Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 3.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 124.
 
SAM RUGH

     The name of Sam Rugh is a household word in Lane county, where he has been
successfully engaged in Ihe real estate and loan business for twenty years.
Progressive and energetic in his methods, he has, through the medium of the
advertisements and literature compiled and distributed by him, as well as
because of his distinctive success, become known in every section of the county,
and all who have had dealings with him hold him in high esteem.
     Mr. Rugh was bom in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of February,
1859, and is a son of Jacob and Julia (Bell) Rugh, both of whom are deceased. He
was reared on his father's farm and attended the public schools and Scio
One-Study University, at New Market, Ohio. He then clerked in a store in
Pennsylvania, after which he operated the home farm for a few years. In 1881 he
went to Baldwin City, Kansas, near which place he bought one hundred and sixty
acres of land, which he operated for a time. Later he moved to Kansas City,
where he attended the Trueblood & Fulton School of Elocution. On selling his
property at Baldwin City, he traveled extensively over the country, visiting-
the principal cities, such as St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland and New York, and
then located in Marion, Pennsylvania, where he for a short time was employed as
a clerk in J. M. Cameron's general store. He next moved to Fort Collins,
Colorado, where he spent about six years farming and clerking. Buying a team of
horses and a wagon, he then drove to Durango, Colorado, and thence on to
Farmington, New Mexico, in 1893, buying a fine farm near that city. Besides
operating the farm, he freighted lumber and merchandise from Durango to
Farmington, and was fairly successful, having but two hundred dollars when he
arrived in that place. Later he turned his attention to the real estate business
there, and has followed that vocation almost continuously since. From there he
went to Montrose, Colorado, and was engaged in the real estate business for a
time, after which he visited Denver, Greeley, Boulder and other places, looking
for a permanent location.
     In 1907 Mr. Rugh came to Eugene and has since been actively engaged in the
real estate and loan business. He has traveled over this country, from the east
coast to the west coast, and from Canada to Texas, and expresses the opinion
that Eugene is nearer heaven than any place he has seen, in which opinion he has
voiced the sentiments of his fellow citizens of this locality. Mr. Rugh is an
expert in originating unique real estate literature and has issued many splendid
pamphlets on Oregon.
     On December 5, 1886, Mr. Rugh was united in marriage to Miss Lottie N.
Work, who was bom in Marion Center, Pennsylvania, a daughter of J. M. and
Margaret (Hamilton) Work. To Mr. and Mrs. Rugh have been born five children, as
follows: Loyal, associated with his father in business, is married and has three
children; Irene lives in New York city; Harold Walter is married, and he and his
wife operate a fur farm and game preserve in Lane county; Ramey, also associated
with his father, is married and has one child; and Gladys is the wife of Charles
L. Paine, of Oakland, California, and they have two children.
     Politically Mr. Rugh is a stanch republican, while his fraternal membership
is with the Woodmen of the World. He is an active member of the First Methodist
Episcopal church of Eugene, and has sung in its choir for twenty years. He
belongs to the Eugene Realty Board and the Chamber of Commerce. A man of strong
individuality and enterprising spirit, genial and affable in all his personal
relations, he enjoys a marked popularity and stands as one of the representative
men of Eugene.
     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2011 by Diana Smith.  Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.