Early Life
Ramsdell was born near Plymouth in Wayne County, Michigan, on July 29, 1833, of Scottish descent. His parents came from Massachusetts after immigrating to the United States from Scotland twenty years earlier. Ramsdell had three other brothers; two farmers by the names of D. E. Ramsdell and W. A. Ramsdell, as well as a well known judge in Traverse City, Michigan.
Ramsdell divided his time between working on his father's farm in the summers and attending school in the winter as a boy. In 1851, when he was eighteen years old, Ramsdell attended Plymouth Seminary. He graduated from there in 1856 and taught school in between terms.
His true interest was always in the legal profession. One year he was introduced to J. W. Longyear and spent this time learning law from him. He then went on to the National Law School of Poughkeepsie in New York State and graduated from it in 1858. When he became legally a lawyer in Michigan's state capitol his first job in 1859 was as a clerk for the Michigan Supreme Court. It was here that he met Chief Justice Martin of the supreme bench who suggested the lumbering town of Manistee as a place to start a law profession.
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