Barbara Heck

BARBARA (Heck), Bastian Ruckle as well as Margaret Embury had a daughter, Barbara (Heck) born 1734. In 1760 she married Paul Heck and together they had seven kids. Four of them survived to adulthood.

In most cases subjects have participated in significant events, and had unique thoughts or opinions which are documented on paper. Barbara Heck however left no documents or correspondence, so any evidence of such since the date of her marriage is secondary. It is impossible to reconstruct the motives of Barbara Heck and her behavior throughout her entire life from original sources. In spite of this she became a legendary figure in the beginning of Methodism. Here, the biographer's role is to explain and account for the legend and explain, if it is possible, the actual individual who is hidden in it.

Abel Stevens, Methodist historian in 1866. Barbara Heck's modest name now ranks first in the list of women who have contributed significantly to the life of the church in New World history. This is due to the growth of Methodism in the United States. To comprehend the importance of her name it is important that you look at the long history of the movement with which she will always be linked. Barbara Heck had a fortuitous role in the establishment of Methodism within Methodism in the United States of America and Canada. Her name is based on the natural characteristic that any successful organization or group must magnify the origins of its movements in order to increase the sense of tradition.