RUTHERFORD, JOHN PARKE, son of William Rutherford and his wife Sarah Swan, was born February 14, 1802, in Swatara township, Dauphin county, Pa.; died May 12, 1871. He was a farmer, and brought up in that pursuit. He held many places of public trust in his life; was superintendent of the Wiconisco canal as early as 1837, an auditor of the county, a jury commissioner, and was vice-president and treasurer of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society. He was a strong anti-slavery advocate, as all his family were, and many a weary pilgrim, in the days of the fugitive slave act, sore of foot and heart, found in Captain Rutherford hospitable assistance, material aid and manly encouragement. He hated slavery because he considered it a moral sin and a political blight upon the free institutions of America. During the late Rebellion he served as quartermaster in the United States army, ranking fourth on the list. While stationed at Harper's Ferry he was captured in one of the raids on that stronghold, but released on parole. He was then ordered to Camp Douglas, and subsequently to Charleston, S.C. In the latter city, about the close of the war, he contracted a disease from the effects of which he never fully recovered. Captain Rutherford married Eliza Rutherford, born October 30, 1801; died January 30, 1860; daughter of Samuel Rutherford.