Maria Simons
Maria was born in 1841 in the area of Great Gap in Ivinghoe, England. At 10 months old, her family immigrated to North Royalton, Ohio aboard the ship Philadelphia. Here she was raised with her five siblings. At 16, Maria met a local tailor named Ed Christian from the village of Berea who was also an immigrant from the British Isles. The couple married in 1857 and Ed became a prominent figure in the community (and thus Maria did as well). The couple had 9 children together during their 53 years of marriage. Maria died in Berea in 1911 at the age of 70.