More Ryan stories

I have to say I really enjoy getting these other (or maybe one of them will be our) Ryan stories. This is from Phil Ryan just down the road in Kingston NY:

I believe Tipperary was Ryan country, and still is, to this day. My grandfather, Richard Ryan, was born January 2, 1871 in Cashel, Tipperary. His parents were William and Catherine Ryan. Richard had seven siblings, none of them were Timothy. My understanding is that Richard is the only one to come to the U.S. He came to New York and was naturalized as a young man, in the early 1890s. He was a property owner and had an ice delivery business in Harlem. Family lore is that our family was known as the "Ryans of the Racecourse," and we learned that there had been a racecourse in the Cashel area in the 19th century. We have some birth records and they variously indicate that the family lived in "Cashel Commons" or just "Commons" or "Racecourse." Meanwhile, we are assured that we have Ryan relatives in Ireland...but we have never made an effort to find them.

Indeed there are bunches and bunches of Ryans in Tipperary! Although we have our share of Williams and Catherines, this Richard Ryan doesn't quite fit into the time frame of our Timothy (born about 1839 and immigrated before 1852 probably during the Famine). This does not mean Phil is not one of our Ryans. We just don't know yet. Most likely we will have to wait for several more Ryans to join this DNA surname project. It's just another good thing worth waiting for.

Amy is home this weekend and got to spend some time with Paula yesterday at Ryan's game. Ryan's been having a rough time in football recently and I'm proud that he is handling it pretty well. Support from all of you has certainly made a difference. "Back in the day" such support seemed to be part of everyday life for most families. Of course, they lived closer to one another usually and were often in the same line of work or would see each other regularly at church or other social clubs. Not so much today but we do "see" each other and share news almost as fast electronically. A new world with some of the same patterns. I think I love it!