Ruth was born in Salem, Ohio which is a city in northern Columbiana County and southern Mahoning County, Ohio, a border city. Her birthdate was 1 August 1831. In Ruth's childhood, Salem had a population of about 250 people. Two sections of the city are now designated National Register historic districts: the "Salem Downtown Historic District" and Sugar Tree Alley, designated 1995), and the "South Lincoln Avenue Historic District" (designated 1993), which includes several of the town’s monumental and architecturally distinctive homes. But Ruth's parents didn't remain in Salem for very long, even though it seems like it would have been a pleasant city. When Ruth was four years old, the Larrison family was located in Iowa. Ruth had nine siblings, one was born in Indiana, another born in Iowa, and all the others were born in Ohio.
As I mentioned in John Shepard's biography, Ruth and John were married in 1855 or 1856 in Adams County, Ohio and had three children, all born in Iowa:
Oct 1856 Jessie S.
Jun 1858 Charles G., our ancestor
Nov 1860 George
Ruth's three children married and had families. So, she had about 12 grandchildren living close to her in her senior years, in Hicksville, Defiance, Ohio. Ruth died in Hicksville at age 72 and 3 months and is buried there at the Forest Home Cemetery.
RUTH LARRISON
BORN: 1 Aug 1831 in Salem, Columbiana, OH
MARRIED: abt. 1855 in ,Adams, OH
DIED: 24 Nov 1904 in Hicksville, Defiance, OH
SOURCES: Federal Census 1850-1900; Ohio County Marriages 1789-2013; Death Record from Defiance Courthouse; Shepard Genealogy Booklet written by Ruth's descendants, Mary Shreffler Kirsch and her son, David Kirsch.
