WILLIAM RYAN.
William Ryan, former chief of police of the city of Atchison and prosperous farmer and iron moulder of Walnut township, was born in Ottawa, Ill., in 1874. He is a son of James and Ellen (Charleston) Ryan, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter having been born and reared partly in Boston, Mass. James Ryan was a son of Patrick Ryan, a native of Ireland who, after emigrating from the Emerald Isle, settled in Connecticut and later became a pioneer of Ottawa, Ill. Patrick Ryan, with his wife and seven children, moved to Ottawa, Ill., in an early day. Later James and his family went to Nebraska and in 1874 moved to Kansas. Patrick Ryan, grandfather of William, was a very prominent citizen of his county in Illinois. He served as captain of his company of Union soldiers during the Civil war and held the office of county treasurer for several terms, besides filling other important county offices. James Ryan, the father, was also a soldier, holding the position of sergeant in a company forming part of the Fifty-sixth regiment of Illinois volunteers. He was taken prisoner and confined for a time in the notorious Andersonville prison. His trade was that of iron smelter and for thirty years he was employed in the John Seaton foundry in that capacity. His son, William, also became an expert moulder and is now employed in the Seaton foundry.
William Ryan, with whom this review is directly concerned, was but an infant when the family located in Atchison. He attended the old Doniphan school in the city and also the Washington public school, where he was a school-mate of Sheffield Ingalls. He learned the trade of iron moulder at the Seaton foundry and saved his earnings until he was able to purchase a farm in Walnut township in 1908. He removed to his farm and cultivated it until 1910 and then returned to Atchison. In 1911 he was appointed chief of the Atchison police department. Previous to his appointment to the head position of the city police force he had served as a member of the city council and was very active in behalf of a number of public and street improvements which were badly needed at the time. He was one of the official body responsible for the completion of the South Atchison sewer and for the building of a number of paved streets. For his activity in behalf of these public improvements he was defeated for re-election, but some years later Mr. Ryan was again elected to office by a handsome majority. Mr. Ryan has a fine farm of 160 acres in Walnut township which was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, much of which has been cleared away in past years. Upon his retirement from the position of chief of police he returned to his farm, where he resides while he is employed as iron moulder.
He was married in 1898 to Miss Nellie Cairns, and this union has been blessed with five children: Blanche, born in 1899; Ruth, born in 1901; Mary Louise, born in 1903; Hugh, born in 1905; Florence, born in 1910. Mrs. Ryan is a daughter of Irish parents and was born in Atchison.
In his younger days William Ryan was a noted baseball player. He played the left field position on the Atchison team in the first game of baseball ever played in Forest park. The aggregation of players with whom he was associated were known as the “Corn Carnival Colts.” This team became known as the fastest amateur team ever banded together in the city of Atchison and became famous over northeast Kansas for their proficiency in the national game. The name was given to the team when they succeeded in defeating the fast “Kansas Blues,” a professional team, at the time of the corn carnival held in Atchison. Several players from this team broke into the professional league game and became famous.