Ruble, John C.

RUBLE, HORD

Posted By: Edwin Lackey (email)
Date: 5/2/2006 at 10:50:50

JOHN C. RUBLE
Son of George Ruble
Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
(From History of Plymouth County, Iowa, 1917)

JOHN C. RUBLE

"Examples that impress force of character on all who study them are worthy of record in the annals of history wherever they are found. By a few general observation the biographer hopes to convey in the following paragraphs, succinctly and yet without fulsome encomium, some idea of the worth as a man and citizen of John C. Ruble, Civil War veteran and for many years a leading farmer of Plymouth county, now living retired in Le Mars.

"John C. Ruble was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1842, a son of George and Mary (McClanahan) Ruble, both natives of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, where they grew up, were married and established their home on a farm on which they spent the rest of their lives. Four children were born to them: Jacob, who died in Stockton, Illinois, in the fall of 1915, after spending his active life there as a farmer and stockman, Margaret, who is the widow of Benjamin Jeffers, of Phoenix, Arizona; John C., the subject of this sketch, and George, a retired farmer, of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.

"John C. Ruble grew up on the home farm and attended the common schools, remaining at home until April 17, 1861, when he enlisted in Company C., First Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was at once sent to Harrisburg, his state capital, and thence on to Washington, D. C., and was soon in the ranks of the great Army of the Potomac, participating in all the big battles and skirmishes of the same, including Gettysburg and the Wilderness. He was orderly for General Meade at Appomattox. On July 27, 1864, he was shot through the left lung and was sent to a hospital six miles from Richmond and later to David's Island, twenty miles north of New York City, where he remained until December 1, 1864, when he was transferred to Chestnut Hill Hospital at Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was kept there until January 9, 1865, when he joined his company at Petersburg, Virginia, and continued in the service until the close of the war, under Gen. Phil Sheridan. After a most creditable record as a soldier he was honorably discharged at Cloud's Mills near Alexandria, June 25, 1865, after which he went back to Livingston, Pennsylvania, where he remained until the spring, then went to Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming for thirteen years. In 1878 he wended his way farther west, locating in Plymouth county, Iowa, thirteen miles west of Le Mars, in Johnson township, where he first purchased eighty acres of wild land, which he cleared and improved, and prospering by hard work and good management, he added to his original purchase until he now owns a valuable and well-improved farm of four hundred acres. He also owns city property in Le Mars. He has always engaged in general farming and has raised and fed a good deal of live stock. He lived in Akron ten years, and before permanently establishing home in Le Mars) he lived in the latter place for a short time at intervals.

"Mr. Ruble has been twice married. In November, 1867, he was married to Susan A. Ruble of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, a daughter of John and Julia Ruble, natives of Pennsylvania, who settled in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, on a farm where they spent the rest of their lives. The death of Mrs. Susan Ruble occurred on July 21, 1915. She was a member of the Womens Relief Corps and of the Methodist Episcopal church. Eleven children were born to John and Julia Ruble, only four of whom are living at this writing: Lizzie J., who lives in Ohio; Nancy Gill, who lives in Le Mars; Rachael, who lives in Plymouth county; and John, who lives in Armstrong, Illinois. On July 26, 1916, Mr. Ruble was married to Mrs. Virginia E. Hord, widow of James Hord, and daughter of Dr. M. B. and Martha Allison. Her father was for many years a physician of Washington, D. C. Her mother was a native of Alexandria, Virginia.
To John C. Ruble and his first wife, two children were born namely: Julia A., who is the wife of Samuel Maben, of Westphalia, Kansas, and John W, who married Ellen Naginey and lives in Johnston township, this county in the village of Ruble, which was built on Mr. Ruble's farm and was named after him. Politically, Mr. Ruble is a Republican. He has been active and influential in public affairs and has held several county and township offices, always discharging his duties with credit and satisfaction. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic of Akron, and is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, affiliated with the blue lodge at Le Mars, and is also a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Sioux City. Mr. Ruble is one of the best-known men in Plymouth county and is highly respected by all."