William E. Ryan Biography


	This biography appears on pages 229-230 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				WILLIAM E. RYAN. 

	William E. Ryan, an energetic and enterprising business man, now 
president of the First National Bank of Letcher, was born in Grant 
county, Wisconsin, May 16, 1865. His father, John Ryan, was a native of 
the Badger state and was a son of John Ryan, Sr., who was born in 
Ireland and on coming to America made his way into the interior of the 
country, settling in Wisconsin among the pioneers of 1834. His son and 
namesake married Catherine Lewis and to them were born nine children. 

	William E. Ryan, the second in order of birth, acquired his 
education in the country schools of Wisconsin and has been identified 
with the business interests of South Dakota since 1893, when he 
established a lumber yard at Letcher, building up one of the leading 
enterprises of the kind in the county. This he conducted with growing 
success until 1910, when he sold his plant to the J. F. Anderson Lumber 
Company. In the meantime his trade had steadily grown and his 
enterprise had become one of the leading business concerns of the 
district. In 1900 Mr. Ryan assisted in organizing the Letcher State 
Bank at Letcher, of which he was chosen president, and when that 
institution was changed to the First National Bank he continued as its 
chief officer. He has been largely responsible for making it one of the 
strong financial institutions of the state. It has been developed along 
a substantial basis and in keeping with modern business ethics and its 
success is attributable largely to his executive force, his keen 
insight and his well defined plans. He also has important farm and 
ranch interests, owning two thousand acres of improved land upon which 
he is successfully engaged in breeding cattle. Indeed he has been for 
many years one of the largest breeders and dealers in live stock in his 
part of the state and as he is familiar with every phase of the 
business and knows the market he is thus able to direct his interests 
and his investments in live stock so as to secure a good return 
therefrom. 

	In 1889 Mr. Ryan was united in marriage to Miss Mabel Smith, a 
daughter of J. P. and Cora (Derby) Smith, who were among the early 
settlers of Sanborn county, coming from Vermont in 1885. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Ryan have been born four children, namely: Cora Blanche; Kathryn, 
the wife of Laurence Smith, of St. Louis, Missouri; Myrtle G.; and 
Helen A. 

	Politically Mr. Ryan is an earnest republican and he has been a 
member of the school board for many years. Fraternally he is a Mason, 
an Odd Fellow and an Elk and is loyal to the teachings of those 
organizations, exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit upon 
which they are based. He believes in giving to each individual the 
opportunity which should be his and he has never won his success at the 
price of another's failure. On the contrary, his prosperity has been 
largely due to his faith in the future of the state and the excellence 
of his judgment in making investments which have justified the 
soundness of his opinions.