Mathias or Matthias Shryock (born near

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

, 1774 – died in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, 1833) was an early American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and building contractor.

Life and career

Shryock was born in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he married in 1798, but moved to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, eventually settling in Lexington. He built his family's home on the site of what is now

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

. In 1814, Shryock designed the first Episcopal church in Lexington, as well as many homes. Around the years 1818 to 1820, he built what is now known as the

Mary Todd Lincoln House Mary Todd Lincoln House in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, was the girlhood home of Mary Todd, the future first lady and wife of the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. Today the fourteen-room house is a museum containing period furniture, portraits, ...

, which was purchased by her father, Robert S. Todd, in 1832.

Personal life and death

He was the father of two other American architects:

Gideon Gideon (; ) also named Jerubbaal and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites is recounted in of the Book of Judges in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. Gideon was th ...

(1802 – 1880) and

Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus () was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a famous model of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Modern historians quest ...

(1816 – 1888), both of whom were born in Lexington and achieved fame in their own right, particularly within Kentucky. According to one Kentucky Department of Highways plaque, the " st known surname in Kentucky architecture is Shryock." In all, Mathias Shryock fathered a total of ten children. Shryock died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and is buried in

References

External links

* 1774 births 1833 deaths Architects from Lexington, Kentucky Architects from Maryland Deaths from cholera in the United States Infectious disease deaths in Kentucky 19th-century American architects People from Frederick County, Maryland {{US-architect-18C-stub