Matthew Ryan Family

Matthew Ryan was my great-grandfather who was born in Tipperary, Ireland, came to the United States and lived and died in the Town of Nanticoke in Broome County, New York. This is the story of his family, based on genealogical research and family oral tradition.

Matthew Ryan was probably born in October, 1845, based on a Baptismal Certificate from the Church of St. Brigid, Parish of Annacarty in the Diocese of Caskel in Tipperary. The Certificate contains a date of baptism of October 30, 1845. William Ryan and Margaret Ryan (nee Breen) are listed as his parents, and his sponsors were John and Joanna Breen. However, his date of birth remains in doubt. In fact, Matthew himself used birth dates of both January 28, 1847, and February 22, 1847, in Army and pension records. To census takers he later said that he came over "on the boat" from Ireland in either 1854, or, on another occasion, 1860. The family tradition is that he was 12 years old, and his sister was 10, when they made the trip together, so it is unlikely he arrived in either 1854 or 1860. It seems that dates and ages were not much to be bothered with.

Equally so is the spelling of his name. Both "Matthew" and "Mathew" appears in various records, but he always signed his name "Matthew", and that is how his name appears on his baptismal certificate. As a result, I will use the spelling "Matthew".

Matthew’s parents were William Ryan and Margaret Breen. A death record kept in the clerk’s office for the Town of Nanticoke identifies William’s father as William, as well. Both parents were, of course, Irish. They had six known children, and quite possibly two others not generally known. Census records for 1870 for William and Margaret’s family include, in additional to the known children, the names of two others living in the household, Simon, born in 1854, and Patrick, born in 1858. Neither Matthew or his sister Kate is listed in this census, presumably because they were no longer living at home. The oldest son of William and Margaret, named William, is also missing and it is believed he remained in Ireland when the rest of the family immigrated to the United States. Herewith is the census enumeration, courtesy of my Driscoll cousins, who were kind enough to furnish me with the results of their earlier research, including all the census records mentioned here:
1870 Census
Enumerated August 6, 1870
Township: Nanticoke
County: Broome
State: New York
Page: 22
Name Age Sex Profession Birthplace Estate
RYAN, William 55 M Farmer Ireland 1600 real, 573 personal
Margaret 52 F Keeping House Ireland
Simon 16 M New York
Andrew 14 M New York
Patrick 12 M New York
James 8 M New York
John 1 M New York

The oral history of the family holds that William and Margaret (and possibly their young or infant children) and Matthew and his sister Kate (Catherine) sailed from Ireland to America separately. One oral tradition has it that Matthew’s parents came over first, that William secured a job somewhere in New York State and sent for Matthew and Kate (William and Margaret’s oldest son, also named William, remained in Ireland). The competing story is that Matthew and Kate came over first, and that subsequently Matthew saved up enough money and sent it back to Ireland to pay for the tickets for the remaining family members (the story goes on that—for reasons one can only surmise—he had to send over the money "more than once"). The two stories converge on the rest of the tale. Matthew was 12 and Kate was 10 when they came over on the boat, in the charge of an adult who was supposed to take care of them. The adult failed miserably in this endeavor, as he died on the voyage, leaving the two children to fend for themselves. The majority view of the family is that they arrived in New York City, while the minority view is that they came in via Boston. How they got to Broome County is a mystery, although rumors are that they may have been employed as laborers straight off the docks and taken there, or that the Quakers or an organization known as the Orphan Train shepherded them there.

A persistent rumor is that Matthew’s employment, whenever he found work, was on a dairy farm, and that he learned the dairy business from that job (supposedly Matthew always said his employers were very nice people and treated him well, even though they were "Prods"). Kate is known to have worked at a resort hotel in or near Silver Lake, in Susquehanna County in Pennsylvania. That is incidentally near Quaker Lake, which was supposed to have been some sort of gathering place run by Quakers and we can suppose that Matthew worked on a dairy farm nearby, perhaps explaining in part one of the rumors. Certainly his future wife, Mary Ann Whalen, was from Silver Lake, and the story is that she and Kate worked together as maids.

William Ryan

William Ryan, Matthew’s father, was born in either 1812, 1815, 1816, 1819 or 1820. One can pick from tombstone, Army, census or pension record entries, or through using a dart on the wall. We do know that he joined the Union Army, probably as a substitute for a draftee, on January 4, 1864. He enlisted at Nanticoke, signing up for the 137^th New York Infantry, although he never made it there and instead wound up in the 109^th New York, Company B, as a private. His Volunteer Enlistment paper says he is 44 years old and was born in Ireland. Irish citizens in the United States were not subject to the draft, and hence were often recruited as substitutes, since a draftee could not provide a man as a substitute if he also was subject to the draft. G. Bartlett was the recruiting agent from Binghamton who received the sum of fifteen dollars for signing him up. He is listed on the Regimental Return for February, 1864, in the 109^th, having been received at the depot in Elmira, NY. His occupation is listed as "laborer". He is described with gray eyes, dark hair and dark complexion, standing 5 feet, 5 inches in height. He was paid a bounty of $60 for his three year enlistment (not including any monies received as a substitute, usually $300) (Township records suggest that his total bounty was $328.65.) He was mustered into the regiment in Owego, NY on January 4, 1864.

On May 12, 1864, he was wounded in battle. His pension application dated January 21, 1882, describes the incident:

Incidentally, William lists his age in 1882 as 62. The battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse followed on the heels of the battle of the Wilderness, and is well described in Civil War literature. Many people died on both sides. William listed his residence as Lambs Corners in Broome County. He used the services of L. M. Sherwood, an attorney in Binghamton, for the preparation of his initial petition and two requests for increase. He lists his occupation as "farmer" and says he is "fully" disabled. On the petition, as well as on every other official document I have seen, William signs his name with an "X". In this case, his mark is witnessed by William La Grange and Robert S. Reilly. Richard Bulger of Binghamton and Matthew Ryan also signed as witnesses. Benjamin Wade of Tioga County signed an affidavit is support of the petition, averring that he was the first lieutenant of Company B of the 109^th and had personal knowledge of William’ s wound at Spotsylvania.

On March 8, 1884, William applied for an increase to his pension, which was $4 per month. His reasoning for an increase was simple: "That I am pensioned for gunshot wound of right side ball passing through body [and] that my condition is such I consider I am entitled to an increase of pension". Edwin P. and Cora B. Sutphen of Lambs Corners witnessed William’s mark. William stated his age at 65.

William filed again for an increase on May 10, 1886, at the age of "about 70". The amount of pension he was receiving is very faint on the copy I have. His stated reason for the requested increase is that "…said wound is greater now than when last examined and I consider I am entitled to an increase of pension." His mark is witnessed by Edwin P. Sutphen and Thomas Batters, both now of Nanticoke.

William died on September 16, 1889, and his widow Margaret was awarded a pension of $12 per month. His pension records refer to cause of death as gunshot wound of back and heart disease. Margaret’s attorney was E. S. Vincent of Maine, NY.

William and Margaret are buried side by side in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point. William’s tombstone contains a birth year of 1812. Margaret’s stone has a birth year of 1817, but no year of death.

William and Margaret had six known children, and probably two others: William, Matthew, Catherine("Kate"), Andrew, James B. and John H., are the known children, and Simon and Patrick are the two "probables", based on the 1870 Census which lists both as living in the household.

Children of William and Margaret

William Ryan

William Ryan, eldest son of William and Margaret, remained in Ireland when the family came over. Nothing is known about this son, other than that he likely fathered children who may be the ones listed in Andrew’s probate records (discussed infra) as having addresses in Ireland.

Matthew Ryan

Much more is known of Matthew than any other child in the family, however, little is known before 1865. Perhaps inspired by his father, Matthew entered the Union Army, in late January, 1865, probably as a substitute for a draftee from Triangle (where his Army records attribute the enlistment—draft quotas were filled from each district). He enlisted in the 137^th New York Infantry, which had been formed early in the war and had experienced much combat. At the time of his enlistment, the 137^th was part of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s XX Corps, which early in 1865 commenced its infamous march through Georgia to the sea. Matthew’s Army records indicate that he did not arrive at his unit until late May, 1865, and by that time the war was over. My mother always told me that Matthew reported that he had "walked past Andersonville Prison", near Atlanta, but by the time he would have been in the vicinity, in all likelihood the Union prisoners had already been transferred South. The lengthy time to travel from New York to Georgia is easy to understand. The war had, of course, completely disrupted the rail lines in the South, and Matthew had to "play catch up" to his unit, which was on the move. I would guess that he was sent to Tennessee, which had been Sherman’s jumping off point, and then followed whatever roads or rail lines existed until he got to where the unit was. He apparently did participate in marching north near Goldsboro, North Carolina (where he got his "sand in eyes" referred to in his pension records), and wound up in Alexandria, Virginia, in time for the Grand March before President Johnson in Washington, D.C. The majority of his unit was discharged shortly thereafter, but Matthew was kept on and was transferred to the 102^nd New York Infantry, from which he was discharged on July, 25, 1865. Presumably, after being paid off and issued his discharge paper (the original of which is now in the possession of Bob Mahar), Matthew walked home.

Although we don’t know precisely what Matthew did when he got home, we do know that he married Mary Ann Whalen on February 12, 1870, in St. Joseph’s Church in Pennsylvania. St. Joseph, Pennsylvania is located in Susquehanna County where Kate and Mary lived and worked together at Silver Lake. Mary’s parents were James Whalen and Catherine Palin. Matthew and Mary had their first child, Madge, in 1872. They had a total of 12 children.

Old maps show that Matthew’s father William owned property in 1866 in the Town of Nanticoke, on what is now known as Holland Hill Road east of Matt Ryan Road at the far west of the township, and just to the west of Lambs Corners. The location of William’s farm on the 1866 map seems a trifle off, but it is close to what later maps show.

By 1876, Matthew had bought a farm on the east side of Matt Ryan Road, approximately a mile south of Holland Hill Road. William’s farm was located on both the north and south side of Holland Hill Road, and ended at the intersection with Matt Ryan Road. Matthew’s farm on Matt Ryan Road was always called the "Hill Farm" by his family, to distinguish it from the farm he later purchased "in town".

A map of 1880 shows no change in William’s or Matthew’s properties. In 1908, however, William had long since passed away, and a map that year shows that a portion of William’s property, the north part, had passed to a Mr. A. Davern. The southern part was now owned by William’s son, James, who had also purchased land adjacent to William’s on the south and to the west. Meanwhile, Matthew had expanded his farm to the north and east, and now the lands of James and Matthew were adjacent, and spanned the entire length of Matt Ryan Road. Andrew, another brother of Matthew’s, had purchased a farm adjacent to James’ on the west, and another brother, John, had purchased land to the northwest of the intersection of Matt Ryan Road and Holland Hill Road. There were Ryans everywhere. The 1908 map also shows for the first time Matthew’s farm in town, comprising 118 acres.

Matthew purchased the town farm from Dr. Arther H. Pellette and his wife in a deed recorded April 2, 1894. Dr. Pellette had built the house on the farm and had used part of it as a clinic.

Matthew Ryan "town" home 1987

Matthew purchase a number of other parcels over the years, and apparently sold a number as well. His probate records show that at the time of his death in 1931, he owned the town farm, which included the 98 acres purchased from Dr. and Mrs. Pellette, 15 acres purchased in 1898 from Manley L. Cummings, one acre purchased from Lizzie Hartwell in 1899, and 20 acres bought in 1909 from Izette M. Lyder, for a total of 134 acres. In addition, Matthew had obtained a Referee’s Deed dated March 18, 1930, to a parcel of 176 acres to the east from Francis V. V. Leary. The background of that deed is unknown at this time. At the time of his death, the value of his real estate was listed as $5,000.

Matthew also held a number of notes and mortgages at the time of his death. One was a mortgage from Samuel and Flora Dence dated May 31, 1928, with a principle of $2,300; another was from Anna Karpinski dated September 27, 1921, in the amount of $300; a third was from John F. Clapper dated October 18, 1919, in the amount of $5,500. Notes held included from Horace T. and Maude L. Cady for $100; from James Davern of $30; from William J. and Carrie Wade for $125; from William and Mary J. Rigsbee for $200; from Lydia Willis in the amount of $100; from Samuel Dence for $250; and from S. M., W.E. and Ivan Corson for $140; from C. H. Baldwin for $55; from Mike and William J. Wade for $400; from Ralph and Carrie Elwood in the amount of $21; from William F. Dean for $50; and from Earl, Bruce and Laura Vanderburg totalling $293. Most notes and all the mortgages were paid off before the close of his estate, but Mr. Dean, the Elwoods, the Corsons and the Rigsbees were listed as insolvent. It sure sounds as if Matthew was quite the wheeler dealer, at least in a modest fashion.

As we know, Matthew was a dairy farmer, and one can imagine why he may have wanted to move into town, closer to available milk production facilities and transportation. The Hill Farm is, as is implied by its name, located on a hill, and the road into Lambs Corners would have been a formidable one for a team of horses hauling milk, with the teamster standing on the brake going downhill, and the horses struggling against the weight pushing them forward, and then struggling uphill. However, his wife apparently was the one who wanted most to move, since family recollection is that Mary simply wanted to be nearer to other people. The Hill Farm was then, as it is now, rather isolated from other folks.

Stan Rogge has described the house and buildings on the farm very eloquently in his Nanticoke story, and he has estimated stalls in the cow barn for some fifty cows. The Rural Directory of Broome County, published in 1922 by The Farm Journal Illustrated, lists Matthew and Mary, with one child at home, farming on 167 acres, with 3 horses and 35 cows. He also is listed as having a telephone.

When he died, his estate, administered by Frank and Madge Ryan Turner, listed the following chattels:
1 bull $35.00
1 calf $9.50
1 black cow $40.00
1 black and white heifer $45.00
1 black and white heifer $45.00
1 red heifer $30.00
3 black and white heifers @ $30 $90.00
1 mare $100.00
1 horse $10.00
1 set farm scales $5.00
1 quantity small tools $1.00
3 wagons and 1 cutter $2.00
2 grind-stones $1.00
scythes, hayfork and barn shovels $1.00
1 pick, 1 hayfork, 1 maul $1.50
1 flatland plow $2.00
2 scrapers and ladder $1.00
1 iron kettle $1.00
1 dump-box .50
1 pair bob-sleds $3.00
3 tons of hay $15.00
1 lumber wagon $5.00
1 mowing machine $2.00
harness $2.00
2 old plows .50
Total: $448.00

Spring and I went to a farm auction last weekend here in Michigan. We didn’t buy anything, but there were some old plows and an iron kettle being auctioned off. One of the plows, a single bottom as I would imagine Matthew Ryan’s were, went for over $200. The final price of the kettle I am not sure of, when the bidding went beyond $250 I just chuckled and turned away.

But I think I am jumping ahead a bit. Let’s go back aways and pick up the story in the 1880’s.

Matthew filed for an invalid pension on June 24, 1887 [or 1888—both dates appear on the application] [stated age was 42], affirming that, while a member of the regiment of Capt. Isaac Van Steenburg, in Company "G" of the 102^nd, while on a march to Goldsboro, North Carolina, in May, 1865, "…he got some sand in his right eye which sooon became much inflamed & sore, and the sight of the same soon became dim & to fail, and soon affected the sight of the left all of which has greatly troubled him ever since." [Note: he would not have been in the 102^nd, he would have been in the 137^th at that time.] At that time he listed his residence in the town of Lambs Corners and stated that he was a farmer. His lawyer was William M. Crosby, Jr. of Binghamton. His signature is duly witnessed by his brother, John Ryan, and one Charles Finch of Ketchumville in Tioga County. For some reason, he reapplied on April 1, 1892, this time using the services of A. M. Mathewson, an attorney from Marathon, who incidentally was also his brother-in-law, as Augustus "Gus" Mathewson married Matthew’s sister Kate. In the second application he says that he enlisted on January 28, 1865, and that he was "…unable to earn a support by reason of 1^st injured and defective sight in both eyes 2^nd Heart disease- 3^rd Rheumatism most serious in arms, hands and right shoulder, 4^th General disability." Witnessing this sorry physical description [Matthew lived 40 more years, probably working harder than anyone else on his farms] were Marion Mathewson (Gus’ son) and William Van Vost of Marathon. Subsequently, affidavits were filed on his behalf by Almoron D. Green of Binghamton, R. J. Gates, M.D. of Weltonville in Tioga County, Orlando W. Parker of Chenango, and Marion F. Rich of Ketchumville. Mr. Rich asserted that he also was in Matthew’s unit and recalled Matthew "bitterly" complaining of his sore eyes, which actually caused Matthew to be excused from duty on May 23, 1865, and that on each occasion he ran into Matthew thereafter (3 or 4 times a year) he observed the soreness and inflammation. Dr. Gates was kind enough to recall that—although he had no records of this since he was "not in the habit of charging soldiers anything for prescriptions"—Matthew over a twenty year period always complained of getting sand in his eyres, and that, in his learned opinion Matthew "is not able to perform manual [labor] more than one half of the time." Mr. Green and Mr. Parker, both also having served with Matthew in the 102^nd [ ! ], attested to the same sand episode. Matthew himself filed an affidavit explaining that he could not furnish any contemporaneous evidence of treatment from his regiment since all of those physicians were dead.

Something worked, since in his third application dated March 29, 1909, Matthew stated that he had been receiving a pension in the sum of six dollars per month. This application appears to have been prompted by a Congressional amendment to the pension laws. This application is witnessed by William M. Kiley of Whitney Point and Frank Turner of Nanticoke, Matthew’s son-in-law. Matthew is self described as standing five feet, two inches tall, with fair complexion, blue eyes and "light" hair. By that time, Matthew described his residence as "Nanticoke".

The third application must have worked as well. After his death in 1931, David L. Maxfield, the attorney for Frank and Madge Turner as administrators of Matthew’s estate, wrote to the Bureau of Pensions inquiring as to the procedure to obtain his last pension proceeds, which he had been receiving at the rate of $75 per month.

Census records of 1880, 1900 and 1910 provide family information:
1880 Census, Volume 5; Sheet 3; line 31 E.D. 52
Enumerated: June 3, 1880
Enumerator: William B. Morgan
Township: Nanticoke
County: Broome
State: New York
Name Age Sex Occupation Birthplace of Fa of Mo

RYAN, Matthew 33 M Farmer Ireland Ireland Ireland
Mary 28 F Keeping house Pennsy. Ireland Ireland
Maggie 8 F (dau) New York Ireland Penn.
William 7 M (son) New York Ireland Penn.
Mary 5 F (dau) New York Ireland Penns.
Frankie 3 M[?] (son) New York Ireland Penns.

1900 Census Volume 11; Sheet 25B; Line 1 E.D. 47
Enumerated: 15^th of June, 1900
Township: Union Town
City: Lestershire [Note: this is the prior name of Johnson City and this census was taken at the house rented by Matthew "in town" to allow his children an education in Binghamton]
Address: 15 Hudson Street
Name Age Sex Birthdate Birthplace Occupation
RYAN, Matthew 54 M June, 1847 Ireland (Na) Farm labour
Mary 47 F Nov 1852 Pennsylvania
Madge 27 F Mar 1873 New York Shoe Stitcher
William 26 M May 1874 New York Shoe Stitcher
Mary 24 F April 1876 New York Shoe Stitcher
Francis 22 F March 1878 New York Bookkeeper
Lena 13 F Sept 1886 New York At school
Paul 12 M July 1888 New York At school
Julia 10 F Aug 1889 New York At school
Louise 6 F May 1894 New York At school
Florence 2 F April 1898 New York
Additional Information
RYAN, Matthew
Year of immigration: 1860
Number of Years in U.S.: 39
Rented home
RYAN, Mary
Both parents born in Ireland
Source: National Archives, 1900 Census, T-1062, New York, #595

1910 Census Sheet 1B; Lines 88-92 E.D. 50
Enumerated: April 18, 1910
Enumerator: William D. Fuller
Supervisor’s District: Number 14
Township: Nanticoke
County: Broome
State: New York
Name Relationship Sex Age Married Years of Marriage
RYAN, Matthew Head M 63 M1 39
Mary Wife M 57 M1 39
Julia Daughter F 19 S
Louise Daughter F 15 S
Florence Daughter F 12 s
Additional Information
RYAN, Matthew
Place of birth: Noted "Ire/English" (Same notation appears for both Matthew’s parents and for Mary Ryan’s parents.
RYAN, Mary
Place of birth: Pennsylvania
RYAN, Matthew
Owned farm, free title.
Year of immigration to U.S.: 1854
Occupation: farmer
Source: National Archives, 1910 Census, T-624, New York, #926

When Matthew died, Frank and Madge Turner were the administrators of his estate, and David L. Maxfield of Whitney Point was the estate’s attorney. Appraisers of Matthew’s personal property were Michael Flahavan of Lisle and Fred Fuller of Nanticoke. As the story goes, before he died, Matthew gave each of his children $1,000, a vast sum of money in those days. Through the estate, each child was also given initially the sum of $350, and at the close of the estate, each received an additional $14.35. Frances Ryan was allotted an additional $1,000.00, for "services rendered" for 3 years.

Matthew’s personal estate was valued at $13,607.70. This included a bank account at the First National Bank of Lisle in the amount of $181.28, and an account at the First National Bank of Whitney Point totalling $2,669.63. Personal property also included the notes and mortgages referred to above. There were also some monies in the estate under the caption "Rents Collected", which referred to such murky things as "Oil Company Damages" ($10.00), "Oil Leases" ($55.70), "Hay Sold" ($30.00), and, simply, "Matthew Murphy $24.00".

Matthew Ryan’s grave (with great great grandson)

Catherine ("Kate") Ryan

Kate was born sometime around 1850, perhaps as early as 1847. She died on April 25, 1945, at a stated age of 95. She is buried with her husband and children in the Marathon Village Cemetery. She married Augustus M. "Gus" Mathewson, who was a soldier in the 137^th New York Volunteers in the Civil War (the same regiment Matthew joined at the end of the war). Gus was 18 when he enlisted in 1862, and he remained with that unit until the end of the war in 1865. The unit was one of the most active regiments in the Union forces, seeing action in a number of battles. After the war , Gus became a lawyer in Marathon. Gus and Kate had three children, Marion, Lydia and Edward S. Marion died at the age of 68 on May 16, 1941, and would have been born around 1873. Lydia Stickney Mathewson was born in approximately 1877, and died at the age of 72 on October 9, 1953. She never married, and was known to have taught school in Long Island. Edward was born in approximately 1877. He is said to have helped Kate run the country inns she owned in Whitney Point and Cortland after Gus died. Edward then went on to attend Syracuse Medical School, but was diagnosed with tuberculosis and died on October 31, 1877, at the age of 26. Kate eventually moved to Syracuse and had the address of 106 Waverly Avenue.

Simon Ryan

If the 1870 Census is accurate, Simon was probably a son of William and Margaret Breen. His age was listed at 16, so he would have been born in approximately 1854.

Andrew Ryan

Andrew never married. He was a bachelor farmer in Nanticoke, owning a farm adjacent to his father’s. He was born in approximately 1856, and died on December 13, 1930, owning only the farm. His probate file in Broome County Surrogate Court is rather large, however. [And remarkably, the file is found in the same box as the probate file of William J. Collins, the husband of Catherine "Kit" Ryan.] The probate proceedings revolved around attempts to sell off his farm to pay the outstanding funeral bill of some $800. Madge Ryan Turner, his niece, was the administrator of the estate. In order to pay the bill, the farm had to be sold, and the only takers were Vurley E. and Margaret Saje, who offered $800 for it. This was a 75 acre farm with house, barn and outbuildings, all described by Madge in court testimony as being in poor repair. [The transcript of her testimony can be found in the file.] This was all well and good, but because Andrew died without a will, the law apparently required all of his bloody relatives to be notified and to give their OK. As a result of all this, Andrew’s file gives us a lot of information on the family tree, but raises some questions as to the identity of several people named. Of course, since no less than 25 relatives had to be notified (including five living in Ireland), the size of his probate file expanded enormously, all for an $800 funeral bill. Herewith is the list:

Catherine E. Mathewson sister 106 Waverly Ave., Syracuse
Leonard Ryan nephew Newark Valley (Tioga County)
Madge (Ryan) Turner niece Lisle
William J. Ryan nephew 122 Main St., Johnson City
Mary E. Sweet (Mame Ryan) niece 903 North St., Endicott
Frances M. Ryan niece 19 Vincent St., Binghamton
Catherine (Ryan) Collins niece 19 Vincent St., Binghamton
Lena A. (Ryan) Rogge niece 88 Chesnut St., Binghamton
Paul A. Ryan nephew Saranac Lake
Julia (Ryan) Mahar niece 54 Tompkins St., Binghamton
Louise M. Ryan niece 19 Vincent St., Binghamton
Florence (Ryan) Brennan niece 3608 29^th St., Long Island City
Mollie Britt niece 477 Irving Ave., Syracuse
Timothy Ryan nephew 465 Whittier Ave., Syracuse
William Ryan nephew Crook St., Thurles, Tipperary
Matthew Ryan nephew Kilmore, Dundrum, Tipperary
Katherine English niece Kilmore, Dundrum, Tipperary
Patrick Ryan nephew Knockbawn, Gooldscross, Tipperary
Simon Ryan nephew Knockbawn, Gooldscross, Tipperary
Margaret Madden grandniece 23 Way St., Binghamton
John Ryan grandneph 388 Cofkey St., Norwich, CT
William Ryan grandneph 27 Gold St., Norwich, CT
Mathew Ryan grandneph 27 Gold St., Norwich, CT
Winifred Ryan grandniece 27 Gold St., Norwich, CT
Mary A. Ryan "distributee" Vestal

Also complicating matters, two judgment creditors of Leonard Ryan (the son of James and Mary (Aunt Mate) Ryan) filed against his claim. They were Ralph Gates and Levi T. Balwin.

John Ryan, Andrew’s brother, is shown to have been served with the court papers on November 24, 1933, at the Binghamton State Hospital, and was described as "a duly adjudged incompetent and an inmate of said institution".

Andrew is buried next to his brother John in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point.

Patrick Ryan

Again, assuming the accuracy of the 1870 Census, Patrick was another son of William and Margaret Ryan, born in approximately 1858. So far, I have no record of anything else referring to Patrick, although Andrew’s probate records tantalyzingly refer to a nephew, also named Patrick Ryan, residing in Ireland, and one fantasizes that he is the son of Andrew’s brother who made his way back to the old country.

James B. Ryan

James was born in 1862 and died in 1914. He married Mary A., known as "Aunt Mate", and they had a son, Leonard, who is the judgment debtor referred to in Andrew’s probate records. James is buried next to his wife in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point. Mary was born in 1875 and died in 1960. A 1908 map shows that James owned a farm straddling Matt Ryan Road and on the southeast corner of the intersection of Matt Ryan Road and Holland Hill Road in Nanticoke. [Holland Hill Road seems to be interchangeable with Howland Hill Road.] Town records from Nanticoke include a 1905 Assessment Roll showing ownership of 120 acres valued at $10.98 per acre, and being taxed at $17.92 for property, $3.50 for a road tax, a poll tax of $1.00, and, of all things, a dog tax of $1.00. In 1909 he is shown as having sold planks to the Town of Nanticoke for use on a bridge.

John H. Ryan

John was born in approximately 1869 and died in 1934. He never married. Like his brothers, he farmed in Nanticoke. A 1908 map shows his farm adjacent to Andrew’s, on the northwest corner of the intersection of Matt Ryan Road and Holland Hill Road. He is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point. The 1905 Assessment Roll for the Town of Nanticoke shows that he owned 145 acres at a value of $10.35 per acre, and also was assessed the infamous $1.00 dog tax. The roll also refers to him as being an "occupant" of the Jerry Bauder estate, 6 acres, assessed at $10.00 per acre, and a "village lot".

Children of Matthew and Mary

Margaret E. "Madge" Ryan

Madge Ryan was born on March 8, 1873, the oldest of the children of Matthew and Mary Ryan. She married Frank Turner, a farmer, and they lived in Lisle. Madge is pictured standing on the porch of the Nanticoke Ryan farmhouse in one of only two known photographs of Matthew. Frank and Madge had no children. Frank was born in 1876 and died in 1937. After he died, Madge married Antoine "Stoney" Stone, and they lived in Cortland. Madge died in 1957, and is buried next to Frank Turner in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point.

Madge and Frank were the administrators of Matthew’s estate. Madge was also the administrator of her uncle Andrew’s estate, and the transcript of her testimony given in court can be found in his probate file in Broome County’s Surrogate Court.

William J. Ryan

William was born May 10, 1875 (or 1873 or 1874) and was the second oldest child of Matthew and Mary Ryan. He married Sarah O’Hara (born 1879). They had five children, Gladys, Raymond, Louise, William and Mary. Raymond L. Ryan was born in 1902 and died in 1984, and is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Gladys M. Ryan was born in 1907 and died in 1993, and is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. She never married. William James Ryan was born in 1909 and lived until 1966, and married Alice M. Brown in 1932. William and Alice had five children, William Douglas, James Arthur, Sarah Jane, Matthew Patrick and William Patrick. Mary Ryan was born in 1913 and died in 1981. She married H. Hilton Church (1910-1983) and they are buried side by side at St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Louise Ryan died shortly after birth on October 5, 1914, and was baptized by Julia Ryan Mahar, and is buried in St. Patrick’s. Of Raymond, I have no information at this time.

William J. Ryan died in 1942, and Sarah lived until 1957. Both are buried in St. Patrick’s.

Mary "Mame" Ryan

Mame was born on April 25, 1876 (or 1875), and married Charlie Sweet. They had two girls who died at birth, and a son, Donald. Donald married Mary (Basch?). As of 1934, Mame and Charlie lived in Endicott, at 903 North St. Her middle initial is either "C.", "A.", or "E."

Frances M. Ryan

Frances was born on March 9, 1879, and never married. She may have cared for her father at the end of his life, as she was awarded a sum of $1,000 for services she rendered for "three years" from his estate. She died in 1962, and is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

Edward J. Ryan

Eddie Ryan was born on July 6, 1880, and died tragically of the croup on October 24, 1886. His age at death is listed on his cemetery monument as "aged 6 years, 3 months, 18 days". He is buried in the Ryan plot at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point. "Beloved in life, lamented in death."

Catherine Cecelia "Kit" Ryan

Catherine Ryan was my grandmother. She was born on December 11, 1884. She attended Birmingham Central High School, as did her future husband, William John Collins. Both are pictured in the 1901 Binghamton Central High School yearbook (as members of the class of 1902) in several places.

My grandmother’s name is spelled "Katherine Ryan" in the yearbook, apparently following the Ryan family tradition of having one’s name completely fouled up. My grandfather was a member of the football team and is pictured prominently in the yearbook team photograph. Following high school, Catherine attended the New York State Normal School in Cortland (now, SUNY at Cortland), which was one of twelve normal schools in the state established to train teachers. She taught for a short period of time.

William J. Collins was from Hancock, Pennsylvania. His parents were Michael F. and Anna Haley Collins. Michael was born in 1852 and died in 1915. Anna was born in 1856 and died in 1933. They had three children, Edward F. Collins, William J. and Theresa M. Jacobs. Edward died in 1935, and Theresa died in 1974 at the age of 88. Michael, Anna, Edward and Theresa are buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Johnson City.

After her marriage Catherine and William lived at 19 Vincent Street in Binghamton, and they had four children, Kathleen Marian(birth name: Mary), Stanley F., Jeanne and my mother, Barbara Louise.

My grandfather William became the vice president and general manager of the Ellis W. Morse Company, a pipe company.

Stanley died of tuberculosis in November, 1917, at the age of six. He was initially buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Johnson City, but his remains were removed to Calvary Cemetery in Johnson City in October, 1932, where he was reinterred next to his father.

My grandfather died after he suffered a heart attack on May 7, 1932, at 9:30 a.m., at the age of 47. His estate was substanial for the Depression era, totalling in excess of $77,000. His will established a trust fund for his three remaining children to provide for college expenses, and apparently he left my grandmother a life insurance policy, which allowed her to raise the family in comfortable, although not extravagant circumstances. His obituary in a Binghamton newspaper records his funeral high mass at St. Patrick’s Church was presided over by Rev. Ambrose M. Dwyer, with Rev. Charles H. Kehoe as deacon and Rev. Edward P. Kenefic as subdeacon. Pallbearers were Matthew Schneider, Fred Gillen, Reed A. Dimmock, John T. Buckley, Peter J. McManus and Edward B. Follay. He was noted to have been a member of Binghamton Council 206, Knights of Columbus; Binghamton Lodge 852, B.P.O.E.; Commercial Travelers Association; the Binghamton Country Club and the Kiwanis Club. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Johnson City.

I defer to Aunt Jeanne to tell the tale of growing up in the Collins family. From what I can understand, it seems as if my grandmother and her daughters spent more time travelling to and from Florida (with the kids skipping school in the process) than anything else, and even persuaded my mother’s best friend, Mary Jane "Landie" Land, and her mother to come along on at least one trip.

My grandmother moved to Washington, D.C., when her youngest daughter (my mother) enrolled in Trinity College, and I guess my grandmother just got lonely. She owned a number of houses in D.C., and apparently made money on the sale of each one. I know she lived at 3800 Brookland Avenue, on Van Buren Street and on McKinley Street (where my parents’ wedding reception was held). She also rented an apartment for many years on Connecticut Avenue, just a few blocks from where my family lived, and growing up we often visited. She later moved to Arlington, Virginia with her daughter Kathleen, and died there on January 22, 1982, at the age of 97. She led a full life. She is buried with her husband and son Stanley (and two Rogges and one Driscoll) in Calvary Cemetery in Johnson City.

Lena A. Ryan

Lena was born on September 12, 1886. She married William Rogge, and they had four children, John, William, Anne and Stanley.

Paul A. Ryan

Paul was born on May 6, 1887. He never married. In World War I, Paul was an officer in the engineers, and received a medical discharge for what was eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis.

He started a cinder block business in Endicott and wound up selling the land to IBM. After his diagnosis, Paul moved to Saranac Lake "to take the cure". At the time, Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau had established the Trudeau Sanitorium, consisting of a dozen hotels and "cure cottages" devoted to restoration of the health of those with the disease (of which Dr. Trudeau was one). By the early 1900’s, Saranac Lake had emerged as a fashionable resort destination, appealling to outdoor enthusiasts. The development of drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis in the 1950’s ended Saranac Lake’s role as a treatment center.

Records show that Paul resided in Saranac Lake in 1934. He is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point. For years his photograph, in uniform, hung in the Ryan home in Nanticoke.

Julia M. Ryan

Julia was born on August 10, 1890, and married Leigh F. Mahar. Leigh’s job with the local power company required him to have a phone, which resulted in the installation of the first phone in the Ryan home in Nanticoke. Leigh also wired the house for electricity, and the family spent much time there. Julia and Leigh had two children, Robert and Mary Louise. Bob Mahar can tell story after story about Nanticoke, the Ryan farm and the Ryan clan. Julia and Leigh both passed away in 1974, and are buried side by side in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point.

Louis L. Ryan

Louis was born on April 26, 1892, and married Stella Sharping. They had no children. Louis died of a brain tumor in 1928, and he is buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Whitney Point. Stella is said to have remarried, to a "rich druggist" named Wallace.

Louise M. Ryan

Louise was born on either April 22, 1894, or May 22 of the same year (Matthew didn’t seem to be able to get this one quite right). She never married, and died in 1990, and is buried with the rest of the Ryan clan in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

Florence M. Ryan

Florence ("Oochie") was born on April 23,1898, and married Harold B. Brennan, a lawyer. I believe they lived for a time in Long Island City before returning some time later to live in Whitney Point. They had no children. Florence did Harold’s office work, and after he became incapacitated, she kept the office going. Harold was born in 1896 and died in 1961. Florence died in 1985. They are buried next to each other with the rest of the Ryans in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. A number of photographs still exist showing Florence and Harold in their younger days.

Thomas L. Auth, Jr.