General Griffith Rutherford was born in Ireland in the year 1721, and, when he was still an infant, his parents set out for America. Both died on the voyage, and according to his son, Henry Rutherford, he was raised by his relatives the Rutherfords in New Jersey. He received a respectable education and became a skilled surveyor.


Around 1753, he moved to Rowan County, North Carolina Colony

Griffith Rutherford was an Officer in the American Revolutionary War, a political leader in North Carolina, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee. During the French and Indian War, Rutherford became a captain of a local British colonial militia.


Griffith Rutherford (c. 1721 – August 10, 1805) was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a political leader in North Carolina, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee.
Originally from Ireland, Rutherford immigrated with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Colony, at the age of 18. In 1753, he moved to Rowan County, in the Province of North Carolina, where he married Elizabeth Graham.
During the French and Indian War, Rutherford became a captain of a local British colonial militia. He continued serving in the militia until the start of the American Revolution in 1775, when he enlisted in the North Carolina militia as a colonel. He was appointed to the post of brigadier general of the "Salisbury District Brigade" in May 1776, and he participated in the initial phases of the wars against the Cherokee Indians along the frontier. In June 1780, Rutherford was partly responsible for the Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Ramsour's Mill. He was present at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, and was taken prisoner by the British. After a prisoner exchange in 1781, Rutherford participated in several other campaigns, including further attacks on the Chickamauga faction of the Cherokee.
An active member of his community, Rutherford served in multiple civil occupations. He was a representative of both houses of the North Carolina House of Commons and as an unsuccessful candidate for governor. Rutherford was an Anti-Federalist and was appointed President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory in 1794. He retired to Sumner County, Tennessee, where he died on August 10, 1805, at the age of 84.