JJ Ryan was my gg grandfather. I have lots of information about the family. e-mail me off-line and I'll give you all.
I have no proof that JJ's father made the journey with the family. I understand his mother, Katherine Kilbride Ryan, travelled with a large family of Bretts from Tipperary. They landed at Beaufort and she lived in Pocotaligo (Beaufort County). The Bretts are buried at St. Peter's Catholic Church, Columbia. Katherine then married James Molony and had two more children, Patrick and Mary Ann. Patrick was killed in the civil war and Mary Ann became the Mother Superior of the Ursaline Convent in Columbia, which moved to Sprinfield IL. James Molony is buried at St. Andrews Catholic Church, Barnwell. Katherine died at the convent in Sprinfield and was buried there, although later removed during renovation to the cemetery where Lincoln is buried. I have much more -- look forward to hearing from you.