User:CaptivatingtheKing/John Ryan railway magnate

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Esquire
John Ryan
Portrait commissioned in 1877
Born25 December 1834
Doon, County Limerick, Ireland
Died21 March 1902
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
CitizenshipCanadian
OccupationRailway magnate
OrganizationH. & J. Ryan
SpouseMargaret Isabella McSween
ChildrenHelen Margaret “Nellie” Ryan (daughter)
Isabelle Teresa “Rita” Ryan (daughter)
Maj. John Raymond Ryan (son)
Patrick Hugh Ryan (son)
Roderick McSween Ryan (son)
Charles Alexander Ryan son)
Hugh Alexander Ryan (son)
Parents
  • John Patrick Ryan (father)
  • Margaret Conway (mother)
RelativesHugh Ryan (railway magnate) (brother)
Alice Ryan (sister)

John Ryan Esq. (25 December 1834 – 21 March 1902) was an Irish-Canadian railway magnate and the younger brother of Toronto-based industrialist Hugh Ryan and socialite Alice Ryan.[1][2] The son of John Patrick Ryan and Margaret Conway, Ryan immigrated from Limerick, Ireland, to Montreal, Canada, in 1841 at the age of seven —after his father sold Gortkelly Castle and their ancestral lands to a distant branch of Ryan family.[3][4][5]

Career at H. & J. Ryan[edit]

John Ryan was a co-founder and chairman of the industrial firm H. & J. Ryan, known best for railway development, alongside his elder brother Hugh Ryan who served as the CEO.[6] The firm went on to become one of the most successful in Canada and predated the formal establishment of the country.[6]

The first major railway development contracts were awarded to the firm in the 1850s for two large sections of the Brockville and Ottawa Railway in Ontario. Following their completion, Ryan spearheaded the firm's expansion into the United States of America in the 1860s; capitalising on the country's lack of labour availability due to the American Civil War.[3] This strategic manoeuvre resulted in the firm securing major railway in Michigan, Maine, Kentucky, and Illinois; including the Chicago and Alton Railway.[7][8]

In 1880, Ryan and his brother were awarded the railway development contracts for the new Pembina-St. Boniface line track —including 100 miles northwest of Winnipeg— by Sir Charles Tupper and the Manitoba provincial government.[9] In addition to the railway development, the contracts also included the building of a covered bridge to connect the west and east portions of the Pembina-St. Boniface line across the Red River.[10]

Development Partnerships[edit]

The following list is in chronological order:

Ryan, Cosgrove & Booth.[edit]

In 1887, Ryan joined the mayor of Brockville, Ontario, David S. Booth[11] and Prescott-based developer James Cosgrove[12] to establish the firm Ryan, Cosgrove & Booth; which secured the contract to build the Guelph Junction Railway.[13] The fifteen mile railway from Guelph to Campbellville and ultimately connecting with a section of the Canadian Pacific Railway.[14]

Hugh Ryan & Co.[edit]

In 1888, Ryan joined his elder brother Hugh Ryan and Michael John Haney in establishing Hugh Ryan & Co.[15]; which secured the contract to build the now historic Sault Ste. Marie Canal in Ontario.[16][17][18] The specifications for the canal were changed twice during construction, thus necessitating renegotiation of the contract price with the Deputy Minister of Railways and Canals, Toussaint Trudeau (ancestor of Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau).[19] The final contract price was a boon for the firm coming in at $1.2 million (the equivalent of $38.9 million in 2024).[20]

It will thus be seen that Mr. John Ryan was one of the most extensive contractors in in Canada; he was also a prominent resident of Ontario, and was well known throughout the Dominion.[21]

Family[edit]

On 27 July 1863 John Ryan married Scottish-Canadian Margaret Isabella McSween, fourth daughter of Roderick McSween, in a widley attended ceremony in Brockville, Ontario.[22][21] The couple lived in Brockville following their marriage for three decades until 1894 when they moved, along with their four live-in house staff, into a red-brick mansion on the storied Jarvis Street in Toronto, Ontario.[23][24] They had seven children: Helen Margaret “Nellie” Ryan, Isabelle Teresa “Rita” Ryan, Maj. John Raymond Ryan, Patrick Hugh Ryan, Roderick McSween Ryan, Charles Alexander Ryan, and Hugh Alexander Ryan[23]

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan resided in Brockville over thirty years, and were devoted and loyal citizens, deeply interested in its welfare and advancements. In 1894 they moved to a newly constructed mansion in Toronto.[21]

Upon the death of his father-in-law on 4 September 1877, John Ryan inherited the "McSween Lands" in Brockville, Ontario, in trust to his wife Margaret Isabella Ryan (née McSween); which included several residential properties and the historic McSween Inn.[25][26] Their daughter Isabelle Teresa Pettit (née Ryan) was still receiving payments from this Trust Fund in 1929.

On 14 June 1892, Ryan's eldest daughter Helen Margaret “Nellie” Ryan married prominent Montreal-based railway developer Allan Ronald "A.R." Macdonnell in Brockville, Ontario.[27][28]

On 3 April 1908, Ryan's younger daughter Isabelle Teresa “Rita” Ryan married Colonel Hubert Ronal Pettit —appointed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire by King George V[29]— in a ceremony in Prescott, Ontario, followed by a reception on the Ryan family's private train which took the wedding attendees to Montreal, Quebec.[30]

Both of Ryan's daughters, Helen and Isabelle, were the goddaughters of his eldest brother and business partner Hugh Ryan; and were subsequently beneficiaries of Hugh Ryan's sizeable estate.[31][32]

Death, Estate & Funeral[edit]

John Ryan sketch portrait in the Brandtford Expositor.

John Ryan died from heart failure on 21 March 1902 in Toronto, Ontario; with his remains being moved by private train on 24 March 1902 to Brockville, Ontario, for internment.[23][33] Ryan's requiem mass was conducted by Catholic Archbishop Charles-Hugues Gauthier at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church and was attended by the Irish Bishop of Lancaster, Thomas Flynn.[34]

The pall-bearers included: Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Sir John Morison Gibson; Canadian Senator, George Taylor Fulford; Ontario Member of Parliament, James Joseph Foy; M.L.A., William Henry Comstock; M.J. Hanley, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward George Mason; Canadian Senator, G.P. Graham; and the Honourable Samuel Casey Wood.[35][34] Ryan was then interned at the historic Old St. Francis Xavier Cemetery outside of Brockville.[36]

Ryan left a sizeable estate which included liquid assets valued at over half a million dollars (the equivalent of $18.5 million in 2024).[37][38] Three weeks after Ryan's death the executors of the estate announced in the Toronto Star that the fortune would revert to his widow and children; with special allotments made for Raymond Ryan who was finishing his studies in England at the time.[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Public Services and Procurement Canada (1 December 1880). "Hearing on tendering contracts for the Canadian Pacific Railway" (PDF). publications.gc.ca. Government of Canada.
  2. ^ Stagg, Ronald J. (1994). "Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. The University of Toronto.
  3. ^ a b Stagg, Ronald J. (1990). "The Biography of Hugh Ryan". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. 12.
  4. ^ Vancouver Daily World (22 March 1902). "John Ryan: Noted Railway Man". Vancouver Daily World. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. 1.
  5. ^ Tipperary Live, Reporter (2018). "Gortkelly Castle, extending to 72 acres, Tipperary". www.tipperarylive.ie.
  6. ^ a b The Halifax Herald (21 December 1887). "Hugh Ryan, the Millionaire Railway Contractor". The Halifax Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. p. 3.
  7. ^ Morgan, Henry James (1898). "The Canadian men and women of the time: a handbook of Canadian biography". www.canadiana.ca (1st ed.). Toronto : W. Briggs. pp. 898–899.
  8. ^ The Toronto Star (22 March 1902). "Mr John Ryan Passes Away: Well-Known Railway Contractor Died at His Home Last Night". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. 7.
  9. ^ The Victoria Daily Times (7 November 1885). "Sir Charles' Visit to Manitoba". The Victoria Daily Times. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. p. 1.
  10. ^ Kavanagh, Martin (1946). The Assiniboine Basin: A Social Study of Discovery, Exploration, and Settlement (PDF). Manitoba Historical Society. p. 99.
  11. ^ The Historical Marker Database. "Centennial of Confederation Historical Marker Brockville, Ontario". www.hmdb.org.
  12. ^ Turner, Larry (1986). "The Second Tay Canal in the Rideau Corridor 1880-1940" (PDF). Parks Canada (295). Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada: Friends of Rideau: 250.
  13. ^ Manitoba Free Press (3 September 1887). "John Ryan: Railway Contract, Guelph". Manitoba Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. p. 1.
  14. ^ The Gazette (5 September 1887). "The Railroad World: Hugh Ryan and John Ryan". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 7.
  15. ^ Rutherford, Paul; Berton, Pierre (1970). "The National Dream: The Great Railway 1871-1881". International Journal. 26 (1): 278. doi:10.2307/40201035. ISSN 0020-7020.
  16. ^ Legislative Assembly of Ontario (1892). First Report of the Bureau of Mines 1891 (PDF). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Warwick & Sons. p. 101.
  17. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (2016-11-25). "Release Mortgage was given under the contract of Hugh Ryan and Co. for works, Sault Ste Marie Canal 1894/07/16". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca.
  18. ^ McLeod, Susanna (12 June 2018). "Bermingham engineered solid foundation". thewhig,com.
  19. ^ Wright, Glen T. "Biography – TRUDEAU, TOUSSAINT – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. The University of Toronto.
  20. ^ Manitoba Weekly Free Press (15 November 1888). "Ryan's Big Contract for the New "Soo" Canal". Manitoba Weekly Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. p. 1.
  21. ^ a b c Robarts (1907). Commemorative Biographical Record of the County of York, Ontario: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Many of the Early Settled Families, Illustrated. University of Toronto (1st ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: J.H. Beers. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780968556009.
  22. ^ Digital Kingston (2017). Archdiocese of Kingston (Ontario), Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923. Kingston, Ontario.
  23. ^ a b c The Toronto Star (24 March 1902). "Mr John Ryan's Funeral". The Toronto Star. p. 3.
  24. ^ Library and Archives Canada (15 May 2013). "Districts and Sub-districts: Census of Canada, 1891, Ontario". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. p. Roll: T-6326; Family No: 83.
  25. ^ Fischer Jr., William (11 March 2022). "Originally part of Roderick McSween's Inn c. 1841 Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. The Historical Marker Database.
  26. ^ Census Canada (1851). "1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia" (PDF). 1851 Census, Canada West, Leeds County, Town of Brockville, East Ward (1). Public Archives of Canada: Schedule: A; Roll: C-11734; Page: 31; Line: 25.
  27. ^ The Gazette (20 June 1892). "Marriage notice of Helen Margaret Ryan to Allan Ronald Macdonell". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 4.
  28. ^ The Gazette (30 April 1906). "Mr A.R. Macdonnell Building Quebec Section of Railway". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 3.
  29. ^ Kington Times (27 November 1948). "Deputy Lieutenant Col. H. R. Pettit". britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. Kington Times.
  30. ^ The Daily Telegraph (12 May 1908). "Pettit-Ryan Wedding". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. p. 1.
  31. ^ The Kingston Daily News (28 February 1899). "Bequests of Hugh Ryan: Estate Values At Nearly One And A Half Million". The Kingston Daily News. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. p. 1.
  32. ^ Library and Archives Canada. (2009). "Census of Canada 1891: Brockville City East Ward, Brockville, Ontario, Canada; Roll: T-6326; Family No: 83". bac-lac.gc.ca.
  33. ^ The Ottawa Citizen (22 March 1902). "Brother of Late Hugh Ryan, John Ryan, Dead". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. p. 14.
  34. ^ a b The Kingston Whig-Standard (24 March 1902). "Obituary for Railway Contractor John Ryan". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. p. 6.
  35. ^ The Gazette (25 March 1902). "Late John Ryan: Funeral & Pall-bearers". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 10.
  36. ^ Heritage Place Museum (4 September 2016). "Old St.Francis Xavier Cemetery". www.lynmuseum.ca. Lyn, Ontario, Canada.
  37. ^ The Weekly British Whig (7 April 1902). "John Ryan Obituary: A Sizeable Estate Left". The Weekly British Whig. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. p. 6.
  38. ^ The Montreal Star (5 April 1902). "Estate of Late John Ryan". The Montreal Star. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 12.
  39. ^ The Toronto Star (4 April 1902). "Estate of the Late John Ryan Goes to His Widow and Children". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. 4.
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