Craven County NcArchives Biographies.....Bryan, Henry Ravenscroft 1836 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 15, 2008, 9:26 pm Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) HENRY RAVENSCROFT BRYAN JUDGE HENRY R. BRYAN, of New Bern, North Carolina, whose long life of conspicuous usefulness has made him one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of North Carolina, comes of a family which has been identified with that State for nearly one hundred and seventy years, which in that period has extended over the South Atlantic States from Virginia to Georgia, and in every generation has furnished a number of splendid citizens to the Republic. This high type of gentleman was born at New Bern, March 8, 1836, son of John Heritage and Mary Williams Shepard Bryan. His father was a distinguished lawyer and prominent in his generation. He was born in New Bern in 1798, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1815, was a member of the State Senate of North Carolina in 1823 and 1824, represented his district in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses at Washington, declined re-election, and located in Raleigh where he practiced his profession. John H. Bryan was not twenty-seven years of age when he entered the Federal Congress, and had the distinction of being the youngest member of that body during the presidency of John Quincy Adams. Hon. H. R. Bryan received his preliminary educational training at a famous old school in Raleigh, known as Lovejoy's Military Academy, conducted by J. M. Lovejoy, one of the great teachers of his generation. From there, at the age of sixteen, Judge Bryan entered the University of North Carolina, in 1852, graduating with distinction in 1856, delivering the Latin Salutatory, which indicates his high standing as a student of the University. In June, 1857, he was licensed to practice law, and has followed his profession with eminent success for fifty-eight years. The earlier years of his life were spent in Raleigh. Since 1860 he has made New Bern his home. In 1860 he served as Clerk of the United States Circuit Court of Raleigh, and was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1882, when General W. S. Hancock was the nominee. In 1892 he was elected Judge of the Second Judicial District and served in that position by re-election for two terms, covering a period of sixteen years. He has been Mayor of his town and has served as Vice-President of the Penitentiary Board. With the exception, however, of these sixteen years on the Bench practically his entire professional life has been spent in the active practice of the law. During his whole professional career he has served as Attorney for several corporations, but general practice has consumed the most of his time. He has given long and faithful service to the Protestant Episcopal Church, having served as a vestryman for about fifty years, is junior warden of his parish and Chancellor of the Diocese of Eastern North Carolina. He was married at New Bern on November 24, 1859, to Mary Biddle Norcott, born in Greenville, North Carolina, in 1841, daughter of John and Sarah Frances (Biddle) Norcott. Eight children have been born to Judge and Mrs. Bryan. The first child, Sarah Frances, educated at Stuart Hall, Staunton, Virginia, married in 1885 John Barrett Broadfoot. Her children are Mary Norcott, William Gillies, Frances Bryan and Henry Bryan Broad-foot. The second child, Frederick Charles, was educated at the University of North Carolina, married Allis Williams, and is traffic manager of the Allis-Chalmers Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The third child, Mary Norcott, was educated at St. Mary's, Raleigh, North Carolina, and married Henry Adolphus London. Her children are Mary Norcott and John Bryan London. The fourth child, Henry Ravenscroft, was educated at the University of North Carolina, is a traveling salesman, married Willie R. Law and has one daughter, Elizabeth Poe Bryan. The fifth child, Shepard Bryan, graduated at the University of North Carolina, is a prominent lawyer of Atlanta, Georgia, married Florence K. Jackson, and has three children: Marion Cobb, Florence Jackson and Mary Norcott Bryan. The sixth child, Kate, was educated at St. Mary's, Raleigh, North Carolina, and married Francis F. Duffy. Her children are, Henry Bryan and Frances Stringer Duffy. The seventh child, Margaret Shepard, was educated at St. Mary's, Raleigh. The eighth child, Isabelle Constance, was educated at St. John Baptist School, New York, and married Edwin H. Jordan. This Bryan family is descended from William Bryan, who married in England in 16S9 Alice Needham, daughter of an Irish Lord (the present earldom of Kilmorey is still held by the Irish Needhams). William Bryan with his wife Alice emigrated to Virginia shortly after their marriage, settling in Nansemond County, and some fifty years later, to be exact, in 1747, some of their descendants moved to North Carolina, settling in Craven County, and it is to this branch that Judge Bryan belongs. Coming to America with the prestige of high social position, with large land grants direct from the crown of England, the Bryan family assumed at the start a commanding position. William Bryan and his descendants were evidently men of force, for they were able to hold their own with the best brain of the New World in all affairs both of Church and State. A generation after the establishment of the family in North Carolina Colonel John Bryan, great-grandfather of Judge Henry K. Bryan, was a prominent figure in State affairs. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, which met at Halifax, and served as an officer in the Patriot Armies during the American Revolution. Judge Bryan's father has already been referred to. After his early and voluntary retirement from Congress he lived in Raleigh, where he was an esteemed member of the Bar until his death on May 10, 1870. Other interesting personalities were among Judge Bryan's ancestors. William Heritage, back in the time of Queen Anne, was educated at Harrow, England, became a very able lawyer, served as Queen's Counsel in North Carolina, and, in recognition of his services, a memorial tablet has recently been placed by one of the patriotic societies in honor of his memory. He was a great-great-grandfather of Judge Bryan on the paternal side. Another interesting character was Frederick Blount, a planter and lawyer of recognized ability, his family dating back to the earliest Colonial period, probably about 1660. Mr. Blount's father, grandfather and great-grandfather held public positions in the Colonial period. Frederick Blount was the great-grandfather of Judge Bryan on the maternal side. The name Blount is of Norman origin and dates back to William the Conqueror, the name at that time being LeBlount. The Blounts came to Virginia in 1661, a branch settling in eastern North Carolina, and from this North Carolina family was descended the Tennessee family, so conspicuous in the early history of Tennessee, and for whom a County in that State was named. Judge Bryan has been through life a man of unassuming habit, of even temper, profoundly versed in the law, and with a great fund of general information. His written work for the public has been confined to occasional short articles on questions of present interest. He has never courted popular favor, but throughout his long, laborious, and useful life he has been a good, quiet American citizen, striving to perform his duties faithfully, as these duties have developed in the day's work. And now, past the Biblical three score and ten, he enjoys the fullest esteem of the people with whom he has lived, and for whom he has worked for fifty-five years. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/craven/bios/bryan32gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 8.6 Kb