Richard Ryan Family - Nora Boney and her family line.
| Quaker Oats factor in Fort Dodge. Several Ryan 'boys' worked at this plan in the early 1900s. |
| Nora Ryan's address is Wahkonsa township, and her address was on the extreme eastern edge of Fort Dodge. |
| Corpus Christi Catholic Church |
Fort Dodge postcard
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| 1915 Webster County Census (Nora Ryan family) |
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| 1919 Draft Cards - 5 sons of Nora and Richard Ryan |
| 1900 Brule County census. Initially we thought that the "Frank Ryan" listed in this census was for our grandfather, but entered incorrectly (nephew instead of grandson). The Frank Ryan noted above was a son of Nora and Richard Ryan, Webster. |
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| Here are some interesting facts
associated with these two census counts: - In the 1870 census, the "Browns", Patrick Ryans and James Ryan families lived next door to each other. - The other James Ryan in the 1870 census was Patrick Ryan's parents (he married Margaret Ryan, daughter of James and Nancy Ryan, also seen on this page). - Bridget and James were married a month before this census was taken and were living with the James Ryan Sr. family. He was farming and she was teaching. - The 1880 census shows Nora Boney Ryan living in Fort Dodge. He was working for the railroad. |
OK…So we were a little surprised when Mathew Whalen wrote to inform us that “Nora , the wife of Richard Ryan, was the daughter of John and Mary (Ryan) Boney”. Let me step back a second…when we began exploring our family’s history in Allamakee County, we found an Hanora (Nora) Boney who married Richard Ryan in Waukon, but we assumed that she was either a sister or cousin to John Boney. Our rationale for this assumption was because the first census records we had for this family (1880) showed the eldest child was born in 1863. Nora's birth year was recorded as 1857.
So we began to re-read the information we had on the Boneys in our site…and sure enough, in an article written on the history of Brule County , we found that John and Mary did have a daughter by the name of “Nora”. She was one of 10 surviving children produced from this union, and more importantly, we never documented her or 4 other siblings in our family tree.
The first question you may have is "Is Richard Ryan related to us"? The answer is no, at least not in recent generations. His parents were Richard and Mary Fogerty Ryan, and their family history only says, "from Ireland." This family was one of James and Nancy Anne Ryan's neighbors in Union Prairie in Allamakee. But Nora Boney Ryan is related to us, as she was a grand daughter of James and Nancy Ann Ryan.
So what did we learn? Well for one thing, she claimed that her family came to America in 1864 (1910 census). This seems to be consistent with the other Ryan family histories as well. What is of interest, though, is that she reported in 1915 that the family lived in “America” for about a year before they made their way to Allamakee County. We know that the family arrived in Canada, and waited for a daughter to immigrate. As the United States was in the midst of Civil War, it would make sense for them to extend their stay in Canada, and mom (Ruth Ryan Smith) believed that they spent some time in Boston, also. They did make their way to New Orleans, and another piece of family history says that when they landed in New Orleans, the great excitement and conversation of the day centered around Lincoln’s assassination. Lincoln’s assassination occurred in April 1865, so we can speculate that they arrived in New Orleans around this timeframe. From New Orleans they “cruised” up the Mississippi, and most likely disembarked near Lansing, Iowa.
Our family history says they came to Allamakee County because “other family was present.” Several years ago, we found that Nancy Ann Ryan’s brother, Bartholomew Campbell, had come to Allamakee a few years earlier. His farm was within walking distance of James and Nancy Ann’s farm on West Ridge (colloquial name for a location inside Union Prairie Township). Bartholomew Campbell was not the only relative who lived in Allamakee at the time, but that is a story we will tell at a later date.
The Boney family homesteaded a few farms north of the James Ryan family, in fact, they were a "few farms" south of the Richard Ryan, Sr. farmstead. In the 1870 census, we don’t see a “Boney” listed in Allamakee, even though baptismal records and other church records show that they were still present in the County.
- Elizabeth Booney, 23 Mar 1875, parents John Booney and Mary Ryan
- Ellen Theresa Bony, 05 Jun 1877, parents John Bony and Mary Ryan, sponsor Bartholmew Ryan
- Catherine Boney, 12 Feb 1873, parents John Boney and Mary Ryan, sponsors Patrick Ryan and Catherine Ryan (Note the Patrick Ryan link)
- John Edward Ryan, 01 Jun 1879, parents Richard Ryan and Hanna Bony, sponsors Edward Ryan and Mrs. Bony (sic. Mary Ryan)
Looking closer, we see a “Brown” family with parents by the name of John and Mary. We initially discounted this census because there were children we could not account for – now that we know the full family line, we now realize that the “Browns” were really Boneys. Most likely a census taker who couldn’t understand the Irish dialect…
We don’t know when Nora married Richard Ryan, Jr., - census information would lead us to believe it was 1881, however, a son born in 1879 suggests it was mid 1878 (as noted above). Now hold onto this date because it does get confusing at this point. The 1900 Webster County, Iowa, census also provides some interesting things about this family. Below are the members in this household and their ages:
Name Age Nora Ryan 40, Henry Ryan 18, James Ryan 17, Timothy Ryan 15, Maggie Ryan 2, William Ryan 9, Annie E Ryan 7, Andrew Ryan 4, Richard Ryan 23, Mary Thomas 22, Dorothea Thomas 1
So what do we know?
- Nora was a widow. Her husband, Richard died in 1897. The records at Corpus Christi cemetery in Forth Dodge (Lot 19) shows he was born in 1847 and died 16 Oct 1897.
- There was a 10 year difference between Nora and her husband, Richard.
- Richard Ryan and Mary Thomas are listed as ‘step-children’. The first child born to Nora and Richard was Henry Ryan. Mary Thomas, in at least two census documents, is shown as ‘divorced.’ Dorothea Thomas is Mary’s daughter, and in the census, Dorothea is shown as ‘grand-daughter.’ Both Richard and Mary remained unmarried up to at least 1930. In this census, their step-mother Nora is living with them in Fort Dodge (117 S. Main, Fort Dodge). Ten years earlier, the census showed Nora (62) living at 117 S. Main with Richard (42), William (29), and Anna (26).
- Remember John Edward Ryan, born to Richard and Hanna Ryan (born 1879)? He is not reflected in the 1900 census, and appears to have been born a year later than Mary Thomas, his step-sister. Richard may have sought out a "new wife" after Richard's wife gave birth to Mary. We would speculate that Richard's first wife died, which allowed him to continue with his Catholic faith (as we see thru Church records.)
- In the 1892 Farmers Directory, Webster, Iowa, there is a Mrs. Mary Ryan listed as ‘farmer’. This entry could have suggested that Richard may have died earlier, but since Maggie was born in 1897, it supports the cemetery record noted above.
- Nora’s children cared for her throughout her life. The census documents tell us that she depended on them for support. The census documents are not the only documents that give us this information. The Ryan boys wrote on their WWI draft cards to be released from consideration for military service because they needed to support their mother. Interestingly, several of the Ryan boys had served in the military before WWI.
- We don’t know a lot about the Ryan boys, although as a group, they either worked at Quaker Oats or the Railroad. This family was a close knit one, and throughout the years many had lived under one roof in Forth Dodge.
- Looking at the 1900 Brule County census, it shows that John and Mary Boney were married 45 years, which tells us that they were married in Ireland in 1855. It was clear that the census information we had only showed the younger children in the family.
The obituaries below are interesting because they show the Ryan boys as pallbearers. Will take a little more research to see how this family fits into our own.