Representative Reuben Noble View All Years

In the death of HON. REUBEN NOBLE, at his home in McGregor, on the 8th of August, our State has lost another of its most prominent pioneers, the bar and judiciary one of their brightest ornaments, and the community where he resided, one of its best known and most esteemed citizens. Judge Noble was born a farmer’s boy, April 14, 1821, in Adams county, Mississippi, and was therefore a little over seventy-five years of age. He worked at farming until he was eighteen, when he attended for a while a manual labor school at Columbus, in that State, pursuing meantime the study of the law. He settled at Fair Play, Wisconsin, in 1842, where he engaged in mining and the practice of the law. He removed to Garnavillo, Clayton county, in 1843. June 19, 1844, he was married to Miss Harriett C. Douglas, who survives him. In 1857 he removed to McGregor, where he resided until his death. Judge Noble immediately upon settling in our State was recognized as a man of character and ability, a personality to be implicitly relied upon. He was elected on the Free Soil ticket a representative in the Fifth General Assembly, and though it was his first session, he was chosen Speaker. Before his death he was the last survivor of our legislative presiding officers before the war of the rebellion. As a presiding officer he proved to be singularly able and impartial, and has always been remembered by his surviving associates with great respect and affection. A kindly tribute to his memory appeared in The McGregor News of August 19, 1896, from the pen of his long-time friend, Hon. James O. Crosby, from which we copy the following paragraphs:

“In the practice of his profession he had a distinct individuality, discouraging all unnecessary litigation, and when possible to secure justice to all interested parties by means of a compromise, he was persistent in his efforts to effect settlements. He was self-reliant and believed in himself, in his ability to accomplish, and he pursued his object with untiring vigilance; of course he early became prominent in his profession; he could not help it.

“As a trial lawyer, his keen perception enabled him to grasp the strong points of his case and as the trial advanced to discover the trend of the testimony, and how it might be turned to strengthen his case or weaken his opponents. He was a man of the people and cultivated the acquaintance of all with whom he come in contact and studied their temperaments and dispositions, which served him well in impaneling juries and in summing up his case to them at the close.”

He was elected Judge of the Tenth Judicial district in 1874, and re-elected in 1878, but he resigned shortly afterward, and returned to the practice of the law. Mr. and Mrs. Noble celebrated their golden wedding June 19, 1894. Judge Noble always attended the biennial reunions of the Pioneer Law Makers Association, of which he was a leading member.