Farmer.
Born in Cork County, Ireland on 24 May 1846, his family immigrated to Canada in 1848 and settled near Ottawa. In 1871, he established a cooperative business in Leeds County then he moved to Centralia in 1877. There, he met Thomas Greenway who, in 1879, organized a party of settlers to come to Manitoba under the auspices of the Rock Lake Colonization Company. He is said to have suggested the name of the community of Crystal City on the basis of clear water in a river at the site.
In partnership with James Parr, he built the first grain elevator at Crystal City, and it operated until 1906. He filed on a 160-acre homestead on 14-2-12W and, over time, he added to his land until he owned 1,000 acres. He raised purebred Scotch Shorthorns and Clydesdale horses. Known as the “Tree Planter” of Crystal City, he planted numerous shelterbelts around his farm. He served on the Board of the Manitoba Dairy Association (1904-1905) and was a director of the Manitoba Horticultural Association. In 1923, he received an honorary diploma from the Manitoba Agricultural College.
On 5 March 1879, shortly before moving to Manitoba, he married Frances Adeline Parr (1856-?) and they would go on to have eight children: Arthur Ring (?-?), Leonard Brooks Ring (1881-1948), J. C. Burdette “Burr” Ring (1883-1963), Ruby Louise Ring (1885-?, wife of Fred M. Wright), Mabelle J. Ring (1887-?, wife of L. V. Newton), Merle A. Ring (1889-?, wife of William B. Corbett), Nettie Parr Ring (1891-?, wife of Alan Gayton), and William Ewart Ring (1898-?).
He died at Crystal City on 18 July 1938.
Birth registrations [Leonard Brooks Ring, J C Burdette Ring, Ruby Louise Ring, Mabel J Ring, William Ewart Ring], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
““Home Sweet Home!” by the grace of prairie trees” by Norman S. Rankin and R. D. Macfarlane, Illustrated Canadian Forest and Outdoors, August 1923, pages 493-497
Death registration [John James Ring], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Echoes of the Past: A History of the Rural Municipality of Louise and Its People edited by Mrs. Clifford Gosnell and assistants Mrs. H. Gilmour and Mrs. H. Hammond, 1968, page 182-184.
This page was prepared by Oliver Bernuetz (Legislative Library of Manitoba) and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 December 2025
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