Anna spent almost her entire 99 years in Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana! She was born in Greensfork, Indiana in 1858 and married at the age of twenty to Thomas Ryan in Kokomo. They were married at St. Patrick's Catholic Church; Father Lordemann performed the ceremony. The bridal attendants were Mrs. Mary McLaughlin of Kokomo and Thomas Conner. The night preceding her wedding, Anna stayed with Mrs. Sarah Donahue. Sarah's parents gave the couple the wedding breakfast and Sarah accompanied the couple to the train as they left on their wedding trip to Shelbyville.
Eleven children were born and two died while young - Florence at 12 from typhoid and Edward at 27 from the Swine Flu epidemic.
On July 2, 1929, she and Thomas celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Both her original attendant, Mary, and friend Sarah were there for the celebration dinner given by their children at Learner's Tavern. Decorations were in colors of yellow and white. During the dinner a musicale was given by the Merry melody maids, including Lenore Bennett, granddaughter of the guests of honor, Mary Louise Freiberg, Bertha Adamsky and Carolyn Lawrence. Many family members and friends attended.
In all, they were married 68 years! At the time of Thomas's death, they were the oldest couple in St. Patrick's parish. The last 20 years of her life was spent as an invalid. She was blind the last 12 years from cataracts. She could see silhouettes; that with hearing the voice and the way you walked, she knew who people were. Her brother Owen's son, Jack Horoho, recalled visiting his Aunt Anna Ryan in Kokomo. "She had lost her sight and my Dad would take each of us kids to her chair where she would feel your face and try to get a picture of what we looked like."
Anna died at the age of 99 years and is buried next to her husband at Crown Point Cemetery in Kokomo.