The Ruble Connection

Despite having a lot of beaux, my grandmother married Howard R. Ruble. He was a railroad man and, her parents reasoned, could thus provide for her. Here's his picture:

He came from a large family. His parents, George William Ruble (known as William) and Margie Odell Caldwell, were likely kin, since William's mother was a Caldwell. Here's the page from the Ruble family bible:

The parents are listed first. Here's what it says:

• George William Ruble Born June 17, 1861
• Margie Odell Ruble Born February 25, 1866

G. William & Margie Ruble

Then their children are listed:

• Howard Rufus Ruble Born August 29, 1885
• Clara Edith Ruble Born February 25, 1887
• Leona Francis Ruble Born March 17, 1889
• Harry Leffel Ruble Born April 23, 1891
• Ruth Gladys Ruble Born March 10, 1896
• Taylor Everette Ruble Born October 15, 1893
• Rossie Faye Ruble Born April 9, 1899
• George Kenneth Ruble Born February 27, 1901
• Bertranse Ryland Ruble Born April 1, 1905
• Stuart Webster Ruble Born June 1, 1906
• Eugene Barber Ruble Born February 1, 1909

In pencil at the bottom of the page: "G.W. Ruble was married October 14, 1884."

A picture of Clara Edith Ruble Cronk, the oldest daughter:

Here's a picture of George William Ruble:

And here's a three generation picture taken of Howard and Blanche Ruble, their youngest child Raymond (William Raymond Ruble), and William and Margie Ruble. They're on the front porch of the house that Howard had built at 1201 Watts Avenue in Roanoke. The house was built in the 1920s and it looks fairly new here.

Sometimes Howard and his siblings got together. I'm not sure when or where this picture was taken. I think Howard is at the lower right:

I'm pretty sure this picture was taken at Aunt Leona's house in New Castle in August 1954. I know Aunt Leona had a small brick house with a picture window. Leona is in the center; Howard is at the right:

When I was little, Aunt Leona wrote down as much about our ancestors as she could remember and noted their relationship to me. Turns out my great-grandma (Margie Caldwell Ruble) was a  twin. I think she has a wrong date for Alexander Caldwell's birth; if he died in 1900 at 78, he'd have been born in 1822, not 1882:

UPDATES: It is likely that Caroline Surber was an aunt rather than a grandmother. Marcellus's father Henry Surber was married to a Margaret. However, a Caroline Surber lived near Henry Surber. In the 1850 census, Henry and Margaret are at household #33 and Caroline is listed as household #23. In 1860, Henry is #291 and Caroline is #297 in Craig County.

Alexander Caldwell would indeed have been born in 1822, not 1882, if he died in 1900 at 78. Alexander is buried in the Looney cemetery in Craig County. Marcella/Marcellus is buried in the Crawford Family Cemetery in New Castle. 

I don't know who "Aunt Mary Sue" is.

UPDATE: George William Ruble and his wife (called "Margaret Odella Caldwell" here) are buried in the Ruble Cemetery on Route 311 in Craig County, as are his parents James Ruble and Lavesta Caldwell Ruble. GPS coordinates are GPS: 37.565ºN, 80.224ºW. The list of Rubles and others buried there can be found here: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/craig/cemeteries/ruble02.txt.

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