Ryan, Thomas, lawyer, statesman and diplomat, was born at Oxford, N. Y, Nov. 25, 1837, but while he was an infant his parents removed to Bradford county, Pa., where he was reared upon a farm and attended the country school. He was ambitious, studied by himself, acquired a fair education and a good knowledge of law, passed the bar examination and was admitted to practice. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania infantry, was chosen captain of his company, and served until 1864. He was seriously wounded in the battle of the Wilderness In 1865, accompanied by his wife and son, he came to Kansas and located in Topeka, where he formed a law partnership with Judge J. P. Greer. In 1866 Mr. Ryan was elected county attorney and was reëlected for three successive terms. This was followed by his appointment to the position of United States attorney in 1873, which position he occupied until 1877, when he entered Congress, having been elected on the Republican ticket from the Third district the year before. He was reëlected five times, serving until 1889. His service in Congress was of great benefit to Kansas and the West. He introduced the first bill throwing Oklahoma open to settlement. In 1889 he resigned his seat in the house to accept the appointment of minister to Mexico, tendered him by President Harrison, and while minister he strengthened the cordial relations between the countries. President McKinley appointed him assistant secretary of the interior in 1897, a position for which he was well qualified by training and experience. Mr. Ryan married Sarah E. Coolbaugh, of Towanda, Pa.