The following info was gleaned and excerpted from the book, The Lagle/Lail Family in America by Margaret Lail Hopkins and James Donald Lail.

This book is well researched and documented and devotes several pages to the Ruddle's Station massacre and aftermath. Submitted by Carl Phillips

LIFE OF GEORGE LAIL
CAPTURED AND RAISED BY INDIANS

Hans Georg Löhl lived in Bavaria, Germany but was evicted by the Catholics in the protestant purge of 1587. He moved his family to Wuerttemberg.

Every generation had several men named Hans Georg but the authors of the book determined that our immigrant ancestor was Hans Georg Löhl who landed in Philadelphia on the British ship Samuel on Aug. 30, 1737. On the ship's papers his name is spelled phonetically as LALE.
This Georg first settled in York County Pennsylvania where his name finds several more spellings on land and church documents. It appears as Lale, Lagel, Lael, Layle and others. There are twenty-four known spellings of this family name.

About 1755 Hans Georg LALE moved to Rowan County, NC in the area that became Davie County. He lived next door to Squire BOONE, the father of Daniel. The Lagle/Lail book states that the first to adopt the LAIL spelling was George LEGALL, Jr. who moved to KY in 1778. He also occasionally spelled it LAELL. His will used the LAIL spelling and his descendants have stuck with that spelling. Georg Lale had six sons.

In 1778 three of them, George Jr., Henry and Peter took their families and moved to Kentucky, settling on Hinkston's Fork near the present day town of Cynthiana in Harrison County. It was Bourbon County then. George Jr. claimed 351 acres on Hinkston's Fork. A community grew up around a stockade fort originally built by John HINKSTON, abandoned in 1776 and rebuilt in 1779 by Captain Isaac RUDDELL. According to Mrs. HOPKINS'  book, the fort was variously known as Hinkston's Station, Fort Licking, Fort Liberty and Ruddell's Station. Ruddell is sometimes spelled Ruddle.
On June 22, 1780 the stockade was defended by 49 men including Peter, Henry and George LAIL. They were all in the fort on that day due to the very wet weather. British Captain Henry BYRD with a force of six hundred troops and Indians attacked the fort. When he brought into play his six-pounder cannons, the settlers agreed to negotiate a surrender on the condition that Capt. BYRD would restrain the Indians from their usual brutal practices.
Well, the Indians were not restrained and they killed and scalped many of the defenders, including women and children. It is believed that the Indians were Shawnees but may have included members of the Delaware tribe.
We do not know what happened to Henry LAIL and we must assume that Peter was killed. Peter's wife, Mary, and two daughters were taken prisoner and taken to Michigan. Many years later Mary wrote a letter dated Aug 7, 1822 that was delivered to Governor CASS of Michigan who in turn sent it to the editor of the Kentucky Gazette, who published it as follows:

From the Kentucky Gazette: addressed to Peter LALE, Kentucky.

"I was taken at Fort Licking, commanded by Capt. RUDDLE and was ransomed by Col. McGEE and was brought into upper Canada near Amherstburgh, (Fort Malden) where I now live after having been 16 years among the Indians. Your eldest sister is now living in Sandwich, but the youngest I could never hear of.

Now, my dear son, I would be very glad to see you once more before I die, which I do not think will be long, as I am in a very bad state of health, and have been this great while.

I am married to Mr. Jacob MIRACLE for whom you can enquire.
Your affectionate mother, Mary MIRACLE."

Unfortunately, Mary never learned that the youngest daughter, of who she spoke, was safe with the brother of her husband. (George)

For some reason, George LAIL and his wife were spared, though they were taken prisoner and later released.

But their two little boys, George, aged 7 and Johnny, aged 4 and a daughter, Eva, aged 14, were taken by the Indians. Eva was taken to Canada but was later released.

There are conflicting stories about how Johnny was released but he did get back to his parents and lived a long and productive life in Kentucky.

Little George was kept by the Indians and as they moved west, he was taken with them. This band of Indians settled in the area of Missouri where the City of Jackson now stands in Cape Girardeau County.

George was raised as an Indian. When he was an adult he returned and visited his family in Kentucky but went back to Missouri to live. Again, when he was twenty-four and married to Louisa WOLFF, he went to Kentucky and stayed for two or three years.

Two of his children, John and Robert, born 1823 and 1824 respectively were born in Kentucky.

George then took his family and returned to Missouri where he stayed and raised his family.

Robert LAIL married Lucy Ann ALLEN daughter of Andrew Vincent ALLEN from Virginia.

They had a daughter named Rosa Elvira who married Abraham WILLIAMS.

Rosa and Abraham's son, Thomas Robert, was the grandfather of this writer (Carl Phillips). Thomas married Warneta BETTS, a Choctaw woman, in Blue (Bryan) County OK.

Warneta received her land allotment in Atoka County near Boggy Depot.
Tom built a log cabin there and my mother was born in that cabin in 1904.
George, the little boy who was raised by the Indians, was my ggg-grandfather.