Ruggles Eames

Ruggles, son of Benjamin Eames and Julia Bacon, was born and reared in Ohio. He married Charlotte Rose on June 15, 1830, in Cuyahoga, Ohio.¹ Four months after his marriage, Ruggles was introduced to the Restoration. He was baptized in September 1831. One month later he was ordained a priest.

Ruggles journeyed from his residence in Medina, Ohio, to Amherst, Ohio, a distance of forty miles, to attend a Church conference held at the home of Gideon Carter. At the January 25, 1832, conference, Ruggles was called on a mission with Stephen Burnett to journey to Missouri: “And also my servant Ruggles Eames and my servant Stephen Burnett” (D&C 75:35).² It does not appear that either of the brethren served the mission. In March 1832, approximately six weeks after the January 25, 1832, revelation, Stephen Burnett was called to be the missionary companion of Eden Smith.

After 1832 Ruggles Eames’s name does not appear on Church records. It is assumed that he voluntarily withdrew from Church fellowship. By 1840 Ruggles and his family were residing in Van Buren County, Iowa.³ After 1840 the whereabouts of Ruggles Eames is unknown.

1. Ohio Marriages, 1800–1958. FamilySearch.

2. Revelation, 25 January 1832–B [D&C 75:23–36]. Joseph Smith Papers.

3. US Federal Census, 1840.