Duffy’s Cut archaeologists search for descendants of murdered John Ruddy

Seeking information on the Ruddy family who share a rare genetic trait

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KATE HICKEY,

IrishCentral Editor

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Researchers work Aug. 2 at the site of a mass grave for immigrant Irish railroad workers in Malvern, Pa. Continuing field work seems to indicate some were killed not by cholera but by human hands.

Photo by aol.com

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“We are trying to see how extensive that anomaly is within the larger Ruddy family, including the Ruddy family who migrated to the US.

John Ruddy had a one in a million genetic dental abnormality, which he shares with all of his descendant Ruddys. He is missing his upper right front molar. If you believe you could be related to this man or have any information on members of the Ruddy family who may be connected to this man please contact Duffy’s Cut (see contact details below).

Sean Beattie, who worked on the Tile Film “The Ghost of Duffy’s Cut”, has been aiding the group in their search for the Ruddy clan. He said, “There are 15 Ruddys in the telephone directory for the entire county [of Donegal] and all are related except one family.

“In the past there were many Ruddys but emigration has taken its toll.

“In the 1830s there was a Ruddy family living in Ruddytown but no one of the name lives there today. There is a chance that family contacts of the Ruddy you have traced may be in America. John Ruddys family involved three brothers who came from west Inishowen in the 1850s and settled in east Inishowen.”

Sadly, the dig at Duffy’s Cut is currently being wound down as the rest of the mass grave is 30 feet below ground on property owned by Amtrak. They will not permit digging in the area as it is close to working train tracks.

The Watson brothers plan to continue working on their investigations. Their next project is a site just ten miles away where they believe there is another Irish mass grave.

If you have any information on the Ruddy family in the United States, contact Frank Watson (fmwats@aol.com) or Dr. Matt Patterson (borabora98@aol.com).

PHOTOS - Duffy's Cut - Irish laborers’ burial site in Pennsylvania slideshow

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