SYLVESTER RYNEARSON, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 26; P. 0. Gettysburg. Abraham, the father of Sylvester, is a native of Ohio, born in Warren Co. on the 27th of April, 1812. He married Rachel Ball, who is a native of the same State and county, born on the 12th of August, 1817 ; they have seven children living, viz.: Sylvester, Alice (Mrs. Huffer), Emeline, Stroud, Cyrus, Minerva (Mrs. Fouts) and Letha. Mr. Rvnearson came to Darke Co. in 1836, where he now resides, being 67 years old; Rachel, his wife, being 62. Sylvester, the subject of this memoir, is a native of Ohio, born in Warren Co. on the 5th of December, 1835: he received a good common-school education in the district schools: he remained at home till he was 21 years of age, assisting his father in the cultivation of the soil; he then left home and began to work for himself by the month on the farm, which he followed for a period of four years, except three months, when he worked in a flouring-mill, and in four years he put in forty-four months of hard work, which speaks volumes for his industry and correct business habits; in the four years' work he saved $350; however, during this time, he made a visit to Iowa (Mahaska Co.), where he worked on a farm, receiving $15 per month part of the time, and $10 for the other. On the 1st day of November, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company C, 5th [sic] Iowa Regiment (infantry), James A. Silvers. Captain of the company, and Col. H. T. Reid, regimental commander; he was an entire stranger to all, but approached the Captain with the salutation, "Captain, I have come to enlist in your company." This regiment, when its organization was commenced, in November, 1861, was intended by Gen. Fremont for the protection of Missouri; when it was mustered in at Keokuk, in 1862, the programme was changed and it was sent down to do duty on the Tennessee River; they joined Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing, and in the battles of the 6th and 7th they lost one-fourth of their number; and it was in these hard-fought battles that he ever fired an army gun, the first fire being at the would-be destroyers of the Union. Mr. Rynearson, as well as the 15th Iowa V. I., has a proud record; for three years and a half he, with his compaivy, bore the brunt of battle, participating in many of the hardest fought engagements of the West, from Pittsburg Landing down to the capture of Vicksburg, Atlanta, and all the bloody battles preceding it; followed Sherman in his conquering march through the heart of the South, and their battle-torn standards bear them witness that they preserved their valor well. Mr. Rynearson entered the company as a private, but, through his heroism, strictly temperate habits, and his intelligence, filled every non-commissioned and commissioned office of the company, returning as Captain of Company C. The original strength of the regiment was 1,038; of these only 712 remained on the roll, and only 535 officers and men were present to be mustered out on July 24, at Louisville, Ky. Their several marches, added together, show that during his service he marched 7,898 miles. The company entered the service with 108 men, of whom only fourteen returned home. He was in twenty-two hard-fought battles, and was under fire of the enemy from the 9th of June, 1864. until the 2d of September, 1864; he participated in every engagement that the company had, every march; sickness never prevented him from discharging his duty, and returned home without a scratch from the enemy's bullet, receiving his discharge at Davenport, Iowa, on the 3d of August, 1865. After his return, he followed farming for his father, and in June, 1866. he purchased 100 acres of land near Farmland, Randolph Co., Ind., for which he paid $4,000. On the 13th day of September, 1866, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Mary Jane Clark, an accomplished young lady, daughter of John and Sarah Clark, who was born in Warren Co., Ohio, on the 29th day of December, 1839. In the fall of 1866, he moved on his farm, where he remained until 1870, when he sold his farm for $5,300, and purchased 140 acres in Darke Co., Ohio, Adams Township, Sec. 26, paying $11,000. where he now resides. Mr. Rynearson has accumulated a considerable amount of property by his hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife. They are active workers in the cause of religion, being members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Gettysburg; he is a charter member of the Masonic order of Gettysburg; also one of the managers of the Darke County Agricultural Society; recommended by Gen. W. W. Belknap, who says of him: "He is a very worthy man, and was a gallant officer of my regiment (15th Iowa), during the war." They have one child, viz., Eddy, born in Randolph Co., Ind., on the 23d of June, 1867.
SOURCE: The History of Darke County, Ohio, W. H. Beers & Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1880, p. 564-5
