William Rufus Noble
William Rufus Noble was born around 1833 in Pennsylvania to William and Susan Noble. His father was a farmer who owned $9,000 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Metal, Pennsylvania, and by 1850, he was working as a laborer. He remained in his father’s household until at least 1860.
He enlisted in the Union army on July 9, 1863, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company H of the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry later that day. He mustered out in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on February 20, 1864. He enlisted again on August 30, 1864, and he mustered in as a private in Company B of the 203rd Pennsylvania Infantry later that day. He mustered out on June 22, 1865.
Noble returned to his parents’ household in Metal after the war. He supported the Republican Party, and according to one writer, “he was prominent in the counsels of the party and frequently was seen as a delegate at nominating conventions.” He served as a school director and township auditor, and his “public duties were always performed with marked ability and conscientiousness.”
He married Sarah Wilhelm around 1873, and they had at least three children: Myra, born around 1876; Samuel, born around 1878; and Lucy, born around 1880. They remained in Metal, and Noble worked as a farmer. He applied for a federal pension in July 1897 and eventually secured one. By the early 1900s, he was reportedly a “wealthy man and probably the heaviest real estate owner in Metal township.” He died of dysentery in Metal, Pennsylvania on August 30, 1904.
DATABASE CONTENT
| (1785) | Noble, William Rufus | 1833 | 1904-08-30 |
- Conflict Side: Union
- Role: Civilian
- Rank in: Sergeant
- Rank out: Private
- Rank highest: Sergeant
- Gender: Male
- Race: White
Documents - Records: 8
- (5878) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Friends, 10 July 1863
- (5879) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Friends, 26 August 1863
- (5880) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Friends, 9 October 1863
- (5881) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Unknown, 30 December 1863
- (5882) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Friends, 26 September 1864
- (5883) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Augustus J. Noble, 28 September 1864
- (5884) [writer] ~ William R. Noble to Friends, 3 October 1864
- (5885) [writer] ~ William R. Noble and Jacob M. Wilhelm to Augustus J. Noble, 20 November 1864
People - Records: 1
- (1787) Noble, Augustus J. is the [sibling of] (1785) Noble, William Rufus
Places - Records: 2
Regiments - Records: 2
Groups - Records: 1
- (3) [member/supporter] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES
1850, 1860, 1880, and 1900 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; Public Opinion (Chambersburg, PA), 2 September 1904.
