Samuel Ryder
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Samuel Ryder was a resident of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. He was born, in Preston, Lancashire, on March 24, 1858 and died on January 2nd, 1936. He was once described as "the laughing-stock of all the business men in St Albans"
He remains widely notable for two things: he donated the Ryder Cup, the trophy in the biennial golf contests between Europe and the United States; and he was the first to sell plant seeds in "penny packets".
Ryder was a keen golfer by accident. He only came to the game, reluctantly, in order to recover his health at age 50. He took to it enthusiastically, however. When a spectator to a golf match between Britain and Ireland, and the US, he suggested changes to the format and offered the trophy, which was donated in 1927.
The packeted seeds made his fortune. He started selling from his home in St Albans, assisted by his wife and daughter. The packets would be posted on Fridays so that the customers, working men, would receive them for their time off on Saturday afternoons. The business grew rapidly and by 1920, Ryder had a large packaging workshop staffed by 90 girls.
At this stage, he was joined by his brother, James. The two of them set up "Heath & Heather Ltd" to package and market seeds. Eventually, in 1924, the company moved to a former hat factory, which had a floor area of some 24,000 square feet.
He is also known locally as a former Mayor and a Deacon of what is now Trinity United Reformed Church. It is said that his true loves were golf and Trinity.
When elected Mayor in 1905, he surprised his fellow councillors by a tough and uncomplementary assessment of the lack of achievement of the Council.
In St Albans, Samuel Ryder was a leading Non-conformist churchman. He joined the Congregational Church in Spicer Street in 1895 and was influential in the establishment of a new and larger Congregational church building - Trinity. When the new church opened in 1903, there was a Civic procession and service at the church. Despite this, there was a significant divide between Anglicans (Church of England) and Non-conformists, which was accentuated in St Albans - adherents of each denomination would not trade with the other.
Ryder made generous donations to Trinity, assisting with clearing its debts, donating to the construction of a Church Hall and gifting land. He finally resigned as a Deacon in 1922.
He died after a haemorrhage during the annual family Christmas outing to a hotel in London.
