Ralph, the eldest of John Earle's three sons who survived into adulthood, was born in 1715. His early life is little documented. He is recorded in the Liverpool Fines Register as receiving his freedom in October 1736, when he was 21, but there is then no further record of him in the sources searched until 17 May 1753, when he was a witness to the marriage settlement of his sister Sarah to the Hon. and Rev. John Stanley. This is interesting in itself as Stanley was the younger brother of the 11th Earl of Derby and such a marriage, even if it was a second marriage for the groom, seems a remarkable social achievement for the daughter of a bankrupt merchant. Sarah, incidentally, seems to have been a favourite of Ralph's as he was to name his biggest ship, 450-ton burden and wholly owned by him, Beloved Sarah (sometimes written Beloved Sally). Many shipowners named their ships after the women of their families, but no other ship in the Liverpool shipping database carries the adjective ‘beloved’.

The first question, then, is what was Ralph Earle doing during most of his twenties and thirties, between 1736 and 1753? He does not seem to have been in Liverpool and the most likely hypothesis is that he was in Russia (or possibly London) learning the business of a Russia merchant. Just how the brothers’ careers were planned is not clear, but one can imagine John Earle in his retirement at Prescot dividing the world up between his three sons, Thomas to make his way to Italy, William to Africa and, since Ralph was to be principally engaged as a merchant in trade with Russia, it seems reasonable to suggest that he went there to learn the business. There is, it should be noted, no direct evidence for this. However, there does exist a good example of another young man serving his time in Russia, who may provide a model of Ralph's experience.