Charles F. and Annie E. Ruff Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: A3133

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The family papers primarily include letters written and received by Annie E. Ruff, husband Charles F. Ruff, and several family members; some business and political correspondence and also land documents that belonged to John Dougherty; and two photographs. The papers are arranged chronologically. The collection dates from 1836 to circa 1890, with the bulk of the items dating from 1842 to 1850. There are several gaps in the correspondence: July 1851-1852, 1855, 1857-1864, 1867-1880, 1882-1885, and 1889.

The collection is comprised mostly of letters, many of which were written by Annie E. and Charles (Charlie) F. Ruff from their various residences and military posts, including Fort Vancouver, Fort Sanford, Oregon City, New Orleans, Mobile, Fort Kearny, Fort Laramie, and Jefferson Barracks. Annie often lived in Philadelphia when she did not accompany Charlie to his posts. The Ruffs resided in Philadelphia permanently after Charlie’s retirement from the military. Annie mostly wrote to her mother, while Charlie wrote primarily to her father. Annie’s letters generally included information about the children, their family’s living conditions, Charlie’s assignments, people she encountered such as officers and their families, and general discussion of her younger brothers and friends from Liberty. There are no letters written by Annie between May 1843 and November 1846, which coincides with the time that the Ruffs resided in Liberty when Charlie practiced law.

Charles Ruff’s letters to Major Dougherty often discussed his duties, the state of the troops, some business and financial affairs, and plans for the future. He asked Major Dougherty to write letters of recommendation on his behalf numerous times. In 1846, Ruff filed a lawsuit to claim the estate of Peter Hertzog on behalf of the husbands of Mr. Hertzog’s nieces, Mary Dougherty and her three younger sisters (f.5-6). The first letter in the collection is written by Ruff to Mary Dougherty in which he explained his plans to travel to Liberty and marry Annie (f.1). In 1843, he wrote another letter to his mother-in-law informing her that Annie gave birth to their first child, a baby boy who did not survive, at Fort Sanford (f.2).

The Ruffs’ letters from May 1849 to December 1850 describe their journey to and life in Oregon (f.8-11). Annie and Charlie both wrote from Laramie, presumably due to the presence of a mail express, about conditions on the trail, cholera and other ailments encountered on the journey, and the arrest of Major Crittenden for drunkenness. They wrote many letters once they reached their destination, realizing that it took almost six months to receive mail on the Pacific coast. The Ruff family resided in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona from approximately 1856 to 1860. However, there are no letters written by the Ruffs from these posts.

There are several letters received by Mary Dougherty in the papers. One of her regular correspondents was her mother, Caroline Hertzog. There is also one letter written by Mrs. Hertzog to Annie (f.7). Other family members writing to Mary included her sister, Rachel Cooke; her brother-in-law, William N. Wickliffe; nephew William Collins; and Annie’s sister-in-law, Margaret Gibson.

There are also many letters written to Annie’s father, Major John Dougherty, by people other than the Ruffs, including various business associates concerning financial accounts, the education of his sons, and politics. James S. Rollins wrote several letters to Major Dougherty from 1842 to 1844 concerning Lewis Dougherty’s education in Columbia, Missouri, and the state of Whig politics in Missouri and nationally. On March 8, 1844, an unidentified correspondent in St. Louis discussed Clay supporters and the accident aboard the USS Princeton which killed Secretary of State Upshar and others. On October 29, 1849, Thomas Swords wrote from Washington D.C. about John C. Fremont’s court martial.

There are file copies of two letters written by John Dougherty. On August 25, 1853, Dougherty wrote to Robert Campbell concerning goods and troops at Fort Kearney. On July 23, 1857, he wrote to Lewis Ramage concerning a bond and the deed for the one-third share of the Iatan tract that the remaining partners obtained after the death of J.G. Shultz. After the 1836 Platte Purchase, Dougherty, Thomas Swords, and J.G. Shultz laid out the town of Iatan, Missouri, in 1841. There are several accounts for the Iatan tract and deeds dating from 1854 to 1856 (f.13).

Most of the land deeds date from 1838 to 1843 and were issued to John Dougherty by the General Land Office for property in Clay County, Missouri. A later deed dated 1866 transfers property from the Ruffs to O’Fallon Dougherty (f.12). The earliest document in the collection is a slave bill of sale for a man named Bob.

There are two photographs in the collection. The first is a portrait of Annie E. Ruff taken circa 1890. The subject of the second photograph is a painting of a beloved horse owned by Major John Dougherty, Leon. A biography of Leon, possibly written by O’Fallon Dougherty, accompanies the photograph. Leon traveled to Oregon with the Ruffs and returned to Liberty when they left the west coast. He is mentioned in two letters written buy the Ruffs: June 24, 1849 (f.8) and December 6, 1849 (f.9).

NOTE: The page numbers following the descriptions of select letters identify those which are published in Annie’s Story: The Extraordinary Life of Annie Dougherty Ruff by Mark William Kelly (2015), with the source noted as “Joan Worrall private collection.”

Dates

1836-ca. 1890
Majority of material found within 1842-1850

Creator

Ruff, Charles F. (Frederick), 1818-1885 (Author, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Biographical Sketch

Annie Elizabeth Dougherty was the only daughter of John and Mary Dougherty, born on August 29, 1824, at Fort Atkinson, Council Bluffs, Nebraska Territory. She spent her childhood at Fort Leavenworth and St. Louis. Annie graduated from the Mauro Academy for Young Ladies in 1840. On November 4, 1842, she married Charles Frederick Ruff, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Annie traveled with Charles (Charlie) to many of his various assignments in the west and lived at Fort Sanford in the Iowa Territory, Fort Kearny in the Nebraska Territory, Fort Vancouver in the Oregon Territory, Fort Stanton in New Mexico, and other posts in the southwest. The Ruffs had four children: Mary Dougherty Ruff who was born in Liberty in January 1845; Margaret who was born in Philadelphia on October 14, 1847; Annie Elizabeth Ruff who was born at Jefferson Barracks on April 21, 1854; and John Dougherty Ruff who was born at Fort Stanton, New Mexico, on May 4, 1859. Annie and her young children traveled on the Oregon Trail in 1849, across the isthmus of Panama in 1851, and on the Santa Fe Trail in 1858 and 1860.

Charles Frederick Ruff was one of six children, born in Philadelphia on October 10, 1818, to William (1763-1845) and Rachel Ruff (1791-1869). Ruff graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1838. He served at several western posts before he resigned his commission in 1844 and practiced law in Clay County, Missouri. However, Ruff grew bored with the law practice and was unsatisfied with his monetary future. In June 1846, he returned to military service, volunteering with the Missouri Mounted Volunteers under Col. Alexander W Doniphan, who traveled the Santa Fe trail to New Mexico. Due to his unpopularity as a commanding officer, Ruff resigned his position with the Missouri Volunteers and accepted a captain’s commission in the U.S. Army with the Mounted Riflemen. He was sent to New Orleans to recruit men for the war in Mexico. Capt. Ruff had an exemplary record in the Mexican War and returned to Jefferson Barracks in July 1847.

In 1849, Capt. Ruff’s companies were ordered to protect wagons along the Oregon Trail. His wife Annie and their two young daughters accompanied him on this overland journey. They reached Oregon City in October 1849. The Ruffs did not like Oregon due mostly to the high cost of living. The Army encountered many desertions due to the lure of the gold mines, which ultimately played a role in Capt. Ruff and other officers being recalled to Jefferson Barracks. After a cavalry command at Jefferson Barracks, Capt. Ruff was sent to Texas for a time before he obtained a certificate of disability for a leave of absence from approximately July 1856 to Fall 1858. He received promotion to the rank of major and his family returned to the southwest, where he was stationed until late 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Major Ruff was assigned to non-combative positions in Philadelphia. In 1864, he retired from the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel. On March 13, 1865, Lt. Col. Ruff was brevetted Brigadier General, U.S. Army, for "faithful and meritorious services in recruiting the armies of the United States." Ruff died on October 1, 1885, in Philadelphia.

As a widow, Annie Ruff managed the family’s financial affairs and proved adept at the task. She continued to reside in Philadelphia but regularly travelled to popular east coast summer destinations. Annie’s family travelled to Europe for the first time in 1891. She died on July 11, 1909.

John Dougherty was born in Nelson County, Kentucky, on April 12, 1791, to Michael (1770-1830) and Jane Stephenson Dougherty (1770-1846). In 1808 or 1809, he arrived in St. Louis where he became a fur trapper for the Missouri Fur Company throughout the West from 1809 until 1815. Dougherty served as an Indian agent at the Upper Missouri Agency from 1820 to 1839 at Fort Atkinson (Indian Territory, present Nebraska), Fort Leavenworth (Indian Territory, present Kansas); Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Saint Louis. In 1836, he assisted in the acquisition of land in western Missouri from native tribes known as the Platte Purchase. Dougherty worked as a sutler and freighter to western outposts and served in the Missouri General Assembly as a Whig. In 1837, Dougherty moved to rural Liberty, Clay County, Missouri, where he built a large home.

In 1823, Dougherty married Mary Hertzog (1799-1873) and had five children: Ann Elizabeth (Ruff) (1824-1909), Henry (1827-1827), Lewis Bissell (1828-1925), O'Fallon (1832-1915), and John Kerr (1835-1864). He died at his home on December 28, 1860 at the age of 69. Mary Hertzog Dougherty was the eldest daughter of Joseph (1764-1827) and Caroline Hertzog (1775-1861), who came to St. Louis from Philadelphia. Mary Dougherty had three younger sisters: Elizabeth Wilt Collins (1804-1876), Rachel Wilt Cooke (1807-1896), and Anna Barbara Wickliffe (1814-1869). After becoming a widow, she returned to Philadelphia to live with daughter Annie E. Ruff.

For more information on Annie E. Ruff, Charles F. Ruff, and their family, please see Annie’s Story: The Extraordinary Life of Annie Dougherty Ruff by Mark William Kelly (2015). The author used this collection and reproduced several letters in the book. At the time of publication, this collection was still in the possession of the donor, therefore, the footnotes cite the source of the letters as “Joan Worrall private collection.” Kelly provides biographical data on individuals with whom the Ruffs corresponded (p. 12). The author also consulted and published items from private family collections and from three other collections in the Missouri Historical Society Archives: the John Dougherty Collection (A0398), the Journals and Diaries Collection (William Wallace Dougherty diaries, A0793), and the Charles F. Ruff Papers (A1329).

In 2013, Kelly also wrote a book about John Dougherty, Lost Voices on the Missouri: John Dougherty and the Indian Frontier, in which he used items from this collection. Please note that the source for those documents cited in the footnotes is also the “Joan Worrall private collection.”

Extent

0.51 Cubic Feet ( (1 box, 1 oversize folder))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Physical and Technical Requirements

There are no physical or technical restrictions.

Donor Information

The collection was donated by Joan Worral in 2020 (accession number 2020-030).

Related Materials

Collections in the MHS Archives:

Charles F. Ruff Papers (A1329), John Dougherty Papers (A0398), Journals and Diaries Collection (William Wallace Dougherty diaries) (A0793).

Sources Consulted During Processing

Annie’s Story: The Extraordinary Life of Annie Dougherty Ruff by Mark William Kelly (Leavenworth, KS : Sam Clark Publishing Co.), [2015].
Lost Voices of the Missouri: John Dougherty and the Indian Frontier by Mark William Kelly (Leavenworth, KS : Sam Clark Publishing Co.), c.2013.