William H. Ruffner Letters

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], William H. Ruffner Letters, Ms1977-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder
Creator:
Ruffner, William Henry, 1824-1908
Abstract:
The collection includes photocopies of eleven letters from Virginian educator William H. Ruffner (1824-1908) to his wife and children and to him from his daughter Anne.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], William H. Ruffner Letters, Ms1977-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection includes photocopies of eleven letters from William H. Ruffner to his wife and children and to him from his daughter Anne.

Biographical / historical:

William H. Ruffner (1824-1908) was born in Lexington, Virginia. After attending college and seminary, he retired from the ministry in 1852 and returned to Virginia to farm. Following the Civil War, he became an advocate for public education, serving as the first superintendent for public instruction in Virginia from 1870 until 1882. Ruffner was a trustee for Washington College and Washington and Lee University from mid-1860s to the mid-1870s, and on the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College Board of Visitors from 1872 until about 1880. He went on to the presidency of the Farmville Normal School (now Longwood College) from 1884 to 1887, then moved to surveying, geology, and theological scholarship. He died in North Carolina in 1908.

Acquisition information:
The William H. Ruffner Letters were donated to Special Collections in March 1977.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the William H. Ruffner Letters was completed in 1977. Additional description was completed in March 2011.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard