Ruth Crabtree was born in Virginia in about 1752. In the spring of 1770 she married John Edwards in Bedford County, Virginia. By the time of the American Revolution, Ruth and John Edwards had four children together. While her husband was away serving in the military, Ruth and her children were responsible for plowing the family fields and managing the crops.

By 1790 the Edwards family was residing in Burke (later Buncombe County), North Carolina. In 1792 Ruth Edwards submitted a bill of divorce against her husband to the Buncombe County Court, which was admitted. Census records indicate that John Edwards went on to live in Washington County, TN with his sister and brother-in-law while Ruth remained behind in North Carolina with the children. Ruth Edwards disappears from census records after 1800. Her disappearance suggests that she was residing with a male family member such as a son or grandson. While it is possible she may have moved to Tennessee and lived with John Edwards, it is only the later pension record that suggests that Ruth resided in Tennessee for any considerable period of time.

In 1844 she made a successful application from Yancey County, North Carolina for a pension based on her former husband's military service, receiving $77.50 per year from 1833 until the time of her death. Although her pension application was approved, she may not have been eligible to receive a widow's pension. If her bill of divorce submitted to the Buncombe County Court in 1792 was recognized as a true divorce, then she would not have been considered a widowed spouse and therefore should have been ineligible. Alternatively, if her divorce was considered as more of an informal separation, then she would be considered eligible. She died in Yancey County on November 16, 1845.