William Ruffin (1797 - 1857)

Born Nov 1797 in King William, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Shelton) Ruffin — married [date unknown] in Somerville, Fayette County, Tennessee

Husband of Eleanor V. (Shelton) Ruffin — married [date unknown] in Tennessee, United States

Husband of Margaret Boswell (Winfrey) Ruffin — married [date unknown] in King William County, VA

Descendants

Died 18 Jul 1857 at age 59 in Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

William was born November 1797 in King William County, Virginia. He was the son of James B. Ruffin and Mary Roane.

According to an obituary from the Memphis Appeal in July 1857, William Ruffin moved to Somerville, Tennessee in 1831 and to Memphis, Tennessee in 1851. His mother, Mary Roane Ruffin, was the sister of John Roane, a Representative of Virginia in Congress.

William Ruffin was a Major on the staff of General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. He was only 17 years old at the time, a position that may have been given him because of his rather aristocratic birth status. He was one of the original stockholders of the Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis and is buried in the Fowler Section, Lot 23, grave 1. Even though his burial record exists among the Elmwood Burial Books and his plot is enumerated, there is no marker designating his burial there. Apparently, at one time, there was a metal marker which stated that he was a veteran of the War of 1812.

February 20, 1845, Directors for the Bank of Tennessee at Somerville, Tennessee were approved. William Ruffin was one of the directors, and was also elected President of the Bank, according to "Genealogical Miscellany from the Antebellum Memphis, Tennessee Appeal."

William Ruffin moved to Memphis in 1848 and in the 1850 Census for Memphis, Shelby County, TN, we find him, 52, living with wife Mary S., 45, born in Virginia. Also living in his home is "Lucy Ruffin", age 21, born in Virginia [relationship unknown], and Mary E. Tucker, his granddaughter, age 7, born in Mississippi. He was listed as an alderman under Mayor E. Hickman for the term July 1851-1852.

In the book "Elmwood 2002: In the Shadows of the Elms" by Perre Magness (copyright 2001, Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, TN) p. 65, the following short biography of William Ruffin is offered:

"WILLIAM RUFFIN was born in Virginia in 1797 and served in the War of 1812, promoted to Major. He came to Somerville in 1832, where he was a director of the Branch Bank of Tennessee. He moved to Memphis in 1848, and established the original gas-works company, of which he was president until his death in 1857. He was one of the original shareholders of Elmwood. The 1874 Elmwood book said, 'He was deemed a man of stainless integrity, of great energy, and excellent practical good sense.'" (p. 65)

"Fifty Memphis gentlemen committed $500 each to purchase land and establish a new cemetery 2.5 miles from town in 1852. Originally consisting of 40 acres, it was expanded after the Civil War to 80 acres. In the 1870s the original corporation was dissolved and Elmwood became one of the oldest nonprofits in Tennessee. Since then, Elmwood Cemetery has become the final resting place to over 75,000 inhabitants including mayors, governors, madams, blues singers, suffragists, martyrs, generals, civil rights leaders, holy men and women, outlaws and millionaires. "

Elmwood was established as part of the Rural Cemetery Movement which swept the nation in the early to mid 1800s. It is a classic example of a garden cemetery with its park-like setting, sweeping vistas, shady knolls, large stands of ancient trees, and magnificent monuments."

He passed away from dysentery on July 18, 1857 in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. ^[1] William was laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. ^[2]

Marriage

Husband: William Ruffin
Wife: Margaret Boswell Winfrey Dugar
Child: James Drury Ruffin
Child: Mary Eliza Ruffin
Marriage Date: ABT 1816
Place: King William County, VA
Could not parse date out of ABT 1816.

Husband: William Ruffin
Wife: Eleanor V. Shelton
Marriage Date: AFT 1832
Place: Tennessee
Could not parse date out of AFT 1832.

Husband: William Ruffin
Wife: Mary Shelton
Marriage Date: BEF 1850
Place: Somerville, Fayette County, TN
Could not parse date out of BEF 1850.

Sources

1. ↑ "Tennessee, Shelby County, Memphis, Board of Health Death Records, 1848-1913," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W1LX-MMZM : 6 November 2019), Major Wm Ruffin, 18 Jul 1857; citing Death, Shelby, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 January 2021), memorial page for Maj William Ruffin (Nov 1797–18 Jul 1857), Find A Grave: Memorial #49953078, citing Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Pat Iverson (contributor 46836677) .

See also:

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC6M-638 : 23 December 2020), Wm Ruffin, Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• Smith, Jonathan K. T. A Genealogical Miscellanea from the Antebellum Memphis, Tennessee Appeal: from the Antebellum Memphis, Tennessee Appeal. J.K.T. Smith, 1998.

• Burial Record Books 1853-Present, Elmwood Cemetery (824 South Dudley Street, Memphis, TN 38104) to Hunter Johnston

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of indygrandma.ged on 02 January 2011.