Ryan Brothers Ltd.

Ryan Brothers Ltd, a Newfoundland mercantile firm, was established in Trinity in 1906, but it was part of a family business which had originated in Bonavista in 1869. It was owned initially in half-shares by James and Daniel Ryan, sons of Michael and Ellen (Fleming) Ryan of Bonavista.

In 1869, James Ryan (1841-1917), with the help of his father, purchased a mercantile property at Bonavista owned by the Keen family. This property became the main premises of a firm that always went by the name James Ryan, but which employed several of his brothers. In 1874, the Ryans opened another establishment at King's Cove by purchasing premises formerly owned by James McBraire. The King's Cove branch was initially called James & D.A. Ryan, but soon became styled James Ryan & Co. and later Daniel Ryan & Co. Daniel A. Ryan became the resident manager of the King's Cove branch which was Ryans' main base for supplying the Labrador cod fishery.

The Ryan brothers also expanded their supply trade on the coast of Labrador. They established branch stores at Batteau Island and Webbers Harbour and built a whaling factory at Hawke Harbour. In 1906 the Ryans purchased the vacant Garland premises (formerly the Lester premises) previously leased to Robinson Brooking & Co and Grieve & Bremner in Trinity Harbour. This facility provided them with warehouses and stores to supply the Labrador fishery and ample space for the storage, handling and shipment of fish to St. John's and overseas, in a spacious and well-sheltered harbour.

Edmund J. Ryan, the youngest of seven Ryan Brothers, formerly a bookkeeper at King's Cove and manager of Ryan branches in Labrador, was installed as resident manger of Ryan Brothers Ltd. in Trinity. He was assisted by a nephew, Walter N. White, who worked as an accountant. Trinity immediately became the main supply and trans-shipment base for the Ryans, not only for Labrador fish but also for fish procured by the Bonavista and King's Cove branches. Ryan Brothers also became the largest mercantile firm in the local share fishery of Trinity Bay. When they added Ryan Brothers Ltd. to their business, James and Daniel Ryan possessed the largest mercantile operation outside St. John's. In peak years, they exported over 100,000 quintals of fish, upwards of 10 percent of the total Newfoundland production.

When James Ryan died in 1917, his half of Ryan Brothers Ltd. was left in trust to his two sons, James and Herbert. When Daniel died in 1934, he willed his half share in one-third proportions each to his brother, his nephew Walter N. White, and son-in-law Frederick W. Ottenheimer. Ryan Brothers was reincorporated in 1936 under this new ownership structure and remained this way until the firm was liquidated in 1952.

Ryan Brothers declined in trade with the decline of the Labrador fishery and the salt cod trade generally. In its last four years, the firm operated only a general store mainly on a cash basis.

Created - April 29, 2013

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