Friday's Photo: Georgia Ann Frances Bryan - Another photo and more of her story.

Georgia Ann Frances Pittman Wimberly
Picture Courtsey of Mary V. Smith
Do you have an original copy of this photo?

 Last week I posted a picture of young  Georgia Ann Francies "Fannie" Bryan and earlier this week, I posted a letter that Fannie wrote in 1862.

I assume that Fannie lived with or near her family in 1862. Her husband, four of her brothers, and three nephews were in the Army.  Her three nephews died in the War and her brothers returned, but her husband, James S. Pittman, died on the battlefield in Tennessee late in 1863. 

Reddick Bryan, Fannie's father, died on January 12, 1864 and family letters indicate that she had a baby who must also have died as there is no record of the baby beyond the letter written in 1862. 

On November 19, 1867, in Bienville Parish, Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman married Ezekiel S. Wimberly, a widower with three children; James, Martha, and Thomas.

In 1900, Fannie, a widow, was living with the John L. and Alice M. Wimberly family of Bienville Parish.  Alice was the daughter of Joseph B. Bryan, Fannie’s brother. 

Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman Wimberly died in 1908 at age 68.  She is buried in the Bryan Cemetery in Bienville Parish next to her father, Reddick Bryan.

This is not all of Fannie’s story.  I am sure that there is more.  In the next few weeks, I will be looking for probate records for Fannie and both husbands. And, I have been told that there are more letters to find. 

Sources

Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman, Bienville Parish, Louisiana  to Span and Julius Leurany "Lou" Speight Ragan , Lee County, Georgia,  letter, 5 February 1862; original or photostat in the possession of Span Ragan descendant William Ragan, who supplied a digital copy to the author. 

1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

Cutrer,  Thomas W. (Editor) and Parrish, T. Michael  (Editor).  Brothers In Gray: The Civil War Letters Of The Pierson Family. (Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1997).

Wimberly, Vera Meek. Wimberly Family History: Ancestors, relatives and descendants of William Wimberly, pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana, 1837. (Houston, Texas: D. Armstrong Co., c1979).

Diana

© 2013

A Letter from Bienville Parish: 1862

This letter was written by Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pittman of Bienville Parish, Louisiana to her half-brother and his wife, Span and Lou Ragan of Lee County, Georgia.  Span was the son of Elizabeth Regan Bryan and her first husband, Joseph Regan.  

Fannie was the youngest child of Reddick Bryan (Pap) and Elizabeth Regan. Fannie mentioned several other family members in this letter. Lizzie Bryan (Elizabeth Mercer Bryan) was the widow of Fannie’s half – brother Simeon Baker Bryan, son of Reddick Bryan and his first wife.  Bro. Jimmy (James Bryan), was Simeon’s oldest brother. Jim Watts was James C. Watts, husband of Fannie’s sister, Catherine Amanda “Manda” Watts and Terrell Bryan was Fannie's brother and my great-grandfather. 

It is assumed that “my baby” was a young daughter of James "Jim" Pittman and Fannie who married in 1857. In an earlier letter, she was referred to as “her,” but it is thought that the baby died young as there is no record of the child after this letter.  

Thank you to Bill Ragan for sending me this letter. 

Wednesday Feb. 5 # AD 1862

Bienville Par. La. 

My dear Brother and Sister

     It has been a very long time since I have written to you or received a letter from you and have come to the conclusion that will write to you again as would be pleased to hear from you by letter again.  I have but little news to write you of interest and that will very likely be of the All absorbing topic War as that is all that is talked of now.  We have hard times with us now and I fear worse a coming.  Though from what I've heard we are not quite so bad of as the citizens of Georgia yet for my part it is worse for me now than is pleasant  you no doubt have heard ere this that Mr. Pittman was in the Army.  Yes, it is even the case.  It seems sometimes that it is all I can bear and on reflection I think  it wrong for me to murmur. Just to think what he has left home and comfort and binding ties  for.  He has been in service four months the twentieth of Jan. He has been home once.  I have been to see him once which makes twice I have seen him.  He is now stationed at New Orleans but don't know how long they will remain there as there has been a good deal of talk of their being ordered to Mobile.  It is thought by a good many that Mobile will be attacked soon. 

     There are five Regiments at New Orleans. Brother Terrell is there also. He and Jim are in the same company. It is the Castor Guards under Capt. Mabry 16 Regiment.  There are a good many of my acquaintances in it.  They were all proud to see me when I went down.  I only remained with Jim seven days.  If it is so I can will visit him again sometime.  If I could only know that he would go through his term safe it would not go so hard with me.  He was sick a few days before I went to see him but I found him up and left him well.  I left the city the twenty seventh of last month.  I have been quite uneasy about him ever since as there has been such a great deal of rain and it is such a muddy place where they are.  They are on the Pontchartrain Rail Road. Two mile from the Citty.  I enjoyed my trip fine but got home with the worst cold I ever had in my life. I was quite uneasy last night about it as it has settled in my throat and yesterday evening it commenced getting soar so I had to draw a blister on it. I have the worst time of it with my throat you most ever saw any body.  It gets so bad some times it seems almost like it will kill me.

     Pap got a letter from Lizzie Bryan a few days ago  she writes of the hard times said she was to see you last fall. She is very anxious to come back to La.  Says her people won't do anything for her.  Mother is going to write to her this evening.  Brother I will not be able to write you an interesting letter as you will see so don't expect anything interesting. 

     The connection are all tolerably well.  Bro. Jimmy has the chills.  My baby had one this morning and is quite sick with it. I had like to of forgotten to say to you Jim Watts was also in the army.  He is in Virginia at Manassa.  His time will be out in June.  Mothers health is not very good but better than has been in some time.

     We have been somewhat looking for you to move out hear as we could not hear from you  and you've been writing some thing like coming.  All would be very glad to see you and have you live among us.  I think if you have much of your provisions to buy it would be much better for you to come as they are cheaper here than there.  I don't hear of anything selling here but Pork.  It has been selling at ten cents.  I have heard of some selling for nine. There has been more sold for over ten cents. Corn and other things have been made in great abundance so there is no sale for it unless it is sold to the government.  I think the Poor Soldiers ought to be well supplied with corn meal for they don't get any thing but Flour and beef to eat, it is enough to kill the last one of them.  It would to if they were not so patriotic. 

      Well brother I will come to a close as have nothing more of interest to write. Kiss Lou and the babies for me. Write very soon and let us hear from you.  Your devoted sister.

                Fannie Pittman.

Source

Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman, Bienville Parish, Louisiana  to Span and Julius Leurany "Lou" Speight Ragan , Lee County, Georgia,  letter, 5 February 1862; original or photostat in the possession of Span Ragan descendant William Ragan, who supplied a digital copy to the author.. 

   

Diana

© 2013

A Day of Remembrance

Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, was first widely observed at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868. Major General John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic - a Union veterans organization, established Decoration Day as a time to decorate the graves of soldiers who died during the Civil War. 

At this first large observance, President James Garfield spoke and more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldier's graves were decorated with flowers. 

After World War I, all those who died in America's wars were honored on Memorial Day and in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday and is celebrated on the last Monday of May. 

In the families that I research, there are many who served in America's Wars, but only a four, that I know of, died during a war. Those four men died serving in the Confederate Army. One, James S. Pitman, was the husband of Georgia Ann Frances Bryan and the other three were brothers; John Tolbert Regan, James Monroe Regan, and Thomas Span Regan. 

Sons of  John Regan and Martha Davis of Bienville Parish, Louisiana
 John Tolbert Regan, James Monroe Regan, and Thomas Spann Regan
Photographs published with permission - Courtesy of Nancy Collins

Sources

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. Memorial Day History
(http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp : accessed 21 May 2013)

Diana

© 2013

Friday's Photo: Georgia Ann Frances Bryan

I am sure that this photo of Georgia Ann Frances Bryan is one of the oldest photographs in my possession. It was found in Terrell and Harriet's family bible that has a publication date of 1870. I would guess that the photo was taken prior to 1870, but have no way of knowing. There are a variety of photos in the bible - some taken before the Civil War and some well after. 

This photo, a tintype, is in a paper frame and was slid into a photo page of the bible. On the back, in very neat script, is "T. Bryan." Did she give this to Terrell when he left for war in 1861? Georgia Ann Frances Bryan was Terrell's youngest sibling, the daughter of Reddick Bryan and Elizabeth Regan. She was born on June 15, 1839 and would have been 21 years old at the time that Terrell joined the Confederate Army. Her husband, James S. Pitman, and Terrell enlisted in the army in the fall of 1861 - both in Company I "The Castor Guards" - part of the 16th Regiment of the Louisiana Infantry.

By the end of the war Georgia Ann Frances would have seen many friends and family die including her husband, her baby, and her father. 

To read more about Georgia Ann Frances, check out her page on my genealogy website AND watch for more about her on this blog. 

Diana

© 2013

Family History on My Other Blog

I am a speech-language pathologist and write a professional blog - The Budget SLP.  As May is Better Speech and Hearing Month, I decided to add some posts with a little history of my profession to that blog. However, today's post is also about family history as I have written about my father's sister, Myrtie Marie Bryan. Visit today's post at The Budget SLP to learn why I chose to write about Aunt Marie. 

Diana

© 2013

Friday's Photo: Frostburg Lane

Mom left my childhood home on Frostburg Lane five years ago today and is celebrating five years in her beautiful new home. This is for you Mom!!

Diana

© 2013

Moments in Time is on Facebook

I created a Moments in Time Facebook page this past weekend. Why would I do this? I already have four blogs, a website, a regular Facebook page, and Facebook group pages for the Hairston, Bryan, Giddens, and Quinn/Murray families. 

Well, here are my reasons for creating the page:

• One of my readers wants to see all of my posts, but only sees the ones pertaining to her family on the her family group page. She will now get notice of all posts and any interesting items that I might find and want to add to this page. 

• A few friends on my Facebook page are not family, but are interested in genealogy. This would allow them to receive notices about my posts.

• Anyone can find this page on Facebook. My other pages are closed and require an invitation. You can tell all of your friends and family about this one. This is another form of "cousin bait."

• AND, more people, who are not family, are reading my blog. A few requested to be "friends" on Facebook. They would see more about my genealogical research and finds on this new Facebook page. 

So, if you want to receive notices when I post or find something interesting, go to my Moments in Time Facebook page and click on "like." 

Thank you for reading my blog!

Diana

© 2013

Honoring the Mothers In My Family Tree

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my sister - a wonderful mother and grandmother!

Happy Mother's Day to my Aunt!

Doris Staubach Quinn - My mother-in-law.
1929 - 2012

Edith Giddens Davis, my grandmother
1897-1975

Myrtie Hairston Bryan, my grandmother
1880-1927

Harriet Albritton Bryan, my great-grandmother
1836-1909

Lodema Criswell Hairston, my great-grandmother
1856-1919

Bertha Davis Hawkins, my great-grandmother
1879 - 1965

Mary Lucy Glynn Giddens, my great-grandmother
1866-1926

Julia Harvey Glynn, with daughter Carrie, my great-great-grandmother
Died in 1919

Elizabeth Regan Bryan, my great-great-grandmother
1798-1877

Caroline Olive Davis, my great-great-grandmother
1847- after 1901

Mary Ann "Polly" Evans Criswell, my great-great-grandmother
1829-1883

Diana

© 2013

Friday's Photo: Confirmation Revisited

Last week, I posted the above picture of a boy at his confirmation. I determined that the picture might be Francis Meehan, child of Sarah Murray and her husband Edward Meehan who lived in NYC. 

I cannot positively identify this as Francis as this could also be a neighbor or a another family member. However, as it is a Quinn/Murray family picture, I assumed that it was taken in NYC. 

Mary and Helen Quinn
Taken at Mueller's Studio

After posting this photograph, I noticed a faint photographers engraving. It was not legible and even a scanning and enlargement did not reveal the name. Scanning the reverse side and playing with the scan revealed the studio as Mueller's on 3rd Ave. I know that Mueller's was at 2196 3rd Avenue in NYC as there are at least two other family pictures taken at that studio within that same time period. Mueller's studio was just blocks from the St. Paul Church and the Meehan home. 

If there are any Meehan's reading this blog, I would love to have your input! 

Update (22 April 2024): Helen Quinn, the little girl on the left in the above photo, has positively identified this photo. The boy is Jackie O'Brien, the child of Nora Quinn and Jack O'Brien. Nora was the first cousin of Helen's father, John, and my husband's grandfather, William (Willie). Helen remembered the photo hanging on a wall in Nora's home. 

Diana

© 2013

Census Sightings: Terrell Bryan, 1870

Terrell Bryan, my great-grandfather, was a fairly easy guy to find. I have his bible so important dates are at my fingertips. I have followed his family's trail from NC to GA and LA. I have his military service record from the CSA, his application for a Confederate Pension, and bits and pieces about his life in local and national newspapers. 

Terrell is found in the 1850 Bienville Parish, Louisiana census as a teenager and in the Erath County, Texas censuses of 1880, 1900, and 1910. In 1920, he was living with his daughter, Dollie Wylie, in Bronte, Texas. The 1860 census for Bienville Parish is considered lost and most of the U. S. Federal Census for 1890 was burned. However, where was Terrell in 1870?

During the last 10+ years, my searches for Terrell and his family in the 1870 census have been unsuccessful. I assumed that Terrell and his family were omitted by chance or, maybe, by choice. 

However, when searching for former slaves that Terrell inherited from his father's estate, I came across the Thomas Briant family in the 1870 Bienville Parish census and I believe that it is Terrell and his family. 

My reasons are as follows:

• In 1864, Frances and her four children, Emily, Caroline, Sam, and Mary were listed in Lot #1 on Reddick Bryan’s Partition of Slaves and this lot was drawn by Harriet Bryan for her husband Terrell. Many former slaves were living with former slaveholders in 1870. Look at the document above to see a Frances and four children living with Thomas Briant's family. 

• A Thomas Briant was not on any other census record in Bienville Parish. And, I did not find him in the deed index even though the census record indicates that he owned land.  Terrell Bryan did own land. 

• We are looking at a copy of the original or even a copy of a copy when we look at a census record. The person who copied this has legible handwriting  but I suspect that the actual census taker, H. J. Twitchell, did not. Terrell's half-brother, John Regan, was written as John Cregan, my great-great-grandmother is listed as Sarah instead of Elizabeth, Wimberly is written as Wimbly throughout the census, and many, many names were butchered on this local census record. 

• The number of children is a perfect match. All ages matched except Hollen (listed as Sarah) who was listed as five years old on the census, but would not have been five for another month. I listed the ages of family members as of the date of the census, July 6, 1870, on the comparison below.  

What do you think? Is this the Terrell Bryan family? 

Diana

© 2013

Friday's Photo: Confirmation

This confirmation photograph belonged to my husband's parents. My father-in-law said that it was a cousin of the Quinn/Murray family, but was not sure who. I enlarged the photograph until I could see the ribbon. The confirmation took place at St. Paul's Church in May of 1927. The boy would have been born in about 1920. It is difficult to tell the exact day. I thought the 13th or the 18th, but neither are Sundays. Were confirmations always on Sundays?

Edward Dawson, son of Margaret Quinn and Harold Dawson was only two years old in 1930.

Patrick and James McGing, sons of Kate Murray and Peter McGing were also too young.

Mary Quinn Meaney and her husband, Lawrence had a son, William, who would be the correct age. They lived in Louisville, Kentucky where there is a St. Paul Church, but the age of the church is unknown.

The most likely candidate is Francis Meehan, age 9 in 1930, son of Sarah Murray and Edward Meehan. In 1920, Meehan family lived on at 218 117th Street in NYC, just down the street from a St. Paul Church at 113 East 117th Street.

Diana

© 2013