George Lewis Ruffin

In 1858, he married Josephine St. Pierre, who was of Afro-Caribbean, French and English descent. Together they had four sons and a daughter.[1] Their children were Hubert, who became an attorney; Florida Ridley, a school principal and co-founder with her mother of the newspaper The Woman's Era; Stanley, an inventor; George, a musician; and Robert, who died in his first year of life.

Ruffin became a barber to support his family and read law books on the side[1] and studied law with the partnership of Harvey Jewell and William Gaston[2] He started publishing articles in a law journal and was admitted to Harvard Law School. and saved enough money to enroll. After graduating in 1869, the first African American to earn a law degree Harvard University, he practiced with success in Boston.[1] He was politically active and attended the National Negro Convention of 1864 in Syracuse, New York and of 1872 in New Orleans.[2]

He was elected to the state legislature in 1870 as a Republican and served one term.[3] Ruffin was elected as the first man of African descent to the Boston City Council, where he served two terms, 1875–1876 and 1876–1877.[2]

He supported Benjamin F. Butler in Butler's 1871 campaign for governor, and November 7, 1883, he was appointed by then Governor Butler as a judge of the Municipal Court, Charlestown district. He was the first African American justice to hold office in New England.[2][3] That year he was also made consul resident for the Dominican Republic.[2] At the time the Dominican President was Ulises Heureaux who was also of mostly West African descent.

He died in Boston, Massachusetts[3] and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.[4]