ramsei

Alvin C. Ramseyer Sr. (1880–1948)

Alvin Conrad Ramseyer Sr.

17 Jan 1880 – 23 Jul 1948, born at Paris Township (Stark County)

Christopher’s great-grandfather · ancestor no. 12 · generation 4
Evidence: identity documented · link to parents documented

Family

Life and evidence

His two student essays in the Herald of Truth (read 2026-10-31). Full text and scans: A. C. Ramseyer - Herald of Truth essays (1902, 1904)

“China” (Herald of Truth, 15 Dec 1902, p. 378; signed “A. C. Ramseyer, Elkhart, Ind.” while a student at Elkhart Institute): a missions essay. China has five times the population of the United States, enough to fill 4,523 churches the size of the whole 80,000-member Mennonite Church. He describes Chinese medicine (fire, water and wind; pills of powdered snakes, centipedes, toads; tiger-bone tonic) as an opening for medical missionaries, and ends: he is not asking for money, prayers or missionaries, but for sympathy, and if readers count the Chinese as brethren, “I shall be perfectly at ease with regard to your money, prayers, and lives.” archive.org
“The Missing Link of Modern Civilization” (Herald of Truth, 28 Jul 1904, pp. 246–247; signed “Smithville, O.”): his Goshen College senior oration (academic class program, 17 June 1904). A pacifist speech: the man who will “wear the crown of the twentieth century” is the one who solves universal peace; war is “cold-blooded murder” that cannot deliver the justice it claims; he criticizes mothers who give boys “the plume and the sword” and calls for a patriotism that does not mean “shouting when the soldiers come home” or “my country, right or wrong”. It ends by asking America to lead civilization “not by turning plow-shares into swords, but swords into plow-shares.” Quoted in Creative Congregationalism (Oak Grove history, 1978). archive.org

Born near Paris, Stark County. Known as the “Potato King”, an Ohio Master Farmer, with citrus interests in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas; Bluffton College trustee; lifelong member of Oak Grove Mennonite Church.

Died of a heart attack on 23 July 1948 aboard the British SS Mauretania, travelling with a Wayne County group to the London Olympics and to visit his daughter Edna, then leading an MCC summer unit in Germany. Funeral at Oak Grove, 4 Aug 1948. A third obituary: Gospel Herald, 31 Aug 1948, pp. 821, 823.

Marriages:

  1. Grace Melvine Yoder (1881–1907) (“Mellie”) of Mingo, Ohio, 22 Dec 1905 — one daughter, Irene Mildred Ramseyer Musser (1907–1989).
  2. Mary Ellen Schrock (1886–1972) of Orrville, 11 Apr 1909.

His two wives were first cousins

Mellie’s mother was Mary Ann Schrock Yoder (1856–1945), a daughter of Moses Schrock (1828–1909); Mary Ellen’s father David Schrock (1858–1903) was Mary Ann’s brother. Shown on the 1986 illustrated tree and the 1986 tour list.

Children surviving in 1948: Irene Musser; Edna (later Edna Ramseyer Kaufman (1910–2001)); Erma (Johnson, 1912–2002); Esther (Mrs. Miller, Mission, Texas, 1916–2018); Frances Rebecca (Gundy, 1919–2006); Alvin C. Ramseyer Jr. (1921–2008); Mary Kathryn (Gerig, 1923–1995); Arden Daniel Ramseyer (1927–2017); Phyllis.

The name “Conrad” almost certainly comes from his grandmother Mary Conrad (1825–1912) (inference).

Business: dairy, potatoes, Texas citrus

See The Ramseyer farm fortune for the full story and sources. In brief:

  • 1906 Guernsey dairy herd imported from the island of Guernsey; over 200 cows by the late 1920s.
  • 1923 first potatoes; sold direct to Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Columbus and Mansfield.
  • 1932 a barn fire killed the herd, so he switched to potatoes: about 2,000 acres; 1940 about 1,300 acres around Smithville plus 300 acres of seed potatoes at Coudersport, Pa.
  • Ohio Master Farmer; trustee of Bluffton College; “extensive interests in the citrus industry of the Rio Grande Valley”; 1946 reportedly sold half his Wayne County land for 3,000 acres in Texas.
  • Died on the Mauretania bound for the 1948 London Olympics.

“Mr. Ramseyer had attained prominence many years ago as a dairy farmer. Later he specialized in potato growing, being honored with the title of Master Farmer in the State of Ohio.” — Mennonite Weekly Review, 19 Aug 1948

From the Internet Archive sweep (2026-10-31)

WhenWhat
c.1900–1904Student at Elkhart Institute / Goshen College, class of 1904: literary-society president, class treasurer, orator; wrote in the Herald of Truth (“China”, 1902; “The Missing Link of Modern Civilization”, 1904)
c.1905–1924Mara Alva Farm Guernseys; sale manager of the Ohio Guernsey Breeders’ Association; one of the importers of the large 1918 shipment of Guernseys from the island
1912Ohio State winter course; article “Draining the Rolling Land”
winter 1926–27Ohio Master Farmer, one of the twenty named by The Ohio Farmer
1927606 bushels of potatoes on one acre, “the champion potato grower of Ohio and perhaps of the United States”; 150 acres in potatoes. Joined Dr. E. L. Nixon’s Pennsylvania potato tour, which he called “A New Light” (Guide Post, May 1937)
1927–1948Bluffton College board of trustees
1932–33Penn State farm tours and agricultural engineers visit his farm
c.1935Potato partnership in Potter County, Pa. with Edward D. Fisher (seed potatoes)
1940”A large gift” remodels the Bluffton College chapel, later called the A. C. Ramseyer Chapel
Dec 1943$8,000 for Bluffton’s College Hall, on condition an equal sum be raised
Feb 1942Medal of Award, Pennsylvania Potato Growers’ Association
1942Gas well on his land, Sec. 22, Green Twp., 500,000 cu ft
1948”Smithville’s potato king” encouraged the founding of Boys’ Village

First wife Mellie Yoder’s dates are confirmed by her gravestone (31 Jan 1881 – 25 May 1907) and the 1938 Descendants of Barbara Hochstedler (which wrongly calls A.C. “son of David Ramseyer”). Source: Internet Archive full-text sweep (2026-10-31).

Where they lived

In their lifetime

Pedigree

%%{init: {"flowchart": {"useMaxWidth": true}}}%%
flowchart RL
  n53559232["Catherine M. Zook (1801–1875)"]
  n49867489["Peter Ramseyer (1822–1880)"]
  n63931845["Nathan Smiley (1797–1872)"]
  n37384099["Daniel Ramseyer (1856–1942)"]
  n40092133["Alvin C. Ramseyer Sr. (1880–1948)"]
  n31667365["Johannes Ramseyer (1780–1853)"]
  n40487033["Barbara Reich (1826–1894)"]
  n347016["Jacob Reich (c.1795–1873)"]
  n40516889["Louise Eckinger (c.1797–1873)"]
  n53370897["Mary Conrad (1825–1912)"]
  n33449834["Rebecca Smiley (1856–1932)"]
  n17242263["Barbara Kaufmann (1779–1844)"]
  n57993883["John Smiley (1822–1879)"]
  n32215555["Anna Stutzman (fl. 1822)"]
  n86033669["Daniel Jacob Conrad (1798–1882)"]
  n40092133 --> n37384099
  n37384099 --> n49867489
  n49867489 --> n31667365
  n49867489 --> n17242263
  n37384099 --> n40487033
  n40487033 --> n347016
  n40487033 --> n40516889
  n40092133 --> n33449834
  n33449834 --> n57993883
  n57993883 --> n63931845
  n57993883 --> n32215555
  n33449834 --> n53370897
  n53370897 --> n86033669
  n53370897 --> n53559232
  class n53559232,n49867489,n63931845,n37384099,n40092133,n31667365,n40487033,n347016,n40516889,n53370897,n33449834,n17242263,n57993883,n32215555,n86033669 internal-link;

Conflicts

  • Find a Grave header gives death 23 Aug 1948, Wooster — error for 23 July 1948 at sea (obituaries and family tree)

Sources

In the Washington Post, 21 January 1928 (society column)

“Miss Dorothy E. Teeple, of Akron, Ohio, is at the Grace Dodge Hotel for the week-end. She is accompanied by Mr. A. G. Teeple, also of Akron; Mr. A. C. Ramseyer and Miss Edna Ramseyer, both of Smithfield [sic, Smithville], Ohio.”
A party of four: A.C. (aged 47) and his daughter Edna (17), with Dorothy E. Teeple and A. G. Teeple of Akron (relationship not stated). Who they were (checked 2026-11-01): Aaron G. Teeple of Akron was a co-owner of The Akron Pure Milk Company (bought 1904 with O. N. Harter, H. D. Teeple, J. M. Sumner and W. Teeple), its secretary and treasurer in 1907–09 and secretary in 1920 and in A History of Akron; in 1928 he and Harry D. Teeple were directors of the Depositors Savings & Trust Co. of Akron. In 1909 his household at 236 S. Balch St. included Mary F. (wife), Beulah I. (student) and Edna P. Dorothy Elizabeth Teeple (A.B. Hiram College) was a teacher at Norton Township High School in 1925, living at 241 Merriman Rd., Akron; in 1921–22 she was librarian and Beulah Teeple principal at the Southern Christian Institute, Edwards, Mississippi (a Disciples of Christ school). So Dorothy was probably Aaron G. Teeple’s daughter (Beulah’s sister), not proved. Likely link to A.C.: in 1928 A.C. still ran his Guernsey dairy (about 200 cows until the 1932 barn fire), and Akron Pure Milk bought and bottled milk about 30 miles away; a supplier–buyer acquaintance is plausible but unrecorded. (By 1926–29 another man was listed as Akron Pure Milk’s secretary-treasurer, so Teeple’s role may have changed.) Sources: Akron City Directory 1909 (archive.org akron-city-directory-1909); American Legion 2nd National Convention program 1920; A History of Akron (historyofakron0000jame); Trust Companies of the United States 1928; Hiram College Alumni Directory 1925; World Call, Dec 1922. The Grace Dodge Hotel, near the Capitol, was the YWCA’s hotel for women. Purpose of the trip not stated. Source: archive.org per_washington-post_1928-01-21_18846.

Narratives and research

Open questions

  • Find a Grave header gives death 23 Aug 1948, Wooster — error for 23 July 1948 at sea (obituaries and family tree)

Research log

  • 2026-11-01: History of Wayne County (1910) p. 988: born 17 Jan 1880, Goshen graduate, married first Miss Yoder and second Miss Schrock; bought 118 acres from his father
  • 2026-11-01: Washington Post 21 Jan 1928 society column read: A. C. and Edna Ramseyer with Dorothy E. Teeple and A. G. Teeple of Akron at the Grace Dodge Hotel, Washington
  • 2026-11-01: Teeples identified: Aaron G. Teeple, Akron Pure Milk Co. officer; Dorothy E. Teeple, Hiram graduate and teacher, probably his daughter (lead). Beacon Journal obituary suggested by Christopher is paywalled (not read)

Record compiled 31 October 2026.

About this research

Supporting documentation is linked throughout. This project is an exercise in AI-assisted research and development, and I haven’t manually verified every link or conclusion. All transcriptions and translations of Swiss parish records were made with AI, and their accuracy should be treated accordingly.

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