Sacramento County
Biographies
CAPT. THOMAS A. RYAN
CAPT. THOMAS A. RYAN.--Among the best-known and best-liked men in the river and
bay transportation service was the late Captain Thomas A. Ryan, pioneer
steamboat captain in the service of the Sacramento Transportation Company, and
one of the oldest masters in their employ. A native of New York, he was born at Albany, on May 2, 1852,
the son of Thomas and Ann (McNamara) Ryan, worthy folk who passed their last
days in the Empire State surrounded by their many friends and relatives.
Thomas A. Ryan attended the public schools
of his native city and when a lad in his teens began a service on the water
that was to last until he died. At the age of sixteen, in 1868, he came to
California and for a year was in the river service with his headquarters in San
Francisco; then he came to Sacramento and began at the bottom in the service of
the Sacramento Transportation Company and went through all the pioneer
conditions that confronted steamboat men during the early years of their
existence. He helped clear the Sacramento
River of snags as far as Red
Bluff in order that boats might ply their trade that far north. His stories of
these early days were very interesting and he never lacked an audience when
recounting tales of the river. He witnessed the evolution in steamboating on the river and bay and always kept abreast
of the period and was a very well-informed man, holding the confidence of his
superiors as well as those working under his direction. In 1880 he was made a
captain, and from that time he had command of various vessels, among them the
Red Bluff, Dover, Verona, and others.
Captain Ryan was married in Sacramento to Miss Clara Sarah Hastings, one of the very first
children born in Sutterville. They had five children:
George T., died in 1919; Arthur, inspector of police
in Sacramento; Bert and Charles, both deceased when about thirteen years
old; and Gladys, employed in the State motor vehicle department. There are four
grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Mrs. Ryan passed away in 1915, beloved
by all who knew her. Captain Ryan was a member of the National Mates and
Pilot's Association and in all public matters he gave his support to the
projects he thought would bring the best results to the greatest number of
people. After a long and useful career Captain Ryan laid down the cares of life
and passed to his fathers on May 12, 1923,
after an illness of but a few weeks. He will be missed by all who came to know
him as a man, citizen and friend.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento
County, California With Biographical Sketches, Page 300. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.