Source:
Commemorative Biographical Records
of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio
- Illustrated -
Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co.,
1894

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A. N. Read	ALBERT N. READ, M. D.   Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 44
Joseph Remele	JOSEPH REMELE Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 404
	FREDERICK RICHARD was born November 18, 1818, in Saxon, Germany, and is a son of John Richard, a tanner, who in his day was a well-known tradesman in the Saxon community where he lived.      Frederick Richard attended school in Germany, and became a fair scholar before he began to learn the tanner's trade under his father.  In 1847 he emigrated to America, sailing from Bremen to New York.  Once in this country, he waited not in the city, but pushed westward to Bellevue, Ohio, where he worked at his trade four years.  In 1853 he married Anna Yeager, a native of Saxony, who came to this country alone when twenty-four years old, and to this marriage the following named children were born:  John, a tanner of Monroeville; Lena, Mrs Fred Duner of Toledo; Lewis and Henry, at home; Tillie, Mrs. August Fahrenbach, of Monroeville; and August, residing at home.  After his marriage Mr. Richard located at Monroeville, and there engaged in the tanning business for many years, continuing therein until he saw the tannery, which he labored so hard to establish, grow into an important industry.  When he retired to his farm, he gave the business to his son, who now carries it on with marked success.  Mrs. Richard now devotes his entire attention to this tract, which contains 165 acres.  In political affairs he votes with the Democratic party.  In religion the entire family are members of the Lutheran Church.  His industry is remarkable.  His character is well exemplified by the fact that with very little capital he established a manufacturing enterprise at Monroeville, which subsequently developed into most prosperous industry. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 256
Wesley Robinson	WESLEY ROBINSON   Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 348
Chas. Rowley	CHARLES ROWLEY.  In the career of Charles Rowley we find one of the best examples of the thrifty, enterprising descendants of that sturdy New England stock, which characterizes the Western Reserve, and has made it so justly famous as one of the great  centers of intelligence, morality and prosperity.  He came from an old English family, his quite remote ancestors being among the very first settlers and pioneers of Connecticut.      His grandfather, Eli Smith Rowley, born about the middle of the eighteenth century, was a man of strong character and convictions, and thoroughly patriotic.  When but fifteen years of age he enlisted in the Revolutionary war, and was captured by the British; but, though a mere boy, he managed to make his escape, and by traveling at night again reached the Colonial ranks, where, by his valiant service, combined with his extreme youth, he acquired a distinction that was truly deserved.  His military life was most appropriately referred to by Hon. Peter Dyckman in an address delivered on July 4, 1876, at Jefferson, N. Y., in which he said:  "I know at least one Revolutionary hero, taking his lasting rest among the ever silent of yonder cemetery.  Many are the scenes he has portrayed before my mind in reciting 'deeds immortal' like until this. *  *  *  Among the noble patriots who have left a record of deeds of daring and patriotism, we may upon this Centennial Anniversary day inscribe upon the banner of Liberty the name of Eli Smith Rowley."  At the close of the war he engaged in the pursuit of farming, which was conducted until at a very advanced age he quietly retired from active life.      Edward Rowley, his son, was born October 23, 1788.  When quite young he left school to learn the cabinet maker's trade, which, though later returning to the family trait of farm life, he followed till near his death, April 1878.  He was a most excellent workman, and manufactured the finest grades of household furniture, coffins and caskets to be found at that day.  His school days were quite limited, yet being of a studious nature, and a great observer, he became well educated, possessed an excellent address, and was a fine musician.  He was a prominent member of an ardent worker in the Presbyterian Church of Jefferson, N. Y., where the greater part of his life was spent, always taking an active part in the religious and better side of life.  In business affairs he was successful, rearing and educating a large family, then retiring in comfortable circumstances.  Of his first marriage three sons were born:  Frederick, the eldest, joined the "forty-niners" in California, and there accumulated much property; returning, he served two terms as sheriff of Schoharie county, N. Y., where he spent the remainder of his life.  Of the other sons, Harvey is still living in western New York, and Edward, who went South when quite young, became a wealthy planter in Georgia, enlisted in the Confederate Army, and was probably killed during the war, as he has never been heard from since.  His first wife having died, Edward Rowley, Sr., was again married, this time to Miss Lydia Decker, who was a member of an old family which has long been prominent in the lumber and agricultural regions of Michigan and southern Canada.  She was a woman of considerable executive ability, especially in domestic and church circles, yet of a mild, loving disposition which was ever manifest.  She died April 27, 1877, at the age of seventy two years, at Stamford, N. Y., her husband following her a few months later.  Of this union five children were born:  Elizabeth (Mrs. Edwin Sweet), now living in Eminence, N. H.,; Sarah (Mrs. James Merchant), who died at Jefferson, N. Y., in April, 1878; Eli, the elder son, who was the first man in Schoharie county to offer his services to his country, at the beginning of the rebellion, did noble service in the Union cause, where by hard service and exposure, he contracted in lung trouble that ended in his death on July 24, 1867, at the age of thirty-two years;  Charles; and Mary Jane (Mrs. Dr. E. W. Gallup), now living at Stamford, New York.      Charles Rowley was born in Jefferson, N. Y., January 11, 1838, and died at North Fairfield, Ohio, November 28, 1891.  Of his life and character perhaps no matter sketch can be given than the following, which appeared in the Norwalk, Ohio, Experiment - News, shortly after his death:  "On a farm, in Jefferson, N. Y., in the year 1838, Charles Rowley was born, the youngest son of Edward and Lydia Rowley.  The name has since won for itself a respect and confidence so universal that only a most true and earnest man might hope to win.  It is the fact that the life and death of Charles Rowley presents everywhere models of a pure life and a pure quality of heart, so much so that the Experiment News has gathered the few simple details of a life not great in glory and tinsel of cheap fame, but rich in true nobility of heart.      "What may have been the home training of Mr. Rowley on that New York farm is best attested to his after-life.  We do not gather figs of thistles; neither do men of the noblest refinements of nature come from other than noble parents.  Nor did the precepts of those God-fearing parents fall on stony soil.  Almost from boyhood earnest industry, the plodding step to success, marked the progress of the youth in his studies.  After several terms spent in the best school of all, the position of teacher studying the developing sturdy natures of scholars, Mr. Rowley completed his education in the Franklin Literary Institute, at Franklin, New York.      "In 1860 Mr. Rowley left his home for Michigan, where he became secretary for extensive milling and lumbering interests, owned by a cousin, Charles Decker, splendidly fitting him for the successful prosecution of his own business interests in after years.  In April, 1863, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Stevens, of Ripley, Huron county, and took his bride to Michigan with him, this time to enter the retail store of J. L. Woods, now President of the Euclid Avenue Bank of Cleveland.  In November, 1886, he came to North Fairfield and engaged in the mercantile business, which was conducted most profitably by him up to the time of his death.  He was also the owner of a fine farm near the village, the management of which occupied much of his time and attention. He was a director of the Norwalk Savings Bank Company, and vice president of the Huron County Mutual Insurance Company.  In politics Mr. Rowley was always a stanch Democrat, fearless in his opinions, but not giving offense by advancing them against contrary opinions.  He was always a faithful worker in the interests of his party, and though in a community noted for its radical Republican sentiment and with an adverse majority of three to one against him, has been repeatedly elected school director, till forced to decline to serve longer because of ill health.  He has also held the offices of township clerk and township treasurer, an almost impossible accomplishment for a Democrat in Fairfield.      "During his early life Mr. Rowley was a member of the strict school of the Presbyterian Church.  Of later years, and since his residence in Fairfield, he has been an active and devout worker in the Congregational Church.  As a sincere Christian, firm in the faith, he met death without fear and in calm and hopeful resignation.  His private life was without reproach.  In his family he was a loving and always solicitous father, striving by example rather than precept to inspire all about him with his own earnestness of purpose.  He was liberal in giving thorough educations to his children, denying  them nothing that would better fit them for the struggle of life.  Among his neighbors no man shared more fully the public confidence.  It is related of him that in many cases large sums of money were deposited with him for safe keeping, the owners showing a confidence that they did not have in any bank or saving institution.       "At the time of his death Mr. Rowley was a comparatively young man, but too faithful devotion to business laid the foundations of disease too deeply for human skill to remove.  For fourteen years he ahs suffered in health, at times seriously.  Last spring an attack of grip fastened its clutches onto him, developing complications of disease which gradually drew him down until he was forced to his bed, nearly seven weeks before his death.  Nervous prostration in its worst form resulted, and he quietly breathed his last at 6 o'clock A. M. November 28."      He leaves surviving him his widow; four sons, of whom the eldest, Edward F.,  is conducting the business he left, and is president of the North Fairfield Savings Bank; Arthur E., who after graduating in the literary department of the University of Michigan, and being admitted to the bar, is now practicing law, in partnership with Hon. G. T. Stewart, at Norwalk, Ohio; two small boys, Charles Scott and Leveret Alcott; and one daughter, Anna L., now attending college at Oberlin.  In the quiet village cemetery at North Fairfield his remains are resting in the beautiful family vault erected shortly after his death. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 250
	RUGGLES.  The families of this name in Ridgefield township are descended from Edward Ruggles, who was born May 13, 1766, in Danbury, Conn., of Scotch-Irish parents.      DANIEL RUGGLES, son of this EDWARD RUGGLES, was born Dec. 23, 1796, also in Danbury, Conn., and was the seventh child in order of birth, and the second son of his parents.  His literary education was completed before he was ten years of age, after which he made a practical use of his natural mechanical ability, and learned the carpenter trade.  About 1820 he removed with his parents to Luzerne county, Penn., where, on Nov. 27, 1823, he was united in marriage with Louisa, daughter of Benjamin and Catherine F. Fuller. The parents were of Saxon ancestry, and residents of Luzerne county, Penn., where the daughter of Louisa was born June 3, 1799.  About 1831 Daniel and Louisa Ruggles moved from Luzerne county, Penn., to Ohio, bringing with them two yoke of oxen, one span of horses, and two wagons, which contained all their worldly goods.  They were over four weeks on the road, and on arriving at Cleveland, Ohio, the teams and wagons were pushed across the river with "set poles" on a flat-boat.  There was only one log house on the west side of Cuyahoga river, and in coming through Berlin township, Erie county, to Milan, Ohio, land was for sale at one dollar per acre.  The people said then that the sandy soil between the two branches of the Huron river would not produce anything.  Mr. Ruggles purchased one hundred acres of land in Jonathan Hess, in Ridgefield township, Huron county, for which he paid eight dollars per acre, adding to the original farm as years passed on, and at one time he owned over 500 acres, paying eighty dollars per acre for the last purchase.  Politically he was originally an Old line Whig, then a Free-Soiler, and finally a Republican, but he gave his principal attention to personal business.  He was a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church, and many services were held in his own home, where he was ever a genial, hospitable host.  He died Apr. 4, 1867, having been preceded to the grave by his wife Aug. 16, 1865, and they were buried on the home farm.  They were the parents of children as follows:  Alonzo J., sketch of whom follows; Alfred and Almond (twins), born Feb. 12, 1827, the former of whom, now deceased, was a farmer of Ridgefield township (Almond died at the age of eleven years); Daniel W., sketch of whom follows: Dwight, born May 28, 1834, who was a member of Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Regiment, O. V. I., and died Aug. 3, 1864, in a hospital at Washington, D. C.; and Mary J., born Aug. 8, 1836, who became the wife of Charles Brown, of Milan, Ohio, and died in 1892, in California.      ALONZO J. RUGGLES, eldest son of Daniel Ruggles, was born in January, 1825, near Huntsville, Plymouth township, Luzerne Co., Penn., and was five years old when his parents moved to Ohio.  He attended the schools of Huron county, receiving his elementary training in a small white frame schoolhouse, which was a fair specimen of the buildings then erected.  He also attended school in Norwalk, and after returning home assisted in the work on the home farm.  He would rise at four o'clock in the morning, get the ox-team ready and go to the clearing, where he felled many monarchs of the forest.  At that time the streams had to be forded, as bridges were then unknown in the locality.  On Sept. 15, 1852, Mr. Ruggles married Thekla A. Lewis, who was born Apr. 11, 1825, in Spafford, Onondaga Co., N. Y., daughter of Benjamin Lewis, who was born in Rhode Island, and was married to Betsey Whiting, a native of Vermont.  In 1835 Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Lewis moved to Ashtabula county, Ohio, thence to Huron county, where their daughter, Thekla A., was married.      Alonzo J. and Thekla A. Ruggles began wedded life on a portion of the old homestead in Ridgefield township, Huron county, where they remained until 1888.  They then came to their present home in Norwalk, where he has since lived in semi-retirement.  He yet cultivates a small tract of land in Ridgefield township, and owns 150 acres of some of the finest and best improved land in the neighborhood.  Politically Mr. Ruggles was first a Whig, then a Republican, and has filled various local offices.  He is a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church, his wife is identified with the Disciple Church.  They have had children as follows:  Charles, deceased in infancy; Mary J., wife of Charles Bishop, of Norwalk; Betsy Louisa deceased at the age of four years; Elizabeth T., deceased in 1891; Celia F., wife of Hugh Jacobs, of Cleveland, Ohio; Dwight J., deceased in infancy; Flora M.; and Florence, married to Albert Prentiss, of Norwalk.  Fred Stewart, who was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Ruggles when he was but four months old, and reared to manhood by them, is now a prominent manufacturer in Norwalk, Ohio.      DANIEL W. RUGGLES, fourth son of Daniel and Louisa (Fuller) Ruggles, was born Aug. 1, 1831, in Erie county, Ohio, where his parents had made a temporary location while en route to Huron County, Ohio.  when he was six months old the family moved to the home farm in Huron county, where he was reared and educated.  On Dec. 25, 1862, he was united in marriage with Chloe, daughter of Lee and Phoebe (Bradley) Moore, the former of whom was born in Vermont, and married in Summit county, Ohio  Chloe was the ninth in a family of eleven children, and was born July 25, 1837, in Bowling Green, Ohio.  To the union of Daniel W. and Chloe (Moore) Ruggles three children have been born, viz.: Frank W., Arthur L. and Dora M., all living with their parents.  Mr. Ruggles has given his time to agriculture, in which pursuit he has been successful, but for the past ten years he has not been strong enough to perform any manual labor.  He has been a zealous worker in the Republican party, casting his first vote for John C. Fremont, and has represented his locality in numerous county conventions, serving also as school director and supervisor.  He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church at Norwalk. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 492
	ALONZO RUGGLES - See RUGGLES FAMILY Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 493
	DANIEL RUGGLES - See RUGGLES FAMILY Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 492
	DANIEL W. RUGGLES - See RUGGLES FAMILY Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 493
	EDWARD RUGGLES - See RUGGLES FAMILY Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 492
	HENRY RUGGLES.  The pioneer of the Ruggles family in Ohio was Joseph Ruggles, who was a resident of Belchertown, Mass., where he was known as a farmer and teamster.      In pre-railroad days, when the express service between Boston and New York was founded, Joseph Ruggles established himself as a teamster on the route between Belchertown and Boston, hauling merchandise from Boston to points on the route, and farm products from such points to Boston.  He was married at Belchertown to Miss Hannah Tillson, and four children were born to them: Leonard, Summer and Benjamin (both deceased), and Henry.  In 1818 the whole family set out for the West, and traveled in safety to Peru township, Huron Co., Ohio, where they located.  As the father possessed but little means, he was unable to purchase a farm on coming here.  Building a log cabin to shelter his family, he devoted himself to labor, and with his earnings purchased some land in Peru township, which he cleared and on which he resided until his death in June, 1846.  His widow died three years later.  The children born to these pioneers after their location in Huron county, Ohio, were:  George (now deceased), who was a farmer in Peru township; Mary, who married Levi Ruggles (deceased); Nancy, widow of Jeff. Brown (now residing in Kansas City); "Levi who died in Arizona, while in the United States civil  service, and Lyman, also deceased.  Of all the children born to this pioneer couple, Henry, the subject of this sketch, and Nancy, of Kansas City, Mo., are the only survivors.      Henry Ruggles was born Jan. 6, 1816, at Belchertown, Mass., came to Ohio with his parents in 1818, and grew to manhood in Peru township, Huron county.  His youth was like that of the other boys of the settlement , and when a young man he learned the carpenter's trade.  On Jan. 9, 1844, he was married in Peru township to Florinda Tillson, a native of New York, and of the children born to this union Lyman died at Sacramento, Cal.; Lewis resides in Seneca county, Ohio; Ida married George Minard, of Milan; Inez is deceased; Anna resides at St. Louis, Mo.; Harvey resides at home, and Newton is deceased.  After their marriage Henry and Florinda Ruggles located in Norwich township, but two years afterward settled on their present farm in Peru township.  They are members of the Universalist Church.  In politics Mr. Ruggles was a Whig up to 1856, when he united with the new Republican party, of which he has ever since been a consistent member.  He has held various township offices, and has filled them all with great satisfaction to the people.  As a farmer and stock grower he is well known, for to these two departments of farm work he gives the closest personal attention. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 417
	REV. FREDERICK RUPERT, present pastor of the Immaculate Conception congregation of Bellevue, was born Nov. 21, 1849, at Massillon, Ohio.  He received his elementary education in the parochial and public schools of his native town.  In Autumn, 1868, he entered St. Louis College, Louisville, Ohio, where he devoted about five years to the sturdy of Greek and Latin classics, and higher mathematics.  In September, 1873, he was appointed to a professorship in Assumption College, Ontario, Canada.  This resigned in September, 1876, when he entered St. Mary's Theological Seminary, Cleveland, Ohio, and on July 5, 1879, received ordination at the hands of Rt. Rev. Bishop Gilmour.  Since then he has rendered pastoral service in the Cleveland Diocese.  His first appointment was Antwerp and mission, which he held till Apr. 1, 1881, when he was transferred to Shelby and mission.  In July, 1882, he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's congregation, Maumee, Ohio, and in April, 1885, was transferred to Bellevue, Ohio, as pastor of Immaculate Conception congregation.      The history of the congregation may be said to date back to 1833, when Father Francis Xavier Tschenhens, C. P. P. S., visited the Catholic families in the territory of which Bellevue is now the center.  Afterward Fathers Allig and Mahlebouf, and other missioners, came among the people, prior to 1844, when the Very Rev. Sales Brunner laid the humble foundations of the great church in Thompson township, Seneca county.  From 1844 to 1859 Rev. J. Ponchell, who was then stationed at Holy Angels Church, Sandusky, was instructed by the bishop to hold services at Bellevue at stated times.  On May 11, of that year, a paint-warehouse and the ground on which it stood were purchased from J. B. Higbee for five hundred dollars.  The house was fitted up for church purposes, and answered therefor until 1884, when the new church building was completed.      In December, 1860, Rev. J. Quinn came to administer the new parish, but remained only two months, and in April, 1861, Rev. James Monahan was appointed the first resident pastor.  He purchased, on July 18, 1863, for one thousand and one hundred dollars, a house and three lots, which he had improved at once for the purpose of a pastoral residence.  In July, 1866, he was transferred, and in September of that year Rev. T. M. Mahony was appointed pastor.  In 1867 the school was established, and the parish was in a flourishing condition in August, 1871, when Rev. E. Mears assumed charge.  On Jan. 20, 1873, Father Mears purchased two lots near the business center for one thousand and eight hundred dollars, and entertained the idea of erecting a new church.  His transfer to Crestline, Ohio, in April, 1874, delayed the project, and for the ensuing two years Bellevue parish was in charge of Rev. J. D. Bowles, who also attended Clyde, from which he had been transferred.  In July, 1876, Rev. J. Molloy was appointed pastor and remained until the arrival of Rev. W. J. Gibbons, who administered the parish until 1880, when, owning to feeble health, he retired and traveled in Europe, Rev. J. T. Cahill taking his place.  In November of that year the secretary of the diocese, Rev. George T. Houck, visited the parish occasionally, but Father Cahill continued pastor, and in October, 1881, work on the foundations of the present building was begun under his supervision.      On his return from Europe Father Gibbons resumed his pastorate at Bellevue, and on July 9, 1882, the corner stone of the new building was placed.  In the fall of 1882 he purchased a lot, west of and adjoining the lots on which the new structure stands, for six hundred dollars, and thither the pastoral residence was moved.  At this time the lots purchased by Rev. Mr. Monahan were sold for two thousand dollars, the sum going far to complete the new church.  The blessing of the new church was carried out Aug. 3, 1884, by the Bishop of Cleveland, many priests from this section of Ohio, and a great number of people, being present.  The priest, to whose earnest labors the congregation owe this elegant building, died Apr. 1, 1885, and on April 6 his remains were interred at Cleveland.      Father Rupert assumed charge of the parish Apr. 16, 1885.  The school was placed by him in charge of the Sisters of St. Francis, who came from Tiffin, Ohio, and began teaching here Sept. 1, 1885.  In November of the same year a house and lot, opposite the church, were purchased at a cost of eleven hundred dollars, and fitted up as a residence for the sisters.  On Feb. 2, 1887, and congregation purchased the public-school property, in the rear of the new church, for one thousand, three hundred and twenty-five dollars.  A further sum of nine hundred dollars was expended in repairing the old school building, and it was ready to receive pupils Sept. 1, 1887.  There are three rooms here devoted to classes, and one to music.  Within, it shows the neatness which exemplifies the life of the community of teachers; without, the grounds are well ordered.  The church and school buildings tell of care and taste, within and without, and the tout ensemble is one of the prettiest in the pretty town of Bellevue.  The stone steps, leading from the ground level to portico level, and extending along the whole front of the church, were constructed in October and November, 1887, at a cost of three hundred and seventy dollars.  This improvement, with the lavatory and sacrarium, practically completes the building.  The debt of five hundred dollars which was due on all this property in 1887 was a nominal one, and is now paid.  Even the library of the Reading Society is paid for, the members, fifty-two in number, taking special care to avoid debt.      A decade's work was finished in 1890, and on August 27 of that year, Father Rupert retired temporarily, to renew academic days, this time entering the great University at Washington, D. C.  During his absence Fathers P. W. Schirack, C. P. S., and W. J. Smith, of the Order of Fathers of Mercy, attended to parish affairs.  On Jan. 20, 1891, Father Rupert returned and resumed the duties of pastor.  The number of the congregation varies slightly.  Dull times at Bellevue, which fortunately are rare, reduce the number, but taking the decade just passed, the increase has been marked indeed.  Financially the congregation holds an enviable position.  Possessors of a most valuable property, clear of indebtedness, a cash balance of two thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars and seventy-eight cents stood to their credit in the fall of 1892.  How much credit for this progress, this pleasant condition of the parish, is due to the respected pastor of the congregation of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, can be told by the people of Bellevue, and particularly by the members of the congregation. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 373
	GEORGE M. RYERSON was born Mar. 10, 1821, in Sussex county, N. J.  His father, Peter Ryerson, followed farming, and was also an extensive tanner and currier in that county.      During the youth of George M. Ryerson, his native county was surrounded by pioneer conditions of even a more decided character than he found existing in Huron county, Ohio, in later years.  He received such an education as the subscription schools of Sussex county afforded, and then learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked continuously until some six or eight years after coming to Ohio in 1850.  On Jan. 14, 1847, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah C. Edsall, a native of Sussex county, N. J., and to them the following named children were born:  Elizabeth, who died in childhood; Sarah, born Oct. 22, 1849, who married Charles H. Burg, of Paterson, N. J.; Price V., born Nov. 6, 1851, a farmer of Greenfield township, Huron Co., Ohio; Edsall F., born Aug. 12, 1853, in Huron county, also a farmer in the neighborhood; Esther P., born Jan. 11, 1856, wife of A. G. Roe, of Peru township; George E., a farmer of Fairfield township; Dora Elzie, married to Fred Mitchell of Bronson township; Delno P., a farmer of Peru township; Kate, married to Freeman Mitchell, of Greenfield township; and Grace, the youngest child, who was married Nov. 15, 1893, to Henry T. Graham, of Greenfield.  The mother of this large family died July 4, 1877, aged fifty-three years, and was buried in Center cemetery with the rites of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she was a member.  On June25, 1878. Mr. Ryerson married, for his second wife, Miss Hannah Harrison, who was born Feb. 11, 1837, in Huntingdonshire, England, and came thence to Norwalk, Ohio, in 1867.  The children of this marriage are:  Mabel B., born May 4, 1879, and Susie A., born Aug. 28, 1880.      In 1850 Mr. Ryerson, with his wife and two children, made the journey from New Jersey to this part of Ohio, where he rented a small tract of land.  Later he purchased a larger tract in Peru township, where he now resides.  A farmer and carpenter, he found work always waiting for his hands, and his industrious character did not permit a waste of time.  A good farmer and a good mechanic, he filled the double role well, and accumulated a valuable property.  His children were all reared at home, and when each required aid in beginning life's journey, he was always ready with will and mean to assist.  Up to the Buchanan regime Mr. Ryerson was a Democrat, but since that period he has been a Republican.  He has held various township offices, and is thoroughly versed in the principles of government, always taking a deep interest in the success of his party, particularly in the management of township and county affairs.  He is a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has held several offices, and is one of its pillars and most liberal supporters.  His wife is a member of the Baptist Church.  The family are well and favorably known here and Mr. Ryerson, himself, is held in the highest esteem. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 287
	JOHN A. RYNN.  Among the most popular citizens of Norwalk is this genial representative of the Hibernian race.  His parents, Thomas and Mary (Burns) Rynn, were both born in the Emerald Isle, where they were married, soon afterward emigrating to America.  The father died when his son John A.  was a little over two years of age, having been killed in a railway accident, and the mother then married John Mullen.  Four children have been born to her second marriage, viz.:  James, Bernard, Sarah and Owen.      John A. Ryan was born Apr. 6, 1853, in Norwalk, Huron Co., Ohio, and attended the public schools.  He then took a course at the Spencerian Commercial College of Cleveland, and after finishing his education entered the employ of a wholesale grocer in Toledo, Ohio.  The following autumn he returned to Huron county, and in September, 1873, established his present grocery business, which has grown to extensive proportions.  In 1890 he became a member of the city council and in 1891 was elected president of that body.  He is county delegate of the Hibernian Society of Huron county, and in April, 1892, was sent to New Orleans as a representative of the local organization.  Mr. Rynn is no less prepossessing in personal appearance than in his genial manners, and wins hosts of friends among all classes. Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of the counties of Huron and Lorain, Ohio - Illustrated - Published: Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1894 - Page 63

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