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Information below was copied from:
"History of Oklahoma" by Luther Hill, published in 1908"

STEPHEN WALKER RYAN. With the building of the Rock Island Railroad south through the Chickasaw Nation, and the attendant town development along the line, begins the history of Ryan as the principal commercial center of the present Jefferson county. All the present generation know how Ryan got its name, and it is unlikely that any un informed citizen off the town during the course of many later years would confess to ignorance of the town's name. But it is deemed well here to set it down, as a matter of historical record, that Ryan was given its name in honor of the man who owned the land on which the townsite was laid, and who for more than thirty years has lived in this locality and gained substantial wealth and esteem the while. In 1872 Stephen Walker Ryan came to Indian Territory with his father, John Gilford Ryan, who stopped at Tishomingo and made application to the Choctaw council for enrollment as a citizen. The application having been rejected, the family in 1875 established a home on Red river near the present site of the town of Ryan. A few ranchmen had cattle on the ranges of this country when the Ryans came—Sugg brothers, and Cloud and Putman being the firms who owned the largest outfits. The cattleman was king, and as yet his sovereignty was scarcely questioned by the farmer with his fences and implements of tillage. The Ryans were therefore inviting trouble when they built a shanty one mile south of the site of the present town and began the stock business in connection with the cultivation of the soil. Denison and Gainesville were the supply points for all this country at that time, and the nearest postoffice was many miles away. Some years later, with the extension of the Wichita Valley branch of the M. K. & T. Railroad, the town of Belcherville gave a closer trading point.
    By his marriage with a Chickasaw, Mr. Ryan acquired indisputable rights as a citizen of the Territory. Having identified himself with the cause of the permanent settler, and the actual development of the country's resources, he became a strong factor in the contest which for years continued between the cattle and farming interests of Indian Territory, the main points in the history of which are given on other pages. Mr. Ryan fenced large tracts of land in what is now Jefferson county, and when the Rock Island Railroad built its line a station was established on land controlled by him, and he platted and sold the townsite of Ryan. Some of the early purchasers of lots at that sale still reside in the flourishing little town, and have ever since been identified with its highest welfare. Among them may be mentioned John R. Ralls, O. B. Garrison and James K. Mulcock.
    Mr. Ryan's personal and business activities have broadened with the years of his residence. He has long been one of the prominent cattle shippers from this region. He early became connected with the First National Bank of Ryan. His business experience has also included extensive .handling and transfer of lands and mortgages. With the resources and history of this part of Oklahoma Mr. Ryan is familiar to a greater degree probably than any other resident.
    Stephen Walker Ryan was born at Hot Springs, Arkansas, February 20, 1856. The family moved west to Indian Territory in 1872. One uncle, a doctor, died in Mississippi, and another, Joseph, died in Paris, Texas. The father was a Confederate soldier. His widow, Elizabeth (Garner) survives and makes her home with her son at Ryan. John G. and Elizabeth Ryan had the following children: James, Stephen W.; Mary, wife of D. D. Dawson, of Ninnekah, Oklahoma; A. J.; and O. H., of Ryan, Oklahoma; and Albert, of Lindsay, Oklahoma.Stephen Walker Ryan had a very limited education so far as the schools were concerned, but a varied experience and intimate connection with affairs have given him a readiness and facility in all the relations of life, faculties that could never have been supplied by the schools anyhow. Although a Democrat in politics, the privilege of United States citizenship has only recently been conferred, and he expects to cast his first vote for president in November, 1908. For twenty years he has been an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and has attended many Presbyteries of the church as delegate. He is a Master Mason. Mr. Ryan was married at Tishomingo, December 15, 1875, to Carrie Cheadle, daughter ofThomas Cheadle, an old time resident of the Territory. At her death in 1894, she was survived by the following children: Serena Bell, wife of Samuel L. Wray, of Terral; Daisy, wife of William B. Wray, of Ryan; Thomas, of Ryan, who married Miley Brown; Ada, wife of Don Campbell; Gussie, wife of Walter Morris, of Ryan; and Elbert. August 6, 1897; Mr. Ryan married Sallie Wiley, daughter of John and Alice Wiley. Their children are: Carrol, Birdie, Stephen Wiley and Sarah.