A humble man --- and his tombstone ...

This is a brief story about a gentleman named James A. Ryan who, as a lifelong farm hand with few apparent aspirations other than to work hard, accumulated no resources and never really had a home of his own once his mother remarried when he was a teen-ager back in the 1860s.

After a lifetime of working on farms on both sides of the Wayne-Lucas county line south and west of Chariton, he died at age 75 during 1927 at the Wayne County Farm northwest of Corydon and most likely would  have been forgotten entirely --- had not he built such a foundation of respect among his neighbors and friends that they took up a collection and bought a tombstone for him.

The setting is one of my favorite cemeteries --- Hart-Woods, located on a hilltop above Wolf Creek just south of the Lucas County line due north of Cambria and southwest of Freedom. The cemetery is at the end of a lane so long it can seem as if you're never going to get there --- but it's worth the trip.

James, born March 31, 1852, in Ohio, was the eldest son of Benjamin and Alice (O'Day) Ryan and arrived in northern Wayne County with his parents about 1854. He was one of six children, but something seems to have gone wrong with the marriage during the 1860s, if not before, and during 1867, Alice married as her second husband Samuel Smith and they had additional children. Ben Ryan died of tuberculosis during March of 1870 in Washington Township, Wayne County, but we have no idea where he's buried. Alice, who died in 1900, is buried beside James at Hart-Woods.

+++

The report of James Ryan's death was published in The Chariton Leader of Nov. 22, 1927, as follows under the headline, "Death of James Ryan: This Well Known Man  Died on Last Friday."

"Clint Milthorpe attended the funeral of James Ryan, near Cambria, on Sunday afternoon. The deceased was a brother of William Ryan, of Des Moines, and Mrs. Sarah Ward of this city (Chariton). He was born in March 1852 and died on Friday, Nov. 18, 1927. The funeral was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Mitchell, three miles north of Cambria, and interment was in the Woods cemetery. The deceased had never been married, was humble by nature, somewhat peculiar in his manner of life, usually residing with the neighbors up and down along the county line, and was honest and industrious, and never lacked friends or was refused welcome. This respect was testified to at the funeral by the large attendance and the flowers that were contributed. The sermon was by the Methodist minister at Cambria, and the choir which furnished the music was also from there.

"This illustrates that a man, when it comes to final test, is judged for his qualities of honor, rather than from his power of wealth or assumption when life's fitful fever is over. James Ryan was humble but he had friends who were willing to take him into their homes when affliction overtook him and render him the needed care and consigned him to the tomb in the manner of decency and respect."

+++

A year later, in its edition of Nov. 27, 1928, The Leader published the following report headlined, "Purchased Grave Marker: Eighty-seven Persons Contributed to James Ryan Tomb Stone." Note that Leader editor Henry Gittinger got the place of death wrong --- it was the Wayne County Home (James died of colon cancer according to his death certificate) --- and Hart-Woods Cemetery is located in Wayne County, not Lucas.

"More than a year ago James Ryan died at the Lucas County Home (actually, Wayne), and was buried in the Woods cemetery in Warren township (close, but incorrect location). He was a bachelor, and had never had a home of his own, but for many years had worked for the late Lewis Bonnett, and others had shared the hospitality of their homes with him. He was always found dependable, and never lacked friends, and this respect was due him.

"In his last illness he would have been cared for by friends, but requested that he be taken to the county home, which was his right, with ample provisions --- and there he died. 

"On Wednesday of this week, a marker is to be erected at his grave in the Woods cemetery, where others of his family rest. This is a modest marker, as was proper, costing only about $50, but there were 87 contributors to it and each small subscription given was a token of esteem. There would have been larger contributions if necessary, but it was the desire that all should have a part. It is a matter of commendation that the meek should be held in memory."