James Bryan - No Middle Initial

James Bryan was a member of the Mackey Lodge in Bienville Parish since its beginnings in 1854.
Note that middle initials were only missing from a few names. Three are from my family - James Bryan,
Terrell Bryan, and John Regan. 

I was researching James Bryan this week and checked Ancestry.com's Public Member Trees to see what other researchers found. I didn't find any new information; however, noticed his name was written as James B. Bryan (49 times) and James Bryan (28 times). 

I didn't remember seeing a middle initial on any documents earlier this week so decided to verify. 

He was James Bryan (with no middle initial) on all census records from 1850 to 1880, in four Bible records, on his headstone, in court records, in Masonic Lodge records dating from 1852 until 1880, in an Indian Wars pension request, and in land transactions. In all of the documents, there were others who had middle initials, but never James. 

I could only find James B. Bryan in three places. None were original documents.

• A narrative about the Bryan family sent to my father in the 1970s.
• A family group sheet sent to my father in the 1980s. 
• AND, family information posted on MY website in 2002. 

My website information was taken from Dad's genealogy notebook. Not any of the Public Member Trees at Ancestry with the name James B. Bryan had documentation to support the middle initial "B." I would assume some researchers found the name James B. Bryan on my website while others copied it from other Public Member Trees at Ancestry. 

This is a screenshot of my a page on my website. Click to enlarge.
Not only did I have James' name as James B. Bryan in my family tree, but in the section above the family tree, his name written as James A.
I will never criticize the census taker again!

James Bryan's wife was Alice Mary Wimberly. However, it was written as Alice Allison Mary Wimberly on items found in my father's genealogy notebook and published on my website in 2002. All original documents found indicate her name was Alice Mary Wimberly. 

I have changed James' name to James Bryan on my website and corrected Alice Mary Wimberly's name as well. You can visit my Bryan pages by clicking here.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2017

Sources

Ancestry.com. "Public Member Trees." Web. 14 Jan. 2017. <http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx>.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.

Order of the Grand Lodge. "Proceedings of the M W Grand Lodge F AND A Masons of the State of Louisiana." New Orleans., 1867. Web. 14 Jan. 2017. <http://library.la-mason.com/PastProceedings/1860/1863-1868.pdf>.

Quinn, Diana B. "Bryan Family." Rootsweb Freepages. 2002. Web. 14 Jan. 2017. <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bryanquinn/Bryanfamily.htm>.

Friday's Photo: James Bryan - He Died Happy.

James Bryan
Born
Feb. 9, 1816
Died
August 24, 1884
I die happy.

James Bryan was born on February 9, 1815 or 1816* in North Carolina - probably Martin County.  He is thought to be the first child of Reddick Bryan and his first wife. His mother's name has been said to be Teletha or Lilitra and her last name is unknown. James had one younger brother from this union - Simeon Baker Bryan, born January 18, 1817. 

As a child James moved to Georgia and lived in Twiggs County. It is unknown if he moved prior to his mother dying of if she passed away in North Carolina. His father married Elizabeth S. Regan in 1821, a widow with two young boys. The family grew and in the late 1820s moved to nearby Houston County, Georgia. 

In late 1838, his family left for Northwest Louisiana. The family settled on land that would eventually be in the parish of Bienville. James married Alice Mary Wimberly on January 13, 1846. They adopted two children, Josie and John Terrell Bryan.  The children's biological parents were the siblings of James and Alice - Joseph Brown Bryan and Sarah Margaret Wimberly Bryan.

James served in the 55th Militia in Houston County during the Seminole Indian Wars in 1836 and was said to have served in some type of local reserves or home guard during the Civil War. 

James's physical features were described in his wife's application for a widow's pension from the Indian Wars. At age 20, he was described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall with a fair complexion, dark hair, and blue eyes.  His name is seen in letters and albums as Jim or Jimmie. James was active in his church and was a Mason. He was a life member of Mackey Lodge in Bienville Parish.  

James passed away on August 24, 1884 and is buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. He died happy. 



If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

*According to transcriptions of family information found in both Reddick Bryan’s and Joseph Bryan’s family bibles his birth year is 1815. However, his headstone and one other Bryan family bible indicates that he was born on February 9, 1816.


Diana

© 2017

Sources

Bailey, Ralph. Houston County, GA - Military - Indian Wars Capt Jesse Smith. USGenWeb Archives., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2017.  <http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/military/indian/smith.txt>.

"Bryan -Simeon Baker." Bryan -Simeon Baker. 2008. Web. 11 Jan. 2017. <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bryanquinn/BryanSimeonBaker.htm>.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Family photographs and documents from the Frye Family collection. Accessed June 6, 2016. Used with permission.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.

Census Sightings: Bienville Parish Ward 4 - 1870

This colorized sketch titled, "The Census Taker," was published ca. 1870.

The 1870 census is one of historical significance. It was the first census after the war. Families had relocated. Many women were seen as heads of households. And, it is the first census record that lists African Americans by name.

The Enumerator / Census Taker was referred to the Assistant Marshall in 1870. Instructions to the Assistant Marshall in 1870 tell how each family should be enumerated. It appears that three copies were required to be submitted by the Assistant Marshall. 

Homer J. Twitchell was the Assistant Marshall for the 4th Ward in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. This young man, from Vermont, was the 21 year old brother of Marshall Twitchell, a state senator, former Freedman's Bureau agent for Bienville Parish, and self-proclaimed carpetbagger. In 1870, Homer lived with his brother and other family members at the Starlight Plantation in DeSoto Parish. This was in an area considered a Yankee colony. Just four years later, Homer would be one of several local officials murdered in the Coushatta Massacre. 

The final page of the Census in the 4th Ward of Bienville Parish - 1870

The 45 pages of the 4th Ward in Bienville Parish Census of 1870 was fraught with misspellings, name errors, and other inaccuracies. I am sure this isn't the only part of the country with records containing so many errors, but what were some of the reasons for these errors? 

• How mature was the census taker? Did he take the job seriously?
• Who copied the original forms? These pages were copied by at least two different people. Was handwriting on the original copies difficult to decipher?
• Did the census taker have adequate spelling skills?
• Northwest Louisiana was a very violent area during reconstruction. Was this a deterrent? Did Homer really get all of his information from the enumerated citizens or did he depend on information from other sources?

Here are some family members I found in the 4th Ward Census records. 

John Regan and his family appears to be divided into two households. His name is written as Cragan. Three of Regan's sons were killed in the war. Here is an accurate list of his family.
Regan, John
Regan, Martha
Regan, Mary Catherine
Prior, Dorothy Regan - Her husband was killed after the war.
Regan, Lucy
Regan, Reddick Bryant
Regan, Alice

This is my great-grandfather's family. Homer Twitchell may not have felt safe visiting this home.
It took me years to find this family. Here is a corrected list.
The family of Terrell Bryan
Bryan, Terrell (born in GA- not Thomas )
Bryan, Harriet (born in GA)
Bryan, Fanny
Bryan, Terrell (Bunch - a female)
Bryan, Hollon
Bryan, Alice

The family of Joseph B. Bryan
Bryan, Joseph
Bryan, Sarah
Bryan, Reddick
Bryan, James
Bryan, Alice
Bryan, Elizabeth - NOT Sarah (my great-great grandmother)

The family of James Bryan
Bradley, Laura -not related
Bryan, James
Bryan, Alice
Bryan, Josie (not Jerry)
Bryan, John

The Tillman Bryan Family
Bryan, Tillman (Not Fred)
Bryan, Mildred
Prothro, Edward
Bryan, Tillman
Bryan, John
Bryan, Sarah (Sally)
Bryan, Ida
Bryan, Tommie Ella
Manning, Mary

No errors in the enumeration of Amanda "Manda" Watts and family. Daughter Sarah was living with Amanda's sister in Ward 1 of Bienville Parish. 

To learn more about the 1870 Census or the Coushatta Massacre, see the sources at the end of the post. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2017

Sources

"1870 Image Gallery - History Sights and Sounds - U.S. Census Bureau." 1870 Image Gallery - History Sights and Sounds - U.S. Census Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2017. <http://www.census.gov/history/www/sights_sounds/photos/1870_photos.php#>.

"1870 Instructions - History - U.S. Census Bureau." 1870 Instructions - History - U.S. Census Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2017. <https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/census_instructions/1870_instructions.html>.

Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal; Census Place: Ward 4, Bienville, Louisiana; Roll: M593_507. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.

"Coushatta Massacre | Entries | KnowLA, Encyclopedia of Louisiana." Coushatta Massacre | Entries | KnowLA, Encyclopedia of Louisiana. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2017. <http://www.knowla.org/entry/759/>

Sherrod, Ricky L., and Annette Pierce Sherrod. Plain folk, planters, and the complexities of southern society: a case study of the Browns, Sherrods, Mannings, Sprowls, and Williamses of nineteenth century northwest Louisiana. Nacogdoches, TX: Stephen F. Austin State U Press, 2014. Print.

Friday's Photo: A Tintype From Bienville Parish

This started out as a very simple post. An unknown young boy. A tintype. A fringed chair. Maybe someone else has the photo and just maybe it can be identified. 

A fringed chair gives the photo a date of about 1860. But, then I remembered another photo in Marguerite Cook Clark's collection with a fringed chair.  Alice Wimberly Bryan might be sitting in a chair similar to the low fringed chair in the tintype. 

That led to the very poor copy of these photos said to have come from the scrapbook of Josie Bryan Cook.  This is the family of James Bryan and Alice Mary Wimberly Bryan. The children, Josie Bryan and John T. Bryan were adopted. Their biological parents were the siblings of James and Alice - Joseph B. Bryan and Sarah Margaret Wimberly Bryan. 

The photos of James and Alice in the above very poor copy appear to the same as the photos below. 

And, this photo below may match the photo of Josie in the poor black and white copy. 

The fringe in the original tintype and Josie's photo is similar. 

So is the boy in the tintype a young John Terrell Bryan? I think there is a chance, but would love to see a better copy of the photos in Josie Bryan Cook's scrapbook. In the late 1970s, William Trott had possession of the scrapbook. It contained photos and many old letters and documents. Does anyone know where I might find this scrapbook? 

John Terrell Bryan - Left
Unknown young boy - Right

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2017
Source


Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.