The Ruffner Papers

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The Ruffner Family

 Baron Ruffner, Peter Ruffner, Joseph Ruffner, Joseph Ruffner II, Eliza A. Ruffner

Baron and Peter Ruffner

Peter Ruffner, immigrant ancestor of the family, was born in 1713 and came to America in 1732. Tradition has it that he was of Teutonic-German stock and the third son of a German Baron who owned at least one and possibly more large landed estates in Hanover, Germany. The place of his birth and residence has yet to be determined, but a number of early descendants believed it was in Hanover. Others felt that it was in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, near the German border as there are reportedly many Ruffners in Switzerland, Bavaria and Tyrol-Austria.

At the time Peter left Europe, he was attending an Agricultural College. Without completing college he and several companions left for America reputedly without the knowledge of their parents, having read exciting accounts of the country in the German papers.

It was said that he was accompanied by his only sister, Mary, and it is tradition in the Strickler family that Mary became the wife of another American pioneer, Abraham Strickler.

Giving credence to this Strickler tradition is the fact that Peter Ruffnough (Ruffner) qualified as administrator of Abraham's estate in 1746, giving bond for one thousand pounds. The bond was one of the very earliest instruments recorded in the first Will Book of the county.

In 1732, at the time of his arrival, he was described as being nineteen years of age, tall-six feet three inches-handsome, of strong mind and body, energetic, destined to be a man of influence in his community. He spoke High Dutch (Hoch Deutch) and was probably a Lutheran Protestant.

Some, however, say the early Ruffners were Mennonites. It may well be that some were of the faith, for Peter's wife Mary came from a Mennonite family, her father remembering the church in his will.

Peter first came to Pennsylvania, some say to Philadelphia, where there is a Ruffner Street; however, he did live for a period of some seven years in what is now Lancaster County, where he became acquainted with his future wife, Mary Steinman (Stoneman), the daughter of Joseph Steinman, a wealthy German farmer. While Steinman had prospered with grazing and farming in Lancaster County, he had invested much of his surplus money in what was then the wilds of the Valley of Virginia, along the Shenandoah River, and on both branches of the Hawksbill Creek, in Shenandoah County, Virginia. He purchased the Hawksbill Patent from Francis Thornton on November 24, 1737.

In 1739, following their marriage, Peter and Mary became the first settlers on the land and established a plantation on the Hawksbill near a spring on the east side of the river. It became known as "The Big Spring Home". On October 26, 1743 Joseph Steinman conveyed the remaining 900 acres of the patent to Peter Ruffner. Nearby there was already a considerable settlement of Slavonic Germans, mostly from Pennsylvania, but also some recently arrived German immigrants. All spoke the Low Dutch (Pkatt-Deutsch).

Once there, Peter and Mary prospered, for he bought and sold many large tracts of land in the years to come, most of it along the Hawksbill Creek and adjacent to the original piece of property near the present town of Luray, Virginia. At one time or another, Peter owned all the land on both sides of the Hawksbill from its mouth to Stonyman, with the exception of the stretch below the mouth of Dry Run. His sons added many acres to those they inherited or were given to them by Peter before his death. An excellent map of the Ruffner properties was prepared by Henry Strickler in 1940.

One purchase was made in 1761 from Lord Fairfax, apparently of five tracts totaling some 1183 acres. The original deed is somewhat mutilated, but the handwriting is quite legible and it may be seen in the State Museum at Charleston, West Virginia. The style of the deed is antique:

"The right honorable Lord Fairfax, Baron of the Cameron, in the part of Great Britain called Scotland, proprietor of the northern neck of Virginia. To all of whom this present writing may concern, sends greetings.

"Know ye that for good causes, for and in consideration of the compensation to be paid, and for the annual rent hereafter named, I have given, granted and confirmed, and do hereby give, grant and confirm to Peter Ruffner ------ on the branches of the Hawksbill ----- to have and to hold ----- Royal mines excepted ----- and a full third part of the lead, copper, tin, coal, iron mine and iron ore. Said Ruffner shall pay yearly rental on the first day of Saint Michael the free rent of one shilling sterling for every fifty acres. Given at my office the fifth day of May, the first day of his majesty George III, 1761"

Peter and Mary were the parents of eight children: Joseph, Benjamin, Catherine, Peter Jr., Reuben, Tobias, Elizabeth, Emanuel.

Their home was established near a large spring and became known as the Big Spring home. The original home, undoubtedly built of logs, is gone. (Peter, Jr. built a new home on the property in the 1830's or 1840's. This beautiful home is again owned by descendents of the original Peter Ruffner and, in 2000, is a beautiful Bed and Breakfast).

Peter died on January 17, 1778, his will being entered at the courthouse May 22, 1778, probated by Mary Ruffner, executrix. His son, Peter Jr., was bequeathed the home, the other sons already having established homes elsewhere in the area. Mary survived him by some twenty years, dying in 1798.

On June 8, 1997, a number of descendents of Peter and Mary erected a monument, in their memory, in Luray, Virginia.

The inscription reads:

After their deaths, the land yielded other facts and stories. Indian relics gathered from Ruffner land have been presented to the Ohio State University Archaeological Museum. Also located on the old Ruffner property is the famous Luray Caverns. In "The Ruffners", written by Dr. Henry Ruffner in 1901, the history of the caves is described as follows: "The celebrated Luray cave is so much a matter of public interest that I will mention some facts concerning it. The hill in which the cave is situated belonged in early days to the Ruffner Family. So far as I can learn the first discovery of a cave in the hill was made by one of the sons of Joseph Ruffner, who went out soon afterward to Kanawha, and became one of its most prominent citizens. This cave is entered near the top of the hill, and is not the same as the one now so much visited; though there is scarcely a doubt but they are connected. It was probably in 1793 or 1794 that Ruffner, then not grown, and a companion, chased a fox into a hole. Ruffner digged for him, and to his astonishment uncovered the mouth of a cave, the opening to which descended vertically into the earth a distance of perhaps 30 feet. The hole remained open, but was not explored immediately on account of the formidable look of the entrance. After a time, however, the cave was entered by a Ruffner. As to this point the testimonials are unanimous, but I have not been able to determine just which of the Ruffners it was. The best account we have of the attempt at exploration was published in the Shenandoah Herald in 1825. This account was copied in the Virginia Gazetteer, and in the Lexington, Virginia, Intelligence the same year, and has formed the basis of most of what has been said about it. In 1880 two college-bred gentlemen visited Luray, and published what they could gather in their little book of travels under the names of "ego" and "alter." They were thoroughly trustworthy, and I will quote their account of the adventure, as follows:

"A Mr. Ruffner who was nearly as much celebrated for deeds of sylvan prowess as the renowned putnam, in passing this cave some thirty years age, namely, in 1795, conceived the bold and hazardous design of entering it alone. He accordingly placed his rifle across the mouth to indicate, in case of accident to his friends in case they should happen to see it, that he was in the cave. He descended, but soon fell and put out his light, and as must have been expected, was soon bewildered and lost in its labyrinth of passages. It happened that some of his friends in passing the cave discovered his gun, and rightly concluding that he had gone into it, they procured lights and entered in search of him. They found and brought him out after he had been in for forty-eight hours. This brave fellow was among the pioneers who were foremost in exploring and settling our western frontier; and was at last killed by the Indians after have performed deeds of valor which would have done honor to the character of a hero."

This cave was long known as "Ruffner's cave," and was so put down on the old maps. I have a map now with the cave thus marked. One feature of the tradition is not mentioned by "ego" and "alter," namely, that Ruffner dropped a pine sapling into the vertical mouth of the cave, and used it as a ladder".

In 1881-1882 Century Magazine (Vol. XXIII.-31) published an article supporting this story. It read, "One [of the founding] generation of Ruffners went out hunting one day, and did not come back. At the end of nearly a week’s search, his gun and powder-horn were found at the mouth of this cave, within with the famished and nearly dead man was at last discovered. Of course nothing less could be done than to call it Ruffner’s Cave, which is printed on all the maps in attestation of the truth of this history".

Joseph Ruffner

Joseph Ruffner, oldest son of Peter and Mary, was born along the Hawksbill Creek in Virginia in 1740. He married Ann Hiestand, a neighbor, on May 22, 1764. She was described as tall, beautiful and "with the German virtues". Joseph had inherited the raven black hair of his mother, was above medium height, full of energy and on occasion, vehement, though usually natural and quiet. Joseph and Ann had eight children: Esther, David, Joseph II, Tobias, Samuel, Eve, Daniel, and Abraham.

Nothing more is known of his childhood or early life, but in 1775, age 35, he was listed in the muster roll of Captain Michael Reader’s Company of the Virginia Militia and part of the Revolutionary War forces along with his brother Benjamin. He received a number of bills for "Captain Joseph Ruffner for 1 shilling for not attending drill". In 1779 he was living in Fredericksburg, Virginia (as Major Joseph Ruffner) and was living in Shenandoah in 1786.

Joseph's farm lay south of his father's land on Hawksbill Creek, and included the north fork and the south fork where the two branches met. Here his family and farm buildings were erected. He built a grist mill known as Willow Grove Mills; his foundation still stands, the wooden structure above was rebuild after the original was destroyed by fire after he left for Charleston. Joseph's father had given him this ~300 acres from his his original grant. In October 1787 Josesph purchased an additonal 1007 acres from Henry Conway for 1000 pounds Virginia currency.

We know from many receipts passed down through the family, he traded large quantities of flour and bacon and some butter for currency and other goods. The 1790 Fredricksburg receipt shows sales of 92 barrels of flour. A receipt from June of the same year shows a trade of 1643 pounds of bacon. These are substantial volumes of trade. From known receipts there is no question that these products were the major business and trade activities of Joseph.

Among other surviving documents is the 3 page 1793-1795 David and James Blair receipt (1, 2, 3) reflecting Joseph's purchases of rum, German steel, a grindstone, chocolate, butter, salt, sugar, coffee, blankets, nails, stockings, and a coffee mill. Joseph's trades included 149 barrels of flour and 11 tubs of butter which partially offset the purchases. David and James Blair had a sucessful business in Fredericksburg for many years; recent research shows their business building still standing (location and photos to be added).

And, while not documented, according to family tradition, he dealt in bear skins for the French Army.

In the first U. S. Census (1790) Joseph Ruffner is shown living in Shenandoah County. The 1790 Census lists "Name of Head of Family " and showed (a) number of "White Souls", (b) number of "Dwellings" and (c) number of "Other Buildings". Joseph’s lisiting reflects 10 white souls, 1 dwelling, and 2 other buildings. His mother Mary is shown with 3 white souls; his brother Peter with 10 white souls; and his brother Benjamin with 7 white souls, 1 dwelling and 2 other buildings.

Like the majority of successful Virginians, Joseph was a slave owner. We have a 1792 receipt for a slave named Ben and a receipt dated 1796 showing the purchase of one slave named Moses.

We can also assume Joseph was generous or at least concerned about the needy as shown in this receipt:

For thirty years Joseph pursued his prosperous career, filling his barns with grain and processing it to flour, smoking bacon and making butter. He hauled these products to Fredricksburg where he traded them for credit and other items he and his family needed.

According to family traditon, this prosperous Virginia scene was suddenly marred by an event which changed the course of the family history. Ruffner's Switzer barn crammed with the 1794 crop, having 7 cows and 7 big horses stabled in the basement, was burned causing the loss of 4 horses and all the cows. Shortly another stable was burned and there was no insurance. It may have been done by a Negro against who Joseph had been called to testify in court (a point never proven) but, according to a May 1901 article written by Dr. W.H. Ruffner, it accounted for Joseph Ruffner setting out to hunt iron ore along the upper part of the James River. He stated, "It is thought that these fires created in Ruffner’s mind such a sense of insecurity that he determined at once on some important change". During his search "he reached a point on the Cow Pasture which may not have been more than twenty miles form Clifton Forge - namely the house of Col. John Dickerson . . . ". This writer, with absolutely no oral history and no documentation offers this possible alternative to the tradition. Peter Ruffner's father-in-law had generously given Peter and his wife large land holdings in Virginia. In the 1700's (and throughout earlier European history) ownership and control of land ment power and influence. Peter was very successful, added to his father-in-laws gift and, during his lifetime, gave each of his children large parcels of land. Joseph added to his holdings, but was ultimately restricted to further growth in the Shenandoah Valley. In his desire to give his large family the same opportunities of land ownership he looked further west. Joseph, the farmer, saw an opportunity to do for his family as his father and grandfather had done their families. (As sucessful and as as large as the family was and continued to be in Luray, it is hard to imagine Joseph "running off" to Charleston). Anyway, Joseph was intreguied by the lands and opportunities described by John Dickerson.

While stopped at Dickerson's home at some point, Colonel John Dickerson apparently told Joseph about the Kanawha Valley. Joseph and John had had business dealings in the Shenadoah Valley in 1793 and 1794 and apparently trusted one another as he bought from John, site unseen, 502 acres of land along the Kanawha including the mouth of Campbells Creek and the bottom above. The land also contained a salt swamp which, within two decades, would become renowned and make the Ruffner family very influential in what would be Charleston, WV. At this time this section was still part of Virginia and buffalo, deer, elk, continued to come to the salt lick in great numbers. Over the centuries they had made deep paths in the earth which were still apparent. According to Dr. W.H. Ruffner, Joseph paid "600 pound sterling. The amount is commonly stated to be 500 pounds, but by reference to the deed it will be seen that 600 pounds is the true figure, which was about $2000. But the price was to be increased according to the subsequent production of salt. If this should reach 50 bushels per day the price was to be increased to 10,000 pounds. How this increase of price was avoided will appear in my next number". Joseph then returned home until the next spring.

The Kanawha Valley already had a long history. Up until this time (1794) when the Battle of Falling Timbers finally forced the Indians to retreat permanently from the Valley, it was not an area that could be safely settled. First claimed by the French circa 1669, Gabriel Arthur (an Englishman and indentured servant who had been sent by General Abraham Wood, in 1673, into the wilderness to learn of the Indians and their ways) had been stranded, a few years later, nearby with the Cherokee Indians. He became the first Englishman to see the valley when they took him to the Kanawha Valley to visit the Shawnee Tribe who controlled the area at the time. He swam in the river and later described to the General the great river and the large Shawnee Indian village "Monyton". George Washington saw the area in 1753 while on a military campaign that was a prelude to the French and Indian War. The area so impressed him that, in an effort to encourage enlistment in his regiment, he successfully convinced Governor Dinwiddle in 1754 to issue a Proclamation offering free land in the Kanawha and Ohio Valleys to all volunteers. After the French and Indian War ended the Indians continued to fight for the land and from 1763 to 1769 England barred settlement of any areas west of the Allegheny Mountains in an effort to appease them. In 1771 George Washington had the area surveyed and divided into ten tracts. Tract number Five he divided among eight officers who were in his Virginia Regiment. This included Colonel Thomas Bullett who was awarded a total of 2,500 acres (Joseph Ruffner would ultimately purchase a portion of this land). The actual grant didn’t occur until Thomas Jefferson was Governor of Virginia between 1779 and 1781 and was awarded to "Cuthbert Bullett Devisee of the said Thomas".

In 1787, John Clendinen, a member of the Virginia Assembly, met with Cuthbert Bullett in Richmond, found him agreeable to a sale of the 1040 acre tract lying along the northern side of the Kanawha River and purchased the land on December 28 of the same year.

After the Assembly adjourned on January 30, 1788, George Clendinen returned to Greenbrier and assembled a company of rangers under the command of his brother William. By the end of May they had completed building Fort Clendinen to protect themselves from the marauding Indians. Unfortunately for George, the costs of building and maintaining the frontier forts were found increasingly unacceptable by the Assembly and they basically left frontiersmen and pioneers like George Clendinen to fend for themselves. The Indians became increasingly aggressive attacking the outlying forts, killing many and capturing children and slaves. George apparently became increasing discouraged with the treatment he was receiving from the assembly and this proved to be timely for Joseph Ruffner.

Based on Colonel John Dickerson’s recommendation and his purchase of Dickerson’s land in the area, Joseph traveled alone on horseback into the Kanawha Valley in the spring of 1795. It was a 300 mile trip through wilderness. From Greenbrier he followed the route of Mad Ann Bailey, Frontier Messenger, for a hundred miles (in 1789 Mad Ann Bailey had made a solitary ride on a black pony from Fort Clendinen to Camp Union and back, avoiding Indians and other threats of the wilderness, in order to successfully obtain gunpowder and other supplies which were needed to defend the fort from the Indian attack it was under).

Joseph was then faced with crossing the Gauley, a wild, treacherous river in the spring.

How Joseph got across the Gauley River was told by a witness: "Seven miles from the mouth, where the river runs high and strong, with no path leading to it, I saw a man on the opposite bank. Surely he wouldn't be fool enough to try to ford or swim it! He took a short handled ax to chop wood from a chestnut tree fallen by the cliff. He nailed the lengths together into a makeshift raft and stacked supplies on it. Tying the raft to the horse's tail, he forced the horse into the water, and jumping onto the raft encouraged the horse by talking to it. He got across. He knocked the raft apart and put the nails back into the saddle bags and came home with me for the night. His name was Joseph Ruffner. It was still 25 miles to the salt licks. I wonder if he was disappointed when he saw how small the salt licks were."

The witness who saw Joseph cross the Gauley River was one Paddy Huddleston, a tavern keeper, at which tavern Joseph then stayed overnight. "A warm diet dinner" could be had for 16 2/3 cents, a good bed and clean sheets for 8 1/3 cents. If that was too rich for your purse, a "cold diet dinner could be had for 10 1/2 cents, a bed with no sheets, but with a bed companion-whoever might come along-could be had for 5 1/2 cents. If one wished to eliminate all expenditure, advantage could by taken of Paddy’s religiously motivated generosity. It was only necessary to arrive on Sunday and stay entirely free of cost, as Paddy made no charges on the Sabbath day. Another of Paddy’s unusual characteristics was his antipathy toward liquor. Despite his reputation as a brandy maker par excellence, the liquor was used solely by the patrons, and entirely untouched by him and his sons. The tavern was often visited by Daniel Boone when he was hunting and trapping in the region.

After a night’s rest at Paddy’s ordinary, Joseph was again on his way, and a few hours later he had reached his journey’s end. After inspecting the lands he had earlier purchased he decided to extend his exploration a few miles farther west and pay a visit to Fort Clendinen.

As Joseph neared Fort Clendinen a new sight greeted him. There was a beautiful plain of some 1,000 acres on which Charleston, West Virginia now stands. It was covered by virgin forest, the trees larger than those on the other side of the mountains he had just crossed. "What [Joseph] saw was bottom land, land that had already been cleared, but of course, the sides of the mountains were still full of trees . . . It was a beautiful site; the Elk River runs into the Kanawha River, a little bottom land sandwiched between two mountains. The wilderness trail that Andrew Lewis’s army had traveled some fourteen years earlier was the same route. It was a nearly impassable path crossing through primeval forests over Gauley Mountain and ran between the rugged cliff-enclosed gorges of the New and upper Kanawha River basins to the wider bottom lands down the Great Kanawha."

Clendinen Fort was a cluster of six small cabins and a blockhouse on the north bank of the Kanawha at its juncture with the Elk.

He saw endless resources about him, timber and easily cultivated soil. The Kanawha was alive with fish and full of possibilities as a navigable stream. There was elk, buffalo, raccoon and bear enough to feed all the armies in Europe.

On April 26, 1795 Joseph rented "the cleared land on [George’s] tract in this county near Charleston on the Kanawha River side for the term of one year".

During that summer and early fall he apparently convinced himself that it was to here that he wanted to relocate so Joseph again returned home, this time to move his family. So it was that in the autumn of 1795 he, his wife, and six of their children (the youngest, Abraham, being 14), some 20 slaves, numerous horses, cows and other animals, led a six-horse bearskin-covered wagon to Kanawha. They made an imposing caravan as they traveled west. Arriving at Fort Clendinen (actually known as Fort Lee since 1791 in honor of "Light Horse Harry Lee", Revolutionary War hero who was father of Civil War General Robert E. Lee and Governor of Virginia). They occupied abandoned ranger cabins for the winter. It was rough living in the forests by the Kanawha. The family became expert riflemen by necessity. Mountain lions screamed about the house by night, bears shared the corn crop and squirrels were thick as locusts.

The salt licks that John Dickerson had sold Joseph were far more significant than Paddy Huddleston, the Gauley River tavernkeeper, had described them. The Indians had collected salt here for unknown generations. First reports of the salt came from an anglo white woman by the name of Mary Ingles. She had been captured in Virginia on the Ingles-Draper settlement by the Shawnee Indians and taken through the Kanawha area. After she escaped from tribe she told her family of the animal-attracting salt lick along the Kenawha.

But Joseph’s interest in the salt business had waned when he saw the possibilities for farming. He decided to purchase more land for farming and on May 23, 1796, George Clendinen signed a receipt for "one hundred and fifty dollars in part of five hundred pounds, payable the first day of June, in part of the payment of my plantation".

On June 23, 1796, George signed a receipt witnessed by his brother William stating "This day I have received of Joseph Ruffner Senior the just and full sum of five hundred pounds [unintelligible] being in part of two thousand pounds he and his two sons has contracted to give me for my Elk tract of land in Kanawha County".

In a humorous aside relating to the transaction, George Clendinen lost the written bond of Joseph which normally would have been returned to Joseph upon receipt of his payment. In a letter to Joseph dated November 19, 1796, he writes the following: "Dear Sir, after asking how you and your good family are, I am unfortunate enough to inform you that looking over some of my papers, I give your last Bond of five hundred pounds to my wife for her to put away. She not having it in her power to put it away immediately, put it in her hussive and [at] this instant [it] dropped it out. We have searched every suspected place, but to no effect . . . My wife is of the opinion that as she was working with her cattle, and [as the paper upon which the bond was written] is something saltish, they have eat[en] it."

Soon after the purchase, Joseph had selected the site for his home. About a mile east of the town, it faced the river, near the little blockhouse formerly occupied by William Clendinen. With the labor of his numerous slaves, he soon erected a substantial two-story log house. Slave quarters, barn, and other necessary buildings followed. Joseph began clearing the land for cultivation. This tract included the bottom on which the then village of Charleston was platted and had been established a year earlier. Joseph's eldest son David joined them in late October, 1796, having remained behind in the Shenandoah to wind up Joseph's affairs. David and his family moved into the vacant fort buildings.

Joseph was constantly occupied in the development of his plantation. With the assistance of his sons he was busy clearing land, planting his fields, and erecting and operating grist and sawmills along the creeks that twisted through his property. Farming, not industry, was his life-long interest and love. Like his father before him, Joseph grew prosperous. Farseeing and capable, he acquired large additional tracts of land in near-by counties, as well as in the fertile Ohio Valley.

In a deed dated 1797, he purchased 6600 acres on 16 Mile Creek (below Point Pleasant on the Ohio River) from William T. Taylor of Kentucky.

It was reported by W.H. Ruffner that at the time Joseph Ruffner arrived in the Kanawha Valley, Daniel Boone lived on the opposite side of the river. Boone had been attracted to the area because of the salt licks which attracted much game. "But", he reported, "Boone’s interest went down as Ruffner’s went up. The old hunter saw that his occupation there would soon be gone and that he must follow the rolling buffalo and high-stepping elk, and leave the nimble deer to hide in the brush. In three or four years Boone’s canoe flotilla glided through Elk shoals toward the setting sun. The people wept as they saw him go, but the time had come when the hunter and red man must give way to the farmer and manufacturer."

Joseph Ruffner, instead of involving himself in the salt business, had in 1797, leased the Dickenson property salt lick and use of sufficient land to manufacture salt to a local citizen named Elisha Brooks, who, that year, built a salt furnace. It was the first erected in Kanawha and the first west of the Allegheny Mountains. The furnace and the techniques Elisha used for gathering the salt were crude compared that which would follow in less than two decades. His process included two dozen small kettles, set in a double row, with a flue beneath, a chimney at one end, and a fire bed at the other. To obtain a supply of salt water he sank two or three "gums" (hollowed-out tree trunks) some eight or ten feet each in length, into the mire and quicksand of the salt lick, and dipped the brine with a bucket and swape, as it oozed and seeped in through the sand below. In this way Brooks managed to make about 150 pounds of salt per day, which he sold at the kettles, at eight to ten cents per pound. There were no means or effort used to settle or purify the salt water as it came from the "gums", so it was boiled in the kettles and contained whatever impurities or coloring matter it contained. As it contained carbonate of iron which became oxidized when boiled, the brine and salt had a reddish tinge. This Kanawha salt soon acquired a reputation for it’s strong, pungent taste and it’s superior qualities for curing meat, butter, and other foods requiring preservation. People soon equated the color with the quality and this ultimately resulted in a demand for that "strong red salt from the Kanawha Licks". People came from more than a 100 miles around to buy the salt, carrying it away in pack-saddles or flatboats. Demand for salt was growing as curing meat and butter preserved precious food and there were an increasing number of settlements though-out the Ohio Valley.

Joseph died on March 3, 1803, at the age of sixty-three years six. His Last Will and Testament, written a little more than a week earlier (2/21/1803), is intriguing to read. "I give to my well beloved Wife the Plantation, whereon I now live, during her natural life, the same to be hereafter devised, and also my goods, chattels, and slaves namely my Negro man Peter, Negro woman Lucy and Rachel, to her during life . . ."

Both he and his wife are buried in what is now know as the Kanawha Riflemen’s Memorial Park, between 1578 and 1596 E. Kanawha Blvd. This plot of ground has had a rather turbulent history. Some years after his father’s death, Daniel Ruffner deeded the adjoining section to the town of Charleston as a public cemetery, reserving the western corner as the private burial ground of the Ruffner family. The deed stipulated that if the town ceased to utilize the plot as a cemetery the title was to revert to the Ruffner heirs. Years later a family controversy arose, and lengthy court proceedings followed. During the litigation many bodies were removed by relatives and reinterred in Spring Hill Cemetery. The dispute finally settled, this tree-shaded plot is today a small public park overlooking the Kanawha River. Apparently the only indication that the ground was once a cemetery are two graves of the Ruffner family. There is a slab indicating the grave of Elizabeth, wife of Daniel Ruffner, while Joseph Ruffner and his wife are buried in a stone tomb above ground. In a 1976 book it is stated that "both markers are weather-beaten and defaced and the inscriptions are barely legible." In the Doris and Olive Ruffner book they talk of a sarcophagus. Whether it is located on the same or another property is not know to this author. They state "the sarcophagus was erected to the memory of Joseph and his wife at Charleston and reads as follows:

Joseph II, second son of Joseph Ruffner, was born in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, on February 14, 1769. He had traveled to Kanawha with his parents and siblings in 1795. In 1805 or later Joseph had married Margaret Davenport (who had probably been a resident of Joseph’s earlier home town in Page County, Va). Joseph II and his wife Margaret had three children: William, born in Charleston, VA, in 1807 and died in 1827(?) of consumption, Eliza A, born in Charleston in 1809; and Martha Jane, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1813. Martha Jane never married and died of "paralysis of nerves & congestion of lungs" in 1855. She was an avid letter writer and she saved much of her correspondence.

At the time of his father’s death, he and his brother David (who were not as enamored with farming as their father) embarked on an effort to develop the salt business and establish a manufacturing business which could supply the explosive demand for salt which was growing at their western doorfront.

Their efforts were not more clearly stated than in the letter Joseph’s brother David wrote to the Niles Weekly Register on November 8, 1815. It reads as follows:

"At the first settlement of this place there was great Buffalo Lick (as it was then called) discovered, where some weak salt-water oozed out of the bank of the river. After some time, the inhabitants sank [hollow] gums into the sand and gravel at that place, into which the water collected; but it was so weak, that though sufficient quantities might be collected, not more than three or four bushels of salt were make in a day. After the property came into possession of my brother Joseph Ruffner and myself (by devise) we were desirous to see the effect of sinking large Sycamore gums as low down as we could force them. We found great difficulty in this, on account of the water coming in so rapidly. When we got down about eighteen feet below the surface of the river we discovered that our gums lodged on a solid, smooth freestone rock - and the water was but little improved as we descended. We then bored a hole in the rock of about 2 1/2 inches diameter - the size that is now generally used for the purpose. After we had penetrated the rock eighteen or twenty feet we struck upon a vein of water much saltier than any that had ever been obtained in this place. Our neighbors followed our example, and generally succeeded in obtaining good salt water, to the distance of two and an half mile below, and four miles above us, on the river. They all have to sink the gums about eighteen feet, where they come to the rock, into which they bore a hold from on to two hundred feet deep. The rock is never perforated through, the water weeps into the hole at soft and porous places; but no cavities are ever found in it. The cost of boring is from three to four dollars per foot, and each well produces, on average, a sufficient quantity of water to make 300 bushels of salt per day. the first water that is struck in the auger hole is generally fresh, or salt water of an inferior quality, which is excluded by means of copper or tin tubes put down into the auger hold, and so secured that none of the water which comes in above the lower end of the tube can discharge itself into the gum, which has a bottom put into it immediately upon the rock, and is secured in such a manner that no water can get into it except that which comes up the tube from below. The water thus gathered in the gum will rise about as high as the surface of the river at low water mark; and it requires from 70 to 100 gallons of it to make a bushel of salt.

"There are now established and in operation here, fifty-two furnaces (any many are erecting) containing from 40 to 60 kettles of 36 gallons each-all which make from 2500 to 3000 bushels of salt per day. The quantity may be increased as the demand shall justify.

"Fire wood, in the course of time, must become scarce or difficult to get-but stone coal may be used instead of it, and of this our stock is inexhaustible.

"These works are situated six miles above Charleston, Kanawha Court House; 66 miles from the mouth of the river, (Kanawha,] and 26 below the great falls. The river is navigable, with a gently current, at all seasons of the year, for boats drawing two feet water, and at most seasons for boats of size. Your obedient humble servant,

DAVID RUFFNER.

Kanawha Salt-works"

From other sources we get a more detailed picture outlining the long process and difficulties.

In 1806 Joseph and David set to work to find the source of the salt, procure a large quantity of high quality of brine, and manufacture it on a scale commensurate with the growing wants of the county. The salt lick, or "The Great Buffalo Lick", as it was called, was just at the river’s edge, about 2,000 feet in length, a few hundred yards above the mouth of Campbells creek, in front of what was known as "Thoroughfare Gap" (where the Buffalo, elk, and other animals made their was to the lick in vast numbers). There they brought a long, large diameter sycamore tree trunk. This "gum" was hollowed out to four feet in diameter and set upright on the spot selected for sinking, held in place with props and braces on four sides. A platform, upon which two men could stand, was fixed about the top. From here they drove the "gum into the river bottom. A man then entered the gum with pick, shovel and crowbar. After removing the water, he dug the river bottom, put the output in a basket made from 1/2 a whiskey barrel". The basket was then pulled up by the two men above and then emptied into another basket (part of a "swape") which 3 to 4 men operated from the shore. Using a beam with a rope attached to their bucket and fulcrum, the men on shore rotated their bucket to shore where they disposed of the contents and returned the bucket to the two men above the gum.

After many unexpected difficulties and delays, the gum reached what appeared be rock bottom at thirteen feet. Cutting the bottom with picks and crowbars they broke through a 6 inch shale covering and water began flowing into the gum. Unfortunately the salt content of the water was less than other sources. Discouraged, Joseph and David decided to sink another well out in the bottom about 100 yards from the river. They started again until they reached 45 feet into what would be the river bottom where they hit the same bed of sand and gravel. To penetrate this they made a three and one-half inch tube from a twenty-foot long log, by boring through it with a long shanked augur. This tube, sharpened and shod with iron at the bottom, was driven further down, pile driver fashion, until they again hit solid rock. Into this tube they dropped a glass vile (attached to a string) to sample the salt water for testing. Again they were disappointed; the water was brackish, but contained less salt than that at the historical river outlet.

They decided to go back into the river and drive a new "gum" deeper; they hit a rock bottom at 16 to 17 feet from the surface. The rock bottom, understandably, was not flat like the bottom of the gum and allowed water to enter the gum from outside the gum. They packed the open areas between the gum and bedrock with thin wedges to reduce, if not eliminate, this problem and they were successful. They were finally able to bail out the gum and determine if the salt water seeping through the rock was any more concentrated than that which they had obtained earlier. The volume of salt water was extremely small, but the salt concentration was strong which gave them hope that they were now on the right track.

In order to increase the flow of salt water they decided to drill a two and one-half inch hole through the rock. They attached a steel chisel bit to the upper end of a spring pole which they them began using, with the aid of a rope, to pound through the rock. One the 1st of November in 1807 they hit a fissure or crack in the rock ( at 17 feet) and the flow of brine increased substantially. Encouraged they continued drilling deeper until they had reached 28 feet where the flow and the concentration of salt was significant. At this point they felt they had a commercially viable venture and began construction of a salt furnace. At they same time they continued drilling deeper until January 15, 1908 when they reached 40 feet into the rock and 58 feet from the top of the gum. Here they had reached a volume of water and concentration of salt that would make their furnace profitable.

The significance of their efforts can be seen in this copyrighted petroleum industry article found on the internet. It reads as follows and includes the graphic shown:

"The first adequately documented spring-pole well in America was drilled by David and Joseph Ruffner beginning 1806 and completed January 15, 1808, on the bank of the Kanawha River near Charleston, West Virginia. They reached a total depth of approximately 58 feet of which 40 feet was in bedrock. It was a salt well. The Ruffner brothers were the inventive pioneers of drilling in North America. They even tubed the well with wooden pipe to prevent weaker salt water from mixing with the brine of their main pay zone. Their feat spurred the salt industry and eventually led to spring-pole drilling for oil.

On February 8, 1808, David and Joseph Ruffner made their first lifting of salt from their furnace and felt they now could control the burgeoning salt industry. They dropped the price of their salt to the unprecedented level of 4¢ per pound effectively eliminating all competition. Salt was packed in seven-bushel hogsheads, shipped by flatboats down the Kanawha, and sold to the river-valley dwellers of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky, who needed it to make ‘hog and hominy’ their dietary staples.

What happened within the family and to Joseph II, particularly, at this point is unclear. Sometime after 1809 Joseph and Margaret, for reasons still uncertain, decided to leave Charleston and traveled down the Ohio River to Cincinnati where they found permanent residence. It may simply have been a matter of opportunity. Ohio was growing very rapidly and offered more opportunity than the Charleston area. There was farmland as far as one could see or venture. The Ohio River flowed through Cincinnati and on to the Mississippi. A canal system was being built through the state (Lake Erie to Cincinnati being one) on which one could cheaply and quickly move farm goods to growing markets. Charleston did not and could not offer such possibilities. We do know that Joseph II continued to return to Charleston because of his business interests. As shown in this 1807 receipt he is shown owning 8132 acres of land and one slave in Charleston.

After David and Joseph’s discovery their neighbors were watching what they had done and shortly decided to begin borings of their own. They bored both upstream and downstream at depths of 50 to 100 feet and by 1817 there were some 15 or 20 wells operating which produced an aggregate of 600,000 to 700,000 bushels of salt. The now numerous salt manufacturers all met that year at what became known as the Kanawha Salines and established the first "trust" in America. Production of salt by each furnace was pro-rated, and a sale price was set and maintained, except during occasional price wars to discourage importers of salt from England and the West Indies.

This same year coal was discovered nearby in workable seams. Heretofore all salt boiling had been done with lumber from surrounding hillsides and by 1817 the hillsides for miles above and below the furnaces hat been stripped and there was a shortage of lumber. Coal would resolve this problem. David Ruffner was the first to attempt using coal to boil the salt water. While this would appear to be a simple matter, it was, for a variety of reasons, a very difficult conversion. But David persevered and finally succeeded in the conversion. His neighbors followed after learning his process and wood was no longer used in the boiling process.

According to an article written by Dr. W. H. Ruffner, Joseph, in 1813 sold his interest in the salt property (including the land) to Capt. James Wilson (his brother David purchased it back from Wilson about a year later).

The first record thus far found regarding Joseph Ruffner in Cincinnati appeared in "The Western Spy" in mid July 1813. An advertisement reads: "Jacob Baymiller informs his friends and the public that he has taken into partnership in his mercantile concern Mr. Joseph Ruffner and that the same will in future be carried on under the name of BAYMILLER & RUFFNER who have just received a fresh and varied assortment of all kind of goods suitable for the present and approaching season; . . . . . DRY GOODS, GROCERIES . . . . . HARD AND QUEENS WARE . . . . most of which articles will be sold at wholesale if required. They also have on hand and will . . . . . have a large quantity of KEHAWA SALT. The present supply has been . . . . . hand, and is perfectly dry. Those who are indebted to Baymiller . . . . . particularly requested to come forward and settle their accounts without delay. Cincinnati, July 19, 1813". The next recorded incident involving Joseph appeared in the Cincinnati Deed Book (Vol 1, page 436) and reads "that certain piece of ground within the said City of Cincinnati . . . . . being part of a purchase made by Baymiller and Ruffner from Culbertson Park March 24, 1814 and hath since been wholly relinquished by Baymiller and Ruffner . . . . . which is the lower corner of a lot sold July 18, 1814 by Baymiller and Ruffner . . . . . "

Following the above purchase, but preceeding the relinquishment, an April 23, 1814 advertisement in The Western Spy reads: "NOTICE is hereby given that the partnership of Baymiller and Ruffner is this day dissolved by mutual consent, all person having demands against said firm, will please to present their accounts to Jacob Baymiller for settlement, and those indebted to them are requested to make payment to said Jacob Baymiller who is authorized to receive the same. JACOB BAYMILLER, JOSEPH RUFFNER, Cincinnati, April 23d. 1814".

On July 9, 1814 another ad appeared by Jacob Baymiller reading, in part, "All persons indebted to Jacob Baymiller and the late firm of Baymiller & Ruffner, are requested to call . . . . . and discharge their accounts . . . ."

On December 24, 1814, the following runaway slave ad appeared in the Western Spy: TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD. RUNAWAY from Cincinnati on Monday night last, 17^th inst. A negro man, who call himself Wm. Washington, twenty five or six years old, about 5 feet 8 or 10 inches high, and is rather inclined to be bow legged, had on when away, a dark surtout coat, a pair of striped pantaloons of domestic, a pair of boots and a number of other clothing; said negro was lately purchased by me of a certain Benjamin F. Reeder of Virginia, he has been brought up to house buiness, such as cooking and the like. Any person who will apprehend said negroe, and deliver him to Major Joseph Ruffner of Cincinnati, or the subscriber living in Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentuckey, or give the necessary information so that I get him again shall receive the above reward. JOHN E. WRIGHT, December 4, 1814".

The Ruffners first appeared in the Cincinnati census of 1817 which reflects there were at least 6 other persons living at their home in Ohio. These 5 may have included the slaves who Joseph II’s daughter Eliza talked of to her grandchildren in her later life. A description of Cincinnati in 1817 describes the city as follows: "Cincinnati in 1817 was a bright, beautiful and flourishing little city. It extended from the river to Sixth street and not much beyond those limits. . . The houses were beautifully interspersed with vacant lots, not yet sold, which were covered with grass. The city contained about nine hundred inhabitants. . . The people were enterprising and industrious; a pedestrian could hardly walk a square without encountering a brick wagon or stone wagon, or seeing a new cellar being dug. . . A bricklayer would not hide his trowel, nor a carpenter his hatchet, under his coat. Everything gave promise of the city’s continued prosperity; but a desire to become rich had led too many into wild speculations on borrowed money . . . No other single aspect of life increased the charm of existence in the young metropolis to such a degree as this constant influx of strangers. New faces were seen at every turn, new languages were heard, and new ideas stimulated the brains of people. New ambitions stirred their hearts and a new enjoyment, that of river travel, enhanced the charm of existence. The luxury of a journey to Pittsburgh or New Orleans in an elegant steamer . . . No one who took a trip on such a boat could keep his parochial views of live intact. His vision widened . . . and he grew to be a cosmopolitan. In fact, at that time, the life of the little city was cosmopolitan to a wonderful degree. "

Joseph continued his land purchases in Cincinnati. Hamilton County Abstracts show that he purchased lots 360, 361, 362, 385, 386, and 387 from Benjamin Drake of Dearbron County, Indiana, for $400 on July 29, 1816. These properties, at that time the location of their large home, are now the entire city block between 3rd and 4th Streets between Elm and Plum; no longer residential the area is now upscale downtown offices and stores. This city block was surveyed by Cincinnati Surveyor Joseph Gest in 1830 and the surveys can still be seen at the Cincinnati Historical Library (Interestingly, Joseph Gest’s grandaughter, Rebekah Gest, would marry Joseph Ruffner II’s great grandson William F Schultze in Cincinnati in 1889). Joseph purchased lot 388, the southwest corner of 4th and Western on July 25, 1836.

The 1825 "Cincinnati Directory" lists Joseph Ruffner as a farmer. Then in 1828 a most interesting historical document appears. On February 12, 1828 he, along with a number of other individuals, incorporated the "Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster Turnpike Company". The Acts of Incorporation, &c. read as follows:

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Joseph Ruffner, Francis Carr [and 53 named other individuals], and their associates, be, and they are hereby incorporated as a body politic and corporate, for the sole purpose of construction a turnpike road between Cincinnati to Wilmington, in Clinton county, and from thence to Washington, in Fayette county, from thence through Columbus [40 miles] and Mount Vernon [116 miles], to Wooster [43 miles], in Wayne county " [a total of over 200 miles], by the name and style of the "Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster Turnpike Company. . . . .

Sec. 6. That the said company shall have a right to lay out, survey and make their said road, through any improved or unimproved lands, on the nearest and most eligible route, from the eastern termination of Front street, in Cincinnati, through Columbus and Mount Vernon, to Wooster, in Wayne county, and to enter said town of Wooster, at the southern termination of Market street in said town, and follow said street to the court house so as to meet the southern termination of the turnpike from Wooster to Cleaveland (sic); and to take from the land occupied by said road, when surveyed and located as aforesaid, any stone, gravel, timber, or other materials necessary to construct a good, secure and substantial road . . . . .

Sec. 7. That the president and directors of the Cincinnati, Columbus and Wooster Turnpike Company, shall cause their said road to be opened not exceeding one hundred feet wide, at least thirty of which shall be made an artificial road, composed on stone, gravel, wood, or other suitable materials . . . .

Sec. 8. That so soon as said turnpike company shall have completed the road . . . nor less than 10 miles . . . the company thane erect a gate or gates at suitable distances and demand and receive of persons traveling the same, the toll allowed by this act . . . . .

Sec. 9. That the following shall be the rates of toll for each and every ten miles of said road, and in the same proportion for a greater or lesser distance, to wit: for every four wheeled carriage, drawn by horses or oxen, twenty-five cents; for every horse or ox in addition ??? and one fourth cents; for every two wheeled carriage, drawn by horses or oxen, eighteen and three-fourth cents; for every sled or sleigh, drawn by two horses or oxen, twelve and a half cents; for every horse in addition, six and one fourth cents; for every horse and rider, six and one-fourth cents; for every horse, mule or ass, six months or upwards old, ??? driven, three cents; for neat cattle, six months old or upwards, twenty-five cents for every score, and a less number in proportion; for every score of sheep or hogs, twelve and a half cents; for every four wheeled pleasure carriage, drawn by two horses, thirty-seven and a half cents; for every horse in addition, twelve and a half cents; for every four wheeled carriage, drawn by one horse, twenty five cents; every horse in addition, twelve and a half cents; for every four wheeled carriage, drawn by one horse, eighteen and three-fourth cents. Provided always. That all persons going to, or returning from public worship on the Sabbath, and all militia men going to, and returning from their respective muster grounds, and all funeral processions will pass free of toll . . . .

The Act of Incorporation continues with various revisions through 1832. How the corporation and Joseph fared in still unknown.

The 1829 Cincinnati Directory lists him as "Street Commissioner" . The 1831 Census lists him as "Collector Canal Tolls". In the 1836/37 Directory he is listed as the "Canal Collector" with an office between Main and Walnut. In the 1840 Cincinnati Directory (following his death in 1837) he is no longer listed; his wife Margaret Ruffner is listed with a residence on 3rd between Elm and Plum (the original family homestead in Cincinnati).

Early in the 20^th Century William Frederich Schultze (1859-1933) wrote of the stories he had been told of the Ruffner move from Charleston to Cincinnati. He said that they brought with them many fine furnishings from their home which were passed to other family members in later years. The furniture was described him as "the Chippendale secretary Gest has, the tall dresser or Highboy thee [referring to his daughter Rebekah Schultze Shipler] has, and the low dresser or Lowboy I have here; and as a boy my recollection of a large fourpost bed, old tall clock, big chairs and other handsome pieces of old mahogany too big to tote around were disposed of by gift." Shortly after their arrival in Cincinnati, they purchased a large farm house in what is now downtown Cincinnati. The property began at what now is the northwest corner of 3rd and Elm Streets, extended north to approximately 6th Street and then west to Baymiller Street. They built a two-story brick home about 300 feet northwest of the present intersection of 3rd and Elm. William Frederick Schultze described the property when he wrote, "My grandmother [Eliza A Ruffner] tells of much stock, many horses, cows, sheep and fowl, and of a Newfoundland dog who sensed fire. Even before any alarm was given, he would howl loudly-he became noted in his day. There was a beautiful flower garden and fine large (vegetable) garden. The farm was a showplace. They had some slaves on the farm, but my grandmother has told me they were not considered "slaves" but human men and women helpers."

While Joseph II apparently did very well after moving to Cincinnati, he also apparently had problems. According to W.F. Schultze, Joseph’s "attention to his property, salt and coal mines on the Kanawha river, caused long absences by slow travel of that day from Cincinnati. He [Joseph II] had a foreman Henry Baymiller whom he trusted to attend to matters during his absences. This man Baymiller was crooked and he connived with Nick Longworth to manage (by trickery and fraud) to obtain possession of portions of [Joseph II's] property. As [Joseph II] had given [Baymiller] Power of Attorney . . to dispose of property-it would have been a [law]suit for breach of trust and a long legal battle to regain [the] property. [Joseph II thought the property was] not worth enough to fight for. He had been defrauded by the courts of a just claim [in the past] and therefore had no faith in the justice of the law."

Joseph II died on May 11, 1837, at the age of 68. He was buried in the 12th Street Presbyterian Cemetery with his son William Joseph who had died some 10 years earlier of consumption at the age of 20. On June 15, 1855 his daughter Martha Jane died of "paralysis of nerves & congestion of lungs". She had never married. Six days following her death her mother Margaret purchased a plot at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati (Section 30, Lot 129) and had her buried there. On July 30, 1858 she had her husband and son moved to the same plot.

The U. S. Census of 1860 shows Margaret living with her son-in-law Fredrick Schultze and her daughter Elizabeth along with their four childen, her daughter Martha and two servants from Ireland.

Her great grandson Edward Schultze died before he reached 4 months and he was buried in the family plot in February 1862. Margaret lived to age 94 and died on November 24, 1862. She is buried alongside Joseph II. Their original gravestones are gone, but cemetery records and a monument erected later show the grave locations.

Eliza A. Ruffner

Eliza recalled that as a young girl, it was her job to pin rent-due bills on the inside of Nick Longworth's coat. Nick could not read, so Eliza would pin the bills in order on his coat, and Nick would walk from rental property to rental property collecting the rent.

Eliza also recalled seeing Lafayette at their home when he visited Cincinnati, and his admiring a Wedgwood jug described as "lavender ground relief ivory rococo", which was owned by her father and later passed down through the family. (Rococo was an elaborate decoration imitating foliage, shell work, etc., which was developed in France and was very popular in the early 1700's)

Her grandson, William Frederick Schultze, wrote the following of her: "My Grandmother Haskins had a dear and beloved character, she was loved and known by all who knew her and by the children, the sick and the needy as ‘Auntie Haskins’. She was very fond of flowers and knew them all well and lived with them; she requested that no flowers be placed on her coffin. She said, ‘If I die let them live’ - she was a very well and broadly educated woman. [She and Joseph Haskins] lived on the north side of Third Street between Elm and Plum on a portion of my great-grandfathers [Joseph II’s] property, in one of two large houses with tall colonial columns to the roof - one of these houses was later used as the Children’s Home".

Ruffner Papers Index