West Ridge Church - Union Prairie, Allamakee, Iowa

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St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on West Ridge (Church of the James & Annie Ryan clan in Union Prairie township, Allamakee County.  Click to Enlarge.

Dennis and Mary Ryan tombstone in West Ridge cemetery.  Dennis was an older brother to Batt and James Ryan.  Click to Enlarge

Photographs provided by Don and Millie Ryan, Bartlesville, OK.  Click to Enlarge.

Church built by the Irish families of Union Prairie township.  Click to Enlarge

A broader view of the Catholic cemetery in West Ridge, west of Waukon, Iowa.

St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Waukon, Iowa.  This church also has a connection with our own as Elizabeth and Batt Ryan were the second couple to be married in the rebuilt church (prior to this new church being built in 1913).

It was on the marriage records that we learned of Batt's "real name" -  Maurice.  "Real name" is contained in quotes because we don't really know if this was his baptismal name or his birth name.  In the churches of Ireland, the "person" may only have been known by his or her baptismal name, and this practice may have been reflected here when he signed the church register as "Maurice."

The Family Origin in the western United States

A family tradition says that Batt Ryan entered the port of New Orleans on the day that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.  At this point we have not substantiated this claim, but based on other histories we have assembled, we do know that the family came to the Americas by way of  Quebec. It is possible that the family made their way to Allamakee by boarding a boat  from Quebec to New Orleans and following the Mississippi River to their final destination in Allamakee County, Iowa.

Before coming to the reunion, Don and Millie made their way to Waukon to find more information about the family.  In particular they wanted to find additional data on the Central House, which Don's grandfather owned and operated in Waukon...and also a hotel that our ancestor, Batt Ryan, helped build.  They were not able to find the exact site, but two references show that it had been resold several times by 1884 after James Ryan left Waukon.