On January 18, 1941, in the unincorporated rural village of Whynot, Mississippi, 15 miles outside Meridian, Mississippi, Davis Eli Ruffin was born.
He was the third child of Baptist minister Elias “Eli” Ruffin and his wife Ophelia Ruffin. Jimmy Lee Ruffin, Reada Mae Ruffin, and Quincy B. Ruffin were his siblings. Rosine, another sister of Ruffin, passed away when she was a young child.
What did David Ruffin say to Otis?
David Ruffin: Ain’t nobody comin’ to see you, Otis! You wish you could work it the way I do, but you can’t! Because there is only one David Ruffin. And without him, the Temps ain’t nothin’ but a group in SEARCH of a David Ruffin.
Both of David Ruffin’s parents were Mississippi natives. His mother Ophelia worked from their home, and his father Eli drove trucks at several timber companies.
Due to the difficult living conditions that followed the American Civil War, Eli’s parents relocated from Alabama to Mississippi.
John and Clara Ruffin, David Ruffin’s great ancestors, migrated from Bertie County, North Carolina to Alabama before settling there.
Veteran of the American Civil War, John Ruffin served in the 14th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment.
