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Notable people · Explorer · Author · Surveyor · Town Founder

James Riley

A Connecticut sea captain who was shipwrecked off Morocco in 1815 and enslaved in the Sahara, Riley wrote a famous account of it, which Abraham Lincoln later named as an influence. He surveyed lands in northwest Ohio and founded Willshire in Van Wert County.

At a glance

Born
1777-10-27
Died
1840-03-13
Known as
Explorer, Author, Surveyor, Town Founder

Life story

James Riley was born October 27, 1777, in Middletown, Connecticut. He went to sea at fifteen and was a ship's captain by twenty. He married Phebe Miller in 1802 and they had five children.

In August 1815 his brig Commerce was wrecked off Morocco. He and his crew were captured and he led them across the Sahara. His account of the ordeal, published in 1817 and known as Sufferings in Africa, became a bestseller, and Lincoln later named it one of three books that shaped his views on slavery.

Riley later worked as a surveyor for the federal government. He surveyed the Van Wert town site in 1824, on lands bought from Native nations by treaty in 1818, and founded the town of Willshire in what is now Van Wert County, naming it for William Willshire, who helped win his freedom.

He died March 13, 1840, at sea on the William Tell, on a trip to the Caribbean; the effects of his desert captivity were blamed for his health.

Timeline

  • 1777-10-27: Born (Middletown, CT) source
  • 1802: Marries Phebe Miller source
  • 1815-08: Brig Commerce wrecked off Morocco; crew crosses the Sahara (Morocco) source
  • 1817: Publishes his narrative, known as Sufferings in Africa source
  • 1824: Surveys the site of Van Wert for the government (Van Wert, OH) source
  • 1840-03-13: Dies at sea aboard the William Tell (At sea) source

What James is known for

  • Wrote Sufferings in Africa (1817)
  • Surveyed Van Wert-area lands in 1824
  • Founded Willshire, Ohio
  • Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce (1817), known as Sufferings in Africa

Honors and things named for them

  • Willshire, Ohio, was founded by him

Family

  • wife: Phebe Miller

Ohio places

Where James Riley was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Myths and corrections

  • Some retellings say Riley named Willshire for the man who 'bought' him; William Willshire helped secure his freedom from slavery.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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