Copper production had been firmly established for about nine years in White Pine County when Thelma Catherine Ryan was born on March 16, 1912, in Ely, Nevada. Her father, William Ryan, a copper miner, gave her the nickname of "Pat" when he called her his "St. Patrick's babe in the morn." Her birth certificate states she was born in Ely, but some old-timers have claimed she was either born in the towns of Lane City, Old Ruth or Kimberly. The precise location of the house she was born in is not known, or if it still even exists.
During this period of time, copper mining techniques were very dangerous for the workers. Many deaths occurred due to mine accidents such as cave-ins, premature explosions or mine equipment failures, saloon brawls, labor and domestic disputes, and pneumonia brought on by the cold winters and dusty conditions. Many newborn children died from lack of then unknown sanitary methods, prenatal care and medicines. Those who survived had to be adaptable, tough and hardy.
While "Pat" was still very young, the Ryan family left the Ely area and moved to California to settle on a little truck farm near Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Kate Halberstadt Bender Ryan, died in 1925. Thirteen-year-old Pat assumed the household duties for her father and two older brothers. Her father died from a long illness in 1930 or 1931, when she was eighteen years old.
"Pat" Ryan became a high-school teacher in Whittier, California, where she met a young, politically minded, Attorney, Richard Milhouse Nixon. The two were married on June 21, 1940. The Nixon's had two daughters, Tricia (Mrs. Edward Cox), and Julie (Mrs. David Eisenhower). "Pat" Ryan Nixon became our country's First Lady when Richard M. Nixon was elected President of the United States in 1968.
The Nixon's once came to Ely to visit the town of the birthplace of "Pat" for a few hours. A quickly organized parade was held on Aultman Street for the famous couple and they rode down the route in an open convertible.
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon died at her home in Park Ridge, New Jersey, on June 22, 1993, the day after her 43rd wedding anniversary. Former President Richard Nixon died a few months later in 1994. The couple are buried at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California.
by June Shaputis 1998