Richard Caswell Rynex was born on 25 December 1837 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, the seventh child of John Rynex of Schenectady and Eliza Caswell of Boston. After his mother died in 1838 he was cared for by his sisters and lived in various east coast cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Georgetown, DC.

The picture of Richard below was taken
at Chattanooga, TN in 1864
He enlisted in Company F of the 23rd Missouri Infantry Regiment in Chillicothe, MO in December of 1861 and was immediately assigned to the Quartermaster Department. After the battle of Shiloh in April of 1862, in which the 23rd was badly mauled Richard was promoted to Sergeant. On 7 Feb 1863 he was discharged for disability but on 29 April appointed 1st Lieutenant and Regimental Quartermaster of the 23rd. He remained with the Regiment as it fought its way to Atlanta and, in "The March to the Sea", to Savannah, where he was mustered out on 17 Jan 1865.

He married Amanda Virginia Burns, daughter of Benjamin Burns and Ann Cross, on 27 Nov 1865 in Washington, DC. In 1866 he moved with his wife Amanda to Quincy, IL where he was an agent for the Arbuckle Coffee Company.

In 1870 the family moved to Chillicothe, MO where he operated a grocery store. Nine years later they returned to Washington.

From approximately that time until his death Richard worked as  a clerk in the Pension Office. For a part of that time he was an assistant division chief and on the board of review (See "Richard C. Rynex-1st Lieutenant and Regimental
Quartermaster", by Allison F. Childs, Privately Published, Evanston, IL, 1988).

He appeared on the census of 1860 in Lineus, Linn Co., MO.He was variously a bookkeeper, soldier, storekeeper, and US Government clerk between 1860 and 1920. He appeared on the census of 1870 in Chillicothe, MO.
The picture to the left was taken in Washington when he was 73.
He died 16 Jan 1921 in Washington, DC, at the age of 83 and was buried 19 Jan 1921 in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC.

Children of Richard Caswell1 Rynex and Amanda Virginia Burns were as follows:

 i.John Walter2 was born on 15 Jan 1867 in Quincy, Adams Co., IL; he married Sadie S. Williams, daughter of Charles D. Williams and Johanna Behrens, on 1 Dec 1891 in Washington, DC.
He died on September 1930 in Arlington, Arlington Co, VA, at age 63; he was buried on 3 Sep 1930 in Washington, DC.
ii.Richard Silas was born on 12 Jul 1869 in Qunicy, Adams Co., IL. He was a paperhanger circa 1914.
 iii.Minnie Lee was born on 8 Nov 1871 in Chillicothe, MO; she died in Sep 1938 in Washington, DC, at age 66; she was buried after Sep 1938 in Washington, DC. She was a boarding house owner and operator between 1920 and 1930 in Washington, DC.
iv.Dorothy R was born on 25 Sep 1873 in Chillicothe, MO; she died in Jan 1957 in DC at age 83; she was buried circa 1957 in Washington, DC.