Tag: IndianaCoPA

Paying It Forward – Here’s the Ruffner Family Bible

Online and print publications on our Offutt line cite an 1840s family bible that was passed down to our grandmother’s cousin. I’d like to locate the bible — for several reasons. It’s a very special family artifact. To actually see it would be as …

Online and print publications on our Offutt line cite an 1840s family bible that was passed down to our grandmother’s cousin.  I’d like to locate the bible — for several reasons.  It’s a  very special family artifact.  To actually see it would be as thrilling as our visit to the Offutt property in Montgomery County (described on May 5).   But I’d also like the chance to look at the entries and evaluate them as evidence — to look at the content, examine the handwriting, the ink, and check the publication date of the bible itself. Continue reading “Paying It Forward – Here’s the Ruffner Family Bible”

A Tale of Two Farmers — and then there’s Texas….

In a previous post, I compared the relative 1860 fortunes of two ancestral farmers in Indiana County, Pennsylvania – Edward Haney Ruffner and Robert Garrett Stephens. Their offspring, James and Hulda, respectively, married in 1870. On Thursday, I …

In a previous post, I compared the relative 1860 fortunes of two ancestral farmers in Indiana County, Pennsylvania – Edward Haney Ruffner and Robert Garrett Stephens.  Their offspring, James and Hulda, respectively, married in 1870.  On Thursday, I took a look at the 1870 agricultural schedules and the values were relatively unchanged. Ruffner still owned more property but Stephens valued his at a higher dollar figure. Stephens had more livestock and grew more wheat but Ruffner grew more oats, produced more butter and more wool. (1)

But a dramatic contrast is revealed when the lens moves south.  On the Texas side of the family, our great grandmother, Cora Walling married into the Baker family in the early 1870s but was widowed within just a few years.  Jack, and his older brother, Jesse, Cora’s future husband, were living in the same household in 1870, both farming land owned by Jack. (2) But the Bakers were more than just farmers.  Isaac Baker, born in Alabama and the father of both Jack and Jesse, was one of the earliest settlers of what was later to be named Plantersville in Grimes County, Texas.  He began building a 2,840 acre plantation named Cedars in 1843 and opened the first general store with his sons in the 1850s. (3)  I decided to return to 1860 and gather data for the Bakers.  Continue reading “A Tale of Two Farmers — and then there’s Texas….”

The Will of Robert G. Stephens, Drawn 1879, Probated 1881

I mentioned in an earlier post that Robert G. Stephens may not have held his son-in-law, J. A. C. Ruffner, in the highest regard. Now you can judge the evidence for yourself. Shortly after Robert’s death in early 1881, James and Hulda (nee Stephen…

I mentioned in an earlier post that Robert G. Stephens may not have held his son-in-law, J. A. C. Ruffner, in the highest regard.  Now you can judge the evidence for yourself.

Shortly after Robert’s death in early 1881, James and Hulda (nee Stephens) Ruffner filed an objection to Robert’s will, alleging that he was under undue unfluence and duress when he signed it in 1879.  They requested a court trial to determine the facts. Six months later, they withdrew their objection, in consideration of valuable (unspecified) consideration paid by the named executors, and the will was probated. (1)  Next research step – check the court records in Indiana County to determine if a trial, in fact, took place. Continue reading “The Will of Robert G. Stephens, Drawn 1879, Probated 1881”

A Tale of Two Farmers in 1860

Robert Garrett Stephens (1804-1881) and Edward Haney Ruffner (1820-1908) were both farmers in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. On August 8, 1871, Robert’s youngest offspring of twelve, Hulda Stephens, married Edward’s oldest offspring, James Alexande…

Robert Garrett Stephens (1804-1881) and Edward Haney Ruffner (1820-1908) were both farmers in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.  On August 8, 1871, Robert’s youngest offspring of twelve, Hulda Stephens, married Edward’s oldest offspring, James Alexander Chapman Ruffner, linking the two families. (1)  We get some hint from Robert’s will probated in 1881 that he did not regard Hulda’s husband James as positively as his other sons-in-law. (2)  And later events will justify his trepidation. [No footnote here; that story stands on its own!] 

We have a comparative snapshot of the two future in-laws in 1860, thanks to Non-population Census Schedules, in this case the Agricultural Schedules. (3) The next research step will be to obtain the 1870 values and see how their relative fortunes unfolded in the decade that led up to the marriage of Hulda and James. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Farmers in 1860”