Mary Ruffin Smith (d. 1885) was the daughter of Delia Jones and Dr. James Smith, a member of the US Congress. She studied under Rev. William Mercer Green at the Hillsborough Female Seminary. After the death of her parents and two bachelor brothers, Smith inherited two plantations near Chapel Hill. When she died, she left one plantation to the Episcopal diocese and the other, known as Jones' Grove, to the University. It was sold and the money used to establish scholarships and to install the first electric lights on campus (Vickers 120).