Ruffner Family Association

03/03/2026

Carol Ruffner just sent these photos to be published on the RFA FaceBook page. Carol planned a get together of Illinois Ruffners today, March 2, 2026, at Yoders Restaurant in Arthur, IL.

It was chosen as a location that was central to all that attended. We all traveled from an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes to the restaurant.

We did this reunion in 2024 at the same restaurant, but this year we had more Ruffners who were able to attend.

Attending in 2026 were:
1. Butch and Valorie Ruffner, Casey Illinois
2. Carey and Mary Ruffner,
Bryce Ruffner,
Brendyn Ruffner from Springfield Illinois
Shirley Jenkins from Savoy, Illinois
Sharon Medlock from Philo Illinois
Janella Ruffner Spurlock Pryor Oklahoma
Gary and Judy Ruffner from Mason, Illinois
Gary and Marilyn Wattleworth Hazel Dell, Illinois
Don and Marilyn Ruffner, Danville Illinois
Jerry and Carol Ruffner, Mason, Illinois

The second picture with fewer Ruffners is the group who attended the reunion in 2024.

Great Job Carol —

01/18/2026

Want to sleep in one of our cousin‘s homes? Then check out this property on AirBnB. It sleeps 12 person wi its 6 bedrooms. A five night stay off-season is about $2,650.

10/16/2025

Check this out! Someone found John Emanurl Ruffner’s Bible in Heath, Ohio, and pisted it to me in a FaceBook messenger message:

Hi there! I purchased an antique New Testament Bible around Heath, Ohio last year. It was mid-nineteenth century. I recently opened it to find the name Mr. John Emmanuel Ruffner. The name was penned beautifully and I had no doubt that it was was from someone educated. I think this may belong to your family.

Thank you for sharing this fabulous family heirloom.

07/17/2025

07/17/2025

Meet cousin George Thomas Marye, Jr., who has the distinction of being one of the last U.S. Ambassadors to Czarist Russia. Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson, George was the US Ambassador to Czarist Russia during World War I.

George is a 5th-generation Ruffner—descending from Peter Jr.
(Peter-1, Peter Jr.-2, Mary Elizabeth-3, George Thomas Marye-4)—and was born on December 13, 1846, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Before his Ambassadorship, Georgewas a top-of-his-class law grad from Cambridge, a San Francisco banker, and a man of the world who married Mary Alice Doyle. Together they hosted Red Cross galas, raised five children, and helped refugees during World War I.

George wrote a book called Russia Observed, where he discusses the Romanovs, Rasputin, and the slow-motion train wreck that was imperial Russia.

Can you imagine? Our cousin had a front row seat to the demise of Imperial Russia and he knew the Romanovs

07/16/2025

Check out this obituary of Nancy Elizabeth (Bumgardner) Ruffner, wife of John D. Ruffner. She left 139 descendants! Richmond Times Dispatch, April 8, 1937.

07/08/2025

A pretty handy souvenir from the Ruffner Family Reunion. A lot live in a Ruffner house, but heck I’ve been to the Ruffner House!

07/02/2025

This is my all time favorite “find,“ a vintage glass milk bottle with “B.H. Ruffner“ written in glass. I treasure this more than a Waterford cut crystal vase.

I can just imagine how good the cold milk must have tasted from this glass bottle straight out of the refrigerator.

I think the B.H. Ruffner may have been Robert “Bob“ H. Ruffner. He is a 6th generation Ruffner descending from Peter Jr. (Peter-1, Peter-2, Joshua-3, Joshua A. Ruffner-4, James W. Ruffner -5, Robert H. -6). He taught in the Animal Sciences Department at North Carolina State College of Ag and Eng. His specialty was dairying and Animal Husbandry. He was promoted to Department Head. He wrote many articles in his field and received many awards. 🐄 🐄

07/02/2025

Lovely photo of Luray posted by our Historian, Marilyn. On the right is Ruffner plaza.

06/29/2025

Meet another incredible Ruffner cousin Julia S. Tutwiler (1841–1916), a pioneering Alabama educator and humanitarian who championed prison reform, women’s education, and social justice in the post-Civil War South.

Julia fought to improve prison conditions—especially for women and juveniles—advocating for education, rehabilitation, and dignity for the incarcerated. As president of the Alabama Girls’ Industrial School and a driving force behind coeducation at the University of Alabama, Tutwiler transformed the educational landscape for women.

Like Viola Ruffner, prior to the Civil War Julia taught some of her father's 20 enslaved workers how to read. She also worked with Booker T. Washington in establishing a reform school for African American - Tuskegee Institute which opened in 1911.

Her legacy endures in the prison and policies that bear her name, and in the Alabama state song, which she wrote.

A fifth generation Ruffner, Julia Tutwiler descends through Catharine Ruffner Tutwiler-Clem (Peter-1, Catharine Ruffner Tutwiler-2, Henry Tutwiler-3, Henry Tutwiler II-4, Julia Tutwiler-5.)