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1847, the Cleveland Herald reported the following: "Mr. Ruggles is about commencing another schooner in his prolific ship yard. It is to be of about 20 tons burthen and in readiness for the spring trade. This, if we count right, will be the seventh Schooner built by him within two years, and none of them less than 200 tons, custom house measurement. The total number built here within that time, is nine, with an aggregate over 1,800 tons." Salmon Ruggles died in 1868 and is buried in Milan Cemetery, Milan, Ohio. CAPTAIN HENRY KELLEY (1816-1903) Henry Kelley was born on March 1, 1816 in Rochester, New York. He married Betsey Jones and they became the parents of Bessie M., Henry J., and Frank. Kelley had sailed the lakes since the age of 16, later becoming a lake captain and commanding several vessels for Ebenezer Merry of Milan. Kelley moved to Milan in the 1850s and apparently took over the Merry & Gay yard. D. Gilmore and William Raynor were his master builders. When the schooner Day Spring was built in 1860, William Shupe, D. Gilmore, William Raynor, and the Ruggles Brothers all played a part in her construction. She was launched on May 25, 1860. The Kelley ship yard flourished and no less than 15 vessels were built there during the years 1852-1867. Kelley was civic-minded, serving on the Milan town council, as well as the Erie County Board of Commissioners. Captain Henry Kelley died on May 8, 1903 in Milan at the age of eight- seven. He was one of the oldest captains and vessel builders on the Great Lakes. He is buried in Milan Cemetery, Milan, Ohio. MERRY & GAY Ebenezer Merry was born in East Hartford, Connecticut on July 21, 1773. He founded the town of Milan, Ohio in 1815, originally calling it Beatty. He died in Milan in 1846. James P. Gay was born on February 22, 1814. He married Sarah Elizabeth Skinner and their marriage was blessed with two children: Lillie S. and Harry. Gay's roll appears to have been more of a promotor and business man than a shipbuilder. After leaving Merry & Gay, he relocated in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died on March 16, 1882 and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio. Merry & Gay started a yard at the foot of Market Street in Milan. Dave F. Edwards was brought in as the foreman in 1854. Born on December 20, 1819 in New York, City, Edwards had formerly worked at the shipyard of W. H. Webb in New York. It appears he stayed on after the closing of the Merry & Gay yard at Milan, building either for himself or Captain Henry 170