Ruey was born in 1817 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania to Daniel Williams (the Jr.) and Catharine (nee Fiske).

On March 17, 1842, in Pennsylvania, she married John Michael Rugh, the son of John Jacob Rugh (the Jr.) and Betsy (nee Keppel).

They came by flatboat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi to Iowa in 1847 and soon settled on a farm in nearby Scotland County Missouri. This farm is where they raised their children and where they spent the remainder of their lives.

There is a story that Ruey had a reputation as a "medicine woman". Neighbors apparently often called on her for help in fighting sickness.

Ruey died on May 28, 1912 and rests in the Prairie View Church Cemetery in Scotland County next to Michael.