Rebecca Hancock

• General Notes
  • I am sorry, but the surname Russaw was an error made by Minnie Kendall Lowther in her History of Ritchie County, West Virginia. Researchers have recently found in court records that the maiden name of Theopolous Lawson's wife was Hancock, not Russaw. The mistake persists because so many people have read Ms. Lowther's book and take it for gospel. We have no idea where she got the name, but several people suggested that it is of Native American origin as families by that name lived in the Blue Ridge Mountain area during the 1800s. It may be a derivation of the French name Rousseau, as several trappers and surveyors of that name lived in Virginia and what is now West Virginia and very possibly were married to members of one of the tribes. I wish I could be of further help to Russaw descendants, but am afraid that this is the extent of my knowledge.
    Emily P. Cary