Charlotte was the third of six daughters and one son born to New Englanders Elijah and Catherine Whipple Bond. She was born in Genessee County, New York. Her parents were from New Hampshire.
It's possible to get an idea of the family's movement west by looking at birth and marriage places. Elijah and Catherine were married in Kingston, Vermont in 1816. The first daughter, Mary Angeline, was born in Vermont. The next five daughters, Philena, Charlotte, Harriet, Jane and Marinda, were all born in New York. Son John was born in Summit County, Ohio in 1836.
Sometime around 1847 the senior Bonds, along with several of their married daughters, moved to Noble County, Indiana, and that is where they settled. Charlotte and her husband, James Ryland, lived near Kendallville and Charlotte's sisters, Harriet Graham and Marinda Ihrie lived near Lisbon, where their father, Elijah, became an exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
It is unfortunate that in that time period women's stories are mostly the stories of their husbands, especially when they settled in somewhat rural areas. So Charlotte's life was circumscribed by being the wife of a farmer and the mother of 5 sons - Francis Marion, James Arthur, George Washington, Charles Albert Eugene, and Alfred Adelbert - and 1 daughter, Olive Clerzen, who died as an infant.
Son Alfred died unmarried at the age of 29. George Washington had some sort of accident that left him somewhat brain damaged and he lived with his parents until they died, after which time he was cared for by his brother Charles.
As her sons married, some moved away - James to Kansas and Francis to Ohio. Charles stayed in Indiana until both Charlotte and James died, and then he and his brother George moved to Mississippi.
Charlotte was widowed in 1902 and our family has letters from her written in 1907 where she admits she is going deaf and that she is lonesome to see her sons who have moved away. She chides her sons for not writing often enough and praises her grandson, Byrd Ryland (son of son James) for continuing to write letters to her, the last one about the birth of Byrd Jr., her grandson, in Kansas. She died in 1908.
She and her husband are buried in the Kendallville, Indiana cemetery. Two obituaries exist, one from the Kendallville Sun on 11/5/1908:
Ryland, Charlotte, 87, died at Lima Ohio where she was visiting her sister, Monday. She was the widow of James Ryland of Allen Twp who died about 6 years ago. She had resided in Allen Twp since 1847, coming to this county from Ohio. She leaves 4 sons, C.A. and G. W. of Allen Twp., F.M. of Cincinnati, and J.A. of Caldwell, Kansas.A second larger obituary was printed on November 11, 1908 that added the following information:
Charlotte Ryland: Daughter of Elijah and Catherine Bond, she was born in Genessee County, NY Dec. 25, 1820. She with her parents came to eastern Ohio in 1832 and was married to James Ryland in 1841. On July 24, 1902 her husband died, aged 82 years 3 months and 23 days. They had 5 sons and one daughter. The daughter died in infancy and one son in early manhood. She died November 3, aged 87 years 10 months and 8 days.
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