Joseph Ramsdell was born in 1779 in Marblehead, Massachusetts, where he learned maritime trades including barrel making. He left Massachusetts at about age 20, trekking north and west through New Hampshire and Vermont, probably using family connections as he went. In Vermont he … [Read more...] about Joseph Ramsdell: Progenitor of the Lighthouse Ramsdells
Bruce Ramsdell
About Bruce Ramsdell
I am 5th generation South Dakota Ramsdell. In 1974, I moved to Atlanta to attend Emory University where I earned my MD degree. I practiced general medicine in Atlanta for 30 years and now am partially retired doing hospice medicine. I am married to my partner Marvin White of 23 years and live in Midtown Atlanta. Over the years I have taken interest in the many apocryphal family stories about the Ramsdells. Some of them involving black sheep, wild west battles and others of political office. It took me several years to discover Joseph Ramsdell who was a lighthouse keeper at the Split Rock Lighthouse in Essex, NY! Three years ago I formed the Lighthouse Ramsdells Facebook page. Essex is the location where all the descendants of Joseph the lighthouse keeper Ramsdell can call home.