source: VWCo Historical Society files

(12-14-25) On December 15, 1843, Mahalia Jane Riley was born to James Watson and Susan (Ellis) Riley in St. Marys, OH. James Watson Riley (1804-1870) along with George H. Marsh and Peter Aughenbaugh platted the town of Van Wert in 1835. Her grandfather, Captain James Riley, brought his family to Van Wert County in 1821 and laid out the town of Willshire.

At Van Wert’s Centennial celebration on June 6, 1935, Mahalia Riley Hodder at the age of 91 years, spoke of her father and family. She died at the age of 95 on January 18, 1939.

Mahalia Riley Hodder

“My father, James Watson Riley, was a lad of 17 when his family moved to Van Wert County. He had the benefit of good schools in Middletown, Connecticut, where he was born; he had studied engineering and being the eldest of his father’s family, he had felt the responsibility of helping his mother to rear the younger children in his father’s absence.

“He was 6 feet and 1 inch in height; he appeared much older than he was when he took charge of a surveying corps and led them into a swampy wilderness where no white man had been before. I think my father was a born pioneer; ready to surmount all obstacles that a primeval forest, wild animals, and savae Indians presented. He could have led an expedition across the continent, like Lewis and Clark, I feel sure.

“Father was a seer, always looking forward to the possibilities that lie far in future…. He taught us to revere inventive genius, as a creative power.

“In his family and society, my father was most genial and helpful and merry; and in the sickroom, he was like a gladsome ray of light. I have heard men say that his cheery calls at their bedside was worth more than any medicine.

“Of his humanity, generosity, and unseflishness, I could write a volume. Let the fact speak for itself that in those early days, when there were no charitable institutions in western Ohio, his home was always open to those who needed aid; he reared six orphan children, although he had six of his own, my mother being in full sympathy with him.”

The sketch is of James Watson Riley. This link gives a brief history of him: https://mercer.ohgenweb.org/bios/m-r/riley-james-watson.php.

The Rileys graves are marked in North Grove Cemetery in Celina, Ohio.

The Hodder’s graves are marked in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

From “History of Mercer County, Ohio, and representative citizens” by S. S. Scranton, published in 1907, pgs. 314.

James Watson Riley

James Watson Riley, the eldest of the above family, became one of Mercer County’s most distinguished men. He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, February 20, 1804. When he was 19 years of age, he assisted his father in surveying Southern Michigan and Northern Ohio and Indiana. Before he had reached his majority he was appointed clerk of courts of Mercer County. At that time the county seat was St. Marys, but in 1839 it was moved to Celina. This position he held for a period of 20 years, resigning it in 1841 to take charge of the United States Land Office at Lima, being one of President William Henry Harrison’s first appointees.

James Watson Riley was originally a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, when he became one of the earliest and stanchest supporters of the new organization. In 1843 he was elected to the Ohio Legislature and subsequently was appointed chief clerk of the State auditor. Upon his resignation of this position, he returned to Celina, always having been deeply interested in the development of this place. In 1853 he removed to Sandusky in order to give his younger children better educational advantages, and became attorney for the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad Company. His death occurred at Celina, January 1, 1870, from an accident received at Toledo.

In September, 1827, Mr. Riley married Susan Ellis, of Alexander, New York, and they had six children born to them, namely: William Willshire, a physician and statesment, at Judsonia, Arkansas; Calvin Erastus, president of the Commercial Bank Company of Celina; Amelia Ann, deceased, formerly wife of Capt. William McMurray, a hero of the Civil War; James Watson, Jr., residing in Celina, who distinguished himself in the Civil War; Susan (wife of Hon. E.M. Ashley, of Denver, Colorado), who was one of the vice-presidents of the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, and the first president of the Colorado Federation of Women’s Clubs; and Mahala, who is the wife of Judge A.J. Hodder, a prominent resident of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. James W. Riley also reared and adopted six orphan children.