William Ruby, the eldest son of John Ruby and
Elizabeth Carpenter, was born in 1815 in Abbotskerswell, Devon, England. He
married Ann Garrett and two sons were born in Devon, Samuel and George.[1] With these very young children, they
undertook the journey across the cold Atlantic to Newfoundland in 1843. A third son, Silas Garrett, was born in St.
John’s, NFL in 1850.
Genealogical research in Newfoundland is challenging
in a different way from many other parts of Canada – this rocky island is far from its
nearest provincial neighbour. Engaged in various colonial relations with Great
Britain, it did not become a province of Canada until 1949. Settlement was often in remote locations
where church officials may only pass through once a year or less; records in
the 1800s and even early 1900s can be very scarce and may only be available as
a transcript with the original destroyed or illegible. Civil registration was
late in implementation and due to remote settlement patterns, was very hit and
miss. The collection of digital census
records on Library and Archives Canada’s website do not include
Newfoundland. The last Census publicly available is 1921 so it is a long wait for a national Census of Newfoundland and Labrador. On the positive side,
census enumerations conducted officially by Newfoundland itself covered 1921,
1935 and 1945. Some can be found digitally on FamilySearch.org but for others
transcriptions must be the source. A
voluntary effort, Grand Banks Genealogy,[2]
has made incredible contributions to genealogical research in all areas of
Newfoundland. Fortunately, the Rubys settled on the most populated part of
Newfoundland, outside of St. Johns. The
best information, however, came from alternate sources, where Ruby ancestors
seemed to be singled out for their achievements.
 |
| The Ruby Line, between St.John's and rural Goulds. |
An academic journal article was an unexpected source
of information on William, the original immigrant, due to his personal
testimony to the Newfoundland House of Assembly in 1863. The author, MacKinnon,
described the experience of William Ruby to establish himself on the land, much
to this researcher’s delight, citing William as an example of “...the
shoestring struggle immigrants of modest means faced in establishing themselves
on the land.”[3] Through this, we receive details on the Ruby
family’s early years, which would not likely be otherwise available. William
spent seven years working as a labourer in St. John’s, never receiving more
than 4s for the day. Eventually, he was able to add to his meagre savings by
borrowing £40 at 5%
interest. He purchased land about 6 ½ miles outside St. John’s in what was
called Goulds, without road or house, and faced with acres that was nothing
but scrub, he worked the land and did odd jobs for money for more than six
years.
By 1860, ten acres were productive and William was
able to pay off his loan, set up his sons with land, and build a new house: a successful
immigrant story in a challenging environment. For those who are interested, I
recommend looking at pg. 47 of the article, where in wonderful detail, we learn
what William received for his odd jobs and how much he initially received for
his hay, potatoes, and cabbage.
The Ruby surname is a predominant family in settling
the Goulds area. A glance at the Census
records available for that area attest to Rubys filling the page in Goulds,
Kilbride, and to some degree Topsail Road.
A road has now been named the Ruby Line. Westvale Farm, when more than
150 years old (which is a long time to successfully survive on the rocky coast
near St.John’s) received the Century Farm award from a provincial heritage body
– the write up associated with the award is a great read of local Ruby history[4]
including the struggle triggered by the death of Allan Ruby at 57 years from
influenza in 1935. Janet, his widow, was left with three young sons still in
school and took over running the farm. Despite an outbreak of a deadly disease
amongst the dairy herd, Janet Ruby persevered until her three sons were able to
step in.
 |
| St.Matthews Anglican Church built by Rubys on Ruby land. |
The Ruby family also appears in heritage award files
for its building of an Anglican (Church of England origin) church on its farm
property in 1910. St. Matthews Anglican
Church[5]
was a primary site for the baptisms, marriages and burials of generations of
Ruby families and those who lived in the Goulds vicinity.
As descendants
of William Ruby developed other interests or emigrated from the island, the
farm ceased its commercial operations by 2009, although the property remains in
the family and is used on a small scale. Over the years, Westvale Farm became a
model of dairy farming in Newfoundland and once again, an award formalized
their status in the agricultural sector.
Nominated by the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland, the
last remaining active Ruby farmer was inducted into the Atlantic Agricultural
Hall of Fame for “...his
tireless commitment to improving Holstein production in his province..”[6] As William Ruby and Ann Garrett began their
journey to a rocky island colonized by Great Britain, but left a remote and
unruly place, their struggle to build a better life for themselves and their
descendants proved successful, and their contributions to life in what became
the province of Newfoundland are officially acknowledged. As with any settler
family, some branches of the family emigrated to other locales, where life
might be less of a struggle. However, a
large proportion of the Ruby descendants remained.
[1]
This branch of the Ruby
families of Devon can be tracked on the Ruby One Name Study website, beginning
with John Ruby. I did only the Newfoundland family’s genealogy.
[2]
Newfoundland’s Grand Banks
Genealogical and Historical Data of Newfoundland and Labrador. http://ngb.chebucto.org/
[3]
MacKinnon, Robert. Farming the rock: the
evolution of commercial agriculture around St. John’s, Newfoundland, to 1945. Acadiensis.
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/viewFile/11885/12729
[4]
Heritage Foundation. Century Farms. http://heritagefoundation.ca/heritage-property/westvale-farm-century-farm/
[5]
Canada’s Historic Places. The Ruby Church. Goulds, Newfoundland. https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=2194
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