In “Buchanan, Copeland, Ribble” Ida Ribble Duckworth writes the following about John Ribble.

Fourth child of Joseph and Catherine Phillips Ribble, John, was born December 5, 1810, in Washington County, Indiana. He moved to Young County, Texas, sometime in the early 1840s. He was living in Red River County, near Clarksville, in 1840, and when Jeremiah went to Texas in the spring of 1849 he lived with his brother John and his family until the following fall. John had a large family. There were two daughters whose names were not remembered. He had three sons: Joe Ribble, who was of unusual stature being six and one-half feet tall, was killed during the Civil War in 1863 near Honey Grove, by a sharp shooter. He was in the Confederate service. William A. Ribble, born about 1857, and Edward Ribble. These men each reared families. John died August 25, 1856, and is buried in Vineyard Grove Cemetery, beside the grave of his father, Joseph. (Ida Ribble Duckworth, Buchanan, Copeland, Ribble pgs 50-130 )

A good deal of this information is inaccurate due to how Ida obtained it. Since she didn’t have the technology that we have today she did the best she could with what she was given. She wrote the information that people had given her in letters. Those people were going from stories that they had heard and some of the information was wrong.

John was born December 5, 1810 in Shelby County, Kentucky. The 1810 census, taken just a few months before John was born, shows his family is living in Shelby County, Kentucky. Shelby County, Kentucky land records show that John’s father, Joseph, sold land there in 1815. On the 1850 census, which is the first one that lists everyone in the household, where they were born, how old they were and what sex they were, John stated he was born in Kentucky.

Between 1815 and 1820 John’s family along with his grandfather, and several aunts and uncles moved from Kentucky to Washington County, Indiana.  They lived there several years. Some aunts and uncles moved to different counties in Indiana.

1820 Census for Joseph Ribble's family, John's first census
Below is a breakdown of the 1820 census questions

By 1820, both families are living in Washington County, Indiana, probably moving there in the summer of 1815. Shelby County, Kentucky and Washington County, Indiana are not that far apart on a map. However, the Ohio River is between the two. Presumably there was a ferry crossing the river at some place. They may have had to go a little east or west to find it, but that would most likely be the way they traveled.

Joseph and Catherine’s oldest daughter, Nancy, married Jonathan Urmey on December 24, 1818. Ida Ribble Duckworth writes in her book that Jonathan Urmey and an Adam Ribble were bakers in the early history of Salem, Indiana. Salem was established in 1814. Nancy’s brother was born in 1805, so he would be a little young during that time period. However, it doesn’t mention if this Adam was her brother (Adam II) or her grandfather (Adam I) since he was still living at that time. Ida’s source was a county history book of Lawrence, Orange, and Washington County, but the name of the book was not given. Ida states the following about John's brother and Joseph and Catherine’s youngest son, Jeremiah. The source is from a letter she received from one of Jeremiah’s descendants.

1830 Census for Joseph Ribble family,
Below is a breakdown of the 1830 census questions

John met and married Susan Hunter, daughter of Edward Coulson and Elizabeth King Hunter, on September 13, 1838 in Washington County, Indiana.

Marriage License for Susan Hunter and John Ribble
September 13, 1838

They eventually had 8 children, 6 sons and 2 daughters.  Their first three children: Edward “Edd” (1839), Ellen (1841), and Harvey “Harve” Washington (1844) were born in Washington County, Indiana. Right after Harvey was born the family moved with John’s parents and most of his siblings to Red River County, Texas close to Clarksville, Texas. They traveled via the Mississippi River to New Orleans then went to Texas from there. During this time period John’s mother, Catherine died. It is not known if she died in Indiana or Red River County, Texas. She died between the 1840 and 1850 censuses. No grave has been found. Ida’s source seems to think she is buried in Vineyard Grove with her husband, Joseph, but she doesn’t appear on the 1850 census. They didn’t move to Honey Grove until after 1853.

John did not move to Young County, Texas, in the early 1840s, however, he did move to Texas then. In 1844 John and Susan moved with John’s parents and several siblings to Red River County, Texas. In Red River County, Texas, John and Susan had 4 more children: Elizabeth “Lizzie” (1846), John, Jr. (1849), William “Bill” Alexander (1851), and Thomas “Tom” (1853). The 1850 census for the John Ribble family shows them in Red River County. Harvey is listed as Washington (which is his middle name), but no other record in his life refers to him as being called Washington. He used Harve or Harvey for the rest of his life. John’s occupation was listed as farmer. The ages of household members are off a bit.

The 1850 census lists John’s age as 28 when he was actually 39; it gives Susan’s age as 39 when she was actually 28. It looks like their ages were just reversed. John was 11 years older than Susan. With the children it gives Edward’s age as 9 when he was really 11. Ellen’s age is listed as 7 when she was actually 9. Harvey Washington would have been 6, but is listed as 4. It gives Elizabeth’s age as 1 when she was really 4. The way it was written it looks like John, Jr. is 11 when he was really 11 months old, which they should have noted as 11/12ths.

The federal government did an agriculture schedule of all farmers beginning in 1850. John’s schedule survives, although there is not one for his father.
Here are John’s responses:

Ida Duckworth refers to a Joe Ribble. But he was not a son of John Ribble.  He had a son named John, but he was too young to have served in the Civil War. Edward and Harvey served in the Civil War, but all the other sons were too young to serve. John’s descendants have been very tall men and at least five generations of one line all were between 6’3” and 6’5”. There is no record of a Ribble dying in Honey Grove from a sharp shooter during the civil war, except for Ida’s story. So that story ends here unless proof is found in the future that it happened.

By 1853, John’s family, his father, Joseph, and sisters, Catherine Ribble Fuqua and Susan Ribble Gambill and their families have moved to Honey Grove in Fannin County, Texas. Margaret and her family stayed in Red River County, Texas.  Jeremiah, John’s brother, moved his family to Iowa. While John and Susan were living in Honey Grove their last child, James “Jim” was born.

In 1855 John Ribble brought a consignment of flour to the Brazos [River] Indian Reservation, after this trip he built a cabin home on Rock Creek which became part of Jack County when organized the following year. (Carrie J. Crouch, A History of Young County, Texas pg 263)

John built a double log cabin not for from the Brazos River Indian Reservation (BRIR). He already had 8 children and knew he needed a larger cabin. The land he chose becomes part in the Young, Jack, and Palo Pinto Counties in Texas in 1856 when those county lines are drawn. The log cabin was located in Jack County.

John camped on Rock Creek as he was building the log cabin. One story is that his father, Joseph, made the knife below for John, but he could have just given it to him. 

Example of a double log cabin

Susan, Catherine, and their families stayed in the Honey Grove area. Although Ida states that Joseph wanted to go to Iowa he didn’t. In 1855, John started building a double log cabin on Rock Creek close to the Indian Reservation.   He completed it in 1856 and went back to Honey Grove to get his wife and 8 children.  The following passage is from Ida Lasater Huckabay’s sources in Ninety-Four Years in Jack County 1854-1948, John Riddle [Ribble] (spelled incorrectly).

In 1854, Mark Dalton grazed cattle on Dillingham Branch and made a location in Palo Pinto County for a home, near the mouth of Rock Creek. Pioneers say that John Riddle helped Dalton move his cattle to Dillingham Branch, and that he built a cabin in Jack Cabin on that trip, but did not bring his family until probably in March or April 1855; so, Jack County pioneers generally concede the building of the first house to John Woods. Mose Terry had lived in the frontier county (Jack County) previous to 1855, for he returned to Fannin County in an ox wagon and assisted John Riddle [Ribble] in moving his family to Jack County. (Ida Lasater Huckabay, Ninety-Four Years in Jack County 1854-1948 pgs 4-5).

He got his family settled into their new home. Then the next spring he returned to Honey Grove to get his father, Joseph, and move him to Rock Creek. He took his oldest son, age 17, Edward with him. When he arrived he found his father sick with typhoid fever. He helped nurse him and contracted the disease himself. Joseph died  on August 7, 1856, and John died on August 25, 1856. They are buried next to each other in Vineyard Grove Cemetery outside Honey Grove.

Joseph Rible (Ribble) and John Rible (Ribble)'s headstones, which are next to each other in Vineyard Grove Cemetery close to Honey Grove, Texas in Fannin County. It is thought that John's mother, Catherine's gravesite is close to Joseph's. No marker just a pile of rocks.

Edward’s aunts and uncles thought he was too young to drive the wagon back himself. His uncle, Dr. Gambill, Susan’s husband, drove him back to his mother on Rock Creek. It took several weeks before Susan Hunter Ribble found out what happened to her husband.

Jeremiah, John's younger brother, and his wife, Martha Holmes, and their 9 children had a rough time in Iowa.  They lost 2 children in 1855 and then in 1861 Jeremiah lost his wife and 2 more children. It is thought that at least part of them died from whooping cough. Jeremiah came back to Texas and settled in Lamar County in northeast Texas. He remarried and had 5 more children.

Susan Hunter Ribble decided to stay in the new home on Rock Creek. Their homes in the other locations had been sold. Her mother, Elizabeth King Hunter, died in 1851 and her father remarried and had another child, so she didn’t want to move back to Indiana.

Ida Ribble Duckworth does know that John is buried next to his father, Joseph, in Vineyard Grove near Honey Grove in Fannin County, Texas. The next part is close, but not accurate. Ida’s source for this information was a grandson of Jeremiah, John’s brother. He probably never met John or his children, so this is a pretty good guess for knowledge of people you have never met. Ida states the following:

First son of John Ribble, William A., lives in Graham, Young County, Texas, and is now about 75 years of age. He is well loved and honored by the people there. William A. has a son Edward Ribble, at Megargle, Texas, and his son Edward has two sons who are teachers, one by the name of Carson Ribble and the other son’s name is not known.

Second son of John Ribble, Edward had several children and has been dead several years.
His children:

1. Clarence Ribble, at Crowell, Texas.
2. Lock Ribble, near Graham, Texas.  Had a large family, but there is no record of them.
3. Nettie Ribble married Mr. Cunningham,  at  Weatherford, Parker County, Texas.
4. O.C. Ribble lives in Young County, Texas, and is a teacher. Cousin S.A. Ribble, Shamrock, Texas reported on his great uncle.

John Ribble’s family name a David Ribble, of Forney, Kaufman County, Texas as the son of Harvey, but was not sure as to where Harvey Ribble belonged.  He said, “You do not show his line” and since I have no record either covering him, it is not possible to place him. Please forgive this omission, it is unavoidable on my part. (Ida Ribble Duckworth, Buchanan, Copeland, Ribble pgs 50-130.)

John and Susan Hunter Ribble’s first son and child was Edward Jefferson Ribble not William A. Although William Alexander Ribble lived in Graham, Young County, Texas during most of the 20th century, building a home on the edge of Graham around 1907, he was their fourth son and sixth child. Edward Jefferson Ribble, also lived in Young County for many years. (More information on all lines in Adam Ribble).

John and Susan’s children were as follows:

1. Edward “Edd” Jefferson Ribble was born, October 02, 1839 in Salem, Washington County Indiana. He is the child that traveled with John on his last trip back to Honey Grove. He had 2 wives and 9 children per wife with each wife dying during childbirth of twins. Edward did have many children. Ida lists 4 of them but a better list will appear further down in this document. Ida lists a son Clarence in Crowell. Many of Edd’s sons and daughters moved to Crowell, but none were named Clarence. His first child was Samuel Alexander Lockridge Ribble named after a commander that he liked during the Civil War. His nickname was Lock. Lock, not Edd, had a daughter nicknamed Nettie that married a Cunningham. It was also Lock that had a son O.C. whose nickname was Olaf. She mentions that “Cousin S.A. Ribble, Shamrock, Texas reported on his great uncle”. When she refers to great uncle here she is talking about Edd’s father, John Ribble. It is not clear who the great uncle is.
2. Ellen Ribble was born, December 12, 1841 in Salem, Washington County Indiana. She was referred to as “afflicted”, although it is not know if this was a mental or physical affliction. She lived her entire life with her mother dying the day after her Mother died. Her siblings chose to bury them together since they were so close during
   their lives. Ellen was raped during the Civil War and became pregnant. She had a daughter named Alice. Her mother Susan raised Alice.
3. Harvey “Harve” Washington Ribble was born January 19, 1844 in Salem, Washington County Indiana. He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and was sent home early due to illness. After the Civil War he lived in Parker and Van Zandt Counties, never living in Young County again. He married Sarah Jane Harrison and they had 5 children.
4. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ann Ribble was born July 2, 1846 in Clarksville City, Red River, Texas. She outlived 3 husbands, her first being W.N. Simpson in 1861 he died before they had any children. Then he married Isaac Caswell Holly and they had 8 children. He died in Young County. She then married John Joseph Putman they moved to Oklahoma and he helped her raise her 8 children. She is buried in Gooseneck Cemetery with her second husband, Isaac Holly.
5. John Ribble was born July 5, 1849 in Clarksville City, Red River, Texas. Sometime between 1866 and 1870, a rabid dog bit John. He suffered a long time with rabies. Eventually, his brothers had to tie him to a four-post bed, a different limb for each post, to protect him and others from his aggressive behavior. Most of the time, he was delirious and not sure what was going on around him. When he had lucid moments he would beg his brothers to shoot him. None of them could bring themselves to kill him, although he was suffering greatly and they knew it. He finally died on March 6, 1870. 
6. William “Bill” Alexander Ribble was born April 8, 1851 in Clarksville City, Red River, Texas. He outlived three wives. He had children by the first two. As Ida stated William did have a son, but his name was Thomas Edwin Ribble and he went by Eddie. Eddie had 4 sons and 4 daughters. One was a college professor Dr. William “Carnace” Ribble and the other taught high school level and was a principal before he went into another line of business. A family friend saw something in Carnace and paid for him to go to college. Carnace then helped his siblings to go to college. Had it not been for this man helping Carnace, the family would not have been able to afford college.
7. Thomas “Tom” Jefferson Ribble was born October 27, 1853 in Clarksville City, Red River, Texas. He married Mary Elizabeth Gibson and they lived in Parker County. They had 3 daughters and 1 son. The son died the day he was born. Tom died March 4, 1941.
8. James “Jim” Ribble was born December 11, 1855 in Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas. Sometime between 1866 and 1870, a rabid dog bit John. He suffered a long time with rabies. Eventually, his brothers had to tie him to a four-post bed, a different limb for each post, to protect him and others from his aggressive behavior. Most of the time, he was delirious and not sure what was going on around him. When he had lucid moments he would beg his brothers to shoot him. None of them could bring themselves to kill him, although he was suffering greatly and they knew it. He finally died on March 6, 1870.