1769 Johannes, son of Johannes and Helena Ruhl, was born on August 22, 1769. He was baptized on August 29, 1769, with sponsors Clemens and Anna Margaretha Ruhl, at St. Jacobs Stone Lutheran and Reformed Church, Brodbecks, Codorus Twp, York County, Pennsylvania. [1] [2]
John Ruhl was a farmer and lived in Codorus Twp, York County, Pennsylvania, near Shrewsbury. [3]
1790 There were 2 families in Codorus County, Pennsylvania with name John Ruhl, one with 2 males and 1 female and another with 6 males and 3 females. Brother George Ruhl lived nearby with 3 females (2 daughters + wife).
1793 John Ruhl and Maria Margaretha, daughter of Michael Gerberich, were married on March 24. [4]
1804 John Ruhl purchased land in Shrewsbury and Hopewell Twp.
1809 John Ruhl received a patent for a tract of land called "Caledonia" on May 24. [5]
1813 John Ruhl and wife Margaret, of Hopewell Twp, sold land to David Gorsuch on May 1. [6]
1815 John Ruhl purchased land in Shrewsbury and Hopewell Twp from George and Magdalene Albright (relation unknown).
1816 John Ruhl and wife Margaret, of Hopewell Twp, sold land to Peter Gerberich on March 13. John had received a patent for the land on May 24, 1809. [7]
1831 John Ruhl Senior and wife Margaret of Hopewell Twp, York County sold land to Peter Hoffman. [8]
1832 John Ruhl moved to Galion, Crawford County, Ohio.
1831-36 Sons Michael and Jacob may have been founders of Galion Ohio [9]
1845 John Ruhl died on February 24, in Galion, Crawford County, Ohio. [10] [11] [12]
1845 John Ruhl, of Sandusky Twp, Richland County, Ohio dated his will November 5, 1844 with probate on March 29, 1845. The will named wife Margaret, and children Jacob, Levi, Henry, Peter, Margaret (wife of Isaac Criley), John (eldest), and four children of deceased son Michael; each to receive one seventh of the estate. Also daughter Mariah. Henry ad Levi Ruhl were named executors. Witnessed by John Reisinger and Daniel Riblet. [13]
1845 Maria Ruhl died on June 6 in Galion, Crawford County, Ohio.
A biosketch, perhaps of this John Ruhl, reports [14] [15]:
John Ruhl, the father of Michael and Jacob Ruhl, had entered several quarter sections in the vicinity of Galion. He came from York County, Penn., direct to Galion and moved into a log cabin at the Corners. The cabin was without a floor, except the earth; the family consisted of father, mother, Michael, Jacob, Levi, Henry, Peter and Rebecca; the daughter: Rebecca, was married to Mr. J . Criley, who lived on a farm, which new forms the southeast portion of the city; the west line of this farm is now South street, on the corner of which stands the residence of Samuel Myers. Mr. Criley had a carding machine and fulling mill; the motive power of this machinery was a steam engine, the first that ever did service in Galion. Mr. Ruhl, Sr., was possessed of considerable means in lands and money; he purchased and sold to Jacob, his son, the northeast quarter of Section 31, and to Michael the southeast quarter of the same section. Henry Ruhl owned the Gill farm, and Levi owned the land that was known as Brewery land, on the state road, and Peter Ruhl owned a farm east of Asa Hosford's mill. Jacob Ruhl was an active member and a zealous worker in the Lutheran Church, and gave much of his time and influen ce toward the erection of the first public edifice that was dedicated to God in Galion. He erected the first saw-mill in Polk Township or near the vicinity of Galion. … Jacob has three daughters living in Galion - Mrs. O.T. Hart, Mrs. Seth Cummings and Miss Mary Ruhl. …
A biosketch, perhaps of this John Ruhl, reports [16]:
When John Ruhl arrived from Pennsylvania with his wife and five sons and a daughter, a wealthy man for those days, he purchased much of the land where the town of Galion, Ohio now stands. He had the idea that this land would make an excellent site for a town. ... A surveyor was sent for and the present Town of Galion was laid out by Michael and Jacob Ruhl in 1831. There were about thirty five lots in this original plat and every one fronted on the main street. In 1833 a second addition was laid out, east of the original plat, but all of these lots also faced on the main street with a few exceptions. There was now a rivalry between the two little towns that had been laid out. The Corners still had the trade. Ruhl's settlement finally won the contest.
A biosketch, perhaps of this John Ruhl, reports [17]:
John Ruhl, the father of Michael and Jacob Ruhl, who laid out the town of Galion, September 10, 1831, came from York county, Pennsylvania, direct to Crawford county. His family consisted of his wife and his children, –Michael, Jacob, Levi, Henry, Peter and Rebecca. He was possessed of considerable means in land and money, and his sons became important factors in the development of Polk township, and the town of Galion. His grandson, Alexander A. Ruhl, son of Jacob and Sarah (Daws) Ruhl, served as auditor of the county four years from 1859, and was elected clerk of courts in 1879. Alexander A. Ruhl was born in Shrewsbury, York county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1828; was well educated; married, in 1853, Aurelia M. Shanke, and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
John Ruhl, who came from York County, Pennsylvania, was the father of Michael and Jacob Ruhl. [18]
[1] Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, PA,York, Brodbecks, Lutheran and Reformed, St Jacobs (Stone), [AncestryRecord], [AncestryImage].
[2] James Morton Callahan, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, Vol. 2 (1912), 692, [GoogleBooks].
[3] James Morton Callahan, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, Vol. 2 (1912), 692, [GoogleBooks].
[4] James Morton Callahan, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, Vol. 2 (1912), 692, [GoogleBooks].
[5] Bureau of Land Records, Pennsylvania Land Patent Books, P60-387, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[6] York County, Pennsylvania, Deed 2Y-281, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[7] York County, Pennsylvania, Deed 3B-233, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[8] York County, Pennsylvania, Deed 3L-226, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[9] A. A. Graham, History of Richland County, Ohio (1880), 647, [GoogleBooks].
[10] James Morton Callahan, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, West Virginia, Vol. 2 (1912), 692, [GoogleBooks].
[11] Find A Grave Memorial at Ancestry.com, reports death on November 5, no documentation, [AncestryRecord].
[12] Find A Grave Memorial 60846710, [FindAGrave].
[13] Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996, Richland, Administration Record 5-10, [FamilySearchImage].
[14] A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County Ohio (Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1902), 444, [HathiTrust].
[15] History of Crawford County and Ohio. (Chicago, Baskin & Battey, 1881), [URL].
[16] Nevin Otto Winter, A History of Northwest Ohio: A Narrative Account, Volume 1 (1917), 401, [GoogleBooks].
[17] A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County Ohio (Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1902), 25, [HathiTrust].
[18] Henry Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio in two Volumes. An Encyclopedia of the State, Vol. 1 (1898), 489, [GoogleBooks].