Mary Ellen Harryman Ruffner Papers, 1795-1976 (bulk 1855-1930)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Papers, 1795-1976 (bulk 1855-1910) of Mary Ellen Harryman Ruffner of Alexandria, Virginia, and the allied Clark, Gaunt, Harryman, Klipstein, and Taylor families of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Included are agreements and deeds, Bible records, clippings, correspondence, genealogical notes and charts, invitations, ledgers, notebooks, obituaries, photographs, publications, receipts, and wills.

Biographical / historical:

Mary Ellen Harryman Ruffner (1893-1966) was the daughter of Mary Theresa Klipstein (1866-1931) and Dr. Harry Gaunt Harryman (1865-1928) of Alexandria, Virginia. She married Richard Laidley Ruffner (1894-1965) in 1926, son of Joel Henry Ruffner (1859-1917) and Dorcas Blaine Laidley (1865-1927) of Charleston, West Virginia, and had two children: Richard Laidley Ruffner II (1927-1996) and Rebecca Mary Ruffner (1931-1934). Richard Laidley Ruffner II married Patricia Mary Ellen Karig (b. 1921) in 1954. Their children included: Richard Laidley Ruffner III (b. 1955) and Mary Keith Ruffner (b. 1962).

Ruffner Line

David Ruffner (1767-1843) was born in Luray, Virginia, and married Lydia Anne Brumbach (1766-1852) in 1788. He moved the family to Charleston, West Virginia in 1796, where he opened the first coal mine and salt works in the area. His son, Henry Ruffner (1790-1861), was an ordained minister in Charleston, West Virginia, and married Saray Montgomery Lyle (1787-1849), daughter of Captain William Lyle of Rockbridge County, Virginia. He moved the family to Lexington, Virginia, where he became a professor and then president of Washington College. Their children included: William Henry (1824-1908), David Lewis (1829-1896), Julia (1822-1864), and Anne (b. 1825). After his first wife died in 1849 Henry married Laura Kirby.

William Henry Ruffner married Harriet Ann Gray in 1850. Julia Ruffner never married. Anne Ruffner married Arthur H. Howell (1818-1877).

David Lewis Ruffner married his second cousin, Frances Eleanor Ruffner (1830-1909), in 1853 and was a laywer and civil engineer in Charleston, West Virginia. Their children included: Sallie Lyle (1854-1933), David Lewis (1860-1904), Ethel Marye (1869-1949), and Joel Henry (1859-1917). Frances Eleanor Ruffner was the daughter of Diana Marye (1809-1881) and Joel Ruffner (1802-1882). Diana Marye was the daughter of William Staige Marye (1775-1837) and Mary Elizabeth Ruffner (1785-1852). William Staige Marye was the son of Eleanor Green (d. 1822) and Peter Marye (b. 1737). Eleanor Green was the daughter of William Green (d. 1770) and Anne Coleman of Culpeper County, Virginia.

Joel Henry Ruffner married Dorcas Blaine Laidley (1865-1927) in 1886 in Charleston, West Virginia. Their children included: Diana Laidley (b. 1889), Lydia Fontaine (b. 1891), Richard Laidley (1894-1965), David Lewis (b. 1896), Percy Laidley (b. 1899), Dorcas Lyle (b. 1901), and Margaret Keith (1909-1926).

Klipstein-Harryman Line

William Ball Klipstein (1817-1881) was born in Fauqier County, Virginia, to Sarah Ransdell Ball (1796-1849) and Philip Augustus Klipstein II (1791-1855). He studied at the University of New York, receiving a medical degree in 1844, and established medical offices in Alexandria, Virginia. He married Mary Ann Taylor (1820-1904) on 10 July 1851. Their children included: Rebecca (Mittie) Taylor Klipstein (1852-1933), George Taylor Klipstein (1854-1928), and Mary (Mamie) Theresa Klipstein (1866-1931). Rebecca Taylor Klipstein never married. George Taylor Klipstein married Naomi Simmons (1874-1902) in 1915. Mary Klipstein married Harry Gaunt Harryman (1865-1928) in 1892 and their children included: William Klipstein Harryman (1895-1959) and Mary Ellen Harryman (1893-1966). William Klipstein Harryman married Vivien C. Decker in 1919. Mary Ellen Harryman married Richard Laidley Ruffner in 1926.

Taylor Line

Rebecca Marll of Alexandria, Virginia, was married to Captain William Lawrence, who died at sea. She remarried to Evan Phillips Taylor (1784-1824) of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1813. Evan Phillips Taylor was the son of George Taylor and Hannah Phillips Taylor. George Taylor was the son of Joseph and Mary Maris Taylor (1700-1747). Mary Maris was the grandaughter of George Maris (1632-1699) of Pennsylvania.

Rebecca and Evan Taylor had four children: Charles Marll Taylor (1813-1873), George Richard Taylor (1818-1880), Hannah Elizabeth Taylor (1815-1849), and Mary Ann Taylor (1820-1904). Mary Ann Taylor married William Ball Klipstein in 1851 and resided in Alexandria, Virginia. Hannah Elizabeth Taylor married James Clark in 1842 and resided in Alexandria, Virginia. Their children included Esther (1845-1900) who married James Morrison (d. 1892) and settled in Maryland; Mary who married Ludwick Reicher in 1883 and resided in Alexandria, Virginia; Frances Ann (d. 1932) who remained unmarried; and Charles who married Kate Gilmore and lived in Missouri. George Richard Taylor married Theresa de Paul, had eight children, served as president of the Pacific Railroad, and resided in Missouri. Charles Marll Taylor married first Esther Clark and second Sally Hendry and produced no heirs.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Devon Archer Schreiner, 2 November 2006.
Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into the following series:

  • Series I. Papers, 1795-1959 (bulk 1855-1930).
  • Series II: Photographs, ca. 1850-1976 (bulk 1880-1920).
Physical description:
7.8 cubic feet (18 boxes).