When William Ruhl was born in 1820, in Ohio, United States, his father, George Ruhl, was 34 and his mother, Elizabeth Ruhl Prosser, was 37. He married Mary M. Waltman on 18 February 1847, in Richland, Ohio, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Perry Township, Richland, Ohio, United States in 1860. He died on 19 June 1912, in Nodaway, Andrew, Missouri, United States, at the age of 92, and was buried in White Cloud Township, Nodaway, Missouri, United States.