In 1914 the Ruby Mercantile was sold by Julias Andrews to Philip Clarke, who moved his family to Ruby and built a bigger store up on a hill.
The Clarke family soon discovered the dangers of living in Ruby with its proximity to the Mexican border and the presence of bandits in the area. According to Legends of America, store owner Philip Clarke and his wife kept guns in every room of their home and store. Clarke later moved his wife and children to a nearby town while he continued to operate the mercantile.
By 1920 Clarke had purchased substantial acreage and cattle in the area and sold his store to John and Alexander Fraser. The Fraser brothers were warned about Mexican bandits – to be forewarned was to be forearmed. They may not have heeded Clarke’s warning, however, because on February 27, 1920 both were found shot inside their store. Alexander had been shot dead in the back and head and John, still alive with a shot to his left eye, died five hours later.
This article is no longer available for free at this site. It was re-written and enhanced (entitled “Mining and Murder”) with sources and has been published in the March 2018 issue of Digging History Magazine. Should you prefer to purchase the article only, contact me for more information.
I invite you to check out Digging History Magazine. Since January 2018 new articles are published in a digital magazine (PDF) available by individual issue purchase or subscription (with three options). Most issues run between 70-85 pages, filled with articles of interest to history-lovers and genealogists — it’s all history, right? 🙂 No ads — just carefully-researched, well-written stories, complete with footnotes and sources.
Want to know more or try out a free issue? You can download either (or both) of the January-February 2019 and March-April 2019 issues here: https://digging-history.com/free-samples/
Thanks for stopping by!