Ruble, John W.

John W. Ruble, born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, on December 8, 1859, was the son of John and Annie Ruble and descended from early Pennsylvania settlers of English origin. As the tenth of eleven children, he grew up working on his father farm and attending school during the winters before moving to Kansas in 1883 following his father death. In Kansas, he married Dora E. Flint, a native of Ireland, Indiana, who had independently proven up on her own preemption claim in Barber County. The family experienced severe drought in Greeley County, Kansas, which caused them to lose all they owned and prompted their relocation through Colorado before they finally moved to California in 1903.

Upon settling near Laton in Fresno County, Mr. Ruble purchased sixty-two and a half acres on the Laguna de Tache, where he made extensive improvements and established a thriving orchard of peach, pear, prune, and apricot trees alongside a fine vineyard. He and his wife raised four children, Alice, Wilbur, Anna, and Jerry L., who all went on to establish highly honorable and successful careers in agriculture, military service, and education. Wilbur graduated from Annapolis and served as an aid to Admiral Robison during the late war, while Jerry L. served as a Captain and instructor in government veterinary training schools. Mr. Ruble, a loyal Democrat in national politics who always supported the best local measures, built a legacy of steady work and community prosperity.