIII, he swears to be 67 and 87 years of age, respectively, calculating to 1788. I prefer to accept the 1790 date as it is the most prevalent date shown.
   
   
2. References I,II,III,IV and V were used to establish places of residence. His birthplace was stated to be in South Carolina, but the exact location is not defined.
   
   
3. I believe that Seth J. Rudd of Georgia was the first child of Elias David Rudd. Although there have been some misrepresentations of Seth's birthdate as 1813, he was probably born in 1816 in South Carolina. A photograph of the headstone on Seth's grave appears to show his birthdate as 1813; however, all other records and the newspaper notice at the time of his death, Reference XVII, indicate that he was born in 1816. The date shown in the rubbing is not very clear and can be misinterpreted. I attempted to locate theheadstone again, in situ, at Rehoboth Cemetery, in Shellman, Alabama, but it was gone. Even the grave is not marked, now.It is presumed that Fannie and Elias were married before the birthdate of Seth, their first born; hence, 1816. The second son, Elias Trowell, was born in February, 1819.
   
   
4. Reference VIII clearly shows Elias David to be alive as late as 1875. He was probably a member of the Wetumpka Methodist Church at Wetumpka, Florida. A telephone interview by me with Mrs. Wanda Musgrove of Hosford, Florida, on July 22, 1991, resulted in her statement that her grandfather, James Rudd, assisted in the laying of the foundation of the Antioch Baptist Church, on the site of the old Methodist Church, when a number of graves were disturbed. This James Rudd refused to be part of the further desecration of the gravesites of his ancestor, presumably his father. There are no tombstones marking Rudd graves sites in the old Methodist graveyard, today. In fact, the former Methodist graveyard is barely discernable between the buildings of the newer Antioch Baptist Church. Perhaps Mrs. Musgroves grand-father was justified in his concern.
   
   
5. Other researchers have shown Fannie to be Fannie Breeland Tanner. I can find no official documentation to support this argument; however, the preponderance of support, and the absence of contra-arguments, leads me to believe them.
   
   
6. I believe that the male child is Seth and that the female child is Nancy, Seth's cousin and the daughter of James and Sarah, both deceased. Official records show that Sarah Rudd, a widow, married George Poland, at Goose Creek, in 1828. Yet, the 1830 family of George Poland does not contain a female of sufficient age to be Sarah, Reference XV. Sarah was born between 1775 and 1794, according to the 1820 census, Reference VIII, and in the 1790 to 1800 period in the 1800 census, Reference XVI. One can reasonably assume that she was born between 1790 and 1794. Yet, in the George Poland household of 1830, the oldest female was born after 1800. There was also an absence of a male child old enough to be the youngest son of James and Sarah. One is obliged to believe that by 1830 the marriage of Sarah and George Poland had ended. Since there is no other documentation, one can conclud that Sarah's children were somewhere else. It is not only plausible, but probable, that Nancy lived with Elias David from her mother's death until she married Seth in 1838.