Michael Cryder

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Husband Michael Cryder ¹

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           Died: 1816 - near Chillicothe, Ross Co, OH 2
         Buried:  - near Hopetown, Ross Co, OH

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Wife

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Children

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1 M Israel Cryder ²

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           Born: 26 May 1764 - Lancaster Co, PA 2
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           Died: 8 Jun 1845 - ? Huntingdon Co, PA 2
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         Spouse: Hannah Seivert (      -1834) 2
           Marr: 4 Jul 1797 2

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2 M Daniel Cryder ²

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3 M Henry Cryder ²

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4 M John Cryder ²

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5 M Emanuel Cryder ²

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6 M Jacob Cryder ²

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7 M David Cryder ²

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8 F Elizabeth Cryder ²

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9 F Susan Cryder ²

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General Notes: Husband - Michael Cryder

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A miller by trade, he moved with his family from near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to the town of Huntingdon in the fall of the year 1771, and in 1772 obtained from the proprietaries a warrant for the land about two miles above the town of Huntingdon, including the water-power of the Juniata River, and commenced the erection of a grist- and saw-mill thereon, which in due time were in running order. Beginning with 1778, the hardships of frontier life were augmented by the treachery of Tories who were active in stirring up strife between the Indians and the patriots, or "rebels against King George," as the Tories were pleased to call them. Some of these Tories manifested great enmity towards Mr. Cryder and his sons on account of their patriotic sentiments, and marked them for their special vengeance "when Howe would overrun Pennsylvania and subdue the rebellion," as they designated the great struggle then going on with the mother-country for independence.
One morning during the dark days of the Revolution, when the hope of the brave band of heroes battling for independence along the Atlantic slope had almost expired, Israel, one of Mr. Cryder's sons, on going to the mill to start the machinery, found on the front door the inscription mentioned on page 26, "This mill belongs to Gen. Howe." Neither fear of personal danger nor apprehension of loss or destruction of his property caused Mr. Cryder for a moment to withhold his support from or to doubt the ultimate success of the American cause.
When Michael Cryder came to the valley of the Juniata he possessed some capital, and by his enterprise in business and the exercise of good judgment in taking up lands, he soon became possessed of considerable real estate and came to be regarded as a man of wealth. He was appointed a deputy commissary for the Continental army. At this time the united colonies had little else than "Continental money" with which to pay the soldiers or procure supplies for the army, and this money became practically worthless, so that Mr. Cryder, bent upon doing his full duty, pledged his personal credit to obtain the much-desired provisions and forage, and when the war ended he found himself heavily indebted, and the Continental treasury so nearly bankrupt as to afford him no relief. This heavy debt, the price of his patriotism, would have disheartened most ordinary men, but he persevered, and by thrifty and careful management of his business, and the sale of the greater part of his lands, paid off all his obligations, and in the year 1796, with his wife and family (except his sons Israel and Daniel), consisting of five sons, Henry, John, Emanuel, Jacob, and David, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Susan, removed to the valley of the Scioto, Ohio, and there began the battle of life anew.
He settled a large tract of river-bottom land near Chillicothe, where he died in 1816, leaving his large family amply provided for, and was buried near Hopetown, Ross Co. A large portion of the lands then taken up by him was long owned and occupied by his descendants.
Michael Cryder was a man of strong religious convictions, and as an exhorter or local preacher of the Methodist persuasion was in the habit of expounding the word of God to the early settlers of the Juniata Valley, and continued to do the same for the settlers of the Scioto after his removal there. He was a man of great muscular power, massive frame and iron constitution, courageous, daring, and capable of great physical endurance. His sons, like their father, were all powerfully-built men, none of them being under six feet in height, and all muscular in proportion to their stature, and, like him, were courageous and daring, fond of adventure, and consequently well fitted to battle with the ever-changing vicissitudes, hardships, and perils of border life, and by their intelligence, courage, daring, and indomitable wills did much to encourage the early settlers in maintaining and defending their homes and firesides, against the machinations of the Tories and wiles of the treacherous natives surrounding them, during the frequent incursions made by them into the valley for plunder and massacre during the dark days of our Revolutionary struggle. He was not only a successful and daring frontiersmen, brave, hardy, and alert in defense of his home and property, but was also an enterprising business man, as is attested by the fact that he was the first man to successfully navigate the falls of the Susquehanna.

He was the father of eleven children; only one, the youngest, was still living in 1883.

1 J. Simpson Africa, The History of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: Louis H. Everts, 1883), Pg 420.

2 J. Simpson Africa, The History of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA: Louis H. Everts, 1883), Pg 421.