Early Life
Ayres was born at East Creek, New York, along the Mohawk River in Montgomery County. He was the son of a small-town doctor who urged all of his sons into professional careers. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1847 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. Although graduating in time for the Mexican-American War, Ayres served only on garrison duty in Puebla and Mexico City until 1850, seeing no fighting in the war.
Between the wars, Ayres was stationed at various posts on the frontier and served at the Fort Monroe Artillery School from 1859 to 1861. In 1849 he married Emily Louis Gerry Dearborn in Bangor, Maine. His second wife was Juliet Opie Hopkins Butcher, the daughter of Juliet Opie Hopkins, a woman who later became prominent establishing hospitals for Confederate soldiers in Richmond, Virginia.
Read more about this topic: Romeyn B. Ayres
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