born 17 March 1818, at Vernon, Ohio, daughter of Ephraim & Sarah (Higgins) Smith; named after her maternal grandmother, Ruth (Brush) Higgins (1757-1843), daughter of Israel Brush (August 10, 1730, Long Island, New York--April 1, 1779, New Jersey) & Taphath Sexton (1730, Huntington, Long Island, New York--1829, Hopewell, Hunterdon, New Jersey).

The younger Ruth married 9 April 1836 to Hiram Villars Cast and they had three children together. When Hiram Villars Cast was born on October 24, 1818, in Vernon, Ohio, his father, Acquilla Isaac Cast (1799-1831), was 19 and his mother, Mary Villars (1798-1856), was 19. Hiram died as a young father on June 10, 1845, at the age of 26.
His widow Ruth married 20 April 1846 in Danville, Illinois, to Henry Alexander, son of Robert & Mary Alexander; 6 children.
Henry Alexander died 7 March 1862 in Gilman, Iroquois County, Illinois. Family tradition says he died of disease contracted while serving in the Civil War. His widow Ruth died in childbirth on August 13, 1862, in Crescent City, Illinois, at the age of 44. She is likely buried in Barden cemetery beside her 2nd husband.
Ruth's 9 children:
Aquilla Calvin Cast 1837-1920; named after his paternal grandfather
Ephraim Smith Cast 1839-; named after his maternal grandfather
Isaac William Cast 1843-1886; named after his paternal grandfather's middle name
James Henry Alexander 1848-1850
Robert William Alexander 1850-1921
John Henry Alexander 1852-
Josephine Alexander 1855-1952; married Wesley Ames
George Washington Alexander 1860-1916
Infant Alexander 13 August 1862

1860 census:
H Alexander
AGE: 45
BIRTH YEAR: 1815
GENDER: Male
BIRTH PLACE: Ohio
HOME IN 1860: Douglass township, Iroquois County, Illinois
POST OFFICE: Gilman
OCCUPATION: Farmer
REAL ESTATE VALUE: 5600
PERSONAL ESTATE VALUE: 700
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
NAME AGE
H Alexander 45
Ruth Alexander 43
Ephram Cast 21
Isaac Cast 16
Robert Alexander 9
John Alexander 7
Josephine Alexander 4
George Alexander 1/12