Date Died: January 15, 1870

Place Buried: St. Matthews Church Cemetery in Hillsborough, NC

Thomas Ruffin was born on November 17, 1787 in King & Queens County, VA, the son of Sterling Ruffin and Alice (Roane) Ruffin. His initial education was at the Warrenton Male Academy in Warren County, NC. In 1805, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and returned home. From 1806 to 1807, Ruffin studied law under David Robertson of Petersburg, VA.

He then followed his father to Rockingham County, NC, and studied law under Archibald Murphey from 1808 to 1809. After passing the NC bar in 1809, he commenced the practice of law in Hillsborough, NC, where he also farmed.

On December 9, 1809, Thomas Ruffin married Anne McNabb Kirkland, daughter of William Kirkland and Margaret (Scott) Kirkland of Hillsborough, NC; they had fourteen (14) known children.

In 1813, Thomas Ruffin was first elected to represent the town of Hillsborough in the NC House of Commons of the:
- 38th General Assembly that met in 1813
- 40th General Assembly that met in 1815
- 41st General Assembly that met in 1816 - elected Speaker of the House of Commons

In 1816, Thomas Ruffin was elected as a Judge on the NC Superior Court and he resigned from the House of Commons. He served as a Judge on the NC Superior Court until he resigned in 1818.

From 1818 to 1822, Thomas Ruffin was reporter on the NC Supreme Court.

In 1825, Thomas Ruffin was again elected as a Judge on the NC Superior Court, but he again resigned in 1828 after being appointed as President of the State Bank of North Carolina. Within one year, he brought the bank out of debt.

In 1829, Thomas Ruffin was elected as an Associate Justice on the NC Supreme Court, a position he held until the death of Chief Justice Leonard Henderson.

In 1830, Thomas Ruffin moved his family to what later became Alamance County (in 1849), where they remained until 1866, when he returned to Hillsborough.

In 1833, Thomas Ruffinw as elected the next Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court. He continued in this position until he resigned in 1852. He retired to his plantation in Alamance County.

From 1854 to 1860, Thomas Ruffin was President of the state's Agricultural Society. He was also a Trustee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for some 24 years.

In 1858, on the death of his successor, Chief Justice Frederick Nash, Thomas Ruffin was again called by an almost unanimous vote of the General Assembly, then in his 72nd year, again to the Supreme Court bench, and took his place again as an Associate Justice. Eighteen months later he again resigned, citing his age.

Thomas Ruffin died on January 15, 1870, and he was buried at the St. Matthew's Church Cemetery in Hillsborough, NC.

Click Here for a PDF booklet on Thomas Ruffin by William A. Graham, written in 1871, from which much of this information herein comes.

Thomas Ruffin graduated from Princeton University in 1805; studied law with his kinsman, Judge Roane, at the same time, in whose office was General Winfield Scott.

He removed to North Carolina, and in 1813, 1815, and 1816 represented the town of Hillsborough in the House of Commons.

In 1816, he was elected a Judge of the NC Superior Court, from which he resigned in 1818.

In 1825, he was again elected Judge of the Superior Court, but he again resigned in 1828 on being appointed as President of the State Bank.

In 1829, he was elected as a Justice of the NC Supreme Court.

He married the daughter of William Kirkland, Esq. One of his sons was in the Legislature of 1850 from Rockingham.

In 1813, 1815, and 1816 he was a member of the House of Commons from the borough of Hillsborough and in the last-named year was Speaker, and was chosen judge of the NC Superior Court, but resigned after two years of service.

The first seven volumes of the North Carolina Reports down to the creation of the separate Supreme Court, 1 January 1819, were by volunteer reporters. The act creating the court authorized the court to appoint the reporter. The first of these was Judge Murphey. Later, Judge Ruffin was one of these reporters.

In the summer of 1825 he was again elected judge of the Superior Court, but resigned after three years service, when in 1828 he was chosen president of the State Bank at Raleigh. In December, 1829, he was chosen by the Legislature to the Supreme Court.

On the death of Chief Justice Leonard Henderson in 1833 and the appointment of Judge William Gaston, he was chosen by his associates Chief Justice, and served for nineteen years, resigning from the court in 1852.

In 1858, on the death of his successor, Chief Justice Frederick Nash, he was called by the almost unanimous vote of the General Assembly, then in his 72nd year, again to the Supreme bench, and took his place as Associate Justice. Eighteen months later he again resigned and died in 1870 in his 83rd year.

He raised a family of thirteen children. One of his sons, Thomas Ruffin, Jr., became a judge of the Superior and Supreme Courts.

Next Chief Justice - Frederick Nash >>