Mildred Rebecca Manning Prothro Bryan AND a Question About My Last Post

Mildred Manning Prothro Bryan   

A family photo at home.
This is said to be the home where Mildred and Tillman raised their family. 

When Julia Brittain sent me a copy of this photo in the 1990s, the caption below named each person as well as their ages. 
Mildred Manning Prothro is seated next to her daughter-in-law, Mary Elizabeth
McDowell Bryan, wife of Tillman II. Mildred's children Jewell and Willie, are
standing. Erie Prothro is the daughter of Mildred's son, Edward Prothro. Marie
and Della are the daughters of Tillman II and Mary Elizabeth. 

On Friday, I finished the last of three posts about Tillman Bryan and Mildred R. Manning Prothro Bryan. As I began putting away all of my records regarding Tillman and his wife, Mildred, I saw two dates on Mildred's pension request that didn't match what I had written previously regarding her death. 

According to the cemetery stone in the Bryan Cemetery, Mildred died on December 8, 1912.  Looking at the pension request, I see that Tillman's service records could not be found in April 1912. And, I see further documents completed in 1913. On June 5, 1913, H. V. Tooke and J. Frank Tooke stated they had personal knowledge that Tillman served as a corporal in Company E of the 5th Louisiana Calvery. 

Why would they need to testify about this matter if Mildred died in 1912? 

Of course, I needed to know more . . . 

Mildred Rebecca Manning was the daughter of Simon Manning and Mary Brown. She was born in 1839 in Louisiana, where her family was described as living near Ringgold. Mildred married her first husband, Hartwell M. Prothro, on March 23, 1854. He died in a steamboat explosion in March 1856. Their only child, Edward Hartwell Prothro, was only a little more than six months old. 

Mildred married Tillman on April 15, 1857. Mildred and Tillman had a large family. You can see more about their children at Friday's Photo: Tillman C. Bryan.

Tillman's death was documented on his cemetery stone and in James Bryan's family bible as June 16, 1899. No record of Mildred's death can be found except the date on her cemetery stone - December 8, 1912. The stone is a more contemporary cemetery stone and is shared with her husband, Tillman. Tillman's old stone was described as leaning against the fence by my father in 1981. Was Mildred's old stone destroyed or worn? Who replaced the stone, and where did they get the death date? There is no death certificate.

And then I found it . . . 

In an undated family letter, Mildred's daughter, Sallie Bryan Hammett, wrote, "dear Mama died December the 18, 1914." 

That letter, and one other written by Sallie Bryan Hammett, will be a part of my next Bryan 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

© 2021 

Sources 

Bryan Family Photograph. 1903. Photocopy (original held by Brittain family) held by D. B. Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Bryan, Tillman C.and Manning, Mildred R. Prothro Cemetery Stone Photograph. 1981. Photograph held by D. B. Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Hammett, Sally Bryan. Sally to cousin Lizzie Regan, no date. Photocopy held by D. B. Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia.  

"Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-VZSD-5S?cc=1838535&wc=M61M-PNB%3A164934001 : 20 May 2014), Brown, John B - Evans, C H > image 991 of 1406; Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge.

Louisiana, Bienville Parish. 1850 U. S. Census, population schedule. Database with images. Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com : 2020. 

Manning, Mildred R. Prothro Bryan Photograph. No date. Photocopy (original held by Brittain family) held by D. B. Quinn [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Sherrod, Ricky L. "Strong Southern Women: Female Leadership on the Northwest Louisiana Frontier." Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 52, no. 1 (2011): 5-34. Accessed January 16, 2021. 

Friday's Photo: Tillman C. Bryan and his Pension Record

This is the third photo of Tillman posted in the last two weeks. This tintype shows a much older Tillman. I love that I was able to easily see the same facial features in all three photos. Look at his nose and the shape of his mouth and mustache. 

This photo of the older Tillman came from Marguerite Cook Clark's collection. It's actually clipped from this photo of two brothers - Joseph B. Bryan and Tillman C. Bryan. 

This photo is labeled J. B. Bryan (Grandpap) and Uncle Tillman Bryan.
Marguerite's mother, Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook (1887-1970)
labeled the photo in an album. 

This photo of Tillman was taken about 
the time of the Civil War. 

Tillman's pension record for service in the Confederate Army is a good record of his birth and other facts not easily found for those born in 1830.   I am certain that Tillman completed the application himself. He gives his birth date and place of birth - September 13, 1830, in Houston County, Georgia. 

At the time, Tillman suffered from facial paralysis and probably skin cancer as he wrote that he had "cancer on the face." 

Tillman enlisted in the Confederate Army in the spring of 1862 and served in the calvary until the end of the war. He listed three "comrades" living nearby; V. M. Davis and Fred Davis of Ringgold, and Howell Albritton of Campti. V. M. Davis and Jacob Cook witnessed the pension record. 

Tillman wrote that he had seven living children. Two sons and three daughters were married, while one daughter, age 15, and one son, age 23, lived in the home. 

The children at home would have been Jewell Antonette Bryan, age 15, and William Rufus Bryan, age 23. 

His married children were Tillman C. Bryan, John Wesley Bryan, Sally Manning Bryan Hammett, Ida Amelia Bryan Sheffield, and Tommie Eta Lissinie Bryan Nix.

This application was filed on February 1, 1899. There were a total of 27 questions. 

It appears that Tillman was approved to receive $8.00 a quarter; however, he probably did not receive any of the pension funds as he died on June 16 of the same year. 

Tillman's five-page pension record can be found at FamilySearch.org. Sign-up for a free account and click here to view the record. 

In April 1912, Tillman's wife, Mildred, filed for a widow's pension. Mildred reported they were married on March 15, 1854. This doesn't match the dates reported previously. She actually married her first husband, Hartwell M. Prothro, on March 23, 1854. He died in a steamboat explosion in March 1856.  

It was written that Tillman died of natural circumstances and is buried in the Liberty Chapel Cemetery. Tillman and Mildred are buried in the Bryan Cemetery. Is that formerly the Liberty Chapel Cemetery? 

Mildred died on December 8, 1912.* It is not known if she collected pension funds. With your free account at FamilySearch.org, you can view or download Mildred Bryan's pension application.  

To learn more about Tillman, visit the posts below. 

T. C. Bryan of Bienville Parish, Louisiana - Was he Tillman or Tilman?

Friday's Photo: Tillman C. Bryan 

*To learn more about Mildred and see an alternative death date read Mildred Rebecca Manning Prothro Bryan AND a Question About My Last 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

© 2021 

Sources 

Bryan, Joseph B., and Bryan, Tillman C. Photograph. No date. Photograph in album held by M. Harrison, NC.*

Bryan, Tillman C. Photograph. No date. Photograph held by H. Forstmann, CT.

Bryan, Tillman C. Photograph. No date. Photograph in album held by M. Harrison, NC.*

"Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CSL8-FKMM : 27 November 2020), T C Bryan in entry for MM9.1.1/CSLF-6SMM:, 1899.

"Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-VZSD-5S?cc=1838535&wc=M61M-PNB%3A164934001 : 20 May 2014), Brown, John B - Evans, C H > image 991 of 1406; Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge.

____________________________________

*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.

Friday's Photo: The Bryan Cemetery, Bienville Parish, Louisiana

I needed a short post tonight as working from home is much harder than going to work! Thank you to my distant cousin Jane in Louisiana for this new photo of the Bryan Cemetery. 

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

© 2020

Sources

Photo from Jane Slater. Used with permission. 

Three Bryan Cemetery Monuments Beautifully Restored in Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Elizabeth Regan Bryan, Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman Wimberly, Reddick Bryan

The earliest marked
grave in this cemetery

In the fall of 2017, my distant cousin, Jane Stewart Slater, sent photos of damaged cemetery monuments in the Bryan Cemetery in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Jane and I are both descendants of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan who settled near Ringgold in 1838. A large tree had fallen and damaged Reddick and Elizabeth's cemetery monuments along with the monument for their daughter, Georgia Ann Frances Bryan Pitman Wimberly. 

In March 2018, I posted #52ancestors Post Twelve: The Bryan Cemetery in Bienville Parish - History, Photographs, and Disrepair and later posted Repairing Cemetery Stones in Bienville's Bryan Cemetery. By June 2018, descendants of Reddick and Elizabeth Bryan donated enough funds to begin repair of the monuments. 

Jason Campbell at Campbell Monument Company in Provencal, Louisiana accepted the job. Elizabeth Bryan's monument was quickly repaired at the cemetery. Reddick Bryan's needed a small excavator to remove it and this was hampered by many months of bad weather. Both his monument and Georgia's needed to be repaired away from the cemetery. 

Thank you to Jason Campbell for the amazing restoration, to Jane Stewart Slater for making all arrangements, and to the descendants of Reddick and Elizabeth Bryan who donated the needed funds. 

The pictures below show the now beautifully restored monuments as well as the damaged condition of each monument before restoration. 

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

© 2020

The First Ones - from Slavery and the Bryan Family

The DAR Library at Memorial Continental Hall in Washington, D.C. is where I found the Bible transcription containing names and birth dates of numerous enslaved persons.

In 2013, I created the blog, Slavery and the Bryan Family - Records of Slavery found in North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana in 2013. The blog still exists but I learned quickly that I did not have the time to manage another blog. I want the information to remain available so am adding it to this blog. On the original blog, there are only three posts. The first post, containing names and information about those enslaved by the Bryan family, has become a page on this blog. You can access it by clicking here or on the above tab - Slavery and the Bryan Family. 

The creation of the original blog regarding the Bryan family and slavery came as a result of a 2010 research trip to the DAR library in Washington, D. C.  We had toured the building and spent some time in the library before heading to the computers to look at stored digital information. A search for "Reddick Bryan," resulted in an unfamiliar Bible transcription. Published in 1824, the Bible must have been purchased when the Bryan family lived in Georgia. Recorded births on the family information pages revealed many new names along with birth dates, but no last names.  I realized these were not new family members, but persons enslaved by the Bryan family. I had stumbled across information that would be extremely valuable to descendants of those enslaved persons and knew this information needed to be shared. 

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

© 2019

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn

Quinn, Diana Bryan. “Slavery and the Bryan Family: The First Ones.” Blogger. 23 February 2013. https://slaveryandthebryanfamily.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-first-ones.html. Accessed 10 Mar. 2019.

Repairing Cemetery Stones in Bienville's Bryan Cemetery

The Bryan Cemetery
Near Ringgold in Bienville Parish, Louisiana
Click to enlarge

I posted The Bryan Cemetery in Bienville Parish - History, Photographs, and Disrepair in March. It was sad to see the old stones in need of repair. 

Jane Stewart Slater, a descendant of Reddick and Elizabeth Bryan took photos and contacted Campbell Monument Company. The cost to repair two of the stones is $250. Jane is going to the cemetery with the owner of the monument company to look at the stones and determine how to repair the third stone (cost is not yet known).  I believe the third stone is that of Georgia Ann Frances, but I might be wrong as Reddick's stone is in several pieces as well. If not able to be restored, it will be cleaned up and laid flat in cement.  

As of now we have a promise to fund the cost of the third stone (cost unknown) and another donation. We are currently in need of $200.

Some Bryan family descendants have expressed an interest in helping with the cost.  If you would like donate a small amount toward the cost of the repairs, please click here to contact me. OR, if you are a friend of Jane Stewart Slater,  you may contact her through Facebook. 

UPDATE See the final results at Three Bryan Cemetery Monuments Beautifully Restored in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

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

© 2018

#52ancestors Post Twelve: The Bryan Cemetery in Bienville Parish - History, Photographs, and Disrepair

Whit Criswell Bryan, my father and great-grandson of Reddick and Elizabeth Regan Bryan, in the Bryan Cemetery, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
September 1981

Reddick Bryan purchased 400 acres of land in the vicinity of the Bryan Cemetery in 1839 - Township 15-N, Range 9-W, Section 25. He was considered one of the early settlers in that area. John Knight purchased land to the west several years before and land to the south was purchased by John Fuller. Eventually, William Wimberly and later, James Bryan, would own land to the north of the cemetery. Son, Joseph Bryan, purchased land to the east around 1850.

Click here to see the Bryan Cemetery on Google Earth. 

The earliest marked burial in the Bryan Cemetery of Bienville Parish is that of Reddick Bryan who died in 1864. Was this the earliest grave or just the earliest stone marker surviving?

As in most old cemeteries, there are probably unmarked graves.  Elizabeth Regan Carr (daughter of John and Martha Regan) wrote in a pension request that husband, John Carr,  was buried in the Bryan Cemetery. His grave is not marked. There are several Bryan family members with no known burial locations. 

Another descendant of Reddick and Elizabeth Bryan remembers a black iron fence around the cemetery with graves around the fence. She remembers many unmarked graves and tells of a road crew destroying graves while putting in a road.