Will 1822-Raleigh mentions sisters, nephews, nieces.
WILL -1798
WILL - 1854
"Ruffin's Bridge is or was the bridge across Contentnea Creek on Highway NC 58 just south of Stantonsurg at the Wayne, Wilson and Greene County junction. It was built prior to 1751 and was known as Peacock's Bridge until about 1776 when Etheldred Ruffin received a land grant of 640 acres on the southwest side of the bridge. The bridge was at the corner of the Ruffin land and Etheldred Ruffins hands made repairs and rebuilt the bridge. It became known as Ruffin's bridge in 1776. During the Revolutionary War a minor skirmish was held at the bridge when the local militia attempted to stop General Tarleton's Brigade of British troops marching from Kinston to Halifax. These troops were part of General Cornwallis' army." "The existing bridge is about fifty (50) feet west of the site of the original bridge." "The Etheldred Ruffin that it was named for was the son of Samuel Ruffin and wife Sarah McWilliams. He married Mary Haywood and they had, among others, Henry John Gray Ruffin." "Henry John Gray Ruffin had a son named Etheldred Francis Ruffin who married Elizabeth Lee Kennedy. This Etheldred Ruffin built the house in the 1860s that is still there and owned by his descendants. It is no longer in the Ruffin name. All the land (640 acres less about 4 acres) is still in one piece. It is located in Greene County." Contributed by: Marion (Monk) MooreWilliam Haywood Ruffin's will - 1822 http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/wake/wills/ruffin01.txt 1)nephew William Haywood, son of Henry J.G. Ruffin 2)nephew William H.R. Wood, son of Laurence Wood who married his sister, Charity 3)nephew William Willie, (Wiley) son of James L. 4)niece, Elisabeth, daughter of James L. Sister Charity was a widow at this time. Sister Sally, wife of Alexander Kilpatrick and her sons John Haywood and Samuel R. Hawyood (sons of previous marriage to Dr. Henry Haywood
Dobbs County North Carolina 1779 Vote
It Was Not Easy To Vote in 1779
Kinston Daily Free Press
Friday - November 2, 1962, Page 10
"In 1779 the outlook for the success of the American Revolution had grown very dim. This year and the next were to be the darkest hours for the patriots. Kinston, the home town of Governor Richard Caswell, had become the de facto capital of the new State. Here the State's Board of War usually met in secret sessions. Sometimes the Council of State met here. Sessions of the General Assembly, being more a matter of public knowledge, usually were convened at larger and more heavily guarded towns. While the name of the town was changed from Kingston to Kinston by law in 1784, already by 1779 the patriots were calling it Kinston in derision of the King of England from whose title the original name derived.
The vote in the general election in 1779 required the highest patriotic conviction. If the Revolutionary cause failed, each of these voters would be marked as among the rankest seditionists. For these were the men of Dobbs County who closest held to heart the pledge of the Declaration of Independence, the pledge of "our sacred honor." This list of Dobbs voters is complete but does not complete her roll of honor, for there were those who were away with the armies in the field and the women whose names do not appear on this list. Still, these are the fathers and brothers and staunch supporters of those who fought, and each of them deserves to be remembered.
Even to those whose resolute patriotism stilled all fear of the possibility of danger in defeat, to vote was no easy matter. The voting place was at the old Dobbs County Courthouse erected near Walnut Creek about midway between present LaGrange and Goldsboro. Dobbs County included practically all of the areas now comprised in Lenoir, Greene and Wayne Counties, and it was from these areas that the voters came on horseback to cast the vote of freemen in a ? State. Because of the distances, the polls were open for two days, March 10th and 11th. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINAAt an election of one Senator and Two Members of the House of Commons to Represent the county of Dobbs held at the Court House the 10th and 11th of March, 1779, the following persons voted for Members of the House of Commons to wit:
Rouse, Jesse
Rouse, John
Rouse, John Junr.
Rouse, Simon
"At the close of the Poll on openning the Scrolls, I found the candidates had the following number of votes respectively Viz: Thos. Gray 493, Jesse Cobb 535, Etheldred Ruffin 333, John Sheppard 5, James Bradbury 3, Mayor Croom 1, Abram Sheppard 1. I Further certifie that on Examining the Scrolls for the Senate and House of Commons there were in the Senate Box two tickets for Gray and Ruffin and in the Commons Box were also two tickets for Exum which Scrolls or votes are not including in the foregoing numbers.
Benja. Caswell, Sheriff - March 1779"
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