James Ryan (bishop)
James Ryan was an Irishborn prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Alton from 1888 until his death in 1923.
James Ryan was born in Thurles, County Tipperary, and came to the United States with his parents at age seven, settling in Louisville, Kentucky. He studied at St. Thomas and St. Josephs Colleges in Bardstown, and Preston Park Seminary in Louisville. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 24, 1871. He afterwards spent a few years as a missionary and teacher before accompanying John Lancaster Spalding to the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, in 1877. After serving at Wataga and Danville, he was named rector of St. Columbas Church at Ottawa in 1881.
Source: Wikipedia