My Genealogy Hound

CYRUS C. RYTHER. In looking back upon the ancestors of our subject, it is found that he is descended from sturdy Welsh stock, his great-grandfather, Daniel Ryther, having passed his entire life in Wales. Daniel Ryther, Jr., son of the latter, was also born in that country, but shortly after the Revolutionary War he and two of his brothers crossed the ocean to America and located in the Old Bay State. There he married Miss Mary McKee. In connection with the saddler’s trade he also followed farming, and continued the latter until his death, he being accidentally killed by a falling tree. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.

His son, Elkhanah Ryther, was born in Massachusetts in 1795, and grew to manhood in that State. From the early age of eleven he made his own struggle for a livelihood, and when old enough enlisted in the War of 1812 as a private. Although he began earning his own living at an early age, he remained under the parental roof until after the war and learned the trade of wheel-wright and carriage-builder. From his native State he went to Beansville, Canada, and was there married to Miss Catherine Corwin, daughter of Samuel Corwin, and of English descent. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Ryther moved to Niagara County, N. Y., and after farming there for a short time returned to Canada. He settled in London and operated a machine shop for several years.

In 1838 he moved to Berrien County, Mich., entered Government land, and in connection with farming ran a sawmill for a number of years. About 1852 he went to Jackson County, Iowa, and in 1871, after the death of his wife, he returned to Michigan with his children. He found a comfortable home with our subject and died there in 1884. He and his wife were for many years members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and contributed freely of their means to its support. In early life he was a Jackson Democrat, but under Pierce’s administration he became a Republican, remaining with that party the remainder of his days. He reared a family of four children, as follows: Edgar, deceased; E. A., deceased, who was the wife of Thomas Bennett; Cyrus, our subject; and Noble E., now a resident of the State of Washington.

The original of this notice was born in Niagara County, N. Y., in 1830, and received a fair education in the common schools. He began life for himself by renting land, and when twenty-three years of age he was married to Miss Elizabeth E. Chamberlin, a native of New Hampshire, in which State her parents were also born. Nine children blessed this union, two of whom died in infancy. The remainder were in the order of their births, as follows: Mary E., deceased, who was the wife of L. I. Church; Catherine C, who married Oscar W. Phelps; Hale E.; Rebecca C, wife of Charles Nye; William C; Thaddeus V.; and Anna L., wife of R. Jessup.

Mr. Ryther bought land in Berrien County at the time of his marriage and after a short residence in Iowa returned to that county, where he remained until 1883. He then came to his present home and here he has since remained. He is the owner of eighty acres of improved land, and actively follows the occupation which he has chosen. In politics a Republican, Mr. Ryther held a number of official positions in Berrien County and has ever been enthusiastic in his support of all public enterprises. Himself and Mrs. Ryther are members of the Congregational Church. Mrs. Ryther’s parents, John A. and Mary (Clough) Chamberlin, were natives of the Granite State. John A. Chamberlin was the son of Moses and Rebecca (Abbot) Chamberlin, also natives of New Hampshire, and the former of English descent. Mary Clough was the daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Foster) Clough, and Rebecca Abbot was the daughter of Amos Abbot, who was born in New Hampshire. The latter was the son of Amos Abbot, who came to Massachusetts from England, but subsequently settled in New Hampshire. Mrs. Ryther’s great-grandfather Foster was in the first Continental Congress, and Grandfather Chamberlin was a major in the Revolutionary War, The latter had a brother, Gen. Benjamin Chamberlin, in that war.