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| Diana Marie Bryan, Monte DeRay Bryan, and Myrtie Marie Bryan standing on the beach in front of the Steel Fishing Pier in Virginia Beach. DeRay and Marie arrived in Virginia Beach (at that time, Princess Anne County) via bus from Borger, Texas to visit my family in the summer of 1959. |
Monte DeRay Bryan was born on March 11, 1904, in Erath County, Texas—121 years ago this week. According to her birth affidavit, she was born five miles from Stephenville. Since her mother’s Hairston family lived in the Bethel community, I suspect she was born there, even though Bethel is more than five miles away.
The photo above shows me with Aunt DeRay (DeDe) and, next to her, Aunt Marie in 1959. This was the only time I met them in person—a shame, as I’ve since learned so much about them and wish I had the chance to spend more time with them.
DeRay began her teaching career in 1921, with her first job in the town of Corn, near her home in Seymour, Baylor County. In 1927 she was teaching in Amherst, Texas, when her mother passed away. The following year, she moved to Borger for a teaching position, as the pay was better and her family needed financial support. In 1928, her teenage sister left Seymour to live with her, likely struggling with the loss of their mother. Meanwhile, their older sister, Marie, stayed with their father and took care of my father, who was only six years old when their mother died.
My grandfather, Redic E. Bryan, faced severe financial struggles and, tragically, took his own life in 1929. At just 25 years old, DeRay became the family's primary provider. Marie managed the household but did not work—she had unintelligible speech and possibly other challenges. DeRay was then responsible for her teenage sister, and my father—now eight years old. I am sure all of them were struggling emotionally with the loss of their parents. DeRay’s once carefree, single life had completely changed.
DeRay never married and remained in Borger, Texas, where she lived with her sisters until her passing in 1987. Read much more about DeRay at this 2018 post #52ancestors Post Fourteen: Monte DeRay Bryan and see her 1924 Seymour Independent Free School District teaching contract (with dancing restrictions) at 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #3 Monte DeRay Bryan.
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| Monte DeRay Bryan 1904 - 1987 |
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Diana
"Erath. Birth Affidavits April 1942–May 1942," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9VH-26BD?view=fullText : accessed 9 Mar 2025), image 165 of 332.
Hutchinson County Historical Commission, "History of Hutchinson County, Texas: 104 Years, 1876-1980," Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company, 1980.
"Miss DeRay Bryan to Teach at Corn," The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 6 Oct 1921, Vol. 27, No. 2, Ed. 1, p. 1; database and images, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth429383/m1/1/zoom/? : accessed 8 Mar 2025).
Terrell Bryan Family Bible Records, 1836 - 1927, The Illustrated Polyglot Household Bible (Philadelphia: G. Zeigler, McCurdy, & Co., 1870), "Family Record," privately held by Diana Bryan Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA, 2025.
