Frank was the son of James and Mary A. (Winn) Ryan. Despite the fact that he had ten brothers and sisters his parents always made sure the family had a roof over their head and food on the table. My understanding is that he had a fairly good childhood. He married Fanny Austin in 1906. They had four children: Franklyn J., Florence, Walter A. and Paul W. ("Winnie"). Frank had a really good job as the President of the Shoe Worker's Union of the Merrimack Valley. He was an alcoholic in a time in which AA and effective rehab programs didn't exist. His illness was left untreated and got worse. Because of his alcoholism his actions caused a lot of problems in his family. It got to the point when Fanny left him in 1919. She wanted to give her children the best childhood as possible. That wasn't going to happen with Frank in their lives. Divorce was looked down upon in the early 1900s. Fannie and Frank remained separated. In the years after the separation Frank's alcoholism progressed. His actions while drunk often got him arrested. At one point he was as patient in Danvers's State Hospital. By the early 1930s Frank was unable to work because of his illness. He lived with various relatives, who supported him. His children were angry at him because he didn't pay any child support. While their mother worked long days in a shoe factory as a bookkeeper. Of course, in those days there wasn't much understanding of the disease of addiction. Frank contracted cirrhosis of the liver by the late 1930s. He spent his final months in a boarding house on in a rundown boarding house in. Haverhill. His son Paul (Winnie) cared for him each day, making sure that his father had food and whatever medical care was available. My great grandfather loved. loved his children. They loved him. However, the disease of addiction robbed him of a relationship with them and Fanny. In the end he suffered greatly and died a very painful death at the age fifty-one of cirrhosis of the liver.
He was buried in an unmarked grave, in a wooden box.