From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: James Bryan Cook And Ollie Reed Cook of Bienville Parish, Louisiana

James Bryan Cook and Ollie Mae Reed
This photo may have been taken on their wedding day Jan. 26, 1913.

James Bryan Cook

James Bryan Cook

James Bryan Cook plays a key role in my search for Bryan family documents. He was a great-grandson of my great-great-grandfather, Reddick Bryan of Bienville Parish, Louisiana. As seen in a 1938 letter written by his mother, James had possession of old family letters - some which were given to William Trott and later published in the Wimberly Family History. 

In 1950, he was in the possession of Reddick Bryan's family bible published in 1824. A transcript of this bible was found at the DAR library in Washington, D. C. and James Bryan Cook was listed as the owner at the time of the transcription. 

I have been looking for the old letters (said to be in a scrapbook) and Reddick Bryan's bible for years. It would be nice to see the original documents.  Please contact me if you know where I might find them. 

James Bryan Cook was the fifth child of Joseph W. Cook and Joseph "Josie" Sarah Catherine Bryan. He was born on August 4, 1885, in Bienville Parish. I assume he was named after his mother's adoptive father, James Bryan. 

He married Ollie Reed on January 26, 1913. Ollie, the daughter of Charles Eason Reed and Ella Norah Beck, was born on July 12, 1889.

James and Ollie were the parents of four children - James Bryan Jr, Karl Franklin, Nora Kathleen, and Lula Mae. 

I have seen James referred to as Jim and Jimmie and his occupation written as farmer, carpenter, and trucking. 

I have seen Ollie Reed Cook's name written as Orlean on trees at Ancestry.com.  In Joseph Bryan's family bible, her name is written as Ollye Mae Reed. Ollie's father was a Baptist minister and according to the Wimberly History, she remained a Baptist while James Cook remained a Methodist.

Obituaries for James and Ollie are below. They are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish. 

Found at Newspapers.com

Notice Mrs. O. R. Cook was "corrected"
to Mrs. J. B. Cook

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Diana

© 2017 

Sources 

Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006. Original data: Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.

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.

Wimberly, Vera. Wimberly Family History: Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana, 1837. Houston, Tex.: D. Armstrong, 1979. Print.