My great, great Grandfather, John Darby Ryan and his wife, my great, great Grandmother, Bridget Ryan, my immigrant ancestors, probably left Limerick, Ireland about 1840. The 1850 Illinois census list John D Ryan and M. Bridget as residents of Elgin, Illinois ( Kane County). In 1856 the Ryan’s, John, Bridget and their 3 children, Michael, John, and Ellen, came to Minnesota and settled in Cedar Lake Township, Scott County. See history here. Their fourth child Margaret was born at Cedar Lake in 1863. John D. Ryan died on April 18, 1870. Mary Bridget Ryan, whose maiden name was also Ryan, was born in County Limerick, Ireland December 22, 1813. After the death of her husband, she and her sons farmed the homestead. Michael married in 1873 and John in 1879. Mary Bridget died August 16, 1906. John and Bridget Ryan’s son John R. Ryan is my Great Grandfather.
John R. Ryan was born in Elgin Illinois on February 4, 1854. He married Julia Garry, daughter of James and Sabina Quinn Garry, at St Patrick’s Church, Cedar Lake, Minnesota July 1, 1879. They resided on the Ryan Homestead which John and Michael farmed after their father John Darby Ryan had died. Julia 
Garry Ryan died on June 12, 1929. John R. Ryan died April 29, 1939. It was on this Ryan farm that all nine children of John and Julia were born. Rosemary (Mame), John F., Sabina, James Joseph, Bridget, Hannah, Agnes, Ella, and T. Frank.
My Grandfather, James Joseph Ryan ( age 28 ) married
Wedding Day
Helen Cecelia Hart (age 20 ) on June 11, 1913. Helen was the daughter of Thomas and Susan ( Doherty ) Hart. Helen born in 1893 died in 1972. James was born April 10, 1885 and died March 14, 1969. James and Helen ( Nellie ) had 7 children . James Robert Ryan, Mary Loretta Ryan Stanton, Evelyn Ryan Seifert, John Patrick Ryan, Elizabeth Ryan Boegeman(Betty), Roland Ryan ( Rollie) and Helen Ryan Pomije.
Mary Loretta Ryan or just Loretta as most called her is my Mother.
Click on image below to view first three generations of our Ryan Family in America.
The Irish Roots publication by Sister Zacchaeus Ryan – A Genealogy of Ryan, Garry, and Allied Families has been most helpful in following the Ryan family Roots from Ireland to Minnesota. Sister Zacchaeus has indeed shared the joy of her experience in knowing personally many generations of these families and sharing her research with all of us. I am going to try to update my family history through this site and hope that other families are working to keep this family history documented. Many other family members have given me pictures and information they have found or been given and I hope to present it as best I can. I am especially enjoying the photos that have been shared with me and I will try to share them with others. My Aunt, Helen Ryan Pomije let me take the photo album her mother, my grandmother, Nellie Ryan had put together and scan the photos. I know it must have been hard for her to let this marvelous book leave her house and I so appreciate her trust in me. Aunt Helen is a great caretaker for this book. She shared stories about many of the pictures. I wish I could remember all of them. I have enjoyed hours of looking deeply into the photos and seeing so much more than just a photo. The photos filled my imagination with stories and more questions. As I go about sharing, if mistakes are made please help me to correct them. Helen Mae Vaughan Casey also shared pictures of the Hart Family. Helen Mae’s generous sharing has been enjoyed by my family. I have used many of the photo groups for gifts, hoping to generate some interest in keeping the memories alive. Such fun seeing the dresses, hats, jewelry, dishes, table linen, and togetherness of these families.
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