Notes from the Original Manuscript

Notes:

The name of BRYAN by some authority is said to have been derived from one Bryan, king of Munster and all Ireland in the year 927 A.D., while others claim that it was taken from the baptismal name BRIEN and originally used in Britany, and still others say that it was of Norman derivation. It is found in ancient records in the various forms of Brian, Brien, Briane, Bryene, Bryon, Briand, Briant, Bryant, Bryen, and Bryan, of which Bryant is said to have been adopted at a comparatively recent date by one branch of the family in England and the form Bryan became generally accepted by a separate line.

Families of this name were to be found at early dates in all parts of England and Ireland and were, for the most part, of the landed gentry and nobility of Great Britain.

Among the earliest records of the name in England were those of Wyde Bryan of Devenshire in 1273, Alieia and Alcelot Brien or Bryan of Cambridgeshire about the same time, Thomas and Alan filius (son of) Brian of Yorkshire during the same period, William Brian of Seversetshire in 1327, and Sir Guy Bryan of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1350, of whom the last died in 1390, leaving at least three sons, Sir Guy, Philip, and William, as well as possibly others.

In the fifteenth century one William Bryan was living in the county of Lincoln and he is said to have been the father of Thomas who married a Miss Cenny and had issue by her of Thomas and John, of whom the first married Margaret Reed and was the father by her of William, Robert, and Alice, of whom the first had issue by is wife Themasin Fineham of Robert, Themasin, and Anne, of whom the first married Elenor Bendish and had issue by her of Thomas, William, John, Andrew, Anne, Elenor, Dorothy, and Richard, of whom the first had issue by his wife Sarah Norton of Robert, John, William, and Martha of whom the first was married in the early seventeenth century to Martha Camock and probably had issue by her.

It is not definitely known from which of the many illustrious lines of the family in England the first emigrants of the name to America were descended, but it is generally believed that all of the Bryans were of common ancestry at a remote period.

Among the first of the name to come to America were numerous Virginia emigrants, whose records are most incomplete. Among those were Robert of New Norfolk County in 1637, Nicholas or Nick of Isle of Wight County in 1637, Edward of James City County in 1646, Thomas of James City County in 1648, Teague or Tiege in 1649, Henry in 1650, Richard in 1652, and Jenathan and Thomas of York County in 1653.

One of the first emigrants of the name to New England was John Bryan of Taunton, Mass., before 1637 who died the following jyar and probably left only one son named John.

About 1639 one Alexander Bryan, who is said to have been the son of one Thomas Bryan of Buckinghamshire, England, emigrated to America and settled in Milford, Conn. By his wife Anna Baldwin he is believed to have been the father of Richard, Susanna, and Jeanna. The son, Richard, is believed to have married Mary Wilmot, and to have been the father by her of Alexander, Mary, Hannah, and Sarah. By his second wife, Elizabeth (nee Powell) Hellingworth, he had further issue of Elizabeth and Joseph, and possibly others as well.

One Thaddeus Bryan is said to have been living at Lynn, Mass., in 1675, but no further records have been found concerning him or his immediate family, and descendants if any.

About 1699 one Joseph Bryan is said to have come from England, possibly from Herefordshire, to South Carolina. By his wife Janet Cochran, he was the father of Hugh, Hannah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Jonathan. The first son Hugh was the father of Joseph, Nancy, and Mary, and the youngest son Jonathan is said to have been the father of Hugh, Honatha, John (died young), Joseph, Mary, Josiah, William, John, James, Elizabeth, Hannah, Ann, and Sarah. (Family names of their wives not given.)

One Morgan Bryan who is said to have come from Ireland, and to have been the son of William and Sarah (nee Bringer) Bryan, made his home in Chester County, Penn.., before 1719. He was married in that year to Martha Strode. In 1730, he is said to have moved to Winchester, Virginia, where he died in 1733, leaving eleven children-Joseph, Samuel, James, Morgan, John, Elenor, Mary, William, Thomas, Sarah, and Rebecca. (One of these sons or his son may be the father of great grandfather James Bryan of this history--Ed.)

The descendants of these and possibly other branches of the family in America have spread to practically every state of the Union and have aided as such in the growth of the country as their ancestors aided in the founding of the nation. They have been noted for their energy, industry, integrity, piety, perseverance, fortitude, patience, loyalty, and courage.

Among these of the Bryans who fought in the War of the Revolution were lieutenant Andrew Bryan of Maryland, Lieutenant James Bryan of Georgia, and various others from the New England Colonies.

Thomas, William, Guy, Robert, Richard, Alexander, John, Samuel, Joseph, James, and Hugh are some of the Christian names most highly favored by the family for its male members.

A few of the members of the family who have distinguished themselves in America in more recent times are: Charles Page Bryan of Illinois, diplomat, 1856-1925; William Jennings Bryan of Illinois, political leader, 1860-1925; and Elmer Burritt Bryan of Ohio, noted educator an college president, born in 1865. (These notes were written sometime between 1932 and 1941.)

The above report of the Bryans and their name was taken from the document from the Media Research Bureau of Washington, D.C., of 1110 F. Street, of which the above is a copy and included in this history of the James Bryan branch of the family. The Media Research Bureau furnish only the names of families of Bryan who are the first born of the males and even these have in some cased have no definite records. The safest way is probably best stated as to time and place when one is associating names and families for genealogical connections. James Bryan, Sr., may have been the direct descendant of any one of the male members of the recorded members of the Bryans herein mentioned and not of the first born. So time and place and accounting or human nature to cling together or to remain near each other in the unsettled country about them is a rational way to associate one member of a family with another. Where one family of the Bryan name wanders away from a family of the same name it may be due to existing friendly relations thru marriage or otherwise or yielding to the thought of "greener pastures" elsewhere.-Ed.

One William Bryan and wife Sarah (nee Bringer) Bryan came from Ireland to America and settled in Chester County, Penn.., shortly before 1700, bringing his family with him. One of his sons was named Morgan who was born about 1695 or a year or two earlier, no doubt in Ireland before his father William came to America. (Chester Co.., Pa., is just south of Philadelphia.--Ed.)

It is not known how many brothers and sisters young Morgan had at that time or how many more were born to his family after arriving here.

It is said that young Morgan Bryan met and married one Martha Strode in the year 1719. In the year 1730 he and his wife and family moved to Winchester, Virginia, where he died in 1763, age about 68 or 70 years, leaving a large family, namely: Joseph, Samuel, James, Morgan, John, Elener, Mary, William, Thomas, Sarah, and Rebecca.

It is not known which one of these sons is the direct ancestor o James Bryan, Sr., the ancestor of the Bryan family in this history, but evidently one o them was. Winchester, Va., is but a short distance from the Maryland line and not far from Cumberland, Md., the district in which James Bryan, Sr. and several of his brothers resided with their families, as this history states on another page. Less than a week's travel in that day would have brought a family from Winchester to Cumberland. Another week's travel (a few hours, now.--Ed.), would have brought a traveler from Cumberland to Uniontown, Pa., where a large settlement existed and in the region where coal was being mined and blast furnaces were running, the demand for workmen being great. In this district James Bryan, Sr., lived after migrating from the Cumberland district.

We are assuming that one of Morgan Bryan's sons was the father of James Bryan, Sr. This son we mention should have been born, say, about 1730 and died about 1810, age 80 years, allowing for a fair span of life.

This son of Morgan Bryan, whose Christian name is not known, married into one of several well known families of that period and became the father by his wife of several sons and daughters, of which one son was James, born about 1770 and died about 1848, age 76 years. It is known that he was the father by his wife (name unknown) of six or more children, - Nathaniel, James, Sarah, Thomas, Rachel, Samuel, and probably others.

Facts herein relating to the members of the James Bryan, Sr., branch of the family have been obtained by William Holmes Bryan thru his personal research and collaboration with various members of the Bryan family. William's father, James Hamilton Bryan, some thirty or more years of age, gave him all the information he could then remember concerning the children of James Bryan, Sr., his grandfather, and the same was written in a book for future use.

Additional information was obtained from members of the second, third and fourth generations, and even the fifth, some of which was handed down from one generation to the other, Persons not of the Bryan family were also consulted.

To the great-grandchildren of James Bryan Sr., or grandchildren of James Bryan II, father of John, Daniel, and James, a questionnaire was sent to be filled in and returned. In some cases the surviving member of their family answered the questions and returned the document. Some questionnaires were not returned, some few were returned lacking in information, and the writer had to make many personal visits to the persons in question or write them again for more complete acts. Obscured information had to be cleared up by associations of facts or they had to be dealt with for what they were worth.

Gravestones and family Bible records wee sources of information concerning ages and deaths and places of burial, and pointed also to places of residence.

Associating the James Bryan branch of the family with that of Morgan Bryan, previously mentioned in the report of the Media Research Bureau of Washington, D.C., which is an introduction to part of this history, should be read without conclusions. The reader will note that only one male child, usually the first born, is carried down from one generation to the next, and other sons are not mentioned. Also surnames of the male members of the first Bryan are handed down from on generation to another, and mean very little to members of the family of the present day, unless either associated facts furnish acceptable data. The writer is inclined to place some value in the fact that it is quite possible for Morgan Bryan or one of his brothers, living in or near Winchester, Va., or near Cumberland, Maryland, to have been the grandfather of great-grandfather Bryan, the first. And also the line of descent of William J. Bryan's family, and many other families of the same name.

Members of the Bryan family can do any amount of research work they wish and add much more to this history. Daniel Boone married a Bryan, Washington employed a Bryan to lay a road, a Bryan was Judge of the U.S. District Court at Philadelphia, in 1776. A Bryan is president of Washington and Lee University, so the field has not as yet been scratched as to Who's Who of the Bryan Family and its branches. Respectfully submitted. WHB.

The above data have been compiled chiefly from the following sources:
Bardaley--"English and Welsh Surnames", 1901
"Collectiana Tepegraphica et Genealogica", 1836
Marshall--"The Genealogist", vol. VI, 1882
Greer--"Early Virginia Immigrants", 1912
Savage--"Genealogical Dictionary of New England", 1861
Baldwin--"Baldwin's Genealogy", 1889 and "The Descendants of Alexander Bryan", 1889
Bulloch--"Bellinger, DeVeaux, and other Families or families", 1895
Hayward--"The Genealogy of the Pendarvis-Beden Family", 1905
J.D. Bryan--"The Boone-Bryan History", 1813
Heitman--"Officers of the Continental Army", 1914
"The Americana", 1932

One of the most ancient and frequently recurrent of the numerous coats-of-arms of the British family of Bryan is described as follows: