John P. Ryan

John Peter Ryan Sr. (June 28, 1891 – October 14, 1964) was an American businessman and politician from New York. Life Ryan was born on June 28, 1891, in Troy, New York, the son of laborer Thomas Ryan and Mary Young. His parents were both Irish immigrants from County Tipperary. Ryan attended the La Salle Institute. When he was barely 13, he began working as a check boy in Frear's department store. While working there, he attended night school at the YMCA and took a course at Troy Business College. By 1917, he worked his way up to becoming a furniture salesman at Frear's. That year, after America entered World War I, he left Frear's to work for the General Electric Company in Schenectady. He later worked for the mechanism assembly department at the United States Arsenal at Watervliet until 1919. He then returned to Troy and worked as a furniture salesman for the Gumbel Company. In 1922, he took a similar position at Reynolds Furniture Store. In 1922, Ryan was elected to the New York State Senate as a Democrat, representing New York's 31st State Senate district. He served in the Senate in 1923 and 1924. He unsuccessfully ran for Rensselaer County Sheriff after his term in the Senate expired, and he was elected President of the Troy Common Council from 1927 to 1929.