Confederate | timdesmondblog

Camp 1804 genealogist Bill Lee speaking.

This was last Saturday on April 25, at Calvary Cemetery on Belmont Avenue, Fresno, California.
Jerry Ryan and his father were railroad builders in Houston, Texas. Before the Civil War they built the railroad across Cuba. Before the Civil War he married in Texas, and When Texas seceded in 1861, Jerry joined Waul’s Texas Legion. Waul’s became a trans-Mississippi unit in the Army of Tennessee, as did many regiments from Arkansas, Louisiana and other Texas regiments.
Early in the war Jerry was captured at the battle called Shiloh, and sent to Rock Island, the Union prisoner camp, Illinois. He was part of a prisoner exchange and either returned to Texas or returned to another Confederate unit. After the war he continued railroad work, and was working on railroad in Oregon. He came to Fresno to build the railroad there in 1873. Ryan was first section foreman for the Southern Pacific in this locality and by his industry and shrewdness soon accumulated enough money to start him in the hotel business.
In 1874 he ceased the railroad business and remained in Fresno. He was most likely a member of the Price Camp of Confederate Veterans, as other notable members were Doctor Muex, Doctor Henry Hopkins, and others. One other was a Confederate he had met at Rock Island, Illinois and exchanged with him. That was Fresno’s first County Sheriff, J. D. Collins. They became life-long friends and died a year apart, Ryan in 1909, Collins in 1910.
The memorial was hosted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans local General Tyree Harris Bell Camp #1804. General Bell probably knew Collins and Ryan also, as he farmed in what is now Clovis and Sanger, and is buried at Bethel Cemetery in Sanger. The Sons of Confederate Veterans genealogical organization is dedicated to preserving the memory of Confederates and their history.

Tim
THE DOC ~ Revised Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Tim Desmond
Cover Design by Jackson Cover Design
All cover art copyright © 2014
All Rights Reserved
Print ISBN: 978-1-626941-44-1

Timothy J. Desmond
Amazon author page at: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00694KQQO
The Doc page and Writing at: http://timothydesmond.wordpress.com
Art at: http://artbydesmond.wordpress.com

Only four weeks left. Again, it’s getting short here. While the “Gold Rush” had a beginning of migrations to California, there were men coming from all areas from the eastern states, north and south, and from global locations. Other early farmers or names in the area were Hildreth, Daulton, Castro, Firebaugh, Chapman, Helm, Johnson, Faymonville, Savage, Heiskell, as well as Miller and Lux. Many were ex-miners.
When Millerton was still the Fresno County seat there was a civilian fight that had to be quelled by the US Army in the area. The state of California had the famous “California One Hundred” battalion that went to the east coast as a Union volunteers.

The war occurred before Fresno was a town. There were further folks coming after the war from both northern and southern states. There were veterans farming here before the City of Fresno was formed in 1872 on Easterby farm land.

Fresno County had the Alabama colony north of the San Joaquin River on Cottonwood Creek near present day Highway 99 and Avenue 12 in the present Madera County.[ Madera County was formed in 1893 from the northern portion of Fresno County.] Of the family names of that era are Borden, Mordecai, Dixon, Holmes, Reading, Sledge, Chapman, Friedlander. I mentioned Ryan in Fresno, and there were the three doctors, Hopkins, Maupin and Meux. The old Ryan Hotel in Fresno was built by Confederate Civil War Veteran Ryan.

Timothy J. Desmond
Tim’s Amazon author page at: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00694KQQO
Writing site at: http://timsfiction-art.com
Art site at: http://artbydesmond.com

timdesmondblog

Words as observations, letters, and art

Tag Archives: Confederate

Jeremiah Ryan Memorial

Memorial 5