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Draft:Alice Ryan

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Alice Doheny (née Ryan)
Born16 July 1830
Doon, County Limerick, Ireland
Died27 October 1906
Brockville, Ontario, Canada
Burial placeCimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Montreal, Canada
CitizenshipCanadian
MovementWomen's suffrage
SpouseMichael Doheny
ChildrenMargaret Isabelle Doheny (daughter)
Hugh Doheny (son)
Michael Doheny Jr. (son)
William Doheny (son)
Patrick Doheny (son)
John Doheny (son)
Parents
  • John Patrick Ryan (father)
  • Margaret Conway (mother)
RelativesHugh Ryan (railway magnate) (brother)
John Ryan (brother)
Edward L. Doheny (cousin-in-law)

Alice Doheny (née Ryan) (16 July 1830 – 27 October 1906) was an Irish-Canadian heiress, suffragette and sister of railway magnates Hugh Ryan and John Ryan.[1][2] The daughter John Patrick Ryan and Margaret Conway, Ryan moved with her family to Montreal, Canada, after her father sold Gortkelly Castle to another branch of the Ryan clan in Tipperary.[3][4]

Background

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Born on 16 July 1830, Alice Ryan was born into the wealthy Irish-Catholic Ryan family as the daughter of John Patrick Ryan and Margaret Ryan (née Conway); who owned Gortkelly Castle before her father sold the estate to another branch of the Ryan clan.[5]

The family immigrated post sale to Montreal, Canada, in 1841, when Ryan was eleven years old. She had four siblings: prominent industrialist Hugh Ryan, railway magnate John Ryan, Patrick Ryan, and Catherine Ryan.[6]

Suffragette Movement

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Alice Ryan was a supporter of the Canadian Women's Suffrage Association (CWSA), previously the Toronto Woman's Literary Club (TWLC).[7][8] She was a family friend of the Attorney General of Ontario, Sir Oliver Mowat —later a pall-bearer for her brother Hugh Ryan[9]— who oversaw the 1883 committee created to urge the Toronto City Council to petition the Ontario Government to pass a bill conferring the municipal franchise upon women.[10] The committee was comprised of members of the CWSA including Dr. Emily Stowe, Sarah Anne Curzon, Jessie Turnbull McEwen, Mrs. W. B. Hamilton, Mrs. Miller, and Mrs. Isabel Mackenzie (wife of William Lyon Mackenzie).[11]

Ryan reportedly appealed to Mowat on the committee's behalf and, following the committee's impassioned presentation, he formally stated that "there was no doubt that the franchise would have to be extended to women."[12] As a result of the committee's petition (which was passed by the Toronto City Council 20 to 5)[13] and Mowat's legal support, Sir John A. Macdonald introduced a bill to the Parliament of Canada that same year which stipulated granting municipal franchise to unmarried women and widows possessing the required property qualifications.[14] The bill, which Ryan argued should have also included married women, ultimately did not pass.[15]

Marriage, Children & Descendants

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Alice Ryan married Michael Doheny, a cousin of Irish-American oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny.[16] The couple had six children together: Margaret Isabelle Doheny, Hugh Doheny, Michael Doheny Jr., William Doheny, Patrick Doheny and John Doheny.

Canadian heiress and suffragette Alice Doheny (1830–1906), pictured with her only daughter Margaret Isabelle Doheny.

Ryan's son Hugh Doheny (b. 1863) would, like his father and uncles, become a wealthy developer; with his most profitable building project being Section III of the New Welland Ship Canal competed in 1913 for a fee of $9.5 million (the equivalent of $297 million in 2024).[17]

Ryan's only daughter, Margaret Isabelle McHenry (née Doheny), was a primary beneficiary of her mothers' estate. She married American-Canadian William John "W.J." McHenry, a professional lacrosse player turned businessman, politician and whiskey magnate on 5 November 1885.[18][19][20][21]

Ryan's grandson Lt.-Cmdr. Hugh Doheny (b. 1914) married Harriet Katherine Lucinda Erskine (b. 1924), daughter of Lt.-Col. Sir Thomas Erskine, 4th Baronet of Combo, and Dame Magdalen Erskine (née Anstruther).[22]

Ryan became a widow on 2 February 1886 when her husband Michael Doheny died suddenly in their Point-Saint-Charles townhouse.[23] The funeral was attended by the Governor General of Canada, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, and over 400 people from Canada, America and Ireland; with chief mourners including Massachusetts politician, P.J. Kennedy (father of Joseph Patrick Kennedy and grandfather of President John F. Kennedy); U.S. Congressman, John G. Carlisle; Canadian Senator, John Costigan; and Member of Parliament, J.J. Curran.[23]

Inheritance

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Ryan, who was reportedly close with her younger brother Hugh Ryan (declared "Canada's wealthiest railroad contractor" at the time of his death in 1899),[24] received a generous sum in his last will and testament; along with all of his landholdings in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[25]

Alice Ryan's granddaughter, heiress Margaret Isabelle McDonald (née McHenry), photographed in New York City.

Death & Burial

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Alice Ryan died on 27 October 1906 in Brockville, Ontario, with her body being transported by private train to Montreal, Quebec, where the funeral service was held at the Irish-Catholic St Ann's Church.[26][27] The requiem mass was attended by the entire extended Ryan-Doheny clan, as well as Gilded-Age society women; including Mrs. Mary Augusta Kennedy (wife of P. J. Kennedy), and Mrs. Mary Inez Cloran (wife of Senator Henry Joseph Cloran).[27][28][29]

Ryan was laid to rest in the prominent Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges on 29 October 1906, alongside her late husband Michael Doheny (d.1886) and her late son Patrick Doheny (d.1890).[30][26]

References

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  1. ^ National Library of Ireland (2016). "National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Irish Catholic Parish Registers; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 02497 / 05". National Library of Ireland.
  2. ^ Robarts (1907). Commemorative Biographical Record of the County of York, Ontario: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Many of the Early Settled Families, Illustrated. University of Toronto (1st ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: J.H. Beers. pp. 25–27. ISBN 9780968556009.
  3. ^ Tipperary Live, Reporter (5 July 2018). "Gortkelly Castle, extending to 72 acres, Tipperary". www.tipperarylive.ie.
  4. ^ Stagg, Ronald J. (1990). "The Biography of Hugh Ryan". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. 12.
  5. ^ National Library of Ireland (2016). "National Library of Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Irish Catholic Parish Registers; Microfilm Number: Microfilm 02497 / 05". National Library of Ireland.
  6. ^ Library and Archives Canada (22 July 2013) [1861]. "Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1043". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Government of Canada.
  7. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Women's Suffrage: Timeline". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  8. ^ Vera K. Fast (1998). "TURNBULL, JESSIE (McEwen)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval.
  9. ^ The Manitoba Morning Free Press (15 February 1899). "Hugh Ryan's Funeral: Impressive services held at St Michael's Cathedral -The Pallbearers". newspapers.com.
  10. ^ The Brantford Daily Expositor (14 November 1883). "Canadian Women's Suffrage Association Meets With O. Mowat". Newspapers.com. Brantford, Ontario, Canada. p. 2.
  11. ^ Luke, Edith M. (1895). Canadian Magazine: Woman Suffrage in Canada. Vol. 5. Canadian Magazines Limited.
  12. ^ The Gazette (14 November 1883). "News From Toronto: Canadian Women's Suffrage Association Waited On The Local Government". Newspapers.com. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
  13. ^ The Hamilton Spectator (29 October 1883). "The Resolution Was Carred 20 to 5 For Women's Suffrage Oct 29, 1883". Newspapers.com. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. p. 1.
  14. ^ The Nellie McClung Foundation. "Timeline of Women's Suffrage in Canada". The Nellie McClung Foundation.
  15. ^ The Gazette (24 April 1883). "The Franchise Bill". Newspapers.com. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 4.
  16. ^ Margaret Leslie Davis, Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny (1998).
  17. ^ The Gazette (5 September 1913). "O'Brien & Doheny: Montreal Firm Gets Big Contract". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 1.
  18. ^ "Sportsman W.J. McHenry marries prominent young lady Margaret Isabelle Doheny". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Canada. 1885-10-30. p. 3.
  19. ^ "Miss Margaret Doheny married to Mr W.J. McHenry". Newspapers.com. The Weekly British Whig. p. 2.
  20. ^ "Annual Lacrosse Convention -Our National Game -W.J. McHenry". The Montreal Star. Montreal, Quebec. 1885-04-11. p. 5.
  21. ^ "W.J. McHenry Sportsman". The Freeholder. Ontario, Canada. 1885-09-18. p. 2.
  22. ^ The Gazette (12 June 1945). "Doheny-Erskine Wedding in London". Newspapers.com. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 15.
  23. ^ a b The Gazette (5 February 1886). "The Late Mr M Doheney's Grand Funeral". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 2.
  24. ^ The Kingston Whig-Standard (13 February 1899). "Death of Hugh Ryan: Canada's Wealthiest and Greatest Railway Contractor". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. p. 4.
  25. ^ The Evening Star (28 February 1899). "Mr Hugh Ryan's Will: A Statement by the Solicitors". The Evening Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. 5.
  26. ^ a b The Gazette (29 October 1906). "Alice Ryan Obituary". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 3.
  27. ^ a b The Montreal Star (25 January 1906). "In Memoriam: Alice Ryan". The Montreal Star. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. p. 15.
  28. ^ Waite, P. B. "Biography – PETTY-FITZMAURICE, HENRY CHARLES KEITH, 5th Marquess of LANSDOWNE – Volume XV (1921-1930) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. University of Toronto.
  29. ^ The Winnipeg Tribune (8 February 1928). "Family of Senator H. J. CLoran". The Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. p. 5.
  30. ^ "Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal: Plot Number R00056". Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges.


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