John William was the middle child of ten born to William and Sarah Miller Ranes. He was a boy of 4 years when the War between the states aka Civil War broke out. He married at age 18 to Mariah Catherine Schoonover, aka Katie. A bit romantic, they were married on Christmas Day in 1875. (Later, their firstborn also chose to be married on Christmas Day.) The Raneses initially lived in Adair County with their first few children and he worked as a RR tie maker. They then removed to Putnam County, owned a small farm(s) and farmed it together for about a decade. There, more children were added to their union, resulting in a total of 12 Ranes children at that time, one son, Alex, having died at age 2.

John William carried his father's name as his middle name, but curiously, he didn't go by either his first or middle name. He answered to his nickname, which was Jack or Jackie. His parents, Bill and Sally, initially farmed near Jack's farm in Putnam until their marital 'estrangement' afterwhich his father sold their farm and relocated to the Ozark region in southern Mo. where he apparently purchased another farm. Jackie's mother Sally remained in Putnam , living on her father's farm with her 'Miller' siblings.

Census indicates that Jack relocated his family to Clyde City, Kansas by 1900 after 25 years of marriage. The Central Branch Railroad had located in Clyde City and was bringing growth to the area. Jack was employed there for one or two years as a teamster and the family lived in a rented house on S. Borton Ave. (near RR and Pacifica. The map shows S. Borton Ave. was between the Republican River and the Elk Creek.) Absent from their Kansas home, the Ranes's oldest daughter Jo Anna was married with children and the 3 oldest boys were living elsewhere (Arthur was divorced/remarried).The Ranes family's 1900 census record indicates the younger Ranes children attended local school (likely in Clyde or Elk Town, a combined population of about 1100).

Jack again removed the family, about 1902, to Walnut City/Vermillion, Iowa where he became occupied at the coal mines. There, a thirteenth child was added to the family, a baby girl who they named Icel, and who died in infancy. Soon after their baby's death, the marriage dissolved and the family became scattered. About 20 years later, he remarried to a widow (she died 3 years later, at the age of 72). Jack lived 86 years, having lived his final years in the Old Pensioners home near Moulton which was operated by Miss Quinn in Centerville. His funeral was held at the Miller Funeral Home on Friday, at 3 O'clock conducted by the Rev. Luther W. Childs, interment in the Oakland Cemetery.

On one of his documents, he recorded his nationality as Scottish, which indicates his thinking of his own ancestry. We do know his maternal lineage was Scottish/Irish/British but his paternal ancestry is undiscovered. He was very distinguished looking and a very sharp dresser.