Hello, I am new to the list so here are my reasons for joining and everything I know. My grandfather, LESLIE E. RYAN was born in Merrill in 1898 and lived there until he was about 14. His family was very poor and something happened in his childhood that made him extremely reluctant to discuss it. My mother tells me, however that he always liked Merrill. We were recently going through some of his old papers when we found some postcards that he had sent to my grandmother and her parents in the Bronx, NY when he was on a trip to Merrill trying to find some record of his birth. He didn't find a birth certificate and had to settle for his school records as proof of citizenship (evidently the building that housed the records had burned down). Anyway, the postcards are the hand tinted type from the thirties and do show a very pleasant town. I am looking for anyone who can tell me about Merrill in the early 1900s-especially from a child's perspective. Leslie's father was EDWARD D. RYAN and all I know about him is that he came from NY, worked in the logging camps, was supposedly the first telegrapher in Wisconsin and might have been a drinking man. Also, he died a cripple in the county home-probably a form of Muscular distrophy that runs in our family. He would have headed west some time after 1885 with his wife OLIVE BALDWIN and a brother of his. This brother was supposed to have been a hell cat in a fight. I get the impression that Edward and his brother were big on fighting and that they made a dangerous team. Despite the name, they were Episcopalian but attended whatever church was closest. Edward and Olive had 11 children (all born in Merrill) but only 3 survived beyond childhood (BURTON, Leslie and a sister, DAISY RYAN). Was such high infant mortality normal? What was life in the camps like? Did the families go with the men or did they stay behind in Merrill? What church & what school might he have attended I know I have a lot of questions but I do want to get a better understanding of what my grand father's life was like. Any and all bits of info or reading recommendations greatly appreciated. Thank you, Margaret Malloy