Robert Ruffin (abt. 1720 - 1778)

Born about 1720 in Sweet Hall, King William, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Elizabeth (Clack) Ruffin — married 6 Sep 1751 in Brunswick County, VA

Descendants

Died 1778 at about age 58 in Sweet Hall, King William, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Colonel Robert Ruffin performed Patriotic Service in Virginia in the American Revolution.

Robert Ruffin is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A099670.

Robert Ruffin was born about 1720 in "Richneck", Surry County, Virginia^{[citation needed]}. Robert was a son of John Ruffin and Martha Hamlin^[1].

Family

Robert married on the 6th of September, 1751 in Brunswick County, Virginia, the widow Mary Elizabeth (Clack) Lightfoot,^[2][3][4] widow of Col. John Lightfoot of the Sandy Point Lightfoots.^[1] Mary was described as a very beautiful woman who had consumption for fifty years.^[1]

Children of Robert and Mary Elizabeth:

1. John Ruffin^[5][1]
2. Mary Ruffin
3. Lucy Ruffin
4. William Ruffin( -1856)^[5] or William (1785-1825)^[1]
5. James B. Ruffin^[5] d. 1802 m. Mary Roane^[1]
6. Martha Ruffin - Patsy m. William Bulwer Claiborne^[5] or just Buller Claiborne^[1]
7. Sterling Clack Ruffin (1767-1822)^[5][1]

Note According to some sources^[1] besides Patsy, another daughter married a Claiborne (William, Herbert, ?), but claims there are only six children.

"The English Ancestry of the Herbert Family" The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Vol 26. p 38 (Jan 1895) lists the children of Col. Augustine Claiborne and wife Mary Herbert Claiborne. Among others were Herbert, married Mary d/o Robert Ruffin of "Sweet Hall"; William married a daughter of Robert Ruffin of "Sweet Hall"; and Buller, a major in the Revolution, married Patsy, a daughter of Edward Ruffin of Sussex County.

Residences

Robert lived at "Mayfield," Dinwiddie County, Virginia. After his daughters had married Clairbornes, he removed to "Sweet Hall" on the Pamunkey river in King William County, Virginia. Another nearby property he owned Turcoman, was later owned by his son Sterling.^[1]

Robert and Mary were in King William County by 15 January 1771 when they sold 525 acres she had inherited from her father to Britain Peebles.^{[citation needed]}

Robert Ruffin, Esq. offered "Sweet Hall" for sale in 1773, a plantation of 400 acres.^{[citation needed]}

Surveyor of Boundaries

Robert and Sterling Thornton, processioned the boundaries of farms from Indian Town Run to the parish line in 1763. Robert's walking partner was Roger Atkinson in 1767.^{[citation needed]}

Virginia House of Burgesses

Robert represented Dinwiddie County in the Virginia House of Burgesses (1758-61)^[6]

Revolutionary War

Robert was a minute man, a Col. on the Carolina Expedition 1776, part of the Virginia Militia^[7] This source says he died 1778.

Death and Legacy

Robert died in 1777 at "Sweet Hall," King William County, Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

Event: Robert Ruffin & John Clack. 30 JUL 1752. Williamsburg, Virginia. ^[8]

Robert Ruffin Deceased. 6 JUN 1777. Williamsburg, Virginia. ^[9]

Marriage Husband Robert Ruffin. Wife Mary Elizabeth 'Molly" Clack. Marriage 6 SEP 1751. Brunswick, Virginia. ^[10]

Daughters of the American Revolution Records

• RUFFIN, ROBERT
• Ancestor #: A099670
• Service: VIRGINIA Rank(s): PATRIOTIC SERVICE
• Birth: CIRCA 1720 SURRY CO VIRGINIA
• Death: 1778 KING WILLIAM CO VIRGINIA
• Service Source: ABERCROMBIE & SLATTEN, VA REV PUB CLAIMS, VOL 2, P 572
• Service Description: 1) FURNISHED FERRIAGES & SUPPLIES TO TROOPS, 1777
• COMMENTS: 1) PAPERS THRU SON STERLING IN ERROR. THOMAS J CAIN NOT SON OF WILLIAM CAIN & MARY RUFFIN.
• RESIDENCE: 1) County: KING WILLIAM CO - State: VIRGINIA
• SPOUSE: 1) MARY CLACK LIGHTFOOT

See Also

Colonel Robert Ruffin (John,Robert,Robert,William)^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9} "Ruffin Family" The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Apr., 1910), pp. 251-258, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Web accessed August 10, 2014
2. ↑ Brunswick Marriages
3. ↑ "Clack Family" William and Mary Quarterly p 110
4. ↑ Moore, May C., "Letter from May Carlton Moore to Olie Garrett," June 25, 1961, Private property of Pat Iverson
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Bond, Octavia Zollicoffer. The family chronicle and kinship book of Maclin, Clack, Cocke, Carter, Taylor, Cross, Gordon, and other related American lineages. Nashville: McDaniel printing co., 1928. (p. 624)
6. ↑ Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under the Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Volume 1 (Google eBook). Virginia: Lewis historical publishing Company, 1915
7. ↑ SAR Application of Walter Granville Jordan. Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls.
8. ↑ Source: #S890 Robert Ruffin & John Clack 30 Jul 1752 Page Robert Ruffin & John Clack 30 Jul 1752 Link: URL: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6156688/robert_ruffin_john_clack/?xid=637
9. ↑ Source: #S888 Robert Ruffin Deceased 6 Jun 1777 Page Robert Ruffin Deceased 6 Jun 1777 Link: URL: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6156740/robert_ruffin_deceased/?xid=637
10. ↑ Source: #S794

• https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LT3M-HB9/colonel-robert-ruffin-iii-1724-1778

• Mississippi Daughters and Their Ancestors, p. 215

• Bond, O. Z., The Family Chronicles and Kinship Book p 604. Name, marriage date, birth & death places

• Source: S794 Ancestry.com, Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850 (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012). , USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

  Bentley, Elizabeth Petty, indexer. Virginia Marriage Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly. Baltimore, MD: Genealogy Publishing Co., Inc., 1984.

  TID 439 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. PubPlace Provo, UT, USA PubDate 2012 Title Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850

• Source: S888 , Newspapers.com - Purdie's Virginia Gazette - 6 Jun 1777 - Page 4 (Williamsburg, Virginia: Purdie's Virginia Gazette, 6 June 1777). i>. i>. Williamsburg, Virginia: Purdie's Virginia Gazette, 6 June 1777. TID 439 Author Publisher Purdie's Virginia Gazette PubPlace Williamsburg, Virginia PubDate 6 June 1777 Title Newspapers.com - Purdie's Virginia Gazette - 6 Jun 1777 - Page 4

• Source: S889 , Newspapers.com - Rind's Virginia Gazette - 1 Dec 1768 - Page 2 (Williamsburg, Virginia: Rind's Virginia Gazette, 1 December 1768). . . Williamsburg, Virginia: Rind's Virginia Gazette, 1 December 1768. TID 439 Author Publisher Rind's Virginia Gazette PubPlace Williamsburg, Virginia PubDate 1 December 1768 Title Newspapers.com - Rind's Virginia Gazette - 1 Dec 1768 - Page 2

• Source: S890 , Newspapers.com - The Virginia Gazette - 30 Jul 1752 - Page 4 (Williamsburg, Virginia: The Virginia Gazette, 30 July 1752). illiamsburg, Virginia: The Virginia Gazette, 30 July 1752. TID 439 Author Publisher The Virginia Gazette PubPlace Williamsburg, Virginia PubDate 30 July 1752 Title Newspapers.com - The Virginia Gazette - 30 Jul 1752 - Page 4
• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 13 Jul 2022), "Record of Robert Ruffin", Ancestor # A099670.