His children may have included: Nathan Ricketts (1759),
Thomas Ricketts (1762), James Ricketts (1766, Sarah Prather and Jane McCalmont),
Nancy Ricketts Roller (1770, married Henry Roller),
Isaac Ricketts (1772, married Anna Law) and
Lydia Ricketts Prather (1778, married Henry Prather).
In 1755 he joined the army. He served 75 days under Captain Moses Chapline during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) in Maryland.
He moved to Barree Township, Bedford County that became Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania when he was a young man. He helped his father build a fort in Stone Valley.
Edward's grandson, Isaac Ricketts wrote
I heard my father state that about the close of the Revolutionary War two of his elder brothers, his uncle and his father, Capt. Edward Ricketts, (sometimes was called Capt. Ned) then living in the south-eastern part of this state, set out out to explore the Alleghenies, with a view to lay claim to land.
The Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Blair County, Pennsylvania says:
The most prominent friendly Indian that ever resided in the valley (Logan),
however, was Captain Logan. This, of course, was not his proper name, but a
title bestowed upon him by the settlers..
[He] took up his residence in the Juniata
valley. One day, while hunting, he happened to pass the beautiful spring near
the mouth of the Bald Eagle - now in the heart of Tyrone city. The favorable
location for both hunting and fishing, as well as charming scenery,
fascinated Logan; and he built himself a wigwam, immediately above the
spring, to which he removed his family.
Here he lived during the
revolutionary war, not altogether inactive, for his sympathies were on the
side of liberty. During that time he formed a strong attachment to Captain
Ricketts, of Warrior's Mark, and they became fast friends. It was to Ricketts
that Captain Logan first disclosed the plot of the tories under John Weston;
and Edward Bell gave it his firm conviction that Logan was among the Indians
who shot down Weston and his men on their arrival at Kittanning.
Edward Ricketts owned land in Franklin Township on Warrior's Mark Run and Spruce Creek (Coleraine Forge) which had been improved in 1781.
Thomas and Robert were rangers on the frontier with the Bedford County Militia 1778-1783. In 1779, they were captains in the Battle of Frankstown.
In 1787, Edward was a freeholder in Tyrone Township.
In 1792, in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Nathan Ricketts witnessed the sale of 400 acres on both sides of Clearfield Creek or a small branch called Beaver Dam Branch, from his father, Edward Ricketts, Sr., to Edward Ricketts, Jr.
In 1793, he received a warrant for 150 acres on south side of Stone Creek adjoining Henry Ferguson.
In 1797, Captain Edward Ricketts made a small clearing and built a cabin on the north side of Clearfield creek, above the Ox-bow, on Joseph Stewart's farm. The Ricketts family did not move to Clearfield Creek until 1801.
After his death, George Green's children, as heirs, executed a deed dated July 4, 1795 to Edward Ricketts for a tract of 400 acres on Warrior Ridge, Barree Township. It was surveyed for George Green on December 3, 1784.
Edward and his wife, both died in 1813 only 4 days apart.
Barree Township, Pennsylvania was formed in 1767 and was originally part of of Cumberland County, then it became part of Bedford County until 1787 when it became part of Huntingdon County.
The French and Indian War lasted from 1754 to 1763 and was the North American phase of the Seven Years' War.
