Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-12-22

school to Levi WEIGH at Charleston.
In 1908 he attended a select school fol
one year, taught by Prof. Duvall on
the farm of Robert johnson, father OF
Hon. Richard NJ. johnson, at the
crossing of Elk Horn Creek, Scott
county, Kentucky. In 1872 he enter
ed a high school taught by Rev. John
McElheny, at Lewisburg, Greenbrier
county, where he remained until Janu-
airy, 1915. He then went to Cincin-
natl to an academy where he remain
ed one yea Thence, in 1916, he Went
to Washington College, Virginia, where
he remained two years. He returned
to Kanawha and taught school one
year. In 1920 he commenced the man.
ufactnre of salt On a small wood fur
mace. He continued in this business
with occasional Interruptions until
| November 20, 1873.
In 1920 he built a new furnace adapt
ed to the use of coal for fuel. In 1928
he took possession of the property and
salt business of his father, who retired,
and settled up his business. In 1925
he was elected to the legislature of
Virginia-was reelected in 1926, and
seain in 1928. These were times when
an election to the Legislature was q
compliment of which any one mi ght
well be proud.
On the End of November, 1926, he
was married to a daughter of the late
Joel Shrewsbury, Sr. In 1928 he was
appointed by the county court and
commissioned by the governor q JUS
tice of the peace, (dnm benc geSerH)
which position he held without an in
terval until he vacated it in 1845, when
he removed to Louisville, Kentucky.
Here he remained until 1857, acting as
agent for the sale of Kanawha salt. In
1857 he returned to his old home III
Kanawha, and resumed the manutac-
ture of salt.
From 1928 10 1861, General Lewis
Ruffner ceased to mingie i'll politics.
On the 4th Thursday Of May 1861,
however, being a staunch Union man,
he was again chosen to represent his
native county in the legislature of Vir-
ginia. On the 18th and 18th of April
Of that year Fort Sumter had been
fired on, the secession spirit was red
hot, and a destructive and bloody war
doomed on the National horizon. The
signs of death and ruin hurtled through
the air and "the boldest held his
breath for a time," General Ruffner,
against the wishes Of most of his rela-
tives and many of his warmest person
Il friends declared for the Union, and
stood for it with the courage of infex-
ible conviction. MOI did he ever way
or from the path he had chosen res
pecting the impending bloody crisis.
In june Of that year he was invited by
leading citizens of other parts of what
is now West Virginia, to meet them at
Wheeling, with q view of taking action
in reference to restoring Virginia to
the Union-she having declared her
secession thereform by an ordinance in
April preceding. He accepted the i'll
vitation, took a leading part in the
convention which, by what was re-
garded by the people of some other
parts of the state as o revolutionary
method, declared the state restored to
the Union, and that the delegates as
sembled at Wheeling constituted the
legitimate legislature of the state. He
was again elected as a member of the
legislature of the restored government
of Virginia at Wheeling. In 1868 he
was one of the delegates to the ~
vention at Wheeling which framed the
first constitution of the new state of
West Virginia, which went into opera
ton June 20, 1868. In the same year
he was appointed by the legislature a
Maori General of Militia for the state.
He was also about that time rendered
the position of Colonel of a regiment
in the Federal army, which he declin-
ed ON account, among other REASONS,
of the large business interests which he
represented at home, and which were
continually in peril. His public life
closed with the war.
In 1868 some four or five negroes
from Tinkersville, just below Maiden,
went up to Maiden to a trial before a
magistrate, in which they were inter-
ested. A mob of about one hundred
whites, including some returned SOL
diers from both sides, collected at NAL
den, told the negroes they should
not attend the trial and drove them from
Maiden, and were pursuing them with
stones and other weapons, and threat
ening to drive them from the country
saying the negroes We're the cause of
the wal and should not stay in Kama
wha. The mob was entirely compos-
ed of laboring men who no doubt
thought the negroes were in their way
in the labor field. General Ruffner
being. informed Of the difficulty went
out to quell the difficulty and protect
the blacks. He demonstrated with the
mob who were still pursuing the ne
groes, and while standing between the
pursued and pnrsuers, some one not
| yet known with certainty threw a
| stone which struck the General on the
head Just above the left ear. He fell as if
dead and was thought to be fatally
stricken. In an UNCONSCIOUS condition
he vas carried to his house so badly in.
jured as o be unable for several mouths
to attend to any business, and he never
wholly recovered from the injury. His
memory was ever after affected, and
also his vision. What with age and
the injury just mentioned, he became
quite decrepid and intirm, and could
not walk more than a few steps with
cut the aid OF two canes or crutches
His mind continued sound, but net
nearly 50 vigorous as formerly. Recog.
nizing his intirmities, and his incapaci.
ty to continue to manage his large
property, he, on the goth of March
1873, turned it over to trustees, te
manage for the benefit of his children
reservlng an annuity sufficient to main
tain himself and wife, whom he leave:
q sorrewing widow, for the remnant o
their lives. He lost his first wife il
January, 1848, and married his second
Miss Viola Knapp, of Philadelphia, il
December lS43. OF the children
of the first marriage four ar,
living, two sons AID two daughters.
There were but two Of the second mar
riage, a son and a daughter, both now
living. The youngest of ali is Ernes
H. Ruffner. who graduated with honor
at West Point, June, 1867, and nov
ranks as captain in the engineer servic,
of the general government.
General Ruffner was for many yeari
a member of the Presbyterian church
firm in the faith to the day of his death
He died at 1880 O'Clock at night
November 18th, 1883.