August 1994 was sweet

I'll be taking a break from the recent historical posts about long lost ancestors and related family members.  I can almost hear the collective "whew!".  I thought it would be fun to dive back into the photo albums again and see what was going on 20 years ago this month.  Turns out there was quite a bit going on that month!

All the while that Jim was doing marching band and the kids were young, we'd typically take our own vacation time during the month of August, so I guess it's not too surprising to find so much for August 1994.
It was the summer that we got our new pole barn built after the old one caved in under heavy snow in a previous winter. Harry was still with us (minus a portion of his tail and a large amount of his dignity). I went to Silver Creek for the 20th class reunion.  Amy was 6 and Ryan would turn 3 in a couple of months.  Jim and I took a trip to Chicago that summer and left the kids on Long Island for a few days so they had their own little vacation.

We went to Sesame Place.  Jim got whisked up to the stage by a very large Ernie (which Ryan did not like on little bit) to help them with their schtick.  It's pretty sad when Ernie is laughing at you.

It was Ryan Patrick's first summer.  I think they all look pretty happy

Here's a classic. No further explanation needed.

Mary Jane feeding watermelon to Ryan P on our old patio.

A very pensive little girl at the Syracuse Zoo.  Who knew then what her future held?

So, it was a very busy month but that's what you do when the kids are young.  I often miss the "excuse" to go to some of these places now that the children are older.  I'd feel like a stalker at Sesame Place without a child by my side!

 

 

A reminder (shameless plug) about the new public blog Gathering the Cousins.  I created it specifically as "cousin bait"--that perhaps one day an unknown relative would stumble upon it and recognize either the Irish or the Italian lines as their own.  It would be great if you'd visit the site once in a while--I think the more hits it has, the more likely it will be to show up high enough on someone's search results to be found.  To have a relative find us this way would be a serious affirmation of my efforts with blogging and family history research.

Quite the Character

I have some follow-up to last week's post about Grampie's siblings.  The colorful Uncle Art has gotten a little more colorful for us this week upon my discovery of a couple of very interesting newspaper articles.

The first article I found was called "Five Fugitives Are Freed in New York to Face Trial in Taunton in Hi-Jacking Case" from the Boston Daily Globe in 1927 when Arthur would have been about 34 years old.  This Arthur Ryan gave a New York City address.  This incident stemmed from "transportation a month ago of two motorvan loads of liquor from Taunton to New York".  Rum running.  Actually there are other hints in the newspaper that the Ryan boys were heavily involved in rum running back in the day.  Anyhow, I wasn't sure this was "our" Arthur but I wasn't sure it wasn't either so I kept looking til I came across the articles above.

It seems this Arthur Ryan of Gloucester (of the right age for "our" Arthur) used an assumed identity as Ernest T. Leach and was arrested on grand larceny charges in connection with the theft of almost $100,000 (yes--that's the right number of zeroes) in GOVERNMENT securities from a New York City bank.  The article states that Leach admitted obtaining these bonds through an underworld acquaintance. Bazinga--this matches what Sharen's mother thought she remembered.  It's enough to make me believe this is indeed our Arthur.  An official black sheep.

Jim says, "And there's your sign!"

Time will tell

I've recently been back in touch with a distant cousin, Sharen Ryan Elliott.  She is a twin granddaughter of Grampie's oldest brother Richard.  See, twins on the Ryan side of the family!  In the couple of times I've been in touch with her, she's given some interesting Ryan tidbits that I think help round out the story of Grampie and his siblings. 

Sharen sent me this picture of Grampie's parents William H. Ryan and Catherine Bentley Ryan.  I do not have a date for this picture but he died in 1934 and their last child was born in 1910 so we can assume sometime between those dates.  Catherine's long dress makes me think it's in the 1910s, but this needs further research.   This is the Catherine (Katherine) found dead in her bed by Grampie in 1945.  I feel very fortunate to have this picture.  He certainly appears to be an "old salt", doesn't he?

To briefly review their family, lives seemingly full of misfortune, tragedy and dysfunction:

Richard Sr.  and his wife Ida had 4 children including Richard Jr --Sharen's father.  She says Richard Sr. died in 1948 at the age of 57 of heart trouble and complications of alcoholism.  Ida was the runaway wife I've posted about in an earlier post. 

Richard Sr. is sitting on the dock here int his picture also from Sharen.

Arthur B. was second in line.  He married Gertrude Gordon and they had at least one daughter, Elinor.  There are a number of Eleanors in this family!  Sharen says he left Gloucester at the age of 16 to live with his aunt and uncle Bentley in a nearby town.  She also notes that Uncle Art was "quite the character....seems he had problems with the Mob and ended up down in Mexico for a while hiding!"  I don't have it confirmed but it appears from the local funeral home records that he may have died in 1955 perhaps in Florida.

William H. Ryan Jr. died as a young father in New York City of acute chronic alcoholism.  He worked at Ellis Island Immigration station and had two daughters.  I haven't yet been able to track that family but he was only 38 when he died in June 1933.

Everett B. Ryan died about a year later of a broken neck while attempting to hang himself.  Everett was clearly troubled and was being treated at the State Hospital for some time prior to this.  He also had a wife and children (6).  It was only a month before this incident that his father William Sr. died also at the Danvers State Hospital.  It was a very difficult year or so for the family.

Chester was "mentally deficient" according to his draft registration and Dad's stories.  It appears to me he lived with his family until he couldn't any more.  I don't have his death confirmed either (yet).

Grampie was next in line, the 6th boy in a row in that family.

Aunt Bud, Viola (or Violet) was the 7th child and the first girl!  She never married and was Dad's favorite aunt (the only Ryan aunt!).  She was a dance instructor and beautician before she moved back with her brother Grampie ill with cancer.

Here's Dad with Aunt Bud and his mother.  I think this young man is Peter, probably at Dad's college graduation at St. Bonaventure--so Aunt Bud thought enough of Dad to take that trip.  I love her purse!


John "Jack" Ryan was the youngest boy, shot accidentally by a friend and died of complications several weeks later.  I am working to locate those two children as well.  It's especially sad to note he died only a week or so before Christmas with two young children at home. 

In 1910, an infant girl was born and died on the same day.  She is listed as Dala but I don't know if that's some kind of abbreviation or her name.  Isn't THAT sad?

Overall, it seems a pretty sad tale to me.  But perhaps it only seems so from the distance time creates.  Time will tell our tale as well.

We celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary yesterday with the (now traditional) hot dog and beer at the stadium.  This tradition started out feeling like a sad state of affairs but has now woven its way into our own little culture.  It helps that another couple from Jim's section of season ticket holders shares the very same anniversary with us.  Ed and Patty enjoy having this quirky coincidence in common so we make an effort to share the bounty of the stadium meal with them each year.

Last night, we were able to go to one of the skyboxes to watch the game and stay out of the rain.  This provided us with a better opportunity for real conversation--the kind you can't have in the open air stadium seating shared with others.  Hang on to your hats because this is where we learn that Patty is called Patty Anne -- and only by her family members.  Like me, she doesn't really like to hear it come from a non-blood's mouth.  And the quirky conicidence doesn't stop there--she also has 4 sisters and 1 brother!!!  By the time this information spilled out, the men were getting a little nervous.  As well they should. 

I admit that I do not always look excitedly forward to spending our anniversary at the stadium one more time, but yesterday was a night to remember despite the rain and cancelled fireworks.  Here are some photographic reminders of that day in 1985:

I like this one for the reminder of the blue kitchen, empties on the washing machine, July calendar on the door, Nanny and Mom helping out.  Who's that girl with the glasses next to Nanny? :)

Seeing the fire truck outside the church and realizing he really did get a fire truck!

Dad and his camera!  Happy Birthday Dad.

I think this is before we defiled the Elks Club Elk

Don't we all look young!

We spent our honeymoon in Gloucester.  Jim reminded Emmy this week that he has been in her life for 29 years now!  An anniversary well remembered.