Re: RYAN, John b. 1811, IRE > NS
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In reply to:
Re: RYAN, John b. 1811, IRE > NS
1/30/00
Norman (and Allison):
Not sure if you are aware of what a special person Walter D'Arcy Ryan was.
The Walter D'Arcy Ryan mentioned by Norman was discussed on CBC (Canadian public) Radio in Halifax NS by "Mr Know It All" aka Bruce Nunn, who featured him on April 9 2001.
Walter was the first outdoor lighting technician in history. He started by focusing floodlights on the Singer Building in NYC in 1905, the first time a building was ever 'flooded' with light from an external source. The Singer Building was the tallest in NYC at that time, and he caused a sensation with the public.
He achieved a triumph in San Francisco at the World's Exposition of 1915, where he bathed the entire site in floodlights and searchlights. His last major effort was the Chicago World's Fair of 1933. He died in 1934. All other lighting technicians copied what he had started.
His father James William Ryan had parents who came directly from Ireland (did not hear on the news item from where or what year). I do not know if the John b. 1811 is the grandfather, but the time period would be correct.
Walter's middle name D'Arcy may have been given to him at his birth in 1870 to commemorate Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a member from 1867-1868 of Canada's first Parliament who was assassinated by Irish Fenians who shot him on the street in Ottawa. Thomas is considered Canada's only poet who was also an MP. He infuriated the Fenians who had been trying to rouse anti-British sentiment in Canada and convince it to join the USA. It was partly because of Fenian raids across the Maine-New Brunswick border in 1866 (as well as the recent US Civil War) that made Canada ask England to give it administrative autonomy. The Dominion of Canada was created on July 1, 1867.
You might want to try contacting the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Halifax NS at
- http://halifax.cbc.ca/radio/infomorn/http://halifax.cbc.ca/radio/infomorn/ - and go to the second page, then click on Mr. Nova Scotia Know It All.
Many favorite Mr. Nova Scotia Know It All stories are in Bruce's book, History with a
Twist: Unusual Stories from Mr.Nova Scotia Know It All, published by Nimbus.
To contact Bruce Nunn, write to:
- [email protected] -
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There aren't many Ryan's right in Kentville any more, but you could get out a map and look them up in the phone book at
http://canada411.sympatico.ca/eng/person.htmlhttp://canada411.sympatico.ca/eng/person.html
If you want to contact people in that area, try places like Halifax and Dartmouth in the capital cities area, and Windsor, Kentville, Wolfville, and perhaps on the Atlantic Ocean side around Lunrnburg, Bridgewater, etc.
Allison, if your people arrived in Guysborough County, you could spot the folks still living around there, and also in Queensport, Canso, Sheet Harbour on the Atlantic coastline, or perhaps to the west around places like Port Hawkesbury, Antigonish, New Glasgow, or Truro, all north and east of Halifax.
More Replies:
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Re: RYAN, John b. 1811, IRE > NS
4/14/01
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Re: RYAN, John b. 1811, IRE > NS
4/11/01