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John RitterJohn Ritter was born in the year _____ and died _____. He was married to Mary Glick in Fairfield County, Ohio probably about the year 1806 as their first child was born in 1809. I have searched the early marriage records of Fairfield County but have failed to find their marriage recorded. Many of the pioneers did not record their marriages. The Ritters and many settlers in the neighborhood did not even record their lands. From the earliest records I can find, which were obtained from the oldest people living in the county in 1875, John Ritter was here by 1802. He came from Pennsylvania, possibly Philadelphia. (Note - My grandmother said the Ritter family came to America by way of the port of Philadelphia. She also said the Ritters had the first German language newspaper in America. That the Ritters were publishers is partly born out by the Duke of Saxe Weimar when he visited Lancaster, Ohio in the year 1825. He was shown a dozen German language newspapers from various parts of the country and in his memoirs he says the best one of them was edited by "Mr. Ritter" of Philadelphia. My grandmother also stated that the Ritters were related to the Royal house of Saxony and that they lived in the city of Mannheim in the Rhine Valley before coming to America. But I do not remember her ever telling the date they came and neither have I encountered anyone who does.)Mary Glick ( Maria), John Ritter's wife, as born _____ and died _____. She was the only child of Peter Glick who was born in 1788 and died June 20, 1877. He was killed by a log that fell on him at a house (or barn) raising. His wife, Marie Barbary Glick, was born in 1767 and died in 1835. The Glicks came from Dauphin County, Penna., and were among the earliest settlers in Fairfield County, Ohio. They are buried under heavy sandstone tombstones of the bench type in the churchyard of the Old Glick church. The Ritters were originally Lutherans. But the Lutherans were not putting out a satisfactory brand of religion in those days and when the Evangelical Association came to the vicinity in the year 1816 they became of that denomination. In 1851 the Ritters left Fairfield County and took up new land in Henry County, Ohio. As far as I can determine there were quite a number of people made that migration. Among them John Ritter and wife along with their children and the families of their children. The children of John hitter are as follows: 1. Henry b. 5-25-1809 d. 9-9-1830 Single Joseph Ritter 1814-1874Joseph Ritter was born in Bloom Township. Fairfield County, Ohio in the year 1814 and died near Napoleon, Ohio in the year 1874. His wife, Frances Hoy, was born in Fairfield County in the year 1818 and died near Napoleon in 1895. They were married in Fairfield County but their marriage was not recorded and neither was their land. The German language was spoken by the Ritter family until about the year 1843 or 1850 when Joseph Ritter decided his family should speak English henceforth since they were living in an English speaking country. My grandmother never spoke anything but German until that time, and some say until she was nine which would be 1853. Joseph Ritter built a school house on his land so his children would not have so far to go to school. My grandmother started to school when she was three. Joseph Ritter moved with his family and relatives to Napoleon, Ohio in the year 1851 and took out a section and a half of virgin land. He was land poor and sold various parts of his holdings from time to time to pay taxes. Such was the fate of a farmer that had too few sons. The children of Joseph Ritter are as follows: 1. Sarah b. 1838 d. 1932 Single Granny Hoy was a famous doctor in her day. One side of a front room in her house was completely shelved and filled with medicine bottles. These shelves were still intact twenty years ago. She gathered herbs in the fields about and made her own remedies. She had a Balm of Gilead tree growing in front of her house from which various healing remedies were made with the aid of some good stout whiskey, etc. Much of the early medicines were so strong they did more damage than good, frequently. She carried her medicines in a pack saddle and rode horseback to call on her patients. Sometimes people came for her in the dead of night and she would be gone for days at a time. Frequently, in those days, doctors stayed with their patients until they either recovered or died. It was a saying in the neighborhood that nobody could heal like Granny Hoy. But the family said it came to be quite a nuisance. Daniel and Magdalena Hoy are buried at the Glick Church which is near their home. Daniel and Magdalena Hoy had eleven children, one of them born when they were fifty. Of these children only five are known today: 1. David b. 1808 d. 1897 Married Hannah Ritter. Note that the husband of Katherine Grim was known as Joe Grim to all his acquaintances around Napoleon. Her inscription states “Wife of J. Grim”. I also checked records of transfer of real estate once owned by "Uncle Joe” in which records the name is given as"Joseph Grim". They had three sons, Elmer, Nathaniel, and Earl. It is my recollection that Ezra Wolfe once upon a time sold a steamboat to Nate (Nathaniel) Grim. Perhaps this may clear up the confusion in your records of the name of Katherine's husband. Note also that the inscription of monument of Peter Ritter’s wife reads “Wilamena”. I also knew this woman who was commonly called "Minnie”. Have had several long visits with Mrs. Sturdavant and it really would do your heart good to talk with her. Although her memory is a bit hazy, with a little judicious questioning, she remembers quite wall. She says that she was five years old when her family came to Henry County. She remembers where her grandfather (the original John Ritter) lived near Shunk, but does not remember where he is buried.. Says he died a long time before her grandmother. She remembers her grandmother well as she was married before her grandmother died. She thinks that in all probability her grandparents lie side by side in the Shunk cemetery although there is no marker for him. I forgot that the inscription on the monument of the grandmother reads "Marye” Ritter, probably for the same name as is now spilled “Marie”. Mrs. Sturdavant told me that her grandmother's name was “Mary” or sometimes called ''Marie". My penmanship is so poor that I thought I would write on the typewriter so you could read it with less effort. However I don’t know that I have gained much advantage thereby. If we can be of any further assistance in this or any other matter please do not
hesitate to call on
us as we are only too willing to do all we can to help in any way. With best
wishes for a Happy
New year to yourself, Royal and the whole family, I am,
Yours truly, D. P. Woodward |
