Our Ancestors: Peter Ruffner and Mary Steinman 

 

 

Peter Ruffner ~ the first Ruffner of our family to come to America was born about 1713, probably in Switzerland.

A version of the family story says Peter was the third son of a landed Baron. About 1732, as he was attending an agricultural college, he made a monumental decision. Without declaring his intentions, he made his departure and came to America as a young man of 19 years.

Nobility or not, during that time as the third son he would have inherited little more than his name. His prospects would have been limited by his vocational preparation and how well this would provide him his own livelihood. It is not known exactly what prompted his decision or whether he announced his intentions, but during this period there were many factors to possibly influence the young man. There was much dissention and fighting between the various religious factions, there were the customs concerning rights of inheritance, and there were many written accounts being circulated about the abundance of land in America. Any one of these could have been a strong enough persuasion, especially for a young man having little or no prospect for either land or inheritance. Peter might have thought it would be best for him to practice his vocation where there was a plentiful amount of available land.

By 1739, Peter had made his way to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania where he met and in that year was married to Mary Steinman. Where he had been and what he had been doing for those years between 1732 and 1739, we do not yet know.

Peter died in 1778 and was buried at the Ruffner Homestead in Luray, Page County, Virginia.

 

Mary Steinman ~ was the first member of our family to be born in America. She was born in 1714 at the place called Willow Street in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She and her husband Peter were the parents of the first Ruffner children of our family to be born in America.

Mary was a daughter of Joseph and Fronica Steinman. She was one of the 7 children Joseph named to receive, or as having already received, bequeaths in his 1756 will. She is mentioned as having been previously provided for, a reference to the land she had already received from her father, and was given ‘one English shilling sterling’ as a final act by Joseph.

Some written accounts portray Mary as a large, dark haired woman possessed of all the strong virtues. Virtues she inherited or acquired through her upbringing in the Pennsylvania home of her Swiss parents. Her father Joseph is reported to have been from Bern.

Mary died in 1798 and is also buried at the Ruffner Homestead in Luray, Page County, Virginia.

 

Hawksbill Patent ~ It was through the generous gift of land to Mary by her father Joseph the couple would come to the Shenandoah Valley. Joseph was said to have been a very successful farmer, who had settled in the Pequea Valley of Pennsylvania. His prosperity allowed him to purchase many parcels of land and he bought the Hawksbill Patent of 1300 acres from Francis Thornton in 1737. At, or about, the time of her marriage to Peter Ruffner in 1739, Joseph gave Mary some 900 acres out of his purchase.

This was the land to which Peter and Mary moved, built their home, lived, worked, raised their family, died and were buried. They had come to the Hawksbill Patent in the Shenandoah Valley in the same year they married.

It seems from the beginning, Peter and Mary prospered together. They raised their 8 children, developed their homestead, and greatly expanded their holdings of land. In one 5-day period in May of 1761, Peter is recorded as buying more than 1100 acres of land from Thomas, the Honourable Lord Fairfax. He made one purchase on each of the 5 consecutive days.

At the Page Public Library at Luray, VA, there is a drawing depicting the land holdings of Peter and Mary. It shows, at one time or another, their land extended up both sides of the Hawksbill Creek for more than 8 miles. Harry Strickler made the drawing in 1927 by plotting the various holdings as described in deeds and other records.

Today, on a small portion of the Hawksbill Patent, there is a home we believe is built on the original stone foundation of Peter and Mary’s homestead structure. This present house is known as the Ruffner House and its construction is cited as 1840. An eighth generation descendant and his wife own it and it is used to operate a Bed and Breakfast business.

For information about the lodging accommodations available, link to the Ruffner House website. [The Ruffner House and grounds are not open for tours.]

 

Peter and Mary’s Children ~ There were 8 children born to Peter and Mary. All of them were born at the Hawksbill Patent homestead. They were:

Joseph, born 1740;     Benjamin, born 1742;     Catherine, born 1744;

Peter, Jr., born 1746;     Reuben, born 1748;     Tobias, born 1752;

Elizabeth, born 1755;     Emanuel, born 1757.

 

For information about these children and the names of their children, use the Early Generations link below.

 

The Legacy of Peter and Mary ~ is their family of children and the later descendants, the prosperous work ethic they evidently practiced and passed along, and the homestead they built together. Our family roots run deep into the fertile soil alongside the Hawksbill Creek ~ the lands of the Hawksbill Patent. This is where the first Ruffner children of our American family had their beginning. It is from the fruits of this union of Peter and Mary, our Ruffner/Steinman tree, we have come.  

 

Or, Go to: