The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-02
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The vicissitudes of Fortune

The Yicissitudes of Fortune
 The abnormal haste of our time ana the airnless dash for something new rops HIS of much that is interesting ana en- tertaining in daily life By chance the writer made the acquaintance of the ei- derlv lady. Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Ryan, formerly Miss Mary Elizabeth sims. AL though in her 77th year, Mrs. Ryan ID rich in memories of bygone days, memo- ries which she relates with earnestness and accuracy, mixed with keen wlt ana pleasant humor. She numbers among her ancestors many noted persons, ana an
 hour with her recalls days when men
 ventured across the stormy seas to the
 wilds of America"
 Mrs. Ryan's great-grandfather Joseph
 Sims. came out from Wales, and after crossing the Atlantic in fragile park, landed in the new world and settled Tn
 Westmoreland county, Virginia. Here ne married a Miss Wythe sister of George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration or ln- dependence, and at one time governor of Virginia To them was born son.
 Francis Wythe Sims. The Sims estate joined that of Washington's, and Francis Wythe Sims and George Washington be- came comrades. They often roamed the woods together, hunting duck and pursu- ing the sports which nature offered the sons of country gentlemen In those days
 However in time, Francis Sims, touched
 with the restless spirit of that period,
 migrated to South Carolina, where he
 settled and married Elizabeth Prlm, a
 lady of high social rank.
 Here Mrs. Ryans fathers and mother s families interningle. James T. Prim mar ried Mary Barksdale, sister of James AL len Barksdale. This family were of Scotch blood, and traced their lineage back two generations to Sir John and
 Lady Jane Douglass of Scotch fame.
 James Allen. Mary Barksdales uncle, set tied in New Orleans, and his wealth and prestige as a cotton merchant gave him
 prominene throughout all the surround ing country. At the death of this James
 Allen, Mary Ryan's mother received
 legacy from his estaJe
 The Sims and Prim families were both
 located in South Carolina, and here Mrs.
 Ryan's father, John Marion Sims. and
 her mother, Sara Prim, were born. These
 two families pushed beyond the noun
 tains, and set foot upon the lonely wilder
 ness called by the fed-skinned natives Alabama" It was then territory, a
 dismal forest land, dotted here and there
 with Indian settlements some unfriend- ly-cven hostile-to the pale-faced in truders In what is now Columbana, Ala, John Marion Sims and Sara Prim
 were married. They did not remain here
 but migrated southward. Sims, with two
 partners, purchased from the Indians the
 site now occupied by Wetumpka. On
 October 9, 1885, was born the subject of
 this sketch, Mary Elizabeth Sims, the
 first white child born in Wetumpka, Ala.
 That same night the Indians made a saw
 age attack upon the little village and threatened to exterminate it; but the
 whites. after a desperate fight, succeeded
 in making a successful defense. In this
 primitive settlement the child Mary was reared under the wholesome influence Of
 her excellent parents.
 In the year 1853 Mary Elizabeth Sims
 was married to James Leggett Ryan in Cahaba, Ala few interesting facts concerning Mir. Ryan's connection will not be arniss at this point Marcus Cornelius Ryan, father of James l.. Ryan, was an Irish gentleman, who had migrated from his Dublin home and settled in Nort~ Carolina For many years he was a prominent member of the legislature, and was One of the richest men Tn ms state, owning 300 slaves. He married into the immediate family of Patrick Henry. At present Mrs. Ryan has in her posses sion silver spoons 400 years old which have been handed down through many gener- ations in the Ryan family. The late James Leggett Ryan was an indefatigable worker for the Confederate cause during the civil war, and won the title of Cap tain''' for his faithful services in the l Confederate army.
 | MT. and Mrs. Ryan changed their resi- dence several times before locating on l their plantation in Oktibeha, Miss At | this place Captain Ryan carried on an ex- | tensive mercantile business and accumu- lated a neat fortune. In due time he sold | his rich 'cane bottoms" in Mississippi | and settled in Birmingham with his wife. At Captain Ryan's death which oc- cured here in Birmingham, Mrs. Ryan | met with an unfortunate circumstance By strange and questionable means some 1 unknown party disrossessed the widow of | all her papeis and of a considerable sum | of gold money. At one stroke this re. | markable woman of wealth and cultur, | was left alone in the world to battle with | adverse fortune. However, her rich char | acter was not impoverished by the hand | of fate and at IT we still find in her gentlewoman of fine humor, attractive | personality and gracious manner. We of l fewer years owe loving tribute to those | in our midst of riper years and richer | lessons who have lived life's long term
 amid changes of time and tide and still | maintain sweet equanitplty and gentle ness. CHARLOTTE MARTIN. Birmingham, April l. 1910