James H. Ruffin Family

father: Thomas  Ruffin
mother: Lizandy Long Ruffin

Researcher on this line:
Vynaly@aol.com

JAMES H. RUFFIN 
Born July 3, 1850.
Died: April 1, 1915 of diabetes and complications
Buried: Tarboro Cem (a big snow came that day and was on the ground for a week)

Wife #2: Minnie Edmonson Ruffin (stepmother) died June 14, 1930 of a heart attack.
buried: Tarboro Cem
(no children by this marriage)

Wife #1: Joanna Braswell was born Aug 14, 1853.
died: Jan 9, 1904 of consumpton
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

James H. and Joanna were married February 23, 1873.
To this union were born 12 children:

Charles Daniel Ruffin
born: Dec 12, 1873
married: Roxie Baseman (died Feb 12, 1943 in her sleep of heart attack)
Rocky Mount Cem
died: Charles: Dec 10, 1927 of stroke
buried: Rocky Mount Cemetry
child: Callie Ruffin who married Paul Worsley (two children, Charles
Creighton and Janice) also mentions the spouse of these and their children,
but this is getting close to current people)


Mack Thomas Ruffin 
born: Oct 23, 1875
married: Ella Thomas
died: Aug 2, 1937 of a stroke
buried: Tarboro Cemetery
children: Thelma, Mack Jr., James, Joanna, Lizzie, Vivian and Mattie.
(continues to mention who these all married)


Annie Ruffin
born: Feb 24, 1878
died: Sept 1, 1882 of congestive Chill (see letter below)
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

James Ruffin
born: Oct 9,1879
died: Dec 19, 1895 of black jaundice
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

Joseph Clifton Ruffin
born: July 4, 1882
married: Sallie Knight (died June 16, 1946 of diabetes . buried Tarboro Cem)
children: James Clifton, Julian Ruffin
died: Feb 17, 1936 of heart attack
buried: Tarboro Cemetery

Ida Ruffin 
born: Jan 5, 1884
not married

Callie Ruffin 
born: May 18, 1885
died: Oct 3, 1886 of colitis
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

Mamie Ruffin 
born: January 7, 1887
married: Ben Lawrence
died: Nov 17, 1953 of stroke
buried: Lawrence Cemetery
child: Benjamine Lawrence, Jr.

Baby boy born and died Oct 3, 1888 (not named)

Dread Mark Ruffin
born: Nov 3, 1889
married: Lizzie Britt
children: Marvin and Milford (1. Marvin Britt Ruffin  married 1)Peggy Shay  2)Arlene
Myers  2. James Milford Ruffin  (never married)


Mattie Ruffin
born: Oct 15, 1892
married: Frank Keys; no children
died: Nov 4, 1918 of flu during the epidemic
buried: Tarboro

Andrew Lee Ruffin
born: Oct 22, 1894

**handwritten at bottom of sheet.
Thomas Edmondson Ruffin
born 12 June 1886
died 1 Nov 1939
(according to Bible Record)




This is based on a letter written by Ida Ruffin and is stored in the NC
State Archives Genealogy Vertical File.  written Nov 16, 1960

I am "arranging" it to make it more readable, as the original is in one long
paragraph.

This is from the Lucy Fort Ruffin  line  (the one we can't quite
connect)....her son, Thomas who married Lizzy Long, and they had several
children, including this James.

"A few weeks ago I had a letter from a great neice of mine, 12 year old Pat
Ruffin, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Clarence Lee Ruffin of Johnson City, TN,
asking me to write her a simple little family tree, as she wanted to know
more about her ancestors......

My father was JAMES RUFFIN, known as Jim.  My mother was JOANNA BRASWELL,
known as Joe. They were reared in the same community about 5 miles apart. My
father's home was about 8 miles of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in Edgecombe
County. The farm is still known as the Ruffin Farm, but it has passed out of
the Ruffin possession.

The RUFFIN CEMETERY was reserved when the farm was sold.
[****Does anyone know if this one has been published in any Edgecombe
Cemetery Books?***]

Pleasant Hill Primitive Baptist Church, of which my grandmother (Joanna
Braswell Ruffin) was a member, was on the farm.  They had services on
Saturday and Sunday once a month; always had two or three preachers, so the
services were long.  If I went with my grandmother to church, she would take
a lunch in her stachel for me.  Children ate in church during the services.
There was a bucket of water with a dipper in it that sat on a little table
in front of the pulpit in reach of the children so they could get water as
often as they wanted.  I almost choked because I was too timid to walk up
and get water. The preachers had a pitcher of water and a glass.  Everybody
used the same dipper and glass.

Grandmother's was a good place to go. When she knew you were coming she was
sure to have a big plate of apple jacks and we knew right where to find
them. She would make molasses candy, parch peanuts, pop corn, do anything to
please the children.

My father and his brothers never had a middle name, but when they started to
school, they all took the letter "H" as a middle initial and always signed
their names that way.

MY FATHER'S FAMILY, WHICH ARE MY GRANDPARENTS, UNCLES AND AUNTS

My grandfather was Tom Ruffin; died while working on his house. He split his
knee open with a hatchet and died of gangrene.  Grandpa Tom Ruffin married
Lizandy Long.  They had 6 boys and 2 girls.

Charles Ruffin not married.

Tom Ruffin married Mary Hargrove; had two boys (Frank and Sam). Uncle Tom
married a 2nd time to Emma Dixon; had three children, Jessie, Pearl, and Ernest.

Uncle Dick Ruffin married Annie Moore; had 5 children. Mark, Fred, Maggie,
Mary and Bessie

Uncle Joe Ruffin married Zelphie Lane; had 8 children; Collin, Ed, Lena,
Lynda, Ruth, Naomi, Annie and Ella.  There were two sets of twins in this
family.
        A colored man knocked Uncle Joe in the head with a stick and he
lived just a short while.

Uncle Henry Ruffin married Ada Williams ; had 5 girls, Anna, Effie Lee, Emma
May, Ada Clare, and Rosa; and two boys; both died the same day with whooping
cough and were buried in the same grave.

Aunt Lucy Ruffin married Lawrence Lane; had two children. Ida and Ella.
        Ida went to visit her grandparents. She had a chill so her
grandfather went to town to get quinine for her. He was sold strictnine
through mistake. She took a dose and died in a short while.  (I was the next
girl born in the family, so I was named for her.)

Aunt Pennie Ruffin married William Mears; had 2 children, Walter and Emma.

My great-grandmother, Penina Long, known as Granny Pennie, smoked a corncob
pipe with a long reed stem before going to bed. She slept in a night cap on
a big four poster corded bed, so high she had to step on something to get on
it. She would step on the trunnel bed to get on the big one.

MY MOTHER'S FAMILY.
Her father was Bob Braswell, her mother, Pattie Lancaster Braswell; had 4
boys and 4 girls.

Callie Braswell married Harrett Robbins.
Dick Braswell married Sallie Fly.
John Braswell married Nannie Daws
Byrd Braswell married Ann Ruffin, but no kin to our set of Ruffins.
***Wonder who this Ann Ruffin was?***
Mary Braswell married Joe Lane.
Nettie Braswell married Ben Pittman.
Ann Braswell married Willie Robbins
Joanna Braswell married James H. Ruffin

FAMILY RECORD
My father, JAMES H. RUFFIN was born July 3, 1850.
Died: April 1, 1915 of diabetes and complications
Buried: Tarboro Cem (a big snow came that day and was on the ground for a week)
Minnie Edmonson Ruffin (stepmother) died June 14, 1930 of a heart attack.
buried: Tarboro Cem

My mother, Joanna Braswell was born Aug 14, 1853.
died: Jan 9, 1904 of consumpton
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

James H. and Joanna were married February 23, 1873.
To this union were born 12 children:
"my father married a second time to Minnie Edmonson; no children:

Charles Daniel Ruffin
born: Dec 12, 1873
married: Roxie Baseman (died Feb 12, 1943 in her sleep of heart attack)
Rocky Mount Cem
died: Charles: Dec 10, 1927 of stroke
buried: Rocky Mount Cemetry
child: Callie Ruffin who married Paul Worsley (two children, Charles
Creighton and Janice) also mentions the spouse of these and their children,
but this is getting close to current people)


Mack Thomas Ruffin
born: Oct 23, 1875
married: Ella Thomas
died: Aug 2, 1937 of a stroke
buried: Tarboro Cemetery
children: Thelma, Mack Jr., James, Joanna, Lizzie, Vivian and Mattie.
(continues to mention who these all married)


Annie Ruffin
born: Feb 24, 1878
died: Sept 1, 1882 of congestive Chill
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

James Ruffin
born: Oct 9,1879
died: Dec 19, 1895 of black jaundice
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

Joseph Clifton Ruffin
born: July 4, 1882
married: Sallie Knight (died June 16, 1946 of diabetes . buried Tarboro Cem)
children: James Clifton, Julian Ruffin
died: Feb 17, 1936 of heart attack
buried: Tarboro Cemetery

Ida Ruffin
born: Jan 5, 1884
not married

Callie Ruffin
born: May 18, 1885
died: Oct 3, 1886 of colitis
buried: Ruffin Cemetery

Mamie Ruffin
born: January 7, 1887
married: Ben Lawrence
died: Nov 17, 1953 of stroke
buried: Lawrence Cemetery
child: Benjamine Lawrence, Jr.

Baby boy born and died Oct 3, 1888 (not named)

Dread Mark Ruffin
born: Nov 3, 1889
married: Lizzie Britt
children: Marvin and Milford

Mattie Ruffin
born: Oct 15, 1892
married: Frank Keys; no children

Andrew Lee Ruffin
born: Oct 22, 1894

**handwritten at bottom of sheet.
Thomas Edmondson Ruffin
born 12 June 1886
died 1 Nov 1939
(according to Bible Record)

Dear Mr. [Hugh] Johnston,
Thank you for the card. I am confident your theory is correct.
Perhaps you can use foregoing to help someone. Unfortunately there are no
citations or documentation; hwoever the children of Joseph H. Ruffin match a
protion of Bible record in my possession. This paper was given to my cousin
by someon passing through. Ed [Thomas Edmonson] Ruffin Jr. born 1918; father
Thomas Edmonson Ruffin; grandfather Joseph H. Ruffin;  great-grandfather,
Thomas Ruffin w/ Lisandy Wilson/Long)  owns several stores all named RUFFINS
and this stranger gave it to him after seeing the name. The major portion of
the document deals with Ida Ruffin's immediate familu.

You have indeed been a great help and rekindled my interest in the Ruffin
family.
Sincerely,
Mary K O'Dohrt

*This got very confusing as she continued on with the children and who they
married and when they died. Because many of these were  recent, I am not
adding them here)

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