On this day in Arlington history: Nov 4, 1873, Robert “RD” Davis Ruffin was elected to be the Alexandria (now Arlington) County sheriff. He became the 1st African-American to take the oath as sheriff in Virginia. Ruffin also was a lawyer and member of the House of Delegates (1875–1876) & achieved financial success in real estate.
Born enslaved, Ruffin faced controversy throughout his public life. A lawyer who studied at Howard University, he was engaged in real estate and rose from slave to owner of lands worth millions of dollars.
He was accused of not living in the county at the time of his election to sheriff, making him ineligible—one of several tactics used to try to remove or disgrace African-American elected officials after the 15th Amendment guaranteed their right to vote. On Mar 2, 1874, he resigned. Within the year he was proven not guilty.
Later that year he qualified as an attorney and was elected as a Delegate to the General Assembly from Dinwiddie County.
Ruffin was an ardent advocate for African-American rights. In 1883 he attended a national convention of African Americans in Louisville that met to address racial inequality & the loss of political and civil rights. In 1897 he chaired a public meeting that charged Treasury Department officials with unfairly dismissing African American women who worked at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
The next year he organized a volunteer regiment of African Americans to fight in the Spanish-American War.
Ruffin bought an interest in coal-mining properties and in 1910 owned at least 50,000 acres of land in Kentucky. In 1913 he was the principal owner of 2 North Dakota coal mining companies. About 1910 Ruffin moved to Chicago, where an article in the “Chicago Defender” described him as owning land with timber, oil, and coal worth millions of dollars. Ruffin died of a stroke on December 2, 1916, at a Chicago hospital.
Despite Ruffin’s rough start in politics here, Arlington has yet another “first” in American history on the national stage. If you haven'[t already voted! Tomorrow, Nov 5, 2024 is your day to do so! In memory of R.D. Ruffin.
