Snyder grew up in Stark County, Ohio, and attended Mount Union College as a preparatory school, before enrolling as a sophomore at Harvard University in 1902.
On May 20, 1910, Snyder married Mount Union alumna Charlotte Bracher in Alliance, Ohio, and together they had two children, Mary Katherine and Grace Olive.
[2] While in law school, Snyder returned to Ohio to coach Oberlin college football in 1906 and remained there for five seasons.
[3] The Oberlin championship teams were led by star players T. Nelson Metcalf and Glen Gray.
[6] Sydney was heavily involved with the Knights of Pythias, achieving the position of Grand Chancellor of Ohio in 1934.