Rev. Rufus E. Gamble (And Some Notes On The Relationship Between Members Of The Cyclone Club)

Rev. Rufus E. Gamble, formerly of this county, now pastor of a Southern Methodist Church of St. Joe, is visiting relatives here.  Mr. Gamble's bad health may compel him to cease preaching regularly, in which event he thinks of going into business in this city.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 1, 1876

The will of Mrs. Louisa R. Gamble, widow of Archibald Gamble, was probated yesterday.  The estate is divided into seven equal parts for the benefit of her children and grandchildren...(Including) one part to her son, Rev. Joseph Gamble...(and) one part to her son, Rev. Rufus E. Gamble...The will is dated July 5, 1878, and is witnessed by Edward Bredell and Charles B. Cox.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 9, 1879

This is good stuff.  The Gamble brothers were members of the Cyclone Club but I've had problems finding any information about Rufus Gamble.  I have biographical information on Joseph Gamble and knew that he was a Presbyterian minister and it's interesting that his brother also became a minister.  

Also of interest is the relationship between the Gamble family and the Bredell family.  Archibald Gamble and Edward Bredell, Sr. were business associates who where involved in copper mining in the 1840s and, based on the fact that Bredell was one of the witnesses to Gamble's will, it appears that they maintained a relationship after that.  Their sons, Rufus and Joseph Gamble and Edward Bredell, Jr., all happened to be members of the Cyclones.  The younger Bredell, along with Merritt Griswold, was one of the founders of the club and it appears that he may have brought in a few of his close friends.  

The members of the Cyclone Club were a rather diverse group of gentlemen and there is no common link between them.  However, within the club, most of the member have at least one relationship with one other member.  Griswold and Bredell worked together.  Rufus and Joseph Gamble were brothers.  Bredell and the Gambles were family friends.  Leonard, William, and Orville Matthews were brothers.  Orville Matthews and Alex Crossman were members of the United States Navy.  Leonard and William Matthews were druggists as was Maurice Alexander.  Ferdinand Garesche and Edward Farrish were in-laws.  Bredell, Basil Duke, Gratz Moses and Garesche had similar political sympathies.  John Collier and John Davis were close friends.  While I haven't established a relationship between each club member and another member, I believe that the relationships exist and I'm getting closer to finding them.