John Ryan Esq. (25 December 1834 – 21 March 1902) was a Irish-Canadian railway magnate, the younger brother of Toronto-based industrialist The Honourable Hugh Ryan and socialite Alice Ryan, and great-grandfather of British actor Hugh Millais.Public Services and Procurement Canada (1 December 1880). "Hearing on tendering contracts for the Canadian Pacific Railway" (PDF). publications.gc.ca. Government of Canada.Stagg, Ronald J. (1994). "Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. The University of Toronto. A 1907 biographical history of York County described Ryan as "one of the most extensive contractors in Canada; a prominent resident of Ontario and well known throughout the Dominion."
Background Born on 25 December 1834, the second son of John Patrick "J.P." 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.Stagg, Ronald J. (1990). "The Biography of Hugh Ryan". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. 12.Tipperary Live, Reporter (2018). "Gortkelly Castle, extending to 72 acres, Tipperary". www.tipperarylive.ie.
Career at H. & J. Ryan 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.The Halifax Herald (21 December 1887). "Hugh Ryan, the Millionaire Railway Contractor". The Halifax Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. p. 3. The firm went on to become one of the most successful in Canada and predated the formal establishment of the country.
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. This strategic manoeuvre resulted in the firm securing major railway in Michigan, Maine, Kentucky, and Illinois; including the Chicago and Alton Railway.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.
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.The Victoria Daily Times (7 November 1885). "Sir Charles' Visit to Manitoba". The Victoria Daily Times. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. p. 1. 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.Kavanagh, Martin (1946). The Assiniboine Basin: A Social Study of Discovery, Exploration, and Settlement (PDF). Manitoba Historical Society. p. 99.
Development Partnerships The following list is in chronological order:
Ryan, Cosgrove & Booth. In 1887, Ryan joined the mayor of Brockville, Ontario, David S. Booth and Prescott-based developer James Cosgrove to establish the firm Ryan, Cosgrove & Booth; which secured the contract to build the Guelph Junction Railway. The fifteen mile railway from Guelph to Campbellville and ultimately connecting with a section of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Hugh Ryan & Co. In 1888, Ryan joined his elder brother Hugh Ryan and Michael John Haney in establishing Hugh Ryan & Co.;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.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. which secured the contract to build the now historic Sault Ste. Marie Canal in Ontario.Legislative Assembly of Ontario (1892). First Report of the Bureau of Mines 1891 (PDF). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Warwick & Sons. p. 101.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.McLeod, Susanna (12 June 2018). "Bermingham engineered solid foundation". thewhig,com. 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).Wright, Glen T. "Biography – TRUDEAU, TOUSSAINT – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. The University of Toronto. The final contract price was a boon for the firm coming in at $1.2 million (the equivalent of $38.9 million in 2024).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.It will thus be seen that Mr. John Ryan was one of the most extensive contractors in Canada; he was also a prominent resident of Ontario, and was well known throughout the Dominion.
Marriage, children and extended family On 27 July 1863 John Ryan married Scottish-Canadian Margaret Isabella McSween, fourth daughter of Roderick McSween, in a widely attended ceremony in Brockville, Ontario.Digital Kingston (2017). Archdiocese of Kingston (Ontario), Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923. Kingston, Ontario.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. . 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. 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 RyanMr. 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.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. 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 contractor and early hydroelectric investor Allan Ronald "A.R." Macdonell in Brockville, Ontario. Their daughter Elinor Claire Macdonell married British painter Raoul Millais, grandson of Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir John Everett Millais and the son of naturalist John Guille Millais."The Gazette 28 Apr 1926, page 8". Newspapers.com.Berry, Claude (23 November 1999). "Obituary: Raoul Millais". The Independent."John Guille Millais - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. A portrait of Elinor by Raoul is housed in the National Portrait Gallery, London."Raoul Millais - Elinor Clare Millais". www.npg.org.uk.
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— 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.
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.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.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.
Ryan's elder sister was socialite Alice Ryan, known for her work in the Canadian suffragette movement and lavish lifestyle.The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Women's Suffrage: Timeline". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.Margaret Leslie Davis, Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny (1998). Through his sister, Ryan was the uncle of heiress Margaret Isabel McHenry (née Doheny), the president of the Catholic Women's League of Canada. His eldest daughter, Helen Margaret "Nellie" Ryan, was the maid of honour at Margaret Isabel's society wedding to whiskey magnate William John "W.J." McHenry on 28 October 1885.
Death, estate and funeral
John Ryan died from heart failure on 21 March 1902 at his mansion on Jarvis Street; with his remains being moved on 24 March 1902 by cortege to Union Station, then by private train to Brockville, Ontario, for internment.Charles E. Goad, Atlas of the City of Toronto and Suburbs, 1890–1899, pl. 27, 621 Jarvis Street (Toronto: Charles E. Goad), City of Toronto Archives. 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.
The pallbearers 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. Ryan was then interred at the historic Old St. Francis Xavier Cemetery outside of Brockville.
Ryan left a sizeable estate which included liquid assets valued at over half a million dollars (the equivalent of $18.5 million in 2024). 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.
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