John Ferguson Ryland

John Ferguson Ryland (November 2, 1797 – September 10, 1873) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Born in King and Queen County, Virginia, in 1811 his father moved to Jessamine County, Kentucky, where he died in the following year, leaving a widow and eight children. Ryland, the oldest of these children, spent much of childhood on Kentucky, where he "received a classical education at the Forest Hill Academy". a predecessor to the Dred Scott decision in the Supreme Court of the United States. Ryland joined the majority opinion, which held that Dred Scott was legally an enslaved man.

Following his judicial service, Ryland resumed the practice of his profession. During the American Civil War, Ryland "remained a steadfast Union man". Though a slaveholder, he believed the institution to be a detriment to the South. With the close of the war, he was an earnest advocate of restoring peace. In 1866, Ryland was elected to the Missouri State Legislature, where he served for one session, thereafter returning to the private practice of law.

He had two spouses. The first was Martha Barrett and the second was Elizabeth Garbrille Buford. He had 10 children, including Caius. Ryland died in Lafayette County, Missouri.