Bryant Family

found on IADECATU 3-16-06
Reflections of Grand River, Iowa 1881-1981", p. 158
The Charles Bryant Family
Charles Bryant's father, John Bryant, was born in Chuer-Lebaura, England December 31, 1843. On March 31, 1864 he was married to Betsy Binning at Chuer-Wedmore, England.
In 1866 they immigrated to America and settled in Delaware County, Iowa. Here five children were born: Henry, Charles, Fredrick, Frank and Lillie.
In 1882 the family moved to Decatur County where Burl, George, Arthur and Albert were born.
Charles was born April 18, 1871, and married Lora Redd on June 29, 1892. To this union five children were born: Elsie, Dessie, Birdie, William and Enid.
Elsie married Ezra Wycoff and they had two children: Charles and Velma.
Dessie married Clarence Green and they had five children: Merle, Ray, Faye, Vaughn and Lura.
Birdie married Clarence Lent and to this union were born six children: Deles, Wanda, Emma, Clarence Jr., Patricia and Richard.
William: refer to the William Bryant family.
Enid married Charlie Sutherland and they had one daughter, Donella. She married Duane Hawk and their children are Larry and Jim......
In 1939 Enid married Paige Hagen.

"Reflections of Grand River, Iowa 1881-1981", p. 159
The Frank Bryant Family
Frank Bryant, son of John and Betsy (Binning) Bryant, was born in Delaware County, July 3, 1874, and died at his home in Grand River, June 17, 1954.
On Sept. 29, 1897, he was married to Blanche McDowell. She was born Dec. 20, 1876, in Decatur County, and died at her home in Grand River, April 1966.
They raised a family of four children: Dewey Bryant (deceased), Myrtle (Bryant) Akers, Hazel (Bryant) Hopkins and Raymond Bryant (deceased).
They lived on a farm near Grand River until they retired and moved into Grand River.
also listed in this section, but the biography is not posted: WILLIAM BRYANT FAMILY

revised edition of the 1911 mercer county history book
p.23 from the list of pioneer mercer countyans who settled her up until the early '50s......
BRYANT T.H.
BRYANT JOHN

p.95 the ravanna creamery
edward bryant and D. picket became owners of the plant in 1907. it has a capacity of 10,000 lbs of milk a day and is operated by steam power.

p.121 the west side blaze of 1893
dec. 18th 1893 a large portion of the west side was consumed. (princeton)
following list of losses given by the telegraph:
Mrs. S.R. Bryant, millinery loss 300 insurance 300
==================================
p.227
judge h. g. orton was supervisor of the census of 1890 for the third congressional district. MISS MYRTA BRYANT of iowa city, iowa was his stenographer. a stenographer was then something of a novelty and the matter was commented on with much pride by the local press. "She takes down accuratley the most rapid dictation," said one of the papers. , "which she afterwards writes on the typewriter."
============================
.251 THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH AT MERCER present officers: E.H. BRYANT, trustees
THE MERCER BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL present officers: EH BRYANT, assistant superintendant
p.255
FAIR HAVEN BAPTIST CHURCH northern part of mercer county, 4 miles east of mercer. prominent among early members were WP BRYANT and wife....


===============================================================
THE BRYANT FAMILY
OF KENT CO., ENGLAND-PLYMOUTH, MASS.- BRYANT HILL, ELLICOTTVILLE, NY
Researched by: Edna Bryant Cole of Erie, PA.
This story begins in 1630 in Kent County, England, with a widow named Anne Bryant. Anne's husband had died, leaving her with three young boys: Thomas Bryant, Stephen Bryant and John Bryant. Among the family friends and neighbors was a lawyer, John Doane, a widower with a son also named John. The elder John offered to give Anne's three lads a chance in the New World if she would marry him and go there with him. John was a capable man, highly regarded, and his influence would give the three Bryant boys opportunities they otherwise would not find. So Anne consented. The six of them boarded a little ship known as the Handmaid, and two months later, October 29, 1630, they landed in Plymouth Colony.
John Doane rated highly in the estimation of Governor William Bradford and Thomas Prence. His name appears many times in the old records of the colony. He held many offices and is mentioned frequently on various committees. He had charge of settling many estates and handling the legal affairs of numerous minor children who had been left orphans. For example, in 1633, a Peter Brown died at Plymouth, leaving two daughters by his first wife and an estate of 100 pounds. The second wife refused the responsibility for the two girls; one of them was bound to John Doane for nine years. Fifteen pounds were paid from Brown's estate to help with the girl's expenses.
In Nov. 1636, John Doane was appointed a member of a committee to assist the governor in revising the laws, orders and constitution of the colony.
In Oct. 1641, Governor William Bradford bought a place bordering John Doane's place to give to Bradford's son-in-law, Thomas Southworth. The following April, 1642, Doane sold to Governor Bradford for four goats a garden place in Plymouth adjacent to Doane's own garden, and three acres of marsh meadow at Jones River. That same month, Doane, as agent for the church at Plymouth, bought a house, buildings and garden plots at Plymouth, and six acres of upland, for 120 pounds from Ralph Smyth, for the Plymouth church. Jan. 7, 1645, John Doane was licensed by the colony to sell wine, which would indicate he had a tavern or inn at Plymouth.
John Doane was not always sympathetic with the governing powers, and, was especially against certain ideas regarding intolerance often expressed by the Plymouth leaders. When the agitation arose to move the entire settlement of Plymouth across the bay to Nauset, John Doane was the chief leader and supporter of the movement. When the town was assembled in meeting, the citizens voted against the proposition. John was not to be deterred. Having bought property in Nauset some years earlier, he sold all of his property in Plymouth, Feb. 1645, including house, buildings, gardens, fruit trees and fences, to William Hanbury for ten pounds, moved to Nauset and changed the name of that place to Eastham, probably in honor of the town where he was born: Ham, East Parish, in Essex County, England. He and his son John both were still on the Eastham town list of freemen in June, 1689.
Following a practice common in those days, John and Anne bound out two of the Bryant boys to good friends. Thomas Bryant was bound out to Samuel Eddy, and Stephen Bryant to John Shaw. Offering boys financial opportunities and connections independent of, and supplementary to those, which their own parents could offer them as they grew up. The third Bryant boy, John, being the youngest, stayed with his mother and stepfather.
Thomas Bryant
On January 2, 1632, the following entry as found in the Plymouth court records:
"Thomas Bryant, the servant of Samuel Eddy, was brought before the Governor, Mr. Will Bradford, Mr. John Doane, Steve Hopkins and Will Gilson, assistants, because the said Thomas had run away and absented himself five days from his master's service and being lost in the woods and found by an Indian was forced to return; and for his offense was privately whipped before the Governor and council as fore-mentioned."
Thomas disappears at this point from history's pages. His master, Samuel Eddy, had bought his house and garden plot in Plymouth for Experience Mitchell for 12 pounds, May 9, 1631. Samuel enjoyed excellent connections with the colony's governing powers until, finally becoming disgusted with the political situation, he moved his household to Swansea, where he lived to a ripe old age. When he finally died on Nov. 12, 1687, in his eighty-seventh year, the event was recorded on the Plymouth church records, indicating he always had mentioned his membership there. His brother, John Eddy, who had come to Plymouth Colony with him, also moved out of Plymouth to what is now know as Middleboro. Eddyville, a little hamlet in that town, still bears his name.
John Bryant of Scituate
The youngest of Anne's boys, John Bryant, eventually became the head of the line now known as the John Bryant line of Scituate, Massachusetts. Over a period of 45 year, the colony records outline the life of this cantankerous man, whose chief interest seems to have been the colony's legal court. He made his court debut as a teenager in 1638, charged with drinking inordinately at John Emerson's house. He was released with admonition, but James Till was whipped "for alluring" John to drink. Three years later, 1641, he was in court "for drinking tobacco upon the highway."
The next logical step for John was to get a wife. Nov. 14, 1643, he married Mary Lewis, daughter of George and Sarah (Jenkins) Lewis of Scituate (a little settlement in the colony);John and Mary lived on land bordering her father's place, and had seven children:
John, born Aug. 17, 1644; married Mary Battles; died Jan. 26, 1708.
Hannah, born Jan. 25, 1645; married John Stodder of Hingham in 1665.
Joseph, born_____; died June 16, 1669.
Sarah, born Sept. 29, 1648.
Mary, born Feb. 24, 1649; died Apr. 8, 1652.
Martha, born Feb. 26, 1651.
Samuel, born Feb. 6, 1653; died in 1690, in Phipps' expedition to Canada, in which he served as sergeant; inventory of his estate was 47 pound.
John's wife, Mary (Lewis) Bryant, died July 2, 1655. On Dec. 22, 1657, John married a second wife, Elizabeth Wetherell, daughter of Rev. William Wetherell of Scituate. John and Elizabeth had one child:
Daniel, baptized in 1659; married Dorothy______.
When this second wife, Elizabeth (Wetherell) Bryant, died, John married a third wife in 1665, Mary Hiland, daughter of Thomas Hiland of Scituate, by whom he had eleven more children:
Elizabeth, born Aug.__, 1666; died Dec. 17, 1783.
Mary, born ________.
Benjamin, born Dec.____, 1669; died unmarried in 1701; his will, proved Jan. 5, 1702, showed an inventory of 164 pounds.
Joseph, born in 1671; he married, but the wife's name is unknown.
Jabez, born Feb. 18, 1672; died in 1697, unmarried; a letter of administration of his estate is dated June 29, 1697.
Ruth, born Aug. 16, 1673; married William Wanton, who later became Governor of Rhode Island.
Thomas, born July 15, 1675; married Mary Ewell, daughter of Gershom Ewell.
Deborah, born Jan. 22, 1677.
Agatha, born Mar. 12, 1678.
Ann, born Nov. 20, 1680.
Elisha, born in 1682.
John Bryant served on the court jury for 15 years between 1659-1681, five of those years being on the grand jury (called the "grand enquest" at Plymouth). Here are three examples of the sort of trials at which he was juryman: In 1663, Elizabeth Soule sued Nathaniel Church, who "committed the act of fornication with her an then denied to marry her." The jury found him guilty, and Elizabeth was awarded 10 pounds. In 1666, Mrs. Mary Totman went to the woods and dug up a root of a plant, brought it home, cleaned, cooked and ate it, and then died from its poison. The jury decided she had mistaken the root for a similar one she was accustomed to preparing, and her death was accidental. In 1674, one Indian had told a group of colonists living at Scituate that he would "give" them a large tract of the Indian land adjoining Scituate. When the colonists later went back to the Indian to "accept" the land, the rest of the tribe found out about the deal, threw the Indian to the ground and prevented him from dealing further with the colonists. The white men then brought the tribe to court and the jury awarded the land to the colonists (=the juryman).
The colony did buy some of its land from Indians. In 1666, John Bryant's name appears on a tax list which was drawn up to show how much each resident of Scituate had to contribute towards the purchase of Indian lands on the west edge of the settlement.
In 1659 began an eight-year court feud between John Bryant and William Randall. Randall brought John to court, charging him with trespassing on his land and selling timber belonging to Randall.Randall asked for 10 pounds damages. John was found innocent at the trial, where his own brother, Stephen, sat on the jury. Randall asked for a review of the case, which took place a year later, 1660. This time, with a different jury, Randall was awarded 5 pounds damages. The following year, 1661, John exactly reversed the situation: he sued William Randall for trespassing on his land and carrying away timber John had fell and crosscut. John asked for 10 pounds damages, but only was awarded five shillings; his brother Stephen Bryant was again on the jury. Exactly one year later, 1662, John sued Randall for "defaming him with lies and slander"; Randall had to pay him 20 shillings. In 1664, John complained to the court against Randall for not sealing a deed in reference to a parcel of marsh, which John had bought from Randall. The action was withdrawn. In 1667, Randall was complaining to the court about John, but the details of the case have been lost from the court record. Five months later, John again sued Randall for "slander and defamation." Randall had publicly charged and accused John to the authorities for suspicion of stealing planks belonging to Randall, and charging that John was cheating him in the division of planks. The court awarded John 15 pounds if Randall apologized, otherwise 20 pounds; Randall apologized.
In 1667, John charged two men with trespassing and working upon timber on the common land of Scituate. Asking 10 pounds damages, he was awarded 10 shillings.
In 1668, Joseph Turner sued John Bryant and his daughter Sarah (then 20 years old) for not appearing in court to give testimony at Turner's trial in Plymouth.
In 1681, John brought charges against five men of Massachusetts Colony who fell, squared and carried away timber from John's land without his permission. John asked for 10 pounds; the court allowed two. John asked for a review of the case three months later, asking for 12 pounds; the court awarded him five.
In 1683, John was appointed agent to prosecute anyone cutting or carrying away timber form Scituate's common land. This he did in three law suits against three separate men. One of these men was Humphry Johnson. In 1655, John had been a witness in a court case between Humphry Johnson and Tilden. After the trial, Johnson said John Bryant had given false testimony and called John "a fore-sworn, lying knave." So John sued this Johnson, asking 100 pounds damages. The next day the two men settled their quarrel privately and dropped the suit. Now in this latest suit against Johnson over timber, the jury found Johnson had a legal right to the common land. That same year (1683), John was fined 5 shillings in court "for being overtaken with drink".
John was constable at Scituate in 1662, surveyor of roads in 1673 (meaning he had the responsibility for the upkeep of the roads around Scituate), and for two years, 1677 and 1678, was simultaneously a selectman and a deputy at Scituate. In 1677 he was given the special responsibility to see that the court order against liquor was enforced at Scituate(!).
The colony government decided along the way that the colony might as well benefit from John's talent at court, and in 1663, 1664, 1671 and 1672 appointed him to committees to assist others in settling their land disputes.
Among John Bryant's children, let us follow a bit further four sons: John Jr., Daniel, Joseph and Thomas.
Stephen Bryant (1)
(Son of Anne, father of Abigail)
It is Anne's middle son, Stephen Bryant, who is the beginning of our line of the Bryant family in the New World. We mentioned him after his arrival in Plymouth in 1630, bound out by his stepfather, John Doane, To John Shaw, a friend of the Bryant and Doane families. This John Shaw had preceded the Doanes and the Bryant boys from Kent County, England, arriving at Plymouth Colony at least by 1627. May 22, 1627, he is listed in the colony records as one of 12 men drawing lots for the division of the responsibility for caring for the colony's common herd of cows and goats. July 7, 1630, John Shaw bought from John Winslow for 6 pounds a tract of firm land called Knave's Acre or Woodbee.
With a step-father who was a friend of the colony's leaders, and a master who was prospering, Stephen was in an opportune position. In a book written by Governor William Bradford, called Plymouth Plantation, the following excerpt has to do with colony affairs in 1638:
".nominated and appointed Thomas Prence, Gent.; Governor William Bradford and Edward Winslow Gent.; and assistants of the government Stephen Bryant or Doane; John Doane, Thomas Willette Gent. and John Dunham to have the power and authority for these next four years to put forth and dispose of said stock of cows to the inhabitants of the poor of the said town of Plymouth as shall be thought fit to partake therein."
Governor Bradford added the name Doane to Stephen Bryant for the purpose of identifying him as the step-son of John Doane. This committee was a select group; both Thomas Prence and Edward Winslow were to become governors of Plymouth Colony in their own right. As for the business they were to handle, an English merchant had mad a tidy profit selling necessities to pilgrims at Plymouth, and about 1626 had sent a few cows as a gift to the poor of that town. For twelve years the cows were cared for as the common property of the colonists. Now the committee was to decide who qualified for the cattle, and the assistants were to deliver the animals and get the proper receipts.
John Shaw was constable and road surveyor at Jones River in 1642 and 1644. He was a juryman at Plymouth 1638, 1641, 1643, 1644, 1648 and 1649. One of the trials he helped decide in 1648 was that of Mrs. Alice Bishop, who was found guilty and hanged for killing her four-year old daughter, Martha Clark, by slitting her throat with a knife.
John Shaw and his wife Alice (Philips) had two sons, James, who married Mary Mitchell in 1652, and Jonathan, who married Phoebe Watson in 1656, and a daughter, Abigail. Jonathan Shaw and Stephen Bryant were working together. A deed dated may 5, 1643, records a sale of 40 acres of upland "at the high cliffe" from Edward Dotey to Stephen Bryant and Jonathan Shaw for the price of 12 pounds ten shillings, to be paid in corn or cattle.
Two years later, in 1645, Stephen Bryant married the Shaw's daughter Abigail. They had eight children:
Abigail, born 1646/47
John, born April 7, 1650
Mary, born May 29, 1654
Stephen, born Feb. 2, 1657
Sarah, born Nov. 28, 1659
Lydia, born Oct. 23, 1662
Elizabeth, born Oct. 17, 1665
Mehittable, born 1669/70
A deed dated July 31, 1646, records two acres of upland meadow leased for Abraham Pierce for three years by Stephen Bryant and Samuel Sturtevant for 50 shillings per year.
In 1650, Stephen bought or was granted 100 acres of land in a spot identified now as on the eastern side of Jones River Pond (now Silver Lake). This lot of land was eventually passed along to Stephen;s oldest son, John, and through him, down through many generations of the Bryant family.
In 1651, Stephen bought 8 acres of marsh meadow for Jonathan Shaw; four months later he sold 4 of those acres to William Ford, and eight years later he sold three acres of the same to Edward Cook. Also in 1651, Stephen bought more property at " the high cliffe" for Benjamin Eaton and sold it to Edward Gray.
Among other transfers of land where Stephen Bryant's name occurs are sales to Samuel Wood,Samuel Sturtevant, Jonathan Shaw, Edward Gray and Jacob Cook, and purchases from Samuel Eddy, Benjamin Eaton and Jonathon Shaw.
These frequent deeds for Stephen Bryant's purchases and sales of land find a striking parallel seven generations later, when the brothers Colby and Gustavus Bryant were to crows the record books in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and Monona County, Iowa, with the same sort of transactions. (believe Gustavus was a Civil War Vet, lost a leg and almost an arm).
What was Stephen doing with all of these parcels of land? William Bradford wrote in his journal that the first impression he had of the site of Plymouth Colony as he looked form the deck of the mayflower was "so goodly a land and wooded to the brink of the sea" (Mourts's Relation, p.2). Back from the coastline, the colony was a vast area of swampland extending for miles in many directions. These swamps, bogs and marshes were overgrown with cedar trees. One of the first manufacturing enterprises in new England sprang up here as the land was stripped of the cedar trees, which were made into barrels, used for shipping to England the tar and pitch into which the coastal pines were being converted. Additional cedar staves and heads were shipped to Engalnd for use as beer barrels and wine casks. Unlike other woods, cedar did not damage the flavor of the beverages.
By the year 1649 the cooparage industry had developed so rapidly that Sunday work, a grave crime in the eyes of the Plymouth Church, had become prevalent. On June 6th of that year, Stephen Bryant was presented in court for carrying a barrel to the tar pits on the Lord's Day. He was cleared "with admonition", but his brother-in law, Jonathan Shaw, was sentenced on the same day to sit in the stocks for working those tar pits.
Jan. 16, 1650, John Cary of Duxbury, a planter (i.e., farmer), sold two acres of meadow ground "lying upon the north side of Pine Point" to Stephen. John Shaw signed the deed as a witness.
In 1651, Stephen bought a cow from Samuel Cutbert for two bushels of Indian corn and two barrels of tar.
March 2, 1651, Stephen and his wife, Abigail, appeared in court to "complain against John Haward, Edward Hall, and Susannah Haward, of Duxburrow, in an action of slander and defamation, to the damages of 500 pounds." They were awarded 5 pounds.
The Plymouth records are so detailed we even read there what sort of mark Stephen used to identify his cattle (a slit on top of the left ear; his son-in-law Lieut. John Bryant used a "cut across the near ear", and what sort of gun he had " one of the longer sort of guns from Serg. Harlow".
The swamp region was filled with numerous streams and ponds alive with pickerel, red perch, trout and herring. Wild ducks, turkeys, geese and pigeons in enormous flocks helped fill the larder, as well as the pillows and feather ticks. Moose, deer, bear and rabbit provided food and clothing. Beaver, mink muskrat and skunk pelts ere bartered for necessities. This daily involvement with, and dependence upon nature found poetical expression five generations later in Stephen's descendant William Cullen Bryant and eight, nine, ten generations after Stephen, his offspring in Iowa were fishing the rivers and lakes and hunting and walking the fields and woods with a passion which is better understood by seeing this historical beginning.
Mar. 6, 1654, John Shaw's wife, Alice, died. In poor health john returned to England to die. On Jan. 30, 1663, a deed of gift was recorded in Plymouth whereby he distributed his land to his heirs. This deed reads as follows:
"Know all men by these presents that I, John Shaw, of Plymouth in New England, Senior have and do by these presents give unto my son-in-law Stephen Bryant of Plymouth all that, my whole share of land allotted unto me near unto Namassaket both upland and meadow, with all and singular, the appurtenances there unto belonging to the said Stephen Bryant and his heirs and assigns forever. Also, I do give unto my son-in-law, Stephen Bryant, another portion of land called by the name of Rehoboth, which land was formerly granted unto me lying on the south-side of Smelt River according as it is bounded and set out with all appurtences there unto belong to the said Stephen Bryant, his heirs, etc. I do declare by these presents that I do give unto my son, James, one-half my purchase lands at Cushena and one-fourth to son Jonathan and one-fourth to Stephen Bryant. Me daughter, Abigail Bryant, my bed, etc., also my chest."
On Nov. 3, 1653, Thomas and Anne Savory had indentured their son Benjamin, age 8, to John and Alice Shaw. On March 2, 1657, Thomas and Anne again indentured Benjamin, this time to Stephen and Abigail Bryant, to be "instructed in husbandry" (i.e., farming) and to receive five pounds sterling at the end of his term. This was a way for Benjamin to learn farming, and for Stephen to have cheap hired help, in the same way that Stephen himself had been indentured as a boy to John and Alice Shaw.
The Plymouth town records show that Stephen was called upon to fill certain public offices. He was appointed constable for 1663, road surveyor for 1658, 1659, 1670, 1674 and 1676, and to serve on juries in 1653, 1659-62, 1670-72, 1674-76, 1678-79, and 1681. He was on the jury in 1676 when Mrs. Bethiah Howland drowned in a tub of clothes and water; her death was judged accidental.
The Plymouth Church records, dated July 27, 1684, read as follows:
"The Church was desired to stay after public worship they if any, had any just exception of admission of Old Goodman Bryant with the church they might express it. The issue of the agitation was that nothing appeared to his calling forth to declare himself on the next Lord's Day."
A later entry reads:
Stephen Bryant, Senior, admitted to the church."
Of Stephen and Abigail (Shaw)'s six daughters, the oldest, Abigail, married Lieut. John Bryant of Plymouth. This Bryant-Bryant marriage was not at all unusual at that time, and was a practice, which continued for several generations. Mary and Sarah probably died young, or at least before marriage, as their names have not shown up in any of the records. Lydia married William Churchill on Jan. 17, 1684, and died a widow on Feb. 6, 1736. She was buried in a Churchill lot, next to a Bryant lot in the cemetery at Plympton Green. Her son William Churchill Jr. married Ruth Bryant, a daughter of Lydias brother John. Another son, Deacon Samuel Churchill, married JoannahBryant, also a daughter of John. Thus the two brothers married tow sisters who were their first cousins. Elizabeth married Joseph King on Jan. 15, 1689, and Mehittable married Isaac King, probably Joseph's' brother, on Aug. 13, 1689.
Now let us look at Stephen and Abigail (Shaw)'s two sons, John and Stephen Jr.
Lieut. John and Abigail (2) Bryant
(daughter of Stephen (1), parents of Samuel (3))
The origin of Lieut. John Bryant is not settled. Lewis Bradford, Plympton, Mass. Town clerk for 1812-1851, wrote many notes into the pages of the old Plympton town records. There he wrote that Lieut. John Bryant was the son of the John Bryant of Scituate, Mass., who had married Mary Lewis. In most Bryant genealogies this has been accepted traditionally. However, it is incorrect to take Lieut. John as the son of John of Scituate, because John, the son of John of Scituate, remained in Scituate, and there is a separate record of his marriage and children, as the preceding pages have shown. Lieut. John resided at Plympton with a wife and children different from those of the Scituate family. Left in the dark about Lieut. John's origin, we may trace our Bryant family back to lieut. John's wife, and from her to her father, Stephen Bryant, thereby arriving at a first-generation of our line of Bryant's in America.
In contrast to this lack of facts pertaining to Lieut. John Bryant's origin, there is documented evidence for the remainder of his life. In 1650 he received a grant of land, 100 acres, near Plymouth on the southern and east side of Jones River Pond, now called Silver Lake, at the same time as, and near the location of, a similar grant to his future father-in-law, Stephen Bryant.
Nov. 23, 1665, at Plymouth, Lieut. John married Abigail Bryant, born in 1646/47 at Plymouth, daughter of Stephen and Abigail (Shaw) Bryant. Lieut. John and Abigail lived in the area that was incorporated in 1707 as the town of Plympton (10 miles west of Plymouth). Just as the original Plymouth in England had a "satellite" village a few miles away called Plympton, so it was redone in the New World. On the town records, Lieut.John is called "Mariner". Harold Stanley Bryant, in his booklet William Cullen Bryant: His Ancestors and Where They Lived, conjectures that Lieut. John was related to the Alexander Bryan (sometimes spelled Bryant) sea-faring family of Milford, Conn. (there is a letter recorded in the Plymouth records, v. 5, p. 155, for Oct. 27, 1674, which shows Alexander and his son Richard were involved in Plymouth affairs) and the Lieut. John was involved in New England shipping, which was important and extensive at that time, importing goods from England and distributing them along the New England coast. The house built by Lieut. John on the shores of Jones River Pond is said to have been the largest of its times in Plymouth County.
March 2, 1668, found Lieut. John having his share in the Bryant family court actions. On that day he faced two charges. One of his accusers was Mary Crisp. Mary was in court to answer charges that she had behaved uncivil towards three other persons; found guilty, she turned around and accused Lieut. Bryant of uncivil behavior toward her. He was cleared of that charge. Next came a charge for "using reviling speeches to Edward Gray as soon as they came out of the meeting on the Lord's day". Lieut. John was fined 10 shillings. Exactly 3 months later, that scene was reversed down to the last detail: Edward Gray was fined 10 shillings for "using reviling speeches to John Bryant, son-in-law of Stephen Bryant, of Plymouth, on the Lord's day, as soon as they came out of the meeting".
Lieut. John's last court appearance other than as juror was Oct. 28, 1684, when he brought charges of "slander and defamation" against Jonathan Barnes, asking 100 pounds damage. Barnes had said John broke open his locks on his warehouse and stole a barrel and several other things. Barnes acknowledged he was wrong and the case was dismissed.
Lieut. John is in the Plymouth town records for the usual responsibilities which most of the townsmen shared at one time or another: juror (1696, 1698), road surveyor (1695), constable (1681). In 1684, the town paid him 15 shillings for gathering in the minister's rate for the preceding year, and 30 shillings for gathering in the town, country and minister's rate for that current year. In 1699 he was on a committee to see to the protection of timber on the town's common land (anyone carrying timber or lumber through town had to be able to prove it came off his own land and not off the common Land).
In 1677, he was granted an additional 30 acres of land at Jones River, and in 1701, still another 15 acres.
Lieut. John and Abigail had seven children. The births of all seven originally were entered in the Plymouths records:
Mary, born Sept. 11, 1666.
Hannah, born Dec. 2, 1668.
Bethia, born July 25, 1670.
*Samuel, born Feb. 3, 1673.
Jonathan, born Mar. 23, 1677. He married Margaret West in 1700, had 3 children: Rebecca 1702, Priscilla 1703, and Mary 1705. His second wife was Mary Little, daughter of Thomas Little, from whom Jonathan inherited a lot on Middle Street Plymouth, built a house on it and there was proprietor of "Bryant's Inn".
Abigail, born Dec. 30, 1682; married Nov. 20, 1705, to John Faunce, who was born Sept. 16, 1678, and died Mar. 19, 1766.
Benjamin, born Dec. 16, 1688; married July 31, 1712, at Plymouth to Hannah Eaton. Children born at Plympton were:
Phoebe
Marcy
Hannah; married Elisha Bryant, son of John and Mary(West) Bryant.
Micah
Jerusha
Benjamin drowned off Plymouth shore May 24, 1724, from a ship trying to make port in a storm. His wife Hannah died at Plymouth Mar. 4, 1724.
In 1695, a church was established at Plympton on what today is called the Center, or the Green. There were some forty families in the neighborhood who had been attending church at Plymouth, but found the weekly trip to burdensome. Twelve years later, when Plympton was incorporated as a legal township, a list of landowners included Lieut. John Bryant and his son Samuel.
Lieut. John died in 1731. His wife Abigail died May 12m 1715. Both are buried in the Old Cemetery at the Green in Plympton.
Sources: a) Boston Evening Transcript, Nov. 27, 1934, # 7936.
b) The Mayflower Descendants, v. 1, p. 209; v. 2, p.32.
c) Bryant, Harold Stanley, William Cullen Bryant: His Ancestors and Where They Lived. Written in 1953, this booklet was mimeographed in 1972 by Chedwato Service, RFD 3, Box 120 A, Middleboro, Mass. 02346.
d) Plympton, Mass. Vital Records.
e) New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 35, 1881, pp. 37-39, 85.
f) Records of Plymouth Court of Common Pleas.
Deacon Samuel (3) Bryant
(Son of Lieut. John (2) father of Nathaniel (4))
Samuel Bryant was born Feb. 3, 1673, at Plympton, Mass., son of Lieut. John and Abigail (Bryant) Bryant. Samuel went to sea as a young man. Then he married Joanna, whose maiden name is unknown, born in 1672. Samuel and Joanna farmed at Plympton. Samuel was an elected deacon of the church at Plympton. Joanna died at Plympton, Dec. 18, 1736. Samuel then married Mrs. Elizabeth Cushman on Oct. 4, 1737, who was the daughter of George Sampson. Elizabeth died Apr. 17, 1755, age 52.
Samuel made his will May 25, 1744, which was probated Apr. 2, 1750. His son Nathaniel was executor of the estate and was living on the homestead. Samuel left half of his land to his eldest son, Samuel. He died at Plympton, Mar. 3, 1750. The seven children of Samuel and Joanna were (A-G):
A. Deacon Samuel Jr., born May 14, 1699; married Tabitha Ford. Samuel was a captain and operated ocean- going vessels for many years. Tabitha died Aug. 25, 1773. Samuel died May 21, 1774. Their eleven children were (1-11):
1. Abigail, born Mar. 13, 1728.
2. Joanna, born July 12, 1739; married Solomon Doten.
3. Joseph, born June 3, 1734; married Zilpah Sampson, daughter of William and Joannah Sampson. Jospeh died may 30, 1813, at Plympton. Their nine children were:
Joseph, died May 13, 1759. Age 1yr.7 mo. 4 days
William,
Rizpah, married Eleazer Thomas of Middleborough
Tabitha,
Ruth, married William Shaw Jr. of Middleboro.
Silence, married Prince Churchill; died Nov. 3, 1801, age 33
Paul, died in the U.S. Army, Nov. 4, 1791, age 21.
Lois,
Jane, married Eleazer Dunham of Carver, Mass. They moved to Paris, Oxford County, Maine.
4. Joshua, born Feb.16, 1745; he had three wives, the 1st being Lusanna Randall, whom he married in 1766, and the last was Dorcas Howard. Joshua had 14 children. Only one is known, a daughter of Joashua and Lusanna:
Lusanna, 1767-1830; married Abel Gardner (1763-1840) of Hingham, Mass.
Joshua died Apr. 24, 1799, at Plympton.
5. Lois, born June 9, 1725; married Barnabas Briggs of Halifax on Nov. 23, 1743.
6. Susannah, born Jan. 19, 1742; married Asa Cook.
7. Lydia, born May 12, 1741; married Consider Fuller, Feb. 21, 1759. When Consider died, Lydia took her family to new Gloucester, where she joined the Shakers. One child of Lydia and Consider was:
Consider Jr., born May 31, 1780, at Plympton. He went to Paris, Maine in 1801 and built a log hut north of his uncle, Solomon Bryant. Consider married his first cousin, Elizabeth Cummings, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Bryant) Cummings. He died at West Paris, Maine, in 1872. The eight children of Consider Jr. and Elizabeth were:
Christiana, born Jan. 2, 1802; married Charles B. Brooks.
Chloe, born Feb. 23, 1807; married Rufus Farrar.
Lucy B., born Jan. 20, 1813; married Eli H. Cushman.
Consider, born Jan. 25, 1815; married Sally O. Greely.
Betsey B., born Aug. 19, 1820; married Jonathan Fickett Jr.
Abigail, married Stephen Davis.
Lovica, married Stephen Davis.
Lydia Jane, married Joseph H. Briggs. Lydia Jane's grandmother, Lydia (Bryant) Fuller, and Jospeh's grandfather, Solomon Bryant, were sister and brother.
8. Samuel, born Nov. 18, 1736.
9.Sylvanus, born Mar. 20, 1730; married Sarah Sears of Halifax, Mass., Jan. 17, 1754, at Halifax. Sylvanus died Nov. 3, 1770, at Plymouth.
10. Solomon, born Jan. 4, 1747; married Elizabeth Curtis of Hanover, Mass.
11.Tabitha, born Apr. 14, 1732; married William Bennett of Middleboro, Nov. 26, 1753.
B. Joanna, born Mar. 1, 1702; married Josiah Waterman at Plympton, Feb. 21, 1723.
C. Abigail, born July 5, 1703; married Josiah Phinney or Finney at Plympton, Dec. 13, 1722.
D. Elizabeth, married Isaac Waterman (brother of Josiah) at Plympton, Dec. 23, 1725.
E. Lydia, born Mar. 16, 1708; married Thomas Sampson, Nov. 16, 1730, who was from a sea-faring family.
F. Sylvanus born Apr. 8, 1710.
Or Salvanus
*G. Deacon Nathaniel, born 1712.
Source: Boston Evening Transcript, Nov. 19, 1902 #5245.
Deacon Nathaniel (4) Bryant
(Son of Deacon Samuel (3), father of Nathaniel (5))
Nathaniel Bryant was born at Plympton, Mass., in 1712, the son of Deacon Samuel and Joanna Bryant.
A document dated July 4, 1731, lists as landowners at Plympton, Samuel Bryant and Nathaniel Bryant. In the History of Plymouth County, D.H. Hurd wrote: "These are fathers of the town and venerable names.
Nov. 8, 1733, Nathaniel married Zerviah Curtis of Pembroke, Mass., who was born Jan. 21, 1707, and who died April 21, 1790. Nathaniel died Dec. 6, 1793, and is buried in Plympton Cemetery.
Samuel Bryant's Will, made May 25, 1744, and probated Apr. 2, 1750, mentions his son Nathaniel, who was executor of the estate and had the homestead farm.
Nathaniel and Zerviah had six children, all born at Plympton (1-6):
1. Benjamin, born Dec. 25, 1734. By his first wife, Sarah, there was a son, Moley, born Nov. 5, 1759. On Sept. 13, 1768, Benjamin married his second wife, Sarah Harlow, born Jan. 5, 1736, daughter of James and Hannah Harlow. In the Harlow genealogy, Benjamin is described as "a very pious, exemplary man, and deacon of the church in Plympton for a number of years". Sarah (Harlow) died at Plympton, Nov. 13, 1808. Benjamin died may 2, 1824. They had five children:
Consider, born Dec. 6, 1764.
Aseph, born Feb. 12, 1764.
Abigail, born Feb. 2, 1773.
Nathaniel, born Dec. 4, 1776.
Benjamin, born Nov. 27, 1777; married and having children, he drowned at sea in Feb. 1804.
2. Nathaniel, born June 21, 1737.
3. Zerviah, born July 24, 1739; married Ephraim Holmes Jr., Oct. 30, 1765. The grandson of Zerviah and Ephraim was Dr. Ezekiel Holmes, for many years editor of the Maine Farmer. After Ephraim died, Zerviah married on May 4, 1804, to James Bradford of Duxbury, 6th in descent from Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth Colony (James (6), Capt. Seth (5), Gamaliel (4), Samuel (3), William (2), William (1). James Bradford was a was a ship-master and died on board his ship on the Mississippi River, above New Orleans, May 30, 1820. James and Zerviah had nine children, all born at Duxbury:
James, born Sept. 27, 1806; married Mary Ann Cobb of Taunton.
Southworth, born Aug. 10, 1807; married Asenath Thrasher of Middleboro.
Oren, born Sept. 25, 1808; married Eunice Hubbard of Waltham.
Emiline, born Aug. 21, 1809; married James Bartlett of Plymouth.
Seth, born Jan. 26, 1812.
Sarah Prince, born June 13, 1813; married Julius B. Champney of Leominster.
Catherine, born Aug. 16, 1816; died Apr. 14, 1817.
Charles, born July26, 1815; died Apr. 16, 1832,
Alden, born Mar. 17, 1818.
4. Joshua, born July 26, 1741; died Sept. 22, 1743.
5. Elizabeth, born may 31, 1744; died Sept. 15, 1747.
6. Ezekiel, born June 16, 1746; in 1768 he married Lucy Bearce, 5th in descent from Austin Bearce who came to America in 1688 on the Confidence. Ezekiel died on the Island of St. Thomas in the West Indies in 1775. He and Lucy had at least one child:
Ezekial, born Aug. 18, 1772; married on May 6, 1798, to Mercy Northrup, daughter of Enos and Anna (Drake) Northrop of Cornwall, Conn. Mercy was born in 1776, 5th in descent from Joseph Northrup of Milford, Maine, who came to America in 1639. Ezekiel farmed at Sheffield, Mass., where he died Jan. 9, 1830. Mercy died in 1869. They had at least two children (a-b):
a. Socrates, born Feb. 11, 1799; married on Nov. 9, 1826, to Jerusha Terrill, born in 1801, 6th in descent from Roger Terrill of Milford, Maine, who cane t America in 1639. Socrates farmed at Sheffield, Mass., where he died Jan. 17, 1863. Jerusha died in 1880. One
of their children was:
Edson Lewis, born Feb. 7, 1842. In the Civil War he was private and 1st Sergeant of Co. F., 23rd Conn. Infantry, 1862-63. He was a manufacturer at Ansonia, Conn. On June 14, 1866, at Derby, Conn., he married Mary Elizabeth Clarke, born Feb. 4, 1845, daughter of Merritt and Mary Ann (Hodge) Clarke. Edson died Nov. 3, 1914, at New Haven, Conn. His wife Mary died in 1930. Two children of Edson and Mary were (i-ii):
i. AnnElizabeth,bornJan.12
1869; married Oct. 15, 1891,
at Ansonia, to Theodore
Wells Bassett, son of
Sheldon andCaroline(Wells)
and Theodore had no
died Nov. 3, 1930, at
Ansonia.
ii. George Clarke, born at
Ansonia, Jan. 8, 1873;
married on Dec.7, 1898, at
Ansonia, to Florence Adele
Farrell, born Sept. 13, 1877,
daughter of Franklin and
Lilian (Clark) Farrel.
George graduated from Yale
in 1895 with a BA degree,
and from the Yale Law
School in 1897. He was
connected with his
father-in-law's foundry and
machine company from
1902-1943. He also was
President of the Ansonia
National Bank from 1938
Until his death, Aug. 28, 1947, at Lake Placid, New York. His wife Florence died Jan. 9, 1949, at New Haven, Conn. Their four children were:
Dorothy, born Sept. 21, 1899; married Albert Sessions Redway; lived at Hamden, Conn.
Geoffrey, born Feb. 1902; lived at White Plains, New York.
Roland, born Nov. 28, 1904; lived at Stoneham, Mass.
Norman, born Dec. 21, 1905; lived at New Haven, Conn.
b. Ezekiel Drake, born in 1815. He was a clockmaker. He married Lucy Tyler, who was born in 1822. Ezekiel died in 1888, and Lucy died in 1885. Their five children were:
Watson, 1842-47.
Watson Dwight, 1847-53.
William Cullen, 1849-1905.
Jessie Honor, 1854-1930; married
Franklin W. Gerard (1854-1930). Their four children were:
Franklin Bryant, born Oct.7,1881.
Jessie Bryant, born Aug. 20, 1884.
Margaret Bryant, born Aug. 30, 1887.
Raymond Bryant, born June 1, 1889.
Lucy Elmere, 1856-1915.
Sources: a) The Mayflower Descendant, v.9, p. 118.
b) Hurd, D.H., History of Plymouth County. Philadelphia 1884, p. 1109.
c) Plympton, Mass. Vital Records to 1850, pp. 44-51; 270; 272; 274; 452-54.
d) Plymouth Probate records, v. 21, p. 374.
e) New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 4, 1850, p. 241; vol. 14, 1860, p. 232; vol. 85, 1931, p. 228; vol. 102, 1948, p. 69.
f) Virkus, Frederick A., The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy. Vol. 1, 1925, p. 510.
Nathaniel (5) Bryant
(Son of Deacon Nathaniel (4), father of Martin (6))
Nathaniel Bryant was born June 21, 1737, at Plympton, Mass., son of Deacon Nathaniel and Zerviah (Curtis) Bryant. He married on Feb. 21, 1759, at Plympton, to Joanah Cole, also of Plympton.
Three months after his marriage to Joanah, Nathaniel was in Capt. Josiah Thacher's Company, Col. John Thomas Regiment, which landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 11, 1759, on a maneuver in the French and Indian War, aiding the British against the French. As early as 1748, the Governor of Massachusetts had asked for a British fortress and settlement at Halifax to curb the threat of the French to Massachusetts, and the following year his request was carried out. With Halifax as a base, English forces fought to expel the French from Quebec and all of Canada. In May 1759, the troops sailed under Major James Wolfe against Quebec, which fell on Sept. 18, 1759.
The list of men in Thacher's Company records Nathaniel at Pisquet on June 24, 1760. Of the 103 men on the list of this company, 16 were from Plympton. Besides Nathaniel, these included a Stephen Bryant, listed as being at Halifax on June 26, 1760, and Ebenezer Cole, listed as being at Alesnes. This Ebeneezer Cole was Nathaniel's brother-in-law. The future father-in-law of Nathaniel's son Martin, Nathaniel Sears, of Rochester, Mass., is also on the list, and along with 12 others is marked "absconded", meaning he returned home from Halifax before being discharged. This occurred frequently, due to the miserable living conditions and meager pay in the army (see Raddall, Halifax-Warden of the North, p. 63). The original plan for Halifax was that the troops would remain there to form a strong colony, but that notion "had perished in the thin stony soil of the Halifax peninsula" (Raddall, p. 68). Governor Lawrence of Nova Scotia reported in 1760 that "every soldier that has come into the province since the establishment of Halifax has either quitted it or become a dram-seller" (Raddall, p. 68). So it was that Nathaniel returned to Plympton.
Joanah Cole was the daughter of Ebenezer Cole, born Oct. 17, 1711, 4th in descent from James Cole of Plymouth (Ebenezer (4), John (3), James (2), James (1)), and Ruth (Churchill) Cole, born Sept. 14, 1716, daughter of William and Ruth Churchill Jr. of Plympton. Like her husband, Joanah was 5th in descent from Stephen Bryant; in fact, both of her maternal grandparents were grandchildren of old Stephen Bryant.
Joanah's parents, Ebenezer and Ruth Cole, moved to Ireland Street in Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Mass., between 1760-65, when the town was just being settled. Ebenezer died their Dec. 31, 1790. His wife Ruth died Sept. 2, 1806. Children of Ebenezer and Ruth Cole were:
Joanah, married Nathaniel Bryant.
Rachel, married Daniel Littlefield; lived at Chesterfield, Mass.
Ebenezer, born in 1739; during the French and Indian War, he enlisted from Plympton in the May 11, 1759, maneuver to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He on Feb. 11, 1762, at Halifax, Mass., to Hannah Bryant of Halifax. He enlisted from Chesterfield in the Revolutionary Army on Apr. 21, 1775.
Elijah, lived at Chesterfield, Mass.
Barnabas, born in Plympton about 1750; enlisted from Chesterfield in the Revolutionary Army on May 3, 1775, for which service he borrowed a musket from William Buckingham.
Jesse, born in 1764; served in the Revolution from Chesterfield. Tax records show he was a resident of Chesterfield in 1787.
Seth,
Now let us pause to see where the family line is at this point. Nathaniel Bryant Jr. is a great- great-grandchild of Stephen Bryant. And his wife, Joanah Cole, is also a great- great- grandchild of Stephen Bryant. Joanah Cole came from a line where the women kept marrying their Bryant relations. Joanah Cole's mother was Ruth Churchill Cole, daughter of Ruth Bryant and William Churchill Jr., and niece of Joannah Bryant and Samuel Churchill (remember the two sets of first cousins who married?). William Churchill Jr.'s mother was Lydia Bryant, daughter of Stephen Bryant. Ruth Churchill Cole's sister, Abigail Churchill, married her first cousin, John Bryant, son of Capt. George Bryant. Well, this is getting too confusing for words! Perhaps the chart on the following page will clarify these relationships.
Nathaniel and Joanah farmed at Plympton until 1777, when they moved to Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Mass., where Joanah's parents were living. They were part of a group migration from Plympton to Chesterfield in western Massachusetts, looking for better land. The 1790 census for Chesterfield shows the following six households of Bryant's, all related:
Ruchsa Bryant, wife, 1 daughter
Consider Bryant, wife, 1 daughter
Patrick Bryant, wife, 1 son
George Bryant, wife, 1 daughter, 3 sons
Nathaniel Bryant, wife, 1 daughter, 4 sons
Asahel Bryant,
Nathaniel died at Chesterfield, Apr. 26, 1810. Joanah died May 1, 1821. They had thirteen children. The first eleven were born at Plympton, and the last two were born at Chesterfield. These children of Nathaniel and Joanah were (1-13):
1.Betty (called Betsey) born June 2, 1759; married on Apr. 30, 1781, to Gideon Bisbee Jr., born in Pembroke, July 27, 1755. Gideon Jr's father, Gideon Bisbee, was fifth in descent from Thomas Bisbee (Gideon (5), John (4), John (3), Elisha (2), Thomas (1)). Gideon Sr. married Rebecca Turner and had six children, all born in Pembroke. Gideon Sr. came to Chesterfield in 1755, cleared land, and returned to Pembroke. There he joined in the French and Indian War, where he died of smallpox. His widow and four of the children, including Gideon Jr., came to the land at Chesterfield, which had been made ready for them. Gideon Jr. and Betty settled on the Mount in the western part of Chesterfiled. He died their Sept. 23, 1825. Betty died Dec. 10, 1852. Their eight children were (a-h):
a. Susannah, born Apr. 28, 1783.
b. Zerviah, born Apr. 1, 1784; on Nov. 3, 1815, were published her intentions to marry Samuel Dumbolton of Grafton, New York.
c. John, born Jan. 12, 1786; probably died young, since he was not mentioned in his father's will.
d. Lydia, born Oct. 7, 1787; married_______Cowing.
e. Eli, born Nov. 15, 1788; on Oct. 11, 1811, appeared his intentions to marry Ruby Wheeler, born in nearby Cummington, July 1, 1793, daughter of Samuel and Ruby Wheeler. Their eight children were:
Laura, born Apr. 21,1812.
Norman, born Feb. 17, 1814.
Zerviah Malvina, born Nov. 16, 1816.
Samuel Wheeler, born Mar. 3, 1818.
Margette Florilla, born Mar. 7, 1820.
Harmon Dewey, born May 4, 1822.
Clarissa Mary Ann, born Feb. 15, 1824.
Ruby Honora, born Nov. 9, 1826.
f. Gideon, born Apr. 20, 1791; married in Cummington, June 29, 1809, to Lydia Gurney, born at Cummington, July 12, 1790, daughter of Asa and Molly (Reed) Gurney. Their children were:
Charles Austin, born Oct. 13, 1809.
Horace, born Aug. 18, 1811.
______, born Apr. 27, 1813.
Oliva Caroline, born Apr. 11, 1815; married Ansel Damon.
Albert, born May 27, 1817.
Julia Ann, born Aug. 14, 1819.
Infant, born Oct. 30, 1821, died Oct. 31, 1821.
g. Aaron, born May 22, 1795; died July 18, 1803.
h. Betsey, born June 17, 1798; on Feb. 14, 1816, were published her intentions to marry Alpheus Dumbolton of Grafton, New York.
2. Major Alexander, born Nov. 1761; on Oct. 31, 1785, were published his intentions to marry Susannah Halbert. They moved to Butternuts, New York. Susannah was born Feb. 5, 1766, daughter of John Halbert (1740-1786), who married in Pelham, Dec. 27, 1764, Eleanor Calester, who died in 1792. John Halbert served in the Revolution from Chesterfield. Of John Halbert's eight children, two daughters married two Bryant brother: Susannah married Alexander Bryant, and Anna, born Oct. 2, 1769, married Patrick Bryant. One of his sons, Thomas, born Mar. 11, 1772, also died in Butternuts, New York in 1857, where Susannah and Major Alexander lived. John Halbert's father, Thomas Halbert, was a cooper, born in Northern Ireland. On Oct. 18, 1731, this Thomas Halbert married Margaret Durum in Topsfield, Mass. They lived at Pelham, Mass., where their five children were born, then they moved to Chesterfield. Thomas died there in May, 1778, age 76. His wife Margaret died in June, 1780, age 69. Both were buried in the Ireland Street Cemetery at Chesterfield.
3. Rudolfus, born Apr. 23, 1763; on Aug. 14, 1786, were published his intentions to marry Elizabeth Bates of Worthington. They settled in Norwich, Mass.; the 1790 census shows them there with one daughter.
4. Colonel Patrick, born Apr. 7, 1764; married Anna Halbert. They lived on the Mount at Chesterfield.
5.* Martin, born Dec. 27, 1765.
6.Eunice, born May 10, 1767; married on Aug. 22, 1786, to Capt.Reuban Cowing, born Oct. 2, 1765, son of Prince (4) Cowing (Prince (4), John (3), John (2), John (1). Eunice died July 5, 1790, having borne three children. Capt.Reuben, on Mar. 11, 1792, published his intentions to marry a second wife, Lydia French of Chester, by whom he had nine children. Lydia died Mar. 29, 1813. On Nov. 5, 1814, Reuben published his intentions to marry RosannaCole, widow of Consider Cole. She died in Chester, Sept. 28, 1818. The three children of Eunice and Capt. Reuben were:
Eunice, born Feb. 8, 1787; died in Chester, Apr. 16, 1818.
Hannah, born May 25, 1788; died May 30, 1789.
Reuben, born Feb. 21, 1790; died May 25, 1790.
7. *Nathaniel, born May 3, 1769; married Elizabeth Rude of Norwich.
8. Royal, born Jan. 30, 1771; died Jan. 3, 1773.
9. Lydia, born Aug. 28, 1773; on Oct. 26, 1792, appeared her intentions to marry John Niles, born in Easton, Apr. 11, 1769, son of Nahum and Susannah (Cole) Niles. This Nahum Niles was a 5th descendant of John Niles (Nahum (5), Daniel (4), John (3), Increase (2), John (1). Nahum was born Oct. 15, 1739; he was in the French and Indian War from Easton in 1758. Although his first three children were born at Easton, and the seventh was born at Ware, all nine are recorded at Chesterfield. These children of Nahum and Susannah (Cole) Niles were:
Molly, born Dec. 31, 1761.
Nathan, born July 20, 1766.
John, born Apr. 11, 1769.
Susannah, died Aug. 6, 1772
Isaac, born July 13, 1775.
Lucy, born Feb. 22, 1777.
Samuel, born Sept. 23, 1779.
Ephraim, born Mar. 9,1782.
Calvin, born Oct. 24, 1784.
Nahum died Jan. 27, 1825; his wife Susannah died Aug. 3, 1821, age 78. Both were buried in the Shapley Cemetery, Lebanon, New York. Their son and daughter-in-law, John and Lydia (Bryant) Niles had moved from Chesterfield to Madison and then to Lebanon, Madison County, New York.
10. Ezekiel, born Apr. 18, 1775; married Polly Graves. They moved to Brookfield, New York.
11.Royal, born July 23, 1777; married Lydia Vining, and then her sister, Mary Vining.
12. Seth, born May 17, 1779. He married Olive Buck, born Oct. 6, 1782, oldest of the twelve children of Daniel (4) Buck (Matthew (3), Thomas (2), Lt. Isaac (1) and Mary (or Mercy) Hayford. A daughter Betsey was born in 1800 to Seth and Olive. Seth later married Lois Sloan in Sweden, New York, by whom he had at least one child, Levi Daniel, born in 1824.
13. Samuel, born Oct. 5, 1781.
Sources: a) Halland, history of Western Mass. Springfield, 1855, v.2, p. 183.
b) Gay, Gazeteer and Directory of Hampshire County, Mass., 1654-1887, pp. 207-8; 210; 212.
c) Plympton, Mass. Vital Records to 1850, pp. 44-49; 272.
d) History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Mass. 1762-1962, pp. 68 and 92.
e) Boston Evening Transcript, May 29, 1905 #7901.
f) History of the Connecticut Valley in Mass. Philadelphia, 1879, v. 1, p. 493; pp. 504-505.
g) New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, v. 28, 1874, pp. 413-415.
h) Raddall, Thomas H., Halifax-Warden of the North. Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1948.
Nathaniel (6) Bryant III
(Son of Nathaniel (5) II)
Nathaniel (6) Bryant III was born May 3, 1769, at Plympton, Plymouth County, Mass., the son of Nathaniel (5) and Joanah (Cole) Bryant. In 1777 he moved with his parents to Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Mass. On Mar. 5, 1792, at Norwich, Mass., he filed his intention to marry Elizabeth Rude of Norwich, born in 1770.
In Jan., 1818, Nathaniel III and Elizabeth moved their family to Bryant Hill near Ellicottville, Cattaraugus coutny, New York, where their son Nathaniel IV had bought land the previous spring. The oldest son, Freeman, also settled on land next to his brother, and Nathaniel III settled between the farms of his two sons.
The story of Nathaniel III's journey to Bryant Hill is told in the Cattaraugus County history. It was a journey of thirty-one days. The family had with them two yoke of oxen, one horse and wagon, and two cows. While on the road, near Cayuga, they stopped at a house, intending to remain all night. The men were absent from home. After having been there some time it was discovered the house was on fire. "Nathaniel clambered onto the roof; no water was at hand, and he called for anything wet. Buttermilk was passed up to him, and the fire was extinguished after severe exertion. The house was in such disorder that Nathaniel concluded to go on further, and they went on several miles and stayed all night".
The assessment roll for Ellicottville for 1822 shows Nathaniel III and his two sons, Nathaniel IV and Freeman, all farming on Lot 5. The 1830 census show Nathaniel III and Elizabeth, and with them were one male age 15-20, two males age 20-30, and one female age 10-15.
Nathaniel III died Nov. 17, 1832. Elizabeth died Sept. 6, 1839. Both are buried in the cemetery at Bryant Hill, along with their daughter Lydia. The inscription on Nathaniel's tombstone reads:
"Death is a debt to nature due. I've paid that debt and so must you."
The ten children of Nathaniel III and Elizabeth all were born at Chesterfield, Mass. They were:
Freeman, born Aug. 6, 1792.
Nathaniel IV, born Oct. 6, 1794.
Alexander, born___6, 1796; died Feb. 17, 1799.
Susannah, born Jan. 1, 1797.
Spencer, born Oct. 29, 1801; died Oct. 17, 1802.
Rodman, born Aug. 2, 1803.
Orrin, born Jan. 8, 1808.
Lydia, born Feb. 2, 1811; died young.
Sheldon, born Mar. 23, 1812.
Lydia, born July 26, 1817; died Aug. 11, 1850.
Sources: a). History of Cattaraugus County, New York. Philadelphia, 1879, pp. 249. 253-256, 462-463, 466.
b) Information from Lois Siggelkow, 304 Brantwood Rd., Buffalo, New York, 14226. The Bryant Hill Cemetery is on the property of their summer home and has been restored by them.
Freeman (7) Bryant
(Son of Nathaniel (6))
Freeman (7) Bryant was born Aug. 6, 1792, at Chesterfield, Mass., son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Rude) Bryant III. He went to Ellicottville, Cattaraugus Coutny, New York, in 1817 with his brother, Nathaniel IV. After an unsuccessful attempt to settle south of the town, and an equally unsuccessful trip to Toledo, Ohio, where a malaria epidemic prevented their settlement, they purchased land near Ellicottville on what became known as Bryant Hill.
On May 15, 1818, at New Lebanon, New York, Freeman married Frances Stanton, born June 16, 1797, on Goff's Hill at Norwich, Hampshire County, Mass., daughter of Elisha and Anna (Rust) Stanton. Frances was a sister of Freeman's aunt, Anna M. (Stanton) Bryant, wife of Samuel Bryant.
Besides farming, Freeman operated a log inn on Bryant Hill where travelers could stay. It was located at the top of the hill; in 1979 its place still was marked with three large maple trees. In 1824, he was commissioner of highways, receiving eight dollars for the year's duties.
About 1830, Freeman moved to Great Valley, where in 1831, he was one of the
original members of the newly- organized Baptist Church. Ebenezer and Records
Vining were preachers for this church. In the history of Great Valley, Freeman is
counted among the early settlers. In the 1850 census his real estate was valued at $3000.
(Note: The 1821 landowner assessment at Great Valley show Edward Bryant and his
son Lewis Bryant, who owned 200 acres valued at $500, Lot 19, township 3, range 6.
This Edward Bryant's relationship is unknown, but later, Rodman and Nathaniel IV
each named a sonEdward.)
Freeman died Jan. 29, 1860, at Great Valley, and is buried there. The 1860 census
shows Frances on the farm with her son Herman L., her unmarried sister Achsah, her
daughter Antoinette, and Antoinette's son, H.P. On May 11, 1870, Freeman's widow
Frances, with her son Herman and his wife, and her sister Achsah, moved to California.
Frances died July 28, 1878, at Stonebreaker, Eldorado County, California. Her sister
Achsah died Apr. 22, 1879.
Freeman and Frances had six children; the first five were born at Ellicottville; the sixth was born at Great Valley (1-6):
1. Hulda Stanton, born Apr. 3, 1820; married mar. 6, 1846, at Great Valley, to Archibald Crary, son of Dr. Anustus Crary. She died Feb. 12, 1866, at Humphrey, New York.
2. Joseph Hector, born Nov. 5, 1822; married Sept. 3, 1850, at Ellicottville, to Jane Webster McKallor, daughter of Charles and Agnes Mckallor of Argyle, Washington County, New York. Joseph later lived at Diamond Springs, California. Their two children, born at Great Valley, were (i-ii):
i. Charles Freeman, born Nov. 20, 1852; married Nov. 9, 1885, at Ayr, Ontario, Canada, to Emily Barbara Watson, daughter of John and Elizabeth Watson of Ayr. Charles and Emily lived at Diamond Springs, Cal. They had one child, born at Diamond Springs:
James Watson, born Sept. 15, 1886.
ii. Agnes Jean, born June 11, 1854; married May 6, 1885, at Diamond Springs, Cal., to Henry Gerish Sanborn, son of Hazen and Anne Sanborn of Manchester, New Hampshire. Henry was an alumnus of Dartmouth College, and a teacher at Placerville Academy in California. Before marrying Agnes, he made a tour around the world. He died the following year, Sept. 15, 1886, at Diamond Springs. Agenes Jean died soon after, on Dec. 8, 1886. They had one child, born at Diamond springs:
Jean, born Dec. 6, 1886.
3. Antoinette Elizabeth, born Feb. 23, 1824; married at Great Valley, Aug. 15, 1850, to Calvin McIlvin, son of Amos McIlvin. Antoinette died Aug. 5, 1865. She had one son, H.P.
4. Alexander, born Aug. 22, 1826; married at San Francisco, Cal., Apr. 9, 1873, to Ellen Phillips Roberts. He died at San Francisco, Nov. 6, 1884. They had one child:
Antoinette Elizabeth, born Mar. 16, 1874.
5. Warren Elisha, born Nov. 3, 1829; married at San Fancisco, Cal., Sept., 1872, to Mary Parker. They lived at Byron, Contra Costa County, Cal.
6. Herman Leroy, born Jan. 21, 1838; married at Great Valley, May 2, 1870, to Charlotte Lorena Spencer, daughter of Elisha and Susannah Spencer of Freedom, New York. They moved to Latrobe, Cal. Their seven children were:
Frances Antoinette, born Mar. 17, 1871, at Antiech, Cal.
Clarence Spencer, born Dec. 28, 1875, at Latrobe, Cal.
Cullen Leroy, born Dec. 28, 1875, at Latrobe, Cal.
Hermia Lorena, born Jan. 4, 1877, at Latrobe, Cal.; died Sept. 1, 1880.
Eva Gertrude, born Dec. 31, 1878, at Latrobe, Cal.; died Apr. 29, 1879.
Stanley Stanton, born Sept. 1, 1880, at Stonebreaker, Cal.
Alida Leonie, born May 28, 1883, at Latrobe, Cal.
Nathaniel (7) Bryant IV
(Son of Nathaniel (6))
Nathaniel (7) Bryant IV was born at Chesterfield, Mass., on Oct. 6, 1794, son of Nathaniel (6) and Elizabeth (Rude) Bryant III. As a young man he went to Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, New York, where his uncle, Royal Bryant, was farming, and there he worked for a Mr. Leonard. In the spring of 1817, Nathaniel IV and his brother Freeman tried to settle on land a mile south of Ellicottville, but that land was taken. They went to Toledo, Ohio, to see about land opportunities, but there the found a malaria epidemic. So they returned to Ellicottville and settled on Lot 5, which came to be known as Bryant Hill. Besides farming, Nathaniel IV worked as a chopper for one dollar a day; the main street at Ellicottville had to be cleared of trees to its width of four rods.
The first school classes at Ellicottville were held in Nathaniel IV's home on Bryant Hill. The town's first schoolhouse was built in 1820 on Bryant Hill. The first regularly organized church at Ellicottville was the Baptist Church, organized on Bryant hill, Aug. 21, 1824. Nathaniel IV was a principal force in organizing that church, and Ebenezer Vining was the first preacher; succeeding preachers were his sons Records W. Vining and Jospeh E. Vining (the Vinings also had come from Chesterfield, Mass.). A written record, dated June 26, 1824, states, "This day, according to previous appointment, have assembled at the house of Nathaniel Bryant a number of Christian brethren. We agree to reassemble at the house of Nathaniel Bryant on Saturday, the 10th day of July, for further conference on the building of the church." Those signing were Ebenezer Vining, Records W. Vining, Joseph E. Vining, Abigail Vining, Lydia Vining, Sally Vining (the wifes of the three men, in that order), Nathaniel Bryant (IV), Annie M. Bryant (wife of Samuel Bryant, who was Nathaniel III's brother), David Putnam, Mary Putnam, Gershom R. Stanton (brother of Annie Bryant), and Daniel Huntley. Meetings of the church were held at the home of Nathaniel IV until Aug. 19, 1826, when increased numbers required relocation at the school house. In 1824, Ebenezer Vining was elder and Records W. Vining was deacon. In 1826, Records received a letter of license to preach wherever he be called; he was ordained in 1831, and that same year David Vining was chosen deacon. On Dec. 16, 1829, the church was officially incorporated; Ebenezer Vining and Samuel presided at the meeting. Freeman Bryant,Joseph E. Vining and David Putnam were elected trustees.
The jury list at Ellicottville for 1823 shows Nathaniel IV, farmer, liable to jury duty.
Nathaniel IV married Sally Chase. They lived on Bryant hill for twenty-three years. In 1841 they moved to Little Valley, New York, where they both are buried. Nathaniel IV died in 1883. Their seven children were:
Edward S.
Alvin C.
Lucy E.
Miriam
Stillman
Harlow
Laverna
Rodman (7) Bryant
(Son of Nathaniel (6))
Rodman (7) Bryant was born Aug. 2, 1803, at Chesterfield, Mass., son of Nathaniel (6) and Elizabeth (Rude) Bryant III. Rodman moved to Ellicottville, New York, with his parents in 1818. He farmed at Great Valley, New York. His wife, Julia Blair, was born in 1810 in the state of New York. Rodman died between 1850-60. Julia was still living at Great Valley in 1870. They had six children (1-6):
1. Frances, born in 1832.
2. Cloe, born in 1834.
3. Angela born in 1838; in 1860 she was living at home, teaching school.
(called Ann)
4.Orris W. born in 1841. He enlisted into Co. M, 9th Regiment, New York Cavalry, on Sept. 21, 1864, at Ishua, Cattaraugus County, New York. He mustered in the same day at Dunkirk, New York; mustered out May 8, 1865, at Winchester, Virginia. On May 5, 1867, he married at Maryland, Otsego County, New York, to Mariette Gurney, born in 1844. They farmed at Great Valley, and later moved to Greene, Chenango County, New York, where Orris' brother Howard was living, and where Orris died on Oct. 30, 1894. Mariette died May 20, 1921. They had three children:
Effie, born in 1868.
Francis, born in 1871.
Courtney, born in 1875.
5. Edward P., born Oct. 15, 1842, at Great Valley. On Sept. 28, 1861, at Ellicottville, New York, he enrolled as private in Co. I, 37th Regiment, New York Infantry. He mustered in Oct. 9, 1861, at Elmira, New York. On May 5, 1862, at Williamsburg, Virginia, he was wounded by a musket ball, breaking the bone in his leg. On June 23, 1862, he was admitted to the New York City Hospital, where he remained until Sept. 1862. He was discharged Dec. 1, 1862. On Dec. 17, 1865, at Randolph, New York, he married Carrie Little. In 1869 they were living at new Albion, Cattaraugus County, New York. Carrie died may 8, 1898, while they were living at Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Mass. Edward was still living at Pittsfield in 1913. By 1915, he was living at Millerton, New York. In 1925, he was living at Dover Plains, Duchess County, New York. He died Jan. 25, 1927, at the home of his daughter Pearl at Albany, New York. He was buried beside his wife at Pittsfield, Mass. Edward and Carrie had four children:
Charles A., born Jan. 9, 1866.
George W. born Aug. 17, 1871; he had died by 1915.
Howard G. born Jan. 10, 1875; died Nov. 2, 1897.
Pearl D., born June 23, 1880; married a LeClair, and lived at Albany, New York.
6. Howard L., born in 1846; in 1895 he was living at Greene, Chenango County, New York.

Sheldon (7) Bryant
(Son of Nathaniel (6))
Sheldon (7) Bryant was born Mar. 23, 1812, at Chesterfield, Mass., son of Nathaniel (6) and Elizabeth (Rude) Bryant III. He married Ruth Chamberlain, born Oct. 22, 1813, at Ludlow, Vermont, daughter of Elijah and Ruth (Googins) Chamberlain. Sheldon's wife Ruth was a sister to Betsey Chamberlain, who married Sheldon's first cousin, Asa Bryant, son of Martin Bryant.
Sheldon moved to Ellicottville, New York, with his parents in 1828. Sheldon and Ruth moved to Great Valley in 1852. He farmed there, where his older brother, Orrin, unmarried, also lived with them. Sheldon died Jan. 2, 1886. Ruth died Oct. 4, 1908. Both are buried in the Sugartown Cemetery at Great Valley. They had four children (1-4):
1. Amanda, born in 1843; still unmarried, living at home, in 1880; then married Harlan Beecher.
2. Mary, born in 1845; still unmarried, living at home, in 1880; them married John Pratt Whittlesley. Mary died Apr. 3, 1900, and is buried in the Sugartown Cemetery.
3. Franklin Sheldon, (Frank) born Nov. 13, 1851; married Apr. 23, 1889,at
Anderson,Madison County, Indiana, to Mary Florence Prigg, born Aug. 26, 1858, at Mechanicsburg, Madison County, Indiana, daughter of Edward Campbell and
Harriet (Curry) Prigg. Frank died Dec. 18, 1922, at Saw Mill Run, Salamanca, Cattaraugus County, New York. Mary then married (2) Benjamin Kelly. Mary
died Sept. 16, 1941, at Elkdale, Little Valley, new York. Both Frank and Mary are buried in the Sugartown Cemetery at Great Valley. They had four children (a-d):
a. Otis Phillip, born Feb. 6, 1890; married Oct. 6, 1910, to Lena Reed. He died in 1976 at Chester, South Carolina, and is buried in the Greene Cemetery at Great Valley.
b. Howard Colby, born may 26, 1893; married July 15, 1923, at Lynn, Lewis County, West Virginia, to Della May Lawther. He died July 30, 1966, at Olean, New York, and is buried in the Greene Cemetery at Great Valley. His daughter is Edna (Mrs. LeRoy) Cole, 1264 Arden Road, Erie, Penn. 16504.
c. Charles Eugene, born Nov. 19, 1897; married Apr. 5, 1928, to Ruby Bowles. He died Feb. 16, 1954, at Saw Mill Run, Salamanca, New York, and is buried in the Wildwood Cemetery at Salamanca
d. Rollin, born Nov. 22, 1900; died unmarried, Dec. 12, 1969, at Jamestown, New York. He is buried in the Greene Cemetery at Great Valley.
4. Nancy E., born Mar. 3, 1854; married a Rider. She died Apr. 25, 1890, and is buried in the Jefferson Cemetery at Ellicottville.
Asa (7) Bryant
(Son of Martin (6))
Asa Bryant was born Feb. 27, 1796, at Weathersfield, Windsor County, Vermont, the son of Martin and Elizabeth (Sears) Bryant. Asa lived at home at least until 1820, when the U.S. census showed him still with his parents. Asa was a farmer, first at Ludlow, Windsor County, Vermont, then at Warsaw, Wyoming County, New York (1828-1850), and finally at Lake Mills, Jefferson County, Wisc. (1850)
Feb. 12, 1825, at Ludlow, Vt., Jonathan and Timothy Carpenter bought land from Asa and his brother Harvey. July 5, 1831, Timothy deeded the land back to Asa (Harvey had died in 1828).
Mar. 13, 1828, Asa married Betsey E. Chamberlain, of Ludlow, Vermont, the daughter of Elijah and Ruth (Googins) Chamberlain. That same year, Betsey's father bought 125 acres at Warsaw, New York on the East Hill from Ebenezer Hitchcock, and Asa and Betsey moved to Warsaw with her parents.
Elijah Chamberlain was born Apr. 13, 1783 in Mass. And married Ruth Googins, farming at Ludlow, Vt. Until 1828, when they moved to their farm on the East Hill near Warsaw, New York. There they lived until their death. Ruth died Oct. 20, 1849, and Elijah died June 23, 1860. They had been active members of the Presbyterian Church at Warsaw, Elijah being an official in the Sunday School in 1858. Ruth and Elijah had nine children (a-I):
a. Betsey, married Asa Bryant.
b. Sarah, married Thomas Bliton; they moved to Machias, Cattaraugus County, New York. They had 9 children. In 1850, their son Henry, age 10, was living at Ellicottville, New York, with Sarah's sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Sheldon Bryant.
c. Polly, died Dec. 18, 1830, age 18, at Ludlow, Vt.
d. Olive, married Thomas
Kelly, moved to Michigan. They had six children.
e. Ruth, born in 1815; married Sheldon Bryant, born in 1812 in Mass. They farmed at Great Valley, New York. Their four children were:
Amanda, born 1843; still unmarried, living at home in 1880.
Mary, born 1845; still unmarried, living at home in 1880.
Franklin, born 1852; still unmarried, living at home in 1880.
f. Elijah Jr., born Apr. 11, 1820; remained at Warsaw, where he farmed. On May 3, 1842, Elijah's membership was transferred from the Presbyterian Church to the Methodist Church, both of Warsaw. He married Betsey Truesdell, born in 1824. Their four children were:
Adelia V., born in 1845.
Alphea A., born in 1848; married James H. Wing and lived at Warsaw.
John T., married Emma F._______; a son Kleber J., b. 1779.
Cora Isabelle,
By 1880, Elijah was working as a butcher, and had turned the farm over to his son John T.
g. Nancy M., born in 1824; married Elon (or Elan) W. Chase, born in 1827. They lived at Warsaw. Their four children were:
Edgar Adelbert, married Lucy McWethy
Three children who died young.
h. William J., born in 1826; married Julia Jeanette Lake, born in 1830, from Perry, New York. They farmed at Warsaw until after 1860, and then moved to Perry. Their children were:
Ellen J.,
Myron D.,
Mary I.,
i. Gardner H., born in 1828; he remained at Warsaw and farmed. He married Jane Lake of Perry, New York. Gardner died Mar. 18, 1857. Elijah Sr. was living with Jane and her children at the time of his death in 1860. The three children of Gardner and Jane were:
Charles E.,
Colby R.,
Gardner H.,
Asa and Betsey had the following children:
Mary, born Dec. 10, 1828; died the same date.
Mary E., born Dec. 22, 1829; die Nov. 14, 1849
Amanda R., born Dec. 25, 1831; died Mar. 1, 1843.
Spencer A., born June 15, 1834; died June 25, 1863.
Martin Colby, born Mar. 9, 1836; died Mar. 16, 1913.
Heroy Gustavus, born Apr. 7, 1840; died Aug. 29, 1885.
While Asa and Betsey worked hard on their farm in western New York, the rear and educate their children, they always found time to extend a helping hand to anyone needing aid. Asa was a leader in the church, and took advanced grounds in all of the reform issues of the day. He was a prominent abolitionist, when that party was very unpopular, and from him his sons inherited their love of country, and strong republicanism.
In 1850, when Asa's mother died at Warsaw, New York, Asa and Betsey sold their farm to Asa's brother Patrick, and with their three sons moved to a farm of 150 acres two miles northeast of Lake Mills, Jefferson County, Wisc. (the NW ¼ of section 3, township 7, range 13). They were accompanied by Asa's nephew, Royal Bryant, age 26, a physician, who came with them from New York to care for Asa.Asa died July 17, 1850, shortly after their arrival. How hard the past nine months had been for Betsey, with the death of her mother (Oct. 20, 1849), of her mother-in-law (Feb. 20, 1850), of her daughter (Nov. 14, 1849), and now of her husband Asa. Betsey purchased the farm on which they had settled from A. Allerton on Jan. 7, 1851, for $1950. She purchased an additional 40 acres in the section bordering theirs on the north (the SE ¼ of the NW ¼, section 34, township 8, range 13) from Isaiah Patterson on Feb. 18, 1851, for $270. Betsey died Oct. 13, 1852. Upon the death of their mother, the two younger sons, Colby and Gustavus, returned to Warsaw, New York, to live with relatives, and Spencer remained on the farm at Lake Mills.
Asa and Betsey are buried in the Rock Lake Cemetery at Lake Mills, block 9, lot 7. In the same lot are buried Eunice (widow of Spencer A.), William E., Emma A., and Edgar A. (children of Spencer A. and Eunice). Asa and Betsey have identical white marble stones, measuring about 4 feet tall, 1 ½ feet wide and 1 ½ inches thick. Betsey;s carries the inscription "Betsey E., wife of Asa Bryant, died Oct. 13, 1852, aged 47 years, 3 months", and in 1976 was still standing. On the south side of a tall old tree planted on their graves, the stone of Asa lies on the ground, carrying the inscription "Asa Bryant, died July 17, 1850, aged 54 years, 4 months"; his stone has broken in two. Three small grey markers about one feet high and 8 inches wide carry the inscriptions "Eunice 1827-1904", "Emma", and "Edgar 1863-1933". A tall, slender square monument of grey granite bears the following three inscriptions above the name BRYANT: " In memory of Spencer A. Bryant, 2nd Sargt. Co. D. 29th Wisc. Vol, died at Memphis, Tenn. June 25, 1863"; "Emma A., daughter of S.A. & E. Bryant, died Dec. 2, 1892, aged 32 years"; and "Willie E., son of S.A. & E. Bryant, died Feb. 22, 1862, aged 4 months 11 days'.
When Asa moved to Lake Mills township in 1850, settlement had been going on for the past 10 years. In 1850, the township population was 171 families comprised of 882 persons, living in 169 dwelling, with 58 farms.
A search of the early land deed records and of the U.S. census shows there were other Bryants living in Jefferson County, Wisc. before and at the time of Asa and Betsey. An early name at Lake Mills is Charles N. Bryant, son of Asa's brother, Spencer G. On Aug. 30, 1845, he bought 76 acres two miles southwest of Lake Mills. April 9, 1848, he married Louisa M. Chase. The 1850 census for Lake Mills lists Charles, age 26, farmer, born in New York; his wife Louisa, 24, born in New York, and their son, Alden S., 1 year old, born in Wisc. Charles bought again in 1851 and sold land in that same year to his father.
Another early name at Lake Mills is Edson N. Bryant (1816-1854). Jan. 27, 1847, Edson married Gertrude H. Doty at Lake Mills. By 1850, Edson was married to his second wife, Mary Jane Smith (1826-1856). The 1850 census lists Edson as a carpenter, born in Mass., and Mary Jane as born in New York. Two children were in the household: Henry, age 6, and Emma, age 3, both born in Wisconsin. Spencer G. Bryant, Asa's brother, was buying and selling land around Lake Mills in 1851, 1852 and 1857. In 1851, he sold land about 10 miles southwest of Lake Mills and bought land just tow miles east of Betsey's farm. He does not seem to have remained there, since his name is not on the census for 1840, 1850, or 1860.
Sources: a) History of Monona County, Iowa. Chicago: National Publishing Co., 1890, pp. 562-563.
b) Cemetery burial information, located in the cemetery records in the municipal building in Lake Mills, Wisc.
c) Land deed records of Jefferson County, Wisc., located in the Jefferson County courthouse, Jefferson, Wisc.
d) Family Record in a Bible given by Asa to his son Colby in 1846, when Colby was 10 years old. The Bible was a gift for having read it through. Colby handed the Bible on to his son Clarence, Mar. 13, 1887. Clarence then gave it to his uncle, William Spencer Bryant, who passed it on to his son Charles Gustavus Bryant.
e) Young, Andrew W., History of the Town of Warsaw, New York. Buffalo, 1869, pp. 33, 171, 245.
f) Boston Evening Transcript, June 17, 1932 #1156.
g) Record of Deaths in the Town of Ludlow, Vermont, 1790-1901, p. 7.
h) U.S. census, Jefferson County, Wisconsin, 1840-60
If you have anything of genealogical or historical interest to add to this site, or if you are interested in becoming a member of the Painted Hills Genealogy Society, please contact me at:
Painted Hills
This page is maintained by the PHGS
Last Update-September 16, 1999
Main | Our Mission | Email Us | Membership | Bylaws | | Look-Ups | News and Events | Members Family Pages |
Other PHGS Links | Chat and Meeting Room |