Ruth Scoville (maiden name: Chapman) was born on June 30, 1823, in Ohio. She married John G. Scoville on January 21, 1844, and they had at least five children: Laura, born around 1846; Philander, born around 1848; Princess, born around 1855; Sylvia, born around 1856; and Ruth, born around 1859. They lived in Milan, Ohio, and her husband worked as a carpenter. They moved to Brighton, Iowa, around 1856, and by 1860, they owned $400 of real estate and $200 of personal property. Her husband served in the Union army from 1861 until 1865 and received a severe shoulder wound.
She and her husband may have separated by the 1870s. By 1880, she was working as a seamstress and living with her daughters Princess and Ruth in Montgomery, Ohio. Her husband died in September 1893, and she applied for a widow’s pension the following month. By 1900, she was living with her son Philander in Goshen, Ohio. She died sometime after June 1900.