John Mervin: Risingsun, Ohio Pioneer

JOHN MERVIN, one of the first settlers on the site of today’s Risingsun City, he is a well-respected resident there. Like many of the prosperous and influential men of the age, he has worked his way to success through adverse circumstances, and his well-earned competition reflects credit on him.

He is of English birth, having begun his deadly career in Leicestershire on January 11, 1824. His father, Thomas Mervin, was a butcher by trade. Our subject grew up on a farm near a small town, enjoying only the limited advantages of ordinary schools. He showed skill in handling and caring for horses, and at an early age he found employment in that work; but the opportunities for advancement seemed to discourage him and he decided to come to America. Leaving his young wife, the former Miss Elizabeth Riley, he sailed from Liverpool, in April 1849, on the ship “Joseph Badger”, and after a voyage of four weeks landed in New York. The journey to Albany was by river, from Albany to Buffalo by rail, and from Buffalo he came by lake to Sandusky, where he took the Mad River Railroad, then the only one in this region. His destination was Avon Township, Lorain County, but he mistakenly went to New Haven, Huron County. Learning of his mistake, he set out on foot for Lorain County, but on the way he fell seriously ill in Greenfield Township, Huron County, and was tended by some friendly Englishmen. When he recovered, he had only fifty cents left of the sum he had saved from his earnings for the trip and a new start in his life. This money was spent on wine to stimulate his sagging energies and instead of continuing he decided to stay and rent a farm.

In the spring of 1850 he was joined by his wife. He had a difficult journey, spending four months on the road and was shipwrecked three times. They lived there for several years, renting different farms in the locality, but in the fall of 1863 they arrived in Wood County, riding in a wagon. Mr. Mervin purchased sixty acres of land in Section 36, Montgomery Township, where the town of Risingsun is now located. At that time, the land was partially improved in the dry part and a plank house stood near his current home. However, the marshy part of the farm had to be cleared and there was a great deal of hard work to be done in the first few years of his stay; but the rapid development of the locality brought prosperity. He still owns seventy acres of surrounding land, and he also owns ten acres in Jackson Township, Seneca County. In 1877 he built a beautiful residence in Risingsun, which he has occupied ever since. Lady. Mervin’s death, December 9, 1888, brought deep sorrow to this pleasant home. His remains are buried in Trinity Cemetery, Scott Township, Sandusky County. They had nine children, all of whom are alive: Sarah, Mrs. George Young, of Seneca County; Mary, Mrs. Adam Graber, of Risingsun; George, a farmer from Perry Township; Isabel, Mrs. Frank Blonde, of Perry Township; Eliza and Lucy, who are at home; Frances, Mrs. Benjamin Bates, of Risingsun; Anne, Mrs. Courtland Essex, of the same town, and Hatty, Mrs. Russell Hoover [my great grandmother]of Montgomery Township.

Mr. Mervin’s parents came to the United States in 1855 or ’56, and settled in Greenwich Township, Huron County, where his father died at the age of seventy-three. Her mother later settled in Wood County with her children, but she died in Richland County at the age of ninety. Mr. Mervin is the eldest of six children, all living. Thomas resides in Risingsun; George, at Longley; Elizabeth is the widow of James Brinson, of Huron County; Hannah married John Thompson of Richland County, and Emma married first the late John Jenney and second John Winder of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mr. Mervin possessed in his youth a powerful physique and is still well preserved, his strictly moderate habits in his favour. A book lover, he has insightful views on the issues of the day, and his interest in educating the new generation has led to several years of skillful service as school principal. He is in principle a Democrat, but he is not bound by the partisans in choosing suitable men for local office. He is a prominent member of the ME Church.

– Wood County, Ohio, History, p. 645