William Ruffner

February 11, 1824 (age 83)

While studying, Ruffner was the manager at his father's salt work in the Kanawha country. After Seminary he went traveling as colporteur and preaching to country churches in the Valley, he spent two leisurely years as chaplain of the University of Virginia (1849 - 51). During this time he planned a series of discourses by Presbyterian ministers on the evidences of Christianity, which were published (Bruce, History of the University of Virginia, vol. III, 1921, p. 136), and studied moral philosophy under William Holmes McGuffey, who, Ruffner said later, "resolved my intellectual forces into common sense. " He was ordained, January 14, 1852, by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and became pastor of the Seventh (Tabernacle) Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Despite marked success in this work, a chronic throat trouble compelled his resignation in 1853. For sixteen years thereafter he was principally a successful farmer, first in Rockingham County and then at "Tribrook, " near Lexington, preaching only occasionally. From 1865 to 1876, he served Washington College as trustee. Sharing Henry Ruffner's reasoned antislavery views, he opposed both abolition and secession; but after Lincoln's call for troops in 1861 he heartily supported the Southern cause. During Reconstruction his attitude, while entirely self-respecting, was conciliatory and constructive. Though in 1866 he deemed a state system of general public education impracticable, in 1867 he openly advocated state provision for the education of Negroes. A state system of public schools having been made mandatory by the constitution, in 1869 he energetically sought from the Conservative majority in the legislature election as state superintendent, receiving convincing support from his friends and neighbors, notably Gen. Robert E. Lee. He was elected on March 2, 1870. In the clash between the bondholders and the schools over state revenues Ruffner was a moderate Readjuster; but when the Readjusters became radical, he adhered to the Conservatives. Consequently, he was not reelected superintendent either by the former in 1882 or by the latter in 1886. Meantime as ex officio trustee of the new Agricultural and Mechanical College he had drawn up a plan for the institution, earnestly recommending emphasis upon advanced technical training. He was first president of the State Female Normal School, at Farmville, which he had helped to secure and which he endeavored to organize along practical lines, serving from 1884 to 1887. Thereafter, his unusual energy and versatility found outlet for ten years principally in making extensive physical surveys for large corporations. Among his published reports in this field were A Physical Survey Extending from Atlanta, Georgia to the Mississippi River (1883), in collaboration with J. L. Campbell; Report on the Landed Property of the Buena Vista Company (1889); and A Report on Washington Territory (1889). He also edited his father's "Early History of Washington College" and continued it down to 1848 (Washington and Lee Historical Papers, no. 5, 1895; no. 6, 1904). To all his work Ruffner brought a strong mind, a progressive disposition, good judgment, and absolute honesty. Characteristically, when his superintendency took him into politics, he had sought and obtained his demission from the ministry. He died in Asheville, N. C.

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A Report on Washington Territory

(HardPress Classic Books Series)

Charity and the Clergy: Being a Review, by a Protestant Clergyman, of the "New Themes" Controversy; Together With Sundry Serious Reflections Upon the ... Growth of Moderatism, Prostitution of P

(Excerpt from Charity and the Clergy: Being a Review, by a...)

The Oath: A Sermon on the Nature and Obligation of the Oath, With Special Reference to the Oath of Allegiance; Delivered in the Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Va., March, 27th, 1864 (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from The Oath: A Sermon on the Nature and Obligat...)

Public Lands of the United States for Education

( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

A Physical Survey Extending from Atlanta, Ga., Across Alabama and Mississippi to the Mississippi River: Along the Line of the Georgia Pacific Railway, ... Forests, and Agricultural and Manufacturing

(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

Report of the Landed Property of the Buena Vista Company, 1889 (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from Report of the Landed Property of the Buena V...)

Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity: Delivered at the University of Virginia, During the Session of 1850-1 (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity: D...)

Africa's Redemption. A Discourse of African Colonization in its Missionary aspects, and in its relation to Slavery and Abolition.

William Henry Ruffner

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clergyman educator

Background

William Henry Ruffner was born in Lexington, Va. , son of Henry and Sarah (Lyle) Ruffner. His boyhood was spent on his father's farm near Lexington.

Education

He was a graduate of the Washington College in 1842. He received his degree of M. A in 1845. From 1845 to 1846 he studied at Union Theological Seminary, then located at Hampden-Sidney, Va. , and from 1846 to 1847, at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Career

While studying, Ruffner was the manager at his father's salt work in the Kanawha country. After Seminary he went traveling as colporteur and preaching to country churches in the Valley, he spent two leisurely years as chaplain of the University of Virginia (1849 - 51). During this time he planned a series of discourses by Presbyterian ministers on the evidences of Christianity, which were published (Bruce, History of the University of Virginia, vol. III, 1921, p. 136), and studied moral philosophy under William Holmes McGuffey, who, Ruffner said later, "resolved my intellectual forces into common sense. "

He was ordained, January 14, 1852, by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and became pastor of the Seventh (Tabernacle) Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Despite marked success in this work, a chronic throat trouble compelled his resignation in 1853.

For sixteen years thereafter he was principally a successful farmer, first in Rockingham County and then at "Tribrook, " near Lexington, preaching only occasionally. From 1865 to 1876, he served Washington College as trustee. Sharing Henry Ruffner's reasoned antislavery views, he opposed both abolition and secession; but after Lincoln's call for troops in 1861 he heartily supported the Southern cause. During Reconstruction his attitude, while entirely self-respecting, was conciliatory and constructive. Though in 1866 he deemed a state system of general public education impracticable, in 1867 he openly advocated state provision for the education of Negroes.

A state system of public schools having been made mandatory by the constitution, in 1869 he energetically sought from the Conservative majority in the legislature election as state superintendent, receiving convincing support from his friends and neighbors, notably Gen. Robert E. Lee. He was elected on March 2, 1870. In the clash between the bondholders and the schools over state revenues Ruffner was a moderate Readjuster; but when the Readjusters became radical, he adhered to the Conservatives. Consequently, he was not reelected superintendent either by the former in 1882 or by the latter in 1886.

Meantime as ex officio trustee of the new Agricultural and Mechanical College he had drawn up a plan for the institution, earnestly recommending emphasis upon advanced technical training. He was first president of the State Female Normal School, at Farmville, which he had helped to secure and which he endeavored to organize along practical lines, serving from 1884 to 1887.

Thereafter, his unusual energy and versatility found outlet for ten years principally in making extensive physical surveys for large corporations. Among his published reports in this field were A Physical Survey Extending from Atlanta, Georgia to the Mississippi River (1883), in collaboration with J. L. Campbell; Report on the Landed Property of the Buena Vista Company (1889); and A Report on Washington Territory (1889). He also edited his father's "Early History of Washington College" and continued it down to 1848 (Washington and Lee Historical Papers, no. 5, 1895; no. 6, 1904). To all his work Ruffner brought a strong mind, a progressive disposition, good judgment, and absolute honesty. Characteristically, when his superintendency took him into politics, he had sought and obtained his demission from the ministry. He died in Asheville, N. C.

Achievements

Ruffner was known as the first superintendent of Virginia's public school system. During his tenure, he drew the school law, which became a model for other Southern states, and secured its enactment. He gave unremitting attention to the details of administration, believing that "there is more in the right execution of any plan than in the plan itself. " Quite as important were his eleven annual Reports and his miscellaneous writings, through which he built up a philosophy of public education that prevailed over the strong individualistic beliefs and the antipathy to education of the Negroes at the expense of the whites. Especial commendation has been given his solution to the problem of the relation of church and state in the educational field, which has been described as "co-operation without alliance" (Sadie Bell, The Church, the State, and Education in Virginia, 1930, chapters X, XI). For these services he has frequently been called the "Horace Mann of the S. "