William & Vada Riffle's Family
William Riffle descended from one of Orlando's earliest families, Frank and Elizabeth (Conrad) Riffle. William and has wife Vada (Taylor) Riffle began their family in Orlando, then moved frequently, living in Weston, Roanoke and Fork Mountain, among other places. Their grandson Adrian C. Riffle told the following about his grandfather who was born and raised on Oil Creek.
"William worked for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and was a section foreman. He farmed part time and dug coal in three different locations on the farm for their own use. The family raised and used a lot of corn that grew very well on the rocky soil of the farm. With a family of eight boys and four girls, every day at the Riffles' house was as noisey and lively as a Saturday night at a Wild West show.
"My father, Thomas Lee Riffle was born at Stouts Mills, WV February 4, 1909. In his early age he liked to go hunting with his brothers Dorsey, John and Richard. They used a ferret to hunt with, which is a small partially domesticated variety of a polecat.
"Almost all of the William J. Riffle family moved to Akron, Ohio during World War II to work for Goodyear Aircraft, building the Corsair fighter planes." 1
from Heritage of Braxton County West Virginia 1995 published by the Family Research Library and Archives of Braxton County. page 224.
