The Rutherfords

By

Mark K. Brown

Adapted from materials by Philip José Farmer, J.T. Edson, H.W. Starr, W.S. Baring-Gould, and Rick Lai.

The Rutherfords are an ancient Scottish family, known since the early tenth century, and having a strong military tradition. According to Philip Jose Farmer, the name Rutherford comes from the Old English hrythera ford, meaning "horned cattle of the ford." This is one suggested origin of the name. It has also been explained as deriving from "Rue the Ford," a name given to a site on the Tweed where an English army abandoned a strong position to attack a Scottish force on the other bank, but were defeated for their troubles. Another explanation is that a man named Ruther guided an ancient Scottish King over a little-known ford in River Tweed, helping him to win a victory over the Northumbrians . According to this version, the king then rewarded Ruther with a grant of land named after the crossing. Yet another explanation, thought by many to be the most likely, is that ruther was a Celtic word meaning red.

Among the several famous members of this family can be included Thomas Rutherford, the Black Laird of Edgerston, who defeated the English during the Battle of the Red Swire, in July of 1575; Professor John Rutherford, the grandfather of Sir Walter Scott; and Ernest Rutherford, the discoverer of the alpha particle and developer of the theory of atomic structure, generally credited with laying the groundwork of modern nuclear physics.

Several branches of the Rutherford families had migrated to the continent, primarily Prussia, during the sixteenth century, changing the name to Rhetorfortis, Routherfurd, Ritterfart, Rudderfoord, and other variations. A number of the Claytons married into the Germanic Rutherford families. One branch settled in the small kingdom of Lutha, in the Balkans, where they became the barons von Ruderford of Cronstadt. Augusta von Ruderford, daughter of the baron, had married Dr. Wilhelm von Harben (ancestor of Dr. Erich von Harben, a friend of the eighth duke of Greystoke) during the late 1600s. Their daughter, Julia, married Major Bolko Rubinroth of Lustadt. In 1715, Hilda Rubinroth, later to be a famous opera singer and wife to the 1st duke of Greystoke, was born. Another descendant of the Rubinroths married another von Ruderford and became the grandparents of the famous American adventurer, Barney Custer.

Among the people present at Wold Newton on that fateful day, Dec.13th, 1795, were the eleventh baron Tennington, George Edward Rutherford, and his pregnant wife, Elizabeth, nee Cavendish, a relative of the duke of Devonshire. The eleventh baron's sister, Alicia, was also present, being the wife of John William Clayton, the third duke of Greystoke (see the Clayton lineage). (This is what Farmer says in Appendix 2 of Tarzan Alive. In Appendix Three of the same book, he states that Alicia was "a daughter of Sir John Rutherford, Bt., younger son of baron Tennington and Alicia Drummond. This would make Alicia the eleventh baron's cousin, not his sister.)

Among their children were the 12th baron Tennington, who married Serena Blakeney, and Scott Rutherford, who married Suzanne Blakeney. Both women were the daughters of Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel (see the Blakeney lineage).

The 12th Baron's children were: 1) George, father of Nina (Lola) T--. As detailed in Trader Horn's memoirs.

2)Edward, the 13th baron Tennington, who married Marguerite Blakeney, a granddaughter of Sir Percy. The first child of this union was the 14th baron, whose name remains unknown. The 14th baron was the father of Edward, the fifteenth baron. Edward married Hazel Strong of Baltimore, Maryland. They also had a daughter named Hazel, who, on May 1, 1945, became the wife of John Armand Drummond-Clayton, adoptive grandson of the eighth duke of Greystoke. The fifteenth baron's younger brother, Howard, was a writer and adventurer. The manuscript was edited for publication by James Hilton and published under the title, Lost Horizon.

The second child of the 13th baron was his daughter, Alice. She married John Clayton, Lord Saltire, son of the 5th duke of Greystoke on Feb. 21, 1888. Shortly after their wedding the couple set sail for Africa. Due to mutiny, they were set ashore on the coast of present-day Gabon, where their son, John Clayton, was born on Nov. 22, 1888. After his parents' deaths, on Nov. 22 of the following year, young John was raised by apes. He grew up to be the jungle lord known as Tarzan (for his family background and descendants, see the Clayton lineage).

3)John Rutherford was the father of two children, George Edward, and Melissa. Challenger married Enid Delagardie (see the Delagardie lineage), and had a daughter Enid. Enid married firstly Ed Malone, who was the father of Lewis. After the divorce, Enid married a second time, to one Neal Archer, brother of Miles Archer, the partner of Sam Spade. As a child, young Lew was often treated to stories of Uncle Miles' adventures as a private investigator. Unfortunately, these stories came to an end with Miles' murder in 1929. Lew had an affair with --Kinsey, and fathered Kinsey Milhone. Melissa Rutherford married Blodgett Mayfair and was the mother of Monk Mayfair.

4) Venetia Rutherford married firstly --Holly, and their child was Ludwig Horace Holly. She then married William Drummond (see the Drummond lineage) and had Roger Drummond, father of Bulldog Drummond, and Korak.

5)Violet Rutherford, married Siger Holmes (see the Holmes lineage), became mother of Sherlock, father by Irene Adler of Nero Wolfe; Mycroft; and Sigrina, mother of Sir Denis Nayland Smith.

6)Lucasta Rutherford, the second wife of Francis Delagardie, and mother of a) Enid Delagardie, the wife of Challenger, b) H. Lucasta Delagardie, who married the 15th duke of Denver, and mothered Lord Peter Wimsey, c) Rhoda Delagardie, married firstly Lord John Roxton (see the Clayton lineage), and became the mother of Richard Wentworth, father by Nita Van Sloan of Mack Bolan; married secondly Ralph Rassendyll (see the misc. lineages), and mothered Kent Allard, father by Margo Lane (see the Lane lineage) of Kent Lane; G-8; and Rhonda Rassendyll, mother of Cordwainer Bird.

Scott Rutherford, the son of the eleventh baron Tennington, married Suzanne Blakeney, as mentioned above. The only child of this union of which I am aware was a daughter, Egidnia. Egidnia married a man named Raffles, and bore a son, Arthur J. Raffles, whose biography was written by Bunny Manders and edited for publication by E.W. Hornung.

As a young man, A.J. Raffles journeyed to the Australian Outback. While there, he had an affair with an aborigine woman, before returning to England one step ahead of the law. Sometime later, this woman was found slain beneath a sandalwood tree with a newborn baby in her arms. The baby was raised in a mission school and given the name, Napoleon Bonaparte. Nicknamed Bony, he grew up to be a brilliant police detective, whose adventures have been chronicled by Arthur W. Upfield.

Bibliography:

Farmer, Philip José-Tarzan Alive

-Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life.

"Upfield's Pre-Osteomantic Novel"

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