Ryland, Herman W. (Herman Witsius), 1760-1838 : Herman Witsius Ryland was born in 1759 or 1760 in England; he was the son of John Collett Ryland, a Baptist minister and teacher, and Elizabeth Frith. He joined the British army and spent 1781 and 1782 in the American colonies. Nothing is known of his activities for about a dozen years after his return to England. In 1793, Sir Guy Carleton (Lord Dorchester) became Governor of Lower Canada and selected Ryland as his civil secretary; the two set out for Quebec together.
This was the beginning of a long career for H.W. Ryland as a public servant in Lower Canada. He served as civil secretary to Carleton (1793 to 1796), and to his successors including Robert Prescott (1796-1798), Lieutenant Governor Robert Milnes (1799-1807), James Craig (1807-1811) and George Prevost (1811-1813). Ryland held the position of Clerk of the Executive Council from 1796 to 1798, and from 1799 to his death. He was also Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from 1802 to 1833, and treasurer and secretary of the Jesuit's Estate Commission from 1811 to 1826. Ryland was also a political figure, sitting as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1812 until his death in 1838.
As civil secretary for various governors, Ryland was responsible for issuing letters patent and commissions and for the official correspondence of his superior. As part of his duties as Clerk of the Executive Council, Ryland was required to register orders in council and prepare the public accounts. He knew many important men both in the Canadian colony and in England, which makes his correspondence very interesting.
In Quebec in 1794, H.W. Ryland married Charlotte Warwick, his English fiancée of several years. The family lived in Quebec initially and then moved to a farm in Beauport, which was acquired in 1805 and expanded in 1813. In November 1830, Ryland also received a land grant of 2,205 acres in the townships of Chester and Tingwick. The couple had nine children, five of whom died young. H.W. Ryland died on July 20, 1838 in Beauport; his wife Charlotte appears to have survived him by several years and returned to England.
The only one of H.W. Ryland's sons to follow in his footsteps in Canada was George Herman (1801-1883), who helped his father with his duties as secretary of the Jesuit's Estate Commission from 1817 to 1822 and was Assistant Clerk to the Executive Council from 1818 to 1838. He succeeded his father as Clerk of the Executive Council in 1838. After the union of the two provinces, he was appointed registrar of the City of Quebec (1840-1845) and of Montreal (1845 to 1882). H.W. Ryland's other son, William Deane, became a minister in England.