Ruffner Family Association

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.)

06/28/2025

Recap of the RFA reunion! 3 page document.

06/28/2025

Ruffner Reunion Recap ! I hope it works. If it doesn’t write to me in Facebook Messenger and I will send it directly to you.

06/27/2025

https://youtu.be/_qjjydwMIWM?si=SSnakUUeOK2QP-x7

Come and look at the Ruffner House. Incredible footage of our ancestral home. We are blessed with a great house and with great caretakers of our legacy.

This week we visit with Jim and Judi McNeely at their historic Luray home, the Ruffner House, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. A Ruffner fam...

06/26/2025

Thought I‘d repost about our cousin Chet Flippo. I made this post a few years ago, but I recently talked about Chet Flippo at the 2025 Ruffner reunion.

“Want to see my smilin’ face on the cover of the Rolling Stone.” Hey Ruffner cousins, did you know that Chester (“Chet”) Flippo, the long time Senior Editor of Rolling Stone magazine, is a Ruffner cousin? Chet descends from Elizabeth Ruffner (Peter-1, Elizabeth-2, Joseph Stover-3, Margaret Stover-4, Maggie Lillian Bly-5, Chester White Flippo-6). Born in 1943 in Texas, Chet earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the staff of Rolling Stone as a contributing editor, becoming its New York bureau editor in 1974, and senior editor in 1977. Flippo interviewed and wrote about John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones. He made rock stars of country musicians by featuring such stars as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Dolly Parton in the Rolling Stone.

In the 1980s he penned biographies including Hank Williams and Paul McCartney. Chet also wrote for the New York Times, Texas Monthly and Q magazine. He later moved to Tennessee, where he taught journalism at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville between 1991 and 1994, Chet became the Nashville bureau chief for Billboard magazine. In 1998 he received the Country Music Association's Media Achievement Award. Chet died in Nashville in 2013, from pneumonia after a long illness, aged 69.

06/24/2025

What a truly wonderful reunion we shared! We want to thank each and every one of you for making it such a meaningful and memorable gathering. Your presence, your stories, your laughter, and your good cheer brought the spirit of the Ruffner family to life in the best possible way.

We made memories together—some heartfelt, some hilarious—and we celebrated not only our shared history but also the joy of simply being together. It was a time of connection, reflection, and deep appreciation for the ties that bind us.

Let’s keep that spirit alive by staying in touch—and let’s already begin to look forward to our next great Ruffner adventure in 2027!

Wishing you all good health, happiness, and many more reasons to gather.

Ruffner Family Association
Board of Directors