opportunity to hear Larry Rowe—attorney, historian and lecturer—speak of our ancestors in ways we had never before heard or imagined. Assembled in the 135 year-old African Zion Church, approximately 75 members of our family appeared spellbound as Larry wondered aloud about “life around the kitchen table” at the David Ruffner household. RUFFNER ROOTS & RAMBLINGS Published quarterly by the RUFFNER FAMILY ASSOCIATION Volume 18, Issue 2, Summer 2015 “Ruffners Return” Over the past 18 years, we have had the opportunity to attend Ruffner Reunions through- out various parts of the country. By far, the one in Charleston/Malden, WV, this year was the Larry Rowe most meaningful to me. From the moment we (photo by Jim McNeely) arrived at the Holiday Inn, I knew this one was going to be something special. The first thing we Seated there was David, entrepreneur and in- saw upon checking-in was the front-page article ventor, who founded a method of extracting salt from The Charleston Gazette (see page 6) about (later, oil and gas) from the earth that was a first- the “Ruffners return” to Charleston. I knew, then, of-its-kind invention in Western civilization; that our Joseph Ruffner descendants had not been Henry, the Presbyterian Minister, who organized forgotten. Charleston's Presbyterian congregation and per- sonally built the Kanawha Salines Presbyterian What made it special? I don't know if it was our Church in Malden brick by brick; William Henry, family members sitting in the hotel lobby “telling the designer of and first Superintendent of family stories,” or whether just being together as Virginia's public school system; General Lewis a “family,” the positive factor. It could have been Ruffner, salt manufacturer and member of the the thrill of seeing Holly Grove Plantation (home House of Delegates; and Viola Ruffner, Lewis' of Daniel) or the fantastic display of the second wife, a school teacher, who played an “Ruffners trek through history” as sponsored by enormous role in Booker T. Washington's the Cultural Center. Maybe it was the wonderful personal development. She provided the in- tour of Ruffner sites in Charleston set up by the spiration for his education and emancipation. Reunion Committee on Saturday morning. I suspect it was all of these, but the fact that we Rowe's conclusion was, that as great as the spent Saturday afternoon in Malden where I was Ruffner's contributions were to the heart and soul born played a major role. Touring the Salt Works of the Kanawha Valley, none were more site where we used to play as kids was a poignant important than what the Ruffner family, trip down memory lane. particularly Viola, did for a young Booker T. Washington and his future fame in creating an It was in Malden where our family had the (continued on page 3) Page 2 RR&R Mission of the Ruffner Family Association RUFFNER FAMILY ASSOCIATION Chartered and incorporated in 1999, to support an association of members who will research and PRESIDENT preserve their common heritage through the Phyllis Hershock, Pennsylvania collection of artifacts and documents which form TREASURER & COO the basis for knowledge and appreciation of the Samuel H. McNeely, Virginia historic role played by the Ruffner Descendants SECRETARY and their collateral lines in the settlement and Maria Blinn, Illinois development of the American Frontier. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Check our Website – www.ruffnerfamily.org Betty Ann Axline, Virginia Robert Brown, Virginia Marilyn Courtade, Washington What Is It? Where Is It? Betty Gaeng, Washington Judy Henderson, Virginia Philip Johnson, Ohio Joan Ruffner Reid, Ohio K. Daniel Ruffner, Ohio Douglas Ruffner, Oklahoma Elisabeth Ruffner, Arizona Gary Ruffner, Illinois Melissa Ruffner, Arizona Nancy Lee Ruffner Shifflett, Virginia DIRECTORS EMERITI Robert Newman Sheets, CO (Active) Shirley Ann Sheets, Colorado (Active) Rev. Dorotha Russell, Texas (Active) Can you guess the name of this historic Lester Ward Ruffner, Arizona (deceased) home? Do you know where it is and who Doris (Laver) Ruffner, Ohio (deceased) lived in it? Olive (Taylor) Ruffner, Ohio (deceased) George Ruffner, Illinois (deceased) Answer on page 12. HISTORIAN Betty Lou Gaeng, Washington [email protected] Have you paid your 2015 RFA dues? MEMBERSHIP Sam McNeely Membership year is P.O. Box 351 from January 1st to Luray, VA 22835 st [email protected] December 31 . RR&R EDITOR Joan Ruffner Reid, 4705 Wenham Park, Please send to: Ruffner Family Association Columbus, OH 43230 / 614-774-0254 P.O.Box 351, Luray, VA 22835 [email protected] RR&R Page 3 Ruffners Return (continued from page 1) African-American middle class in America. In BOARD MEETING short, “just about everything in Charleston and HIGHLIGHTS Malden, WV, was pioneered by the Ruffner June 21, 2015 family” - our ancestors! Charleston, WV Submitted by Larry Rowe's kind words about our Ruffner Marria Blinn, Secretary family, echoed through my head as I walked through the narrow streets of Malden, and for the first time in my 75 years, my ancestral family PROPOSED & PASSED ACTIONS: came alive to me. How wonderful it was to ► Reviewed and accepted board minutes for visualize them winding down the same narrow Denver, CO 2014 lanes and paths, as I did, visiting the same ► That the COO be given full discretion to pay Presbyterian Church built by our ancestors—the expenses under $100 without board approval. very same church where I was christened—and ► That Membership will no longer be the COO's realizing it was likely that I could have sat in the duty. same pew where they sat 220 years ago! It was ► That Susan Nolan will take over Membership an over-whelming and emotional feeling and one and work with Jeanine Hawkins to maintain likely to remain with me for a long time. members e-mail list which will be used for newsletters and membership. Finally, on Sunday, we were treated to a fabulous ► To allocate $5,000 to the Longwood Sunday morning luncheon at the West Virginia University for the RFA Archival Project. Cultural Center, with white tablecloths and ► That the 2017 RFA Reunion be held in Luray, delicious food, surrounded by our Ruffner VA. Family of “yesterday” and today. ► To make Larry Rowe an Honorary Member of the Ruffner Family Association. We left Charleston feeling far richer and blessed ► That next year's 2016 board meeting be held than we could have ever imagined. It was hard to via conference call – time and date TBA. say good-bye to this wonderful place on this almost perfect weekend. Indeed, the “Ruffners did return!” The next reunion will be held in Luray, VA, in 2017. We look forward to welcoming our Ruffner Family to all our local historical Ruffner sites and to the “place we can all call home!” “Summer is briefly ours, a season that dims the Sincerely, memory of the inclement weather in James Ruffner McNeely, Sr. March and holds no hint of raw November.... The urgency of Spring is past, daisies whiten the roadsides. Fireflies sparkle in the evening. Time flows like the brook that must have Like branches on a tree, our lives may leisured through Eden when the summer grow in different directions blessed a young innocent Earth.” yet our roots remain as one. ~ From Twelve Moons of the Year ~ Unknown by Hal Borland Page 4 RR&R President's Message sorted through Bob's contributions, they will join our family genealogy books which were the RFA Archive Update seeds to begin our project. The Longwood staff has agreed to store the materials with acid free Just a few years ago, I never paper and boxes which will enable people to use thought about archives, and them for research in years to come. Our ultimate within one year I have goal is to have some of the materials scanned and enjoyed visits to the one at available online for folks to view from any Longwood University in location. All this processing will take time and Farmville, VA, and the one at money, and the board has decided to support The Cultural Center, Capitol these efforts with a $4,000 contribution now Complex, in Charleston, WV. toward the conservation of materials and labor of During our recent reunion, the Longwood staff. the West Virginia archivists pre-pared three large glass cases of Ruffner documents and photos housed at the center. Highlights of that special exhibit included: David Ruffner's will from 1843 as well as his daily weather journal from 1832-1834; the Civil War correspondence and oath of Union militia of General Lewis Ruffner (of Kanawha County); and a day book from 1810 that contains an entry for Joseph Ruffner (Peter Sr.'s son – the first Ruffner to travel to the valley). The Charleston Gazette had used some of these resources to write a wonderful article with old photos for their newspaper about the Ruffner heritage and our Collection of Bob Sheets (Jim McNeely Photo) family's coming to the area for our 2015 reunion (see page 6). The RFA Board feels that our Interestingly, this article brought a local organization should maintain documentation of woman, Betty Kirkwood, to the archives to share Ruffner history and provide opportunities for her master's thesis on three speeches of Henry others to investigate our heritage. We hope that Ruffner. I was lucky enough to make her you too will support our efforts to make this a acquaintance, and the archives were pleased to lasting impact by saving Ruffner materials for add her work to their inventory. Betty gave me a reference in years to come. Your previous copy to read. Henry's point of view strongly contributions to the endowment fund were the supported the separation of Western Virginia seed money to move ahead on this endeavor, and from Eastern Virginia.