Family History: James Bryan descendants: Fayette County, PA Copyright © 1998 by Karen W. Stezowski. This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives. Karens@xnet.com Available in html with photos at http://www.xnet.com/~karens/bryan.html USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. _________________________________________________________________ Part One An Abridged History and Genealogy of the Ancestors and Descendants of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan Originally written by William Holmes Bryan in 1941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: The foundation of the information contained in this site is from "An Abridged History and Genealogy of the Ancestors and Descendants of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan" This manuscript has been reproduced exactly as it was written between 1910 and 1941. The style of writing may seem difficult to understand in places, but I decided to leave it in the interest of letting "Uncle Will's" personality live on. Any notes, additions, and updates I have added to the text will be appear in italics. The "-Ed." symbol refers to the author, William H. Bryan --Karen Wunderlich Stezowski ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAMES BRYAN, Sr. It is said that James Bryan was born in Virginia and his parents moved to Maryland and later to Pennsylvania and the Maryland line. It is well known that his son James, Jr., lived near Uniontown, Pa., and other sons and daughters lived about Cumberland, Md., some migrating later to other states. It is said, it may be rumor, that James Sr., was twice married before he moved to Maryland or Pennsylvania. In such case some of his children may have migrated with him unless they were grown up and married. Nothing is definitely known of children of the second marriage if there was such a marriage. But is known that he was the father by his wife of a large family, of whom in part were Nathaniel, Thomas, Sarah, Rachel, Samuel, James, and one other daughter. Others are unknown. (These children's names have been repeated here, order of their ages unknown.) Nathaniel Bryan (son). Date of birth and death unknown, but estimated his birth would be about 1790 or 1800 and his death would fall somewhere about 1860. Nathaniel married Miss Nancy Bell (Not known whether the name "Bell" is a Christian name or family name,-Ed.) It is known that they lived in Maryland, near Cumberland, and that they raised quite a large family, namely: Louise or Louise Jane, Maria, Edwin, Brooks, James, Harriet, Mary, Emily, Amanda, Maria and Louis. (Date of children and grandchildren are given under the names of the heads of families as they are reached in this history,-Ed.) Louise Jane Bryan(daughter) married one Thomas W. Piper, (Louise Jane's name may have been Mary Jane,-Ed.) It is known that she was the mother, by him of Assa W., Charles E., Jeannett, Mary C., Louise (not known to Ed.), and Julia M., (Jeannett, Mary and Julia are well known to me,-Ed.) Assa W. Piper and Charles E. Piper, sons of Louise Jane and Thomas W. Piper, lived in or near Washington, D.C., but no other facts are known about them. Jennette Piper (daughter of Louise Jane and Thomas W.) married one George Smith of Washington, D.C. Jeannett, called Nettie by the family, served as a clerk in one of the government's offices before her marriage, and perhaps she remained at her work for some time afterwards. In the year of her marriage, about 1915, her address was No. 504 Randolph St., Washington, D.C. Mary C. Piper (daughter of Louise Jane and Thomas W.) married Chauncy S. Davies. Their address in 1915 was N. 170 Highland Ave., Washington, Penna. In 1916 Mr. Davies accepted a position as manager for a gold mining company in Mexico, and intended to take his family to El Paso, Texas, in order that he might be near them, if he like the job. Nothing further is known of his activities. His family consisted of two children, but their names are not given. Julia M. Piper (daughter of Louise Jane and Thomas W.) was not married in 1916, the last date the author William H. Bryan saw her. Her address at that time was 1318 Vermont St., Washington, D.C. Maria Bryan (daughter of Nathaniel Bryan) married one Samuel Johnson (Another name Maria must be an error, so one of the names will be dropped.) There are no data about Maria's history other than what is here given. Edwin and Brooks Bryan (Sons of Nathaniel) are without data. James Bryan (Son of Nathaniel) is said to have lived in Maryland and to have been taken suddenly ill and died while visiting his sister in Cumberland, Md. Harriet Bryan (daughter of Nathaniel) is said to have remained single and to have lived in Rosebury, West Virginia. (S. Va may have been Virginia at that time, if before 1862.) Mary Bryan (may be Amanda in this order)(daughter of Nathaniel) is said to have married one Snyder and to have lived in Rosebury, West Virginia. No other facts given. (Emily Bryan is listed above but no information is given about her.) Amanda Bryan (may be Mary instead of Amanda)(daughter of Nathanial) is said to have married one Assa Wilson. To this union were born two children, namely, Jasper and Charles, of which the latter is said to have engaged in the practice of law in Cumberland, Md. There was a Mary Bryan Wilson who was called "Aunt Polly Wilson" (But she would be a great Aunt to my father James, Ed.) Dr. Thomas Bryan, (brother of Nathaniel), is said to have migrated to some western city to engage in the practice of medicine, probably accompanied by one of his brothers. Samuel Bryan (brother of Nathaniel), is said to have migrated to Kalamazoo, Michigan, probably with his Dr. brother. Sarah Bryan, (sister of Nathaniel), is said to have married one John Root and to have had one child by him, who was drowned in early life. No doubt there were other children born of this union. Rachel Bryan, (sister of Nathaniel), is said to have married one Joseph Rowe, and to have resided in or near Cumberland, Md. The writer had a letter from Rachel in May, 1910, from the Western Maryland Home and Hospital for the aged, near Cumberland, Md., where she was staying. I had written her for information concerning her grandparents and earlier relations that I might trace our ancestry to the William J. Bryan's ancestry. She answered that some of her children might know more than she did, but that she could not at that time get in touch with them. She was getting ready to go to a summer retreat for a short time. If I had known as much as I do now and had asked her for information concerning Nathaniel Bryan and his family she might have given me information I lack now. I have been to Cumberland several times in the past forty years but it never occurred to me that my early relatives resided there. Rachel was a widow when I wrote her, and probably in her eighties. I am without date as to when she died, or as to when she referred as her children. Cumberland would be a good section to do a little research in. One other daughter of James Bryan, Sr., and sister of Nathaniel, is said to have married one John Price. Her Christian name is not known, as also other information concerning her husband. They probably raised a family. Note--I omitted two of the names of Nathaniel's children, and they should be written in just above Nathaniel's brother Dr. Thomas Bryan. They are Maria and Louisa. But Maria is a name reported, hence dropped for lack of information. Louisa is said to have married but her husband's name is not known. Also Emily is said to have married one named Crag, moved West and died there. No other information is available. This paragraph adds nothing to the history. James Bryan, Jr. is the other sibling in this family. Next is an extended history of him and his descendants. Part II James Bryan, Jr. and wife Mary Goodge Bryan James Bryan, Jr., son of James Bryan, Sr., and brother of Nathaniel has been placed last so as to simplify the recording. His order of birth is not known. He is supposed to be younger than Nathaniel, that's all. He was born Jan. 1, 1795, and died Nov. 11, 1868, and buried in the Bryan Church Cemetery, near the Bryan farm, about two miles from Dawsen, Pa. These dates are taken from his tombstone at the Cemetery. James' birth place is unknown, but it is supposed to have been on a farm near Uniontown, Pa., but might have been in Maryland. James, Jr., met and married one Mary Goodge whose family lived near the Bryan family near Uniontown, Fayette Co., Pa., the marriage having been solemnized on or about the first of August, 1822. Mary Goodge is known to have had a sister Catherine who married one William Cottom near Uniontown, and to have had a brother John who married one Nancy (family name unknown), also of the Uniontown vicinity. From these unions have spread Bryans, Cottoms, and Goodges throughout many states of the Union, many of whom have distinguished themselves as educators, ministers of the Gospel, (I visited The Bryan Family Church in Dawson, Pa in 1994. It is a Methodist Church.), physicians, lawyers, and in other trades and professions. Read the research on the Cottom Family and the Goodge Family. Mary Goodge was born May 16, 1803, near Uniontown, Pa., and died February 18, 1889, and is buried beside her husband in the Bryan Cemetery, which formerly was part of the last Bryan farm and homestead. I have heard recently that Mary had another sister who has not been mentioned before. I am unable now to verify the statement. This sister is supposed to have been given the old Family Bible before Mary Bryan died and this Bible is supposed to have been written the usual record of the family, probably some record of her husband's father and family, James Bryan, Sr. After their marriage in 1822, James and Mary moved on to a farm of some 160 acres, it is stated, near Uniontown, Pa. Some have given the locality as Upper Middleton, Plumsock, or Dunbar. Here James and Mary lived and raised a large family of children. James and Mary were members of the Methodist Church and strict adherents to the faith and they brought their children up to their way of worship thru kindness and example. After about forty years on this farm, James disposed of it and bought a smaller farm of about 80 acres in Lower Tyrone Township, Fayette County, Pa., about two miles from Dawson where he either built a house or built an addition to it and made such other improvements as were necessary to the comforts of home. have no church history to guide me in saying that James and wife were instrumental in building a new Methodist Church in their neighborhood and that a few acres of the farm were deeded to the Church for ground and a cemetery. James and wife must have been the leading workers in this project, for the Church was dedicated "The Bryan Church" and it is still known as such. Current Address is Bryan U.M. Church, R.D. #1 Box 2304, Dawson, PA 15428, It is the writer's pleasure to state that he has preserved the photographs of the church and graveyard stones of James and Mary, several of their children buried there, and other relatives, and of the last homestead of the Bryans. It is stated by a grandchild that the mother of the late Vice President Henricks and Grandmother Mary Goodge Bryan were cousins. And by another relative it is stated that Mary Goodge Bryan was a niece of Martha Washington, wife of our first President. Which side of Martha Washington's family is not stated. The encyclopedia of the history of the families mentioned were available to almost every one to consult. To the union of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan were born the following children in their order of birth: Jane, Maria, Nancy, Elizabeth, John G, Daniel S., James Hamilton, Samuel W., Mary, R. Alsinas, and William. Part III Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan Jane and Maria Bryan and their Decendants Jane Bryan , born May 18, 1823: died Nov. 18, 1904, age 81; buried in the cemetery at Scottdale, Pa. When Jane was forty-one years old she met and married Joseph W. Herbert , a well-to-do farmer near Scottdale, Pa., the marriage taking place November 9, 1864. Joseph was a widower with a large growing family, although he was but forty years old. He was born July 22, 1823, making his age at marriage a little less than his wife's. He died September 22, 1892, age 69. He is buried in the cemetery at Scottdale, Pa. To this union was born only one child, named Mary Bryan Herbert, November 10,1866. When Mary was twenty-four, she met and married one Charles W. Stauffer , son of Henry and Katherine Stauffer of Scottdale, Pa., February 12, 1890. Charles Stauffer was for years engaged in the retail and wholesale meat marketing business in Scottdale, and after he retired from the business, continued to engage in buying and selling cattle and other livestock. Both Mary and Charles are actively engaged in the Methodist Church work of their community and only recently have they withdrawn from the most pressing duties social activities call for. Their present address is 401 Market Street, Scottdale, Pa., their residence for years. [Remember the latest this paragraph was written was 1941.] To the union of Charles W. and Mary Bryan Stauffer there were born six children, namely, Roberta, Joseph Edward, Charlette, Herbert (died in infancy), Richard W., and Charles W., Jr. Roberta Stauffer met and married one Frank Bogart , an druggist of Chattanooga, Tenn., his present work being associated with the Chattanooga Hospital. They have one son Robert, now nearing his majority. Joseph Edward Stauffer has not married to date-1940. He is engaged in the wholesale and retail sheet-music business and such other lines as are associated with it in Chicago, Ill. Charlotte W. Stauffer (could be spelled Charlette), married one Stewart Stillwell of Uniontown, Pa. And to this union were born three children, Mary, Philip, and Glenn or Glend. Richard H. Stauffer met and married one Clara Rhea . There were no children reported, no address given. Dr. Charles W. Stauffer, Jr., was not reported married at the close of the year 1940. He is practicing his profession in or near Chicago, Ill. Corrections or additions to data of family may be made on an inserted supplemental sheet, and new data reported each year to the secretary of the Bryan Family Reunion organization, thus permitting each member to bring his copy of the history up to date. Maria Bryan never married. She was born about the year 1824 (date assumed) and died about 1910, and was buried in the cemetery at Alverton, Pa., some eight miles from her last farm home near Dawson, Pa. When the Civil War broke out, three of the boys of the family, living then on a farm near Uniontown, Pa., entered the war; another, Daniel, had married and that left only one small brother for the farm. She (Maria Bryan), being the second oldest child, naturally her mother depended on her for much of the farm work as women do. She was what one would call a family-girl, one that puts the needs of the family first. Other girls of the family married and left home, but Maria and her younger sister Mary remained inseparable during the years that followed. When their father died, they became more closely attached to their mother and remained single until her death, and then they were in their advancing years. Part IV Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan Nancy Bryan and Her Decendants Nancy Bryan was born about 1826 (assumed), and died about 1890. She is supposed to have been buried in the cemetery at Dawson, Pa., the village where she lived during the greater part of her life, and two daughters still live in the family home. If her grave is marked with a stone, the inscription on it would likely give facts that are missing here. Nancy Bryan met and married one John R. Smith of Dawson, Pa. No information is present to account for his date of marriage or his occupation or his date of death or his place of burial. But as far as the writer may assume from memory, John R. was employed by a local railroad company in or near its shops not far from Dawson, Pa. His sons, all of them or at least several, followed the railroad business with their father. He is supposed to have died about the year 1880, for the writer met him along in the seventies. This must be the 1870's, I presume he is buried in the Dawson Cemetery. To this union were born nine children, namely: Emma, James, Elizabeth, Homer, Margaret, Anna, Elmer, Walter, and Edna. They are taken up separately in their order. Emma Smith, daughter of Nancy, married one Albert Wetherell, a retail shoe merchant of Connellsville, Pa. Emma was gifted in music, both voice and instrumental, and she followed car eer for many years, teaching the young the piano and singing. No information has been received as to her or her husband's death and place of burial, but it (place) is supposed to have been Connellsville Pa. The gravestones at Connellsville or at Dawson would give the data. Their union was blessed with two boys, Paul and Ray. Paul Wetherell married one Alice Courtney of Connellsville, Pa. Their street residence is not given. It is said that they had one daughter name Jane. There doubtless were other children. Ray Wetherell married one Miss Sheets and had one girl child who died young. The last time I say Ray in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he is employed by the Pullman Car Company, he told me that he had recently lost his baby girl and that it was an experience hard to bear. His present business address is the Colonial Trust Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. James Smith son of Nancy, married Anna Park er of Dawson Pa. James followed the railroad business for the greater part of his life. In later years being an engineer on the B & O. The B & O main lines run thru Dawson. James died some time about the year 1928 or Thrombosis. He left a wife and two children surviving, daughter Nettie and son Howard. Howard married Miss Jean Galleger and probably had issue by her. Nettie never married, and she and her mother live together in their home at Dawson. Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Nancy, never married. In 1939 she was living with her younger sister in the family home at Dawson. At that time her health was not good. No word has been received from the other sister as to whether Margaret has recovered her health. Anna Smith, daughter of Nancy, married one Colonel (Christian name) E. Broyer. For years Anna owned and operated a millinery store in Dawson and Colonel worked as a tower-man or dispatcher for the B. & O. R.R., and they lived well and happily in a small-town-way. Their family consisted of two boys, Guy and Roy. There is no information that Guy married, but he may have taken unto himself a wife. But it is said that Roy married Anna James and was the father by her of one child who died young. There may have been further issue. It is presumed that Anna and Colonel are buried in the Dawson cemetery. The Colonel may have been buried elsewhere. Walter Smith, son of Nancy, married Miss Elizabeth Newcomer, daughter of a well known family of Dawson, Pa., section. There is a marriage recorded in Fayette County, PA on 5 Oct 1903, between Elizabeth E. Newcomer and Walter S. Smith, book 33. [Researched 3/3/98]. Walter also followed railroading, being car inspector and machinist at the local shops near Dawson. He has retired on age and is living on a small farm-like place near Dawson. Children of this union are Glen and Elizabeth, still in their teens or early twenties. They may be unmarried, but a picture says "Katherine Smith, boy and girl, Ruth", which I can't place. Elmer Smith, son of Nancy and probably elder than Walter married Miss Margaret Hopkins. Not much is known of Elmer's vocations, but it is said that he is taking life easy in his old days and is still in business in Wilkinsburg, Pa., street address being 415 Pitt Street. There is one son Myron,Jr. reported. How old Myron is or what he is doing or where he resides are not given. There may be other issue not reported. But another memorandum given Myron as having married one Helen Kincade, and to have been the father by her of a son Myron, Jr. Edna Smith, daughter of Nancy, has never married. She lives with her sister Margaret in the family home at Dawson, Pa. Edna chose the work in salesmanship as her career, and was engaged in the retail shoe trade for many years, in Connellsville, Pa., and in Dawson. She has also engaged in the millinery with her sister Anna. She has never considered her aged as a milestone for retirement. She must be in her early seventies, but one would take her to be just one of the girls in the store. Part V Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan Elizabeth Bryan and Her Decendants Elizabeth Bryan, daughter of James and Mary, was born August 11, 1831, on the farm near Uniontown, Pa., and died in May 23, 1918, at age 87. She is buried beside her husband in the cemetery at Rowville, Erie Co., Pa., not far from North East, Pa. The original document is very difficult to read here, these place names might be spelled wrong. Elizabeth Bryan, met and married Alexander J. Henderson of Venange Township, Erie County, Pa., April 10, 1855. He was born on August 15, 1830 and died August 1, 1883 (?), and is buried beside his wife in the Lowville(?), Erie Co., Cemetery. Alexander was the son of Samuel and Jennie (nee Donaldson) Henderson, she being the second wife of Samuel Henderson, who with his brother Stuart came from Dublin, Ireland, about the year 1806. After a short stay in Fayette County, Pa., not far from Uniontown, Pa. (Uniontown is the County Seat of Fayette Co.), the two brothers migrated to the (?) Township, Erie County, Pa., near North East, Pa., and bought a tract of land of 484 1/2 acres for a small sum of money. Perhaps Samuel alone bought the land or came into full possession of it later. It is believed that some of Samuel's relatives and friends remained in Fayette County after he migrated to Erie County, for it is known that he returned there to see friends and relatives and to transact some business on several occasions. In making these visits he is supposed to have taken with his son Alexander we in the natural course of social events met and married Miss Elizabeth Bryan, whose home was then in Fayette County, near Uniontown, Pa. Alexander was a master farmer of his day. He had to do practically all the improvements on his land which were necessary for a well improved farm-home. He built his house, his barn, various other buildings, cleared his land, dug a well, and so on. Later in life when his children grew up to their maturity he divided his large farm into smaller farms and gave to each of his sons, perhaps also to his daughters, a farm as their start in life. Some of the buildings of Alexander's original farm are still standing, silent reminders of his thrift and perseverance. Besides the worldly cares that fell to him and his wife Elizabeth, prayer and faith in God and Church (Methodist) duties were never neglected. To the union of Alexander J. and Elizabeth (nee Bryan) Henderson were born the following children: James A. Martin E. Isabel, Alma Ettie, Mary R., Minnie Maria, Sadie J. Rillie Birdena, Grace Allen, Ada Bertha, and Harley Herbert. James A. Henderson, son of Elizabeth, was born March 1, 1856, and died June 23, 1934, in his eightieth year. James met and married Miss Ella Hairsine, August 13, 1884. To this union were born one son named Arthur, who had the parental love to a high degree. James and wife were each brought up in the love and faith of God and with a strict devotion to the Church of their choice, son Arthur following their example. James built a small Wesley Chapel on the rear of his lot at his residence in the suburbs of Erie, Pa., and furnished it with appropriate fittings and dedicated it to private worship and religious exercises. Then came to them the greatest shock of their lives, one that only parents can experience. Their son took ill and died October 18, 1909, age twenty-one years. James was a farmer for many years, but later in life he learned the photograph art and followed it, doing private and commercial work. When he died the family and community lost one of its faithful citizens. His wife still resides at their home in the suburbs of Erie, Pa. Martin E. Henderson, son of Elizabeth, was born February 20, 1856, and died April 1, 1857, age one year. Isabel Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born June 2, 1860, and died April 12, 1901. Isabel never married. Alma Ettie Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born March 25, 1862, and died April 17, 1936. Alma met and married one Henry Evans, a farmer on Venange Township, Erie Co., Pa. The issue of this union were five boys and two girls,--Fred, Florence C., Elmer, John, Frank, Blanch, and Willie. Fred Evans, son of Alma and Henry, was born May 22, 1888. He met and married one Miss Emma Workley, August 9, 1918. There were no children reported in 1938. No address reported. Florence C. Evans, daughter of Alma and Henry, died at the age of twelve. Elmer C. Evans, son of Alma and Henry, was born October 7, 1890. He met and married one Miss Ruth McCloud of Erie, Pa., April 16, 1918. There were two boys and one girl, issue of this union, namely: William born Dec. 1, 1919; Robert Clifton, born October 7, 1921; Winifred C., born December 31, 1924. There may have been further issue. John Evans, son of Alma and Henry, was born May 7, 1893. He met and married one Miss Grace Elma Snider, Aug. 30, 1913. To this union three children were born, namely; Elenor, born July 15, 1914; William Clarks, born Feb. 1, 1919, and Geraldine, born July 24, 1924. Data up to 1938. Frank Evans, son of Alma and Henry, was born February 7, 1902. He met and married one Katheryn Keehler of Erie, Pa., July 3, 1929. There were two boys of this union, namely: Frank K., Jr., born June 24, 1930, and Eugene Henry, born September 18, 1932. Blanch Evans, daughter of Alma and Henry, was born May 13, 1895 (Blanch should come before Frank in age). She met and married one Paul Markham of Greenfield, Erie Co., Pa., September 9, 1919. There were three children of this union, namely; Sheldon, born August 24, 1920; Zela May, born May 11, 1924; and Glene, born June 11, 1927. Willie Evans, son of Alma and Henry, was born March 20, 1897. (Frank Evans should come after Willie) Willie met and married Miss Ellen Hawthorn of Erie, Pa., December 29, 1920. He is reported to have been active service in France, with the A.E.F., serving at base hospital 57, in April, 1919. He was the father by his wife Ellen of seven children, namely; Edward, born September 21, 1921; Thelma, born December 6, 1923;Gerald, born September 15, 1925 (full name Gerald Henry, El.); Arthur Gordon, born November 11, 1926; Earl W., born October 8, 1928; Ellen Beatrice, born December 17, 1930; and Mildred Ann, born May 6, 1932. Issue reported up to 1938. Mary Elizabeth Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth was born March 11, 1864, and died September 16, 1913. She met and married one Joseph A. Decastre of North East, Pa. Joseph died November 27, 1937, age 80 years, leaving no issue of this union as reported. Minnie Marie Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born June 26, 1866. Minnie never married. She has made a mark close to 100 per cent in reporting to me her family history, far ahead of other members of the Bryan family. Her report can be compared with others herein and judged accordingly. Minnie resides in the Elizabeth Henderson home at 78 Vine Street, North East, Pa. Sadie J. Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born April 24, 1868. She met and married one Elmer Burch of North East, Pa., September 29, 1888. Mr. Burch died February 9, 1933. To this union were born three boys, namely; Ray Carlton, Clayton Elmer, and Charles Lester. Ray Carlton Burch, son of Sadie and Elmer, was born January 8, 1890, and married a Miss Ethel Dahlin of Sioux City, Iowa, July 7, 1920. To this union there were no issue, but there was an adopted daughter, Beverly Ann. Clayton Elmer Burch, son of Sadie and Elmer, was born May 20, 1891, and married a Miss Pearl Lyons of Delhil, Pa., December 31, 1914. Clayton was the father by his wife Pearl of a daughter Katheryn, born August 11, 1918, and a son Henry Elmer, born April 17, 1927. Elmer, the father, died May 23, 1927, leaving his wife and two children to survive him. His widow now resides at No. 73 Wine Street, North East, Pa. (Note: Son Henry's name may be Harvey) Charles Lester Burch, son of Sadie and Elmer, was born August 16, 1894, and died February 2, 1912. Rillie Birdena Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born May 9, 1870. She met and married one Samuel J. Ackerman of North East, Pa., November 24, 1910. Samuel died on March 5, 1937, age 75 years. His widow lives at 127 East Main Street, North East, Pa., where she supervises her fine home and the small village farm with its grape-vineyard and fruits. There were no children of this marriage. Grace Ellen Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born January 11, 1872. She met and married one Francis K. Lyon of North East, Pa., April 19, 1915. Francis was a Union Veteran of the Civil War of '61. He was a very active man for his age. He died May 12, 1936, age 94 years. His widow now resides in her home at No. 42 East Street, North East, Pa. Ada Bertha Henderson, daughter of Elizabeth, was born August 24, 1874. Ada never married, but chose as her career the profession of teacher. It is said that her services as a public school teacher in her district were in demand by school officials who knew her value as a teacher, and she never was out of a position during her many years of teaching, unless she chose to take a rest. She retired from her profession a few years ago, and now resides with her sister Minnie at the family home at No. 78 Vine Street, North East, Pa. Harley Herbert Henderson, son of Elizabeth, was born October 28, 1876, and died June 23, 1934. Harley was a practical farmer like his father, and a good provider. He assumed the greater share of the farm work on his farm not far from North East, Pa. He met and married Miss Nora Wood of Phillipsville, Pa. on August 31, 1905, and four children were born of this union, namely: Marie Elizabeth, Florence Ellen, James Earl, and Harold Wood. Marie Elizabeth Henderson, daughter of Harley, was born June 11, 1906. She met and married one Walter W. Eads of North East, Pa., December 28, 1926. To them were born Marian, June 19, 1929, and Martha, December 10, 1931, and Jason, August 1, 1936. Florence Ellen Henderson, daughter of Harley, was born October 30, 1907: James Earl Henderson, son of Harley, was born July 29, 1909; and Harold Wood Henderson, son of Harley was born July 15, 1918. There are no data concerning these last three named children of Harley's, but it is presumed there should be marriages, children born and other data. It is stated, however, that their mother Nora has had a nervous stroke (1938 report) that left her unable to walk well, and that her son Harold had given up his business school studies to assist his mother on the farm, where his brother was, and that her daughter Florence still continued to teach in the public schools (Reference to "no Data" above should be omitted in the next copy.) Part VI Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan John G. Bryan and His Decendants John G. Bryan, son of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, was born December 10, 1833 and died May 30, 1891 age 57 and is buried in the Bryan cemetery near Dawson, Pa. John was born and raided on to James Bryan farm near Upper Middleton, Pa., so stated in date, but the writer is not familiar with the name. Upper Middleton ought to be not far from Uniontown, Pa. It has also been stated that the Bryan farm was located near Dunbar, Pa., also near Blumseck, a local nickname for a district. It is presumed that the farm lay near all of these places. It is reported that James Bryan, John's father moved to a farm of 160 acres in that locality in the year 1822, or thereabouts, when he was 27 years old, taking his young wife Mary with him. On this farm all of his children are supposed to have been born and raised to maturity. John was in Maryland, visiting or working, when the Civil War started, and he enlisted in Company I, Eighth Regiment Volunteer Cavalry of Maryland, in which he served his full term, and returned to the home farm after his discharge. John was about 30 years old when he met and married a Miss Nancy Henry, daughter of Adam and Elsie Henry, farmers near Dawson, Pa. This place was perhaps 20 or more miles from Uniontown and the farm. But Daniel, his brother, is supposed to have been living in the Dawson section as early as 1861 or 1862, at which time he had married a young woman from that locality. No doubt John had visited his brother Daniel at times and in that way he got acquainted with his future wife. Nancy Henry, John's wife was born about the year 1845, and died April 18, 1879, and she is buried beside her husband in the Bryan Church cemetery, near Dawson, Pa., where no doubt other members of the Henry Family rest. To the union of John and Nancy there were born three sons and one daughter, namely: Samuel W., Joseph, Elizabeth, and Frank. Rev. Samuel W. Bryan, son of John, was born about the year 1866, near Dawson, Fayette Co., Pa. Samuel's mother died when he was quite young, just entering his teens, and he for a time made his home with his grandmother Bryan on the farm. The writer recollects with pleasure the time he spent, part of a summer and fall or winter, with Samuel on the farm. Grandmother and her two daughters, who were with her after grandfather died, made us feel very happy together. We were given good books and magazines to read of an evening, family worship never being neglected. Samuel came under the influence of his pious grandmother, and as he grew older and could begin to see life opening before him he felt the urge of following the course of righteousness and he decided that course would be best served in the ministry. Samuel realized that to be a minister of the Gospel, he would have to spend many years in preparation. He had at that time only the education he got in the country school, and very meager at that. But Samuel had made up his mind to be a minister of the Gospel, and thru his own efforts and those of friends and his grandmother, he made his plans. The Methodist Church provides for a course of training at home for those who are not able to take the course in an accredited institution, and thru the local minister and by the help of friends and relatives, Samuel enrolled in the home course. After years of study, seven years I believe, he qualified and was ordained a minister of the M.E. Church. Samuel was allowed all the preliminary Gospel work he could do, by his local minister, and often officiated as a supply while he was pursuing his studies. He acquired a pleasing delivery, and short sermons, without too many of the trimmings, appeared to Samuel to be the most effective way of inculcating the doctrine of Christ. No important work was neglected. If there was a fire to be built, he built it; a room to be swept, he or his wife or his children did it: if a man or woman wanted either temporal or spiritual help, they always found a friend in Samuel and his family. Samuel had the pleasure of being assigned to the district in which the Bryan Church is an appointment and the Wesley Chapel, also an appointment, where the writer's mother and her father and mother and brothers and sisters were communicants. He held six or more very important pastorates during his active work in the Church. He has been retired on account of age, but in recent years has acted as a supply and on his own special occasions. His present address is Vanderbilt, Fayette Co., Pa. I hear that his health is not so good, he being subject to lumbago. Some time in the early nineties (time assumed), Samuel met and married Miss Harriet Moorhead, daughter of Mr. A and Catherine Moorehead of Layton, Pa. Catherine was a Miss Hough before her marriage. To this union of Samuel and Harriet there were seven children born, namely: Charles Henry, Stella W., Grace C., George Foster, Roberta Ruth, John Wesley, and William Jennings. Charles Henry Bryan, son of Samuel W., married a Miss Grace Scaner of Madison, Pa. (Likely one of Rev. Samuel's appointments). To them were born Helen Louise, Elenor May, Mildred Lucille or Lucile, Sidney Milton, Wilda Audra, and twins who died in infancy, the family address is Latrobe, Pa., R.F.D. Stella W. Bryan, daughter of Rev. Samuel, met and married one Curte Collins of Vanderbilt, Pa., July 3, 1936. To this union a daughter Winena Ruth was born in 1938. This marriage was the second one for Mr. Collins, his first wife having died some years before 1936. The writer and Mr. Collins were members of a male quartet in the village in 1896 Mr. Collins still is interested in singing and is frequently called upon to direct choral work for social and religious occasions. He is a leading business man of his village. Grace C. Bryan, daughter of Rev. Samuel, met and married one Robert Polleck, son of Fred and Mrs. Polleck of Clairton, Pa. (Clairton is likely another of Rev. Samuel's appointments, as well as is Vanderbilt, Pa.) To this union a son named Robert Bryan Polleck was born. There may have been further issue. George Foster Bryan, son of Rev. Samuel, married Miss Grace Collins, daughter of Curte Collins of Vanderbilt, Pa. Mr. Collins' daughter of his first marriage. To this union was born a son named Foster Curtis Bryan. There may have been further issue. Roberta Ruth Bryan, daughter of Rev. Samuel, married William Neil Murphy, son of George and Mrs. Murphy of Perryopolis, Pa., (An appointment of Rev. Samuel). Mr. and Mrs. Murphy own and operate an gas service station and garage on a busy thoroughfare about three miles from Fayette City, Pa., where they also have their residence and a small park in which the Bryan reunion is held each year in the month of August, or sometimes in July. All members of the Bryan Family, near or distant relationship, are invited to write Mrs. Murphy for information, enclosing stamp for a reply. Her address is Perropolis, Pa., RFD. To the union of Ruth Bryan and William Murphy was a son named George Samuel Murphy. There may have been further issue. John Wesley Bryan, son of Rev. Samuel, married Miss Kay Henseaker of Masontown, Pa. To them was born a daughter named Myrna Lee Bryan, there may have been other issue. Their address is Vanderbilt, Pa. William Jennings Bryan, son of Rev. Samuel, was not married in 1933, but some information would indicate that since then he had married a Miss Margaret Willy of Layton, Pa. No other information available. If errors have been inserted in this report, they can be corrected by the family on a separate sheet and attach it to this document. Rev. Samuel Bryan and his wife planned to have all their children secure a good education and to cultivate thrift in after life on leaving home. The girls of the family are all supposed to be graduates of the state normal college at California, Pa. I believe all the girls taught school for several years, prior to their marriage. As to the boys I could not say that they took a normal course, but it is evident that each of them had a high school education or better. Joseph Bryan, son of John W., is not married. He lives with his brother Frank, who is also not married, on a 70 acre farm about four miles from Scottdale, Pa., address is Ruffsdale, Pa., RFD. About 30 years ago (time assumed) Joseph and Frank decided to settle down together on a farm of their own. They had no money to make a down payment, but the seller knew of their honest reputation and let them have possession without it. Within five years or thereabouts the two brothers had made enough from the sale of berries and garden truck to pay for the farm in full. The virgin woodland if sold could more than pay for another farm like it. Each year the brothers market their crops in the nearby villages, and when winter comes they employ their leisure hours reading and a few necessary farm jobs. Both brothers are in their late sixties, Frank being younger by two or three years. [Data as of 1938] Elizabeth Bryan, daughter of John W., met and married one Edward Kenny, presumably of Scottdale, Pa., who died not long after his marriage. There was no issue. Elizabeth, known as Lizzie to her friends, married a second time, to one M. Assa Strickler of, perhaps, Scottdale address. The writer's mother was a Strickler before her marriage. Assa may be of a distant family among the cousins of my grandparents. I have no dates of birth of any of John's family and cannot say whether Lizzie is older than Joseph or not. She is older than Frank at least. There is a notation that would indicate that there was issue of the second marriage, the birth of a daughter named Emma J. Strickler. Lizzie's address is not given, but she could be reached by addressing Vanderbilt, Pa., care of Rev. S. W. Bryan or care of Curte Collins. Part VII Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan Daniel Bryan and His Descendants Daniel Bryan, son of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, was born November 2, 1835, near Uniontown, Pa., and died September 17, 1915, and is buried in the cemetery at Oberlin, Kansas, where his second wife also is buried. Daniel met and married a Miss Miriam Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs Stewart, farmers, near Dawson, Pa., on or about the year 1861. Miriam was born in the year 1839, and died August 11, 1867, in her twentieth year, and is buried in the cemetery at Bryan Church, about two miles from Dawson, Pa., where many of the Bryans and their connections are buried. A suitable gravestone marks her grave. The cemetery was once a part of the James Bryan farm, including ground about the church, which was a frame building of medium dimensions. The virgin woods about it were landscaped for church gatherings. I understand that the original church was moved to Dawson and rebuilt there and a new structure built in its place on the Bryan Church plot. If this is not correct, I should be notified. When I visited the spot several years ago, I took camera pictures of the church and ground, and graves of the Bryans. Daniel was a farmer in his younger days, and as I understand continued farming during the greater part of his later years. He was known always as a devout Christian man and never was afraid to confess his convictions before his fellow man. He loved all mankind and was ever ready to administer to the welfare of others. He would go out of his way or quit his work to pray for a friend or an enemy in need of spiritual assistance, or to help someone in need of a friend. With this background of faith in God, his children received their inspiration to follow in his footsteps. The issue of this union were three sons, namely: James Elmer, (1863); William Stewart, (1864 or 1865); and Martin Francis, (1866). After Miriam's death, the year following the birth of her son Martin Francis, Daniel had to be both father and mother to his three little boys. No doubt he received some help from relatives and friends, but his was the responsibility to care for them and to give them a start in life to meet the difficulties they must face when they grew to manhood. At that time he was a young man of thirty-two, and it appears that he looked toward the West, and Daniel seems to have been influenced by rumors of great opportunities in other fields, for he left the East and migrated westward into Ohio or Indiana and into Illinois. His first stepping place is not definitely known, but data shows that for a while he lived at or near Toulon, Illinois. Here at Toulon Daniel met and married his second wife, a Miss Harriet Rhodes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hough Rhodes of Toulon, Illinois. Harriet Rhodes, wife of Daniel, was born February 19, 1837, and died October 18, 1901, and is buried in the cemetery beside her husband at Oberlin, Kansas. After his second marriage Daniel for some reason moved to Iowa, near Panora, and engaged in farming. It is presumed that he rented a farm for the season as was the custom of that day, and that he probably lived in several different sections of Panora district for several years. Daniel met another Daniel Bryan at one of his addresses, and to avoid miss direction of his mail, he adopted the middle initial "S" to his name, this letter being the first letter in the name of the person after whom he was named. The person (namesake) must have been Daniel S---y. To this second marriage of Daniel with Harriet Rhodes, he became the father by her of a son Hugh and a daughter, Mary. The place of birth is not given, nor the occupation of the father, but it is likely he was engaged in farming. Just where Daniel lived after he left Panora, Iowa, is not stated, but it is known that he moved to a farm, probably purchased, near Oberlin, Kansas, where he lived until his death. We shall now return to the time of Daniel's first marriage and speak of his children in their order of age as data at hand will permit. They follow: Rev. James Elmer Bryan, son of Daniel, was born in May 1863, near Dawson, Pa. James spent his early years with his brothers on the farm and attended the local one-room school a few months of the year. When Daniel moved West to Toulen, Ill, James and his brother Martin accompanied him, the other son, William Stewart, being left with his grandparents, James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, as data seem to point. We doubt the father left his son with the idea of having him join his brothers at some later date. It is not clearly known just when James decided to follow the urge to become a minister of the Gospel. He may have received the inspiration thru his father or thru the influence of some friend. His father Daniel was given to the idea of a good education for his children, but could not always lend the idea support. But without read funds for such a venture, it took a strong willpower to begin the long course of study and training necessary for a minister. James seemed to have that will and determination. What difficulties he had to overcome as he went along can only be imagined. He must have had very little assistance from his father, as money matters go, for money was scarce in those days on the farm, and must have earned his own way, step by step, thru hi school courses to receive his bachelor degree, and later his master degree from Denver University, Denver, Colorado. How he came to choose Denver, so far away from his father's home, is not known. Later, James completed his course for the ministry at Garrett, located at Evanston, Ill. He delivered his first sermon in about the year 1886, when he was twenty-three years old. He served in the Des Moines Conference from 1890-1902: in the Colorado Conference from 1903-1914; and in the Kansas Conference from 1915-1918; and probably others. He was pastor at Cottonwood Falls, Kansas in 1915-1918. He remained in the ministry continuously for forty-four years, until his retirement in 1930. He now resides with his wife at 3884 South Lincoln Street, Unglued, Colorado. At last report, he still serves occasionally as a supply to regular pastors in his district. Sometime during his early ministry, James met and married Miss Hattie Lincoln Wright, daughter of Rev. George and Mrs. Wright (place not given), December 26, 1888. To this union were born the following children: Roy Elmer, Helen Marie, Paul (deceased), and Lynn Eugene. Roy Elmer Bryan, son of Rev. James E. Bryan. was born about the year 1890 (exact date not given). He met and married Miss Bertha Johnson (parents, place, date, occupation, not given). It is known that Bertha's mother lives with her, data two years old.[in 1938] To this union was born one daughter named Jeane E. Bryan. There may have been further issue. Their present address is 2116 Meek Street, Des Moines, Iowa. Helen Marie Bryan, daughter of Rev. James E. Bryan, was born about the year (not given, assume 1892), place unknown, (Best to ignore the rest of this sentence.), parents not given, but she was likely a Miss Gooding. She met and married one W. D. Gooding, probably of Denver, Col. It is noted that Mr. Gooding has a brother and a mother living in Denver. No issue reported. Their address is No 510 Garfield (St. or Ave.?), Denver, Colorado. Lynn Eugene Bryan, son of Rev. James Bryan, was born (date and place not given--assume year 1894). He met and married Miss Wilma Hutchinson (date, place not given, but likely Pomona, Kans., as I get it, for her mother is said to be living there, Ed.) No issue reported. Their present address is Columbine, Colorado, CARE Three Forks Ranch. Note--I would suggest that all these omissions be supplied so as to make the document historical. Dates, and where children born, dates of marriage, parents full names and a residence and occupation, occupation of husband or wife, etc. Any other information of a historical character.--Ed. Such corrections can be written on separate sheet and sent to Wm. H. Bryan, 749 Chenange St., Binghamton, N. Y., and the information will be inserted in the next copy got out. William Stewart Bryan, son of Daniel, was born on a farm near Dawson, Pa., about the year 1864-1865. His mother, Miriam, died in 1867, leaving three small boys to survive her, of whom Stewart was the second in age, less than three years old. For a part of the time Stewart was cared for be relatives, but the father saw to their comfort and only accepted assistance when he thought the best interests of his children were assured. Stewart may have been placed with his grandmother Bryan in 1868, for she was left a widow in 1867, by grandfather's death in 1867. Anyhow, it appears that Stewart was raised by his grandmother Bryan, down on the farm near Dawson, Pa. Young Stewart (his first name William was not used) got his primary education in the one-room school of his neighborhood, and his religious training from his grandmother and from the local church's Sunday School lesson. It is said that he was an apt pupil, and a willing boy to help do the chores about the farm. He had a disposition to read, and his grandmother and her daughters at home gave him what help they could. There was always some good book or periodical about the house, and more could be secured. Stewart's urge for knowledge helped to shape his future life. When he was about seventeen years old he was sent to the normal school at California, Pa., now a state teachers college, where he studied for two years to be a teacher. He was the honor graduate of his class, his average grade being 99.6 per cent it is said. Soon after his graduation he became a member of the normal school faculty as a teacher of mathematics, and he held that position for a number of years. One of Stewart's students at the normal was a Miss Bell H. Hartranft, who finished the normal course with honors a year or two later. Either before Stewart resigned his professorship at the normal or soon after, Miss Hartranft became the wife of William Stewart Bryan (Date and place of marriage and parents of bride not given-Ed.) A year or two after his marriage, Stewart was appointed supervising principal of the Brownsville, Pa., schools, his duties being about the same as a superintend of schools would have been. I believe that he held the Brownville position for about ten years. In 1896 Stewart resigned his position at Brownsville to accept the superintendency of schools at Carnegie, Pa., not far from Pittsburgh, Pa. After several years at Carnegie, Pa., he resigned from his position and accepted a position as first assistant county superintendent of schools, at Allegheny County, with offices in Pittsburgh. County superintendent of schools, Dr. Hamilton, had said that he appointed his assistants because they were men or women who could do things. So Stewart must have impressed Dr. Hamilton that he could "do things." The evening of October 15th (it might have been the 14th), 1917, Stewart was scheduled to give a lecture or talk before a gathering of persons at a nearby hall or school house. He and his wife were in their automobile on route to keep the appointment. As Stewart turned his car into a branch road, leading up to the hall or schoolhouse, his car came head-on into a team and wagon without lights. The car was moving not much faster than the team of horses, but the rearing of the horses caused the wagon tongue to reach out and it thru the front of the car, and in some way seriously injured Stewart. When the hospital ambulance came, Stewart entered without assistance. That night or early the next morning, he died of internal hemorrhage, it is said. Thus ended far too soon the career of a promising educator and a beloved father and husband, and a leading M.E. Church worker at Carnegie, Pa. Sometime after the death of Stewart, his widow accepted a position as assistant librarian at the Carnegie Library in Carnegie, Pa. She may have been promoted to librarian later. She has held that position to the present time, unless she has resigned within the past two years. her home address is No. 513 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, Pa. To the union of William Stewart Bryan and Bell H. Hartranft there were born: Helen and William H. Helen Bryan, daughter of Stewart, met and married one John T. Laeber, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Laeber of Boston. Mass. John Laeber was a college bred man of consider ability. When the writer last saw him, probably eighteen years ago, he was a member of the Chenley High School faculty at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, teaching mathematics or Science. To this union were born two boys and two girls, namely: John Stewart (Laeber), Helen Alden, William Bryan, and Isabel Jane. There is no report concerning these children excepting that their son John Stewart Laeber was in his junior year at State College, State College, Pennsylvania, in 1938. The address of the Laebers was Grafton, Pennsylvania, but the family could be reached by addressing Mrs.William Stewart Bryan, 513 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, Pennsylvania. William H. Bryan, son of Stewart, met and married a Miss Cora B. Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Stewart of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania May 22, 1917, solemnization being at the bride's home, administered by the Rev. DR. Montgomery of the Sharpsburg Presbyterian Church. The marriage announcement gave this address as Grafton, Pennsylvania. To this union were born six children, namely: Jean Isabel, William Stewart, Betty May, Jack Monroe, Melvin and Richard. There are no data concerning these children. Martin Francis Bryan, son of Daniel S. and Miriam Stewart Bryan was born April 28, 1866, and died December 15, 1917, in his 52nd year: and is buried in the cemetery at Stuart, Guthrie County, Iowa. Martin, being the youngest of the three brothers, was kept close to his father, but when he grew older his is said to have made his home with his Grandmother Rhodes at Toulon, Illinois. Grandmother Rhodes, however, had married a second husband by the name of Riste and had a son named Martin Riste, who would be a half-brother of Daniel's second wife. How long Martin remained with his grandmother is not known, but it must have been a few years, for we find him again with his father in Iowa, attending the Guthrie County High School, located at Panora, Iowa, from which he was graduated well up in his class in scholarship. Martin loved nature and all things spiritual and followed in the footsteps of his father in the belief that we live our lives here on earth in order to enjoy a spiritual existence in a life hereafter. While he never accumulated a vast amount of earthly wealth his life of service to those he loved remains in the minds of those who knew him as a monument which time cannot deface. His one diversion was fishing and occasionally he would take his family or his two boys and spend all day on the banks of the South Racoon river, a small streams a few miles north of the home place. His untimely death at the early age of fifty-one years was the result of a sun-stroke followed later by a paralytic stroke from which he never recovered. His widow and four children survived him. During his twenty-ninth year he married Miss Frances Belle Thomas, daughter of Moorman and Sarah J. Reynolds Thomas of Menlo, Guthrie County, Iowa. Miss Thomas was a graduate of Menlo High School in 1889, not long after Martin was graduated from the Panora High School, the two schools being in nearby districts. It is quite possible that they became acquainted at school events. To the union of Martin Francis and Frances "Belle" there were born three children and one other daughter was adopted. Namely: Lulu Belle, Charles Harold and Francis Paul. Miriam Christine was the adopted daughter. Lulu Belle Bryan, daughter of Martin Francis and Francis Belle Thomas Bryan was born November 12, 1896, one mile south of Menlo, in Adair County, Iowa. She received her early education in the public schools at Stuart, Iowa to which her parents moved when she was about five years old. During her early life Lulu devoted much of her time doing more than her bit in promoting the scholastic civics and religious life in the community. This experience served her well in her chosen work in later life. She graduated from the Stuart High School in 1916 and four years later received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Simpson College, a Methodist School at Indianola, Iowa. After teaching in the public schools in several Iowa communities she finally accepted a position teaching in the Browning Home and Mather Academy at Camden, South Carolina, a school for colored children provided by the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Church. At this writing (1941) Lulu is Principal and Superintendent of the Browning Home. She is not married. Her present address is in care of the school. Update: After schools in the south were integrated, Aunt Lulu returned to school herself and earned a Masters Degree at age 65. She continued to accept missionary assignments, and served two tours in Mexico. She eventually settled in California and continued to work until a fall at age 96 forced her to slow down. Aunt Lulu lived happily until January 21, 1998 when she expired at the age of 101. She will be laid to rest in Iowa. 1998 Source: Mr. Payton Bryan Rev. Charles Harold Bryan, son of Martin Francis and Frances Bell Thomas Bryan, was born December 4, 1897, one mile south of Menlo, in Adair County, Iowa. Charles seems to be preserving the chain of careers which have been the pride of the Bryan ancestors for generations, in that he has chosen the work of the Ministry as his life work, a tradition well worth continuing. Harold also received his early education in the Stuart public schools graduating with his sister in 1916. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1918 and at the end of the World War (1917-1918) he entered the Liberal Arts school of Grinnell College, a Congregational school at Grinnell, Iowa. Four years later he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from that school. Between graduation and the time he decided to enter the Ministry he worked in the home office of the Bankers Life Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa. His training for his chosen work was completed at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the Indiana Conference at Goodland, Indiana, later at Danville, Illinois and at the present writing (1941) he is pastor of the Olivet Presbyterian Church at Marion, Illinois. His present address is 6 No. Michigan Avenue, Marion, Illinois. While living in Iowa, Rev. Charles Harold Bryan met and married Miss Alice Dorothy Olson of Waterloo, Black Hawke County, Iowa on November 28, 1923. Alice Olson was born June 27, 1901 at Parkersburg, Butler County, Iowa. These two were college friends at Grinnell, College. To the union of Charles Harold and Alice Dorothy Olson Bryan were born the following children: Bonnie Jean, born August 27, 1924 at Waterloo, Black Hawke County, Iowa; Charles Leslie, born July 30, 1927 at Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa; and Faith Louise, born October --, 1937, at Goodland, Indiana. Francis Paul Bryan, son of Martin Francis and Frances Belle Thomas Bryan was born October 2, 1899, three miles west of Stuart, Iowa. Although not on the same farm as that on which his brother and sister first saw light of day Francis Paul was also born in Adair County but both farms were located adjoining the road which separated Adair and Guthrie Counties, which road also bisects the community of Stuart, Iowa. At the age of two he moved with his parents to Stuart, Iowa and it was here that Frank (by which name he was always known) grew to manhood and graduated from the Stuart High School in 1918. He enlisted in the U.S. Army October 1st of that year and at the close of World War (1917-1918) he entered Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa. Part VIII Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan James Hamilton Bryan and His Decendants James Hamilton Bryan, son of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, was born May 13, 1838; died November 23, 1919, age 81 years, 7 months, 10 days; buried in the cemetery at Hutchinson, Kansas, the city he spent his last years with his wife and children of the second marriage. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 the government called for volunteers, and later enacted the draft law. James was drafted, but the folks at home on the farm needed his services and paid the government a sum of money to release James from military service. But in 1863, when John, his brother, returned from three years of military service, and farm work was arranged so that the folks could get along without him, he enlisted as a private in a Company B, 35th Regiment, 10th Corps, Pennsylvania Volunteers, a company organizing near Uniontown, Pa. One Captain Diall was the company commander and Samuel Stevenson of Scottdale, Pa., was its second lieutenant (or 1st.) One Jacob Strawn (Possibly related to James Strawn.) was a member of his company, and after the war he is said to have gone to Illinois, where he practiced law. After a year of soldiering James took and passed the examination for a commissioned officer and was recommended for a captaincy of a negro company in a negro regiment. His regimental commanding officer thought differently and refused to give up any more men from his already depleted forces. James often remarked that he was just as well satisfied for his rejection, as the rule of the southern army was to take no prisoners of a negro company (give "no quarter"), which meant that if captured all would be slain and likely the officers would meet the same fate. He felt that the decision of the colonel brought him back to his mother and father and to live to be a father himself. James' company never participated in large battles, but was employed chiefly in accounting duty and in feeling out the strength of the enemy. Once, as James related to the writer, his company had met a strong enemy detachment and his company ordered to retreat. In doing so he leaped over a ditch and fell from the weight of a heavy load of ammunition and equipment he was carrying. He thought no more about his fall until the next morning, when the army physician told him he had sustained a serious rupture, a double hernia in the pelvic region. He was then taken from his company and assigned to general work in the army base hospital, where he remained until he was mustered out in 1865, having served a little less than two years as a soldier. His hernia bothered him a great deal at times thru life, but by wearing a special truss he was able to carry on and do a man's work. In his advancing years his rupture gave him much trouble and annoyance, but he cheerfully bore his infirmity without complaining. The record of James' family Bible shows that he met and married a Miss Martha B. Strickler, daughter of Issac and Catherine Strickler, farmers near Scottdale, Pennsylvania. The marriage took place at the home of the bride's uncle and aunt, Josiah and Nancy Allenbaugh, at or near Nasentown, Pa., the Rev. Joseph I. Carver officiating, October 18, 1866. Shortly after their marriage, James and Martha gathered a few things together and went to housekeeping in a small log cabin at Stonersville (now Alvertone), Pa., where James had agreed to get out some logs for rails or for a sawmill. Stonersville consisted of only a few houses and a store, perhaps a blacksmith shop, and was about six miles from the brides home. It is said that Martha's Aunt Sally Werts lived at Stonerville and James thought it would be company for his wife to move there. Here their first son was born, the writer of this story. In the winter of 1867 or the spring of 1868, James and Martha moved to Bridgeport Coal Works, near Mount Pleasant, Pa., a few miles from Stonersville, where James did work about the mines. It is said that he acted as the B & O baggage master at Mt. Pleasant, for some time while living at the coal works. Here a second son was born to their union. In the spring of 1869, James and Martha moved to a house and a few acres of land n the vicinity of Jacob's Creek, a mile or so from Martha's home farm, and did some farming. James probably worked at farming for others, but data are lacking as to what all James did for a living. He was employed about a came mill while here, perhaps he was grinding out his own cane for the making of molasses, as farmers did in those days, and in reaching over a wheel to clean out the sap drain, caught his sleeve in the cogs of a wheel of the mill, which drew his arm well into the cogs before the mill could be stopped. His wife shouted to back the horse that was furnishing the power. James was laid up with a crushed bicep for several weeks. At this place in 1871 another son, Frankie, was born. The birth of Franklin is placed here because there is no record of James' being any other place. After Franklin was born it appears that James moved to Uniontown, Pa., where he secured a position as a baggage master on the B & O R.R., or it might have been the Pa. R.R., and also acted as a town constable. Martha kept boarders. Here a daughter, Anna Belle, was born. In January and February of 1875, within sixteen days, Anna Belle and Franklin died, the former of scarlet fever and the latter of dropsy, so the doctor said. This sudden loss to the family put fear into both parents and they returned to the little farm they had in 1871. Thus James gave up a promising position rather than force his wife to live and bear the burden of her grief in a place where death had chosen to stalk. In the late fall of 1875 James' house on this farm burned down. Martha had taken her two boys to a neighbor family to spend the evening and to wait for James' return from work. All household goods were destroyed except for a few things James succeeded in throwing out one of the upstairs windows. Here at this place before the fire a daughter, Mamie, was born and died within a few hours after birth. Here again was calamity in double score to a man and wife who were anxious to face the future and succeed. The writer has a vivid picture of the fire and the visit of the Grim Reaper to the family dear. How a house with no fire left in the stove could catch fire on the outside of the house puzzled many people, but James dismissed the question by saying that it was all for the best. With a few pieces of furniture and with what Martha's people supplies (I assume they did), James and Martha went to housekeeping again either in the Strickler homestead (Martha's parents' home) or in a new tenement house a quarter of a mile away on the farm. James worked on the farm for his wife's father. Here another daughter, Arilla Blanche, was born in 1876. James and wife had greater ambition than to be satisfied with living from hand to mouth, so they decided to try their luck in the West. James' uncle John Goodge, brother of his mother, Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, owned a farm of 80 acres a short distance from Burnett Station (just a store and residence), Mo. James and wife moved to the West to this place and farmed for two or three summers, until the year 1880, when they again returned to the Strickler farm in Pennsylvania. While at Burnett Station they attended a camp meeting, where it is stated they met a Pennsylvania family, Levi and Lydia Bensceter and daughters and son, who were farmers near Windsor, Mo., some 18 miles from Burnett Station. The Bensceters frequently visited the Bryans during the summers, especially the daughters, Emma A. and Della. The Bryans frequently returned the visits. The Bryan place was a sort of halfway-house for all Methodist ministers traveling through that section of the country. Emma A. Bensceter, a young woman of about twenty-one, and her sister Della, yet in her early teens, became welcome as one of the Bryan family, the former never dreamed of the day four years hence she would play a major part in the affairs of life of Martha and James Bryan. When eggs sold for three-cents a dozen and corn brought twenty-five cents a bushel as a fair price, and other crops sold for a price correspondingly low, and the folks in the East wrote and begged them to come back, they gave way to the persuasion and returned to Martha's parents in Pennsylvania. For a short time they lived at the Strickler homestead, until they could get their bearing. The Writer's brother, Harry, thinks that James and Martha moved into the Strickler tenement house, mentioned before, and that another daughter, Harriet J. was born there. But the writer has no recollection of the fact. After the novelty of visiting parents again wore off, James and Martha were induced to move to Meereweed coal and coke works, near Mt. Pleasant, Pa., about eight miles from the Strickler homestead. Martha's brother, Josiah A. Strickler, was the general superintendent of the works for H.C. Frick kKCo., and he suggested that they run a boarding house for the works, which they did. This boarding house work proved to be too much of a task for Martha, so after a year they moved to Seattle, temporarily where Martha was ill for several months. She overcame her fever and appeared on the way to recovery. In the meantime she and James talked matters over and decided to return to the West again. So they shipped their goods to Topeka, Kansas, this time, near which city one of James's cousins was farming. James worked around for others, especially for his father-in-law, and Martha went to her parents to visit before starting West. The time was now March, 1881, and the weather was cold and inclement. In some way Martha took a cold from the drafts from open doors and the lack of proper house temperature. Her recent illness had lowered her vitality and she took to her bed. Days went by and Martha got no better. The doctor, her cousin, came and pronounced her illness as typhoid fever. Twenty days, then thirty some days, as the fever stages are scheduled, had to pass before Martha could be pronounced out of danger. But the stages passed and Martha got no better, but worse. After calling her two boys and two girls, yet very young, to her bedside and breathing a prayer and last word to them for a last good-by, she died on May 3, 1881, and was buried in the cemetery at Wesley Chapel, about two miles from her childhood home, and there she rests beside her three little ones who preceded her years before. James had nursed his wife night and day for the duration of her illness a nd had been for days without sleep. He too, had lowered his vitality and resistance and took to his bed for several weeks. He won against the odds. He often said that the future of his motherless children was on his mind, and that he put his faith in the Master to spare him for their sake; his brother Daniel had had a similar experience. James, like Daniel, had to be both father and mother to his little ones. He left his children, two boys, twelve and thirteen years old, and two girls, one five and the other 19 months old, with relatives and went West on some business for his uncle and inadvertently, I presume, to call on friends living in the neighborhood where once he had lived. One of these places was near Windor, Mo., where the Bensceters lived. It is said that he visited the Bensceters during the summer of late fall of 1881, probably on his way to return East. He may have, while in Missouri, visited his uncle John Goodge, near Nevada, Mo., considerable distance from Windsor. James was silent for a time about his plans. The first real word from James came in December, 1881, stating that he had taken unto himself a second wife, Miss Emma A. Bensceter, daughter of Levi and Lydia Bensceter of Windsor, Mo., to help him meet the vicissitudes of life and to help him mother his growing children. He felt that the urgency of his cause would excuse him of any undo haste in marrying against the traditional year or two years after the loss of a companion in marriage. Soon after his second marriage James brought his second wife with him to the East and visited for awhile among relatives. I omitted to state that James' second marriage was solemnized at the home of the bride's parents, on a farm near Windsor, Mo., on December 8, 1881. In early spring of 1862, James and Emma took with them their four children to Windsor, Mo., to an 80 acre farm a short distance from the Bensceter homestead. James made a little money out of a good crop, as farmers measure their returns, and the next year he rented a 160 acre farm, a larger farm at least, in another section. The next year he moved to a farm of about 400 acres and employed three teams in the farm work. He bought and sold hogs, pastured cattle for others, put in 80 acres of corn an d like amounts of broomcorn. The year was a wet one and the crops suffered from growth of grass and weeds, the broomcorn was too coarse for a good market, and in the end the crop was more or less a failure as to its salable value. He had practically nothing for himself after setting up the years' bills. He quit farming then and there for good. James and wife and family moved to Warrensburg, Mo. The two boys, William and Harry, worked on farms for the summer and attended the State Normal School at Warrensburg, in the winter. James learned to manufacture bedsprings, and sold them throughout the country, sometimes trading them for feather beds and selling the feathers. He kept this work going until about 1890, when he and wife and daughters moved to Nevada, Mo., where his uncle lived and worked his business in that territory. The territory not being very good, he returned to Warrensburg. He sold his house there or arranged to have the Loan Company take it over and moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, where his wife's mother and father had located. In Hutchinson, James continued his work of canvassing and selling, and later engaged in the real estate business in a small way. He invented a fire escape that would automatically descend form an opening of a building with a passenger and go back to its former position. He invented a steel railroad tie and had it tested in the yards of the Santa Fe at Hutchinson. He had virtually completed a voting machine when the voting machine came out for sale in the eastern states. While his labors may have been a pleasure to him, they brought him nothing more. Most of James' life was a real hardship and an uphill struggle against adversity. His constant change in residence and in occupation, with the best of intentions I'm sure, could scarcely be equaled. Perhaps that urge to change, or whatever it was, was a symbol of the spirit that led our early pioneers westward and beyond. Whatever he did he thought he was doing it for the best, to benefit others. For himself he cared little, for other was his absorbing interest. In later life his government pension, together with some help from his children, gave him and wife minimum funds for their living expenses. The writer William Holmes Bryan, thought it more convenient to discuss the life of James Bryan throughout his first and second marriages without taking up his children to break the narrative. My original draft took up the children as they were reached and broke the narrative and diverted attention from the sequence of events. This volume was also a draft, and it will take several writings, before the history is presentable, but the facts will always be the same. So if my reader has a draft it will have all the facts in it that any other draft has, only the reading may see m a little different. The life of James Bryan is somewhat more complete than that of his brothers because his was the only life I knew about. More about his life of his brothers or other members of the family can be enlarged upon by any member of a particular family and the sheets inserted in the back of this volume, likewise errors or changes herein found can be corrected on a sheet of paper and attached hereto. To the union of James Hamilton Bryan, son of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan and Martha B. Strickler, daughter of Isaac and Catherine (nee Heath) Strickler, there were born the following children: William Holmes, Harry Allenbaugh Strickler, Franklin M., Anna Belle, Mamie C., Aurilla Blanche, and Harriet Jane. And to the union of James Hamilton Bryan, son of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan and Emma A Bersceter, daughter of Levi and Lydia Berscoter, there were born the following children: Samuel W. (died in infancy), James Bersceter Hamilton, George Wilson, and Florence Lydia. William Holmes Bryan, son of James H., was born July 22, 1867, in a log cabin at Stonersville (since changed to Alverton), Pa., about four miles from Scottdale, Pa. Her was never married. Since he is the writer and edit or of this history, the reader is asked to permit him to give in brief a few little things which have happened in his life time. Not all work has been regular employment, but odd jobs, summer work, evening employment, working out to meet a difficulty, to alter a situation, to carry out some project or plan, to afford himself food and shelter, all of which were not of his own creation, in the last analysis, but life's ever shifting situations, casting one into the ever changing tide. These having few changes to encounter have never less with the tide, preferring calmer waters. William was a good deal like his father, desiring new experiences life is heir to. During his early years he attended the one-room country school, going a few times to graded schools. When in his teens he attended the State Normal School, at Warronsburg, Mo., taking eighth grade work and some academic courses. In summer he worked in the brickyard, on the railroad at re-grading dug cellars and foundations for houses at Independence, Mo., clerked in a grocer-bakery store, worked for six months in a pipe mill to earn one hundred and twenty dollars to aid to a fund with which to carry him thru the State Normal School at California, Pa., completing the teacher's course with a degree in 1894. In completing this course he and sister with him had to meet two years of tuition, books, rent and food and clothes with less than five hundred dollars in money, a difficult thing to do. Early in life he learned to pray and to put his faith in trust in God. He attended the Salvation Army meetings at Warrensburg, Mo. Members of the Sedalia, Mo., corps of the Army were doing outpost work in Warrensburg. William got so interested that he became a member of the organization and helped in the meetings. He had no advanced education for the ministry, but in this new organization he could see where he might carry on the work of the Master with his present qualifications. He applied for permission to become a cadet in the field work of the Salvation Army. A cadet is applied to one who is training for a lieutenancy, a regular officer. He was sent to Fort Scott, Kansas. The next year he went to Wellington, Kansas, and then to Independence, Kansas, as a Lieutenant in charge. That fall, 1888, he was promoted to a captaincy and placed in charge of Sedalia, Mo., corps. While there he opened up St. Louis No. 2, and St. Louis No. 3, giving the city three corps instead of only one. He was transferred to St. Joseph, Mo., in the spring of 1890, and in the fall of that year was ordered to National Headquarters at New York City for a six weeks course in bookkeeping and statistical work, relative to reporting the Missouri Division Army works to the New York Headquarters. About January 1891, William was a Scribe-Captain, as they called the secretary to the Divisional Officer, a Major in this case. In the fall of 1891 relatives in Pennsylvania persuaded William to get a leave of absence and bring with him his two young sisters, and it takes quite a few years for sisters to grow up to the point where they can take care of themselves. William was encouraged to get a higher education by attending the California, Pa., Normal, of which he had already spoken. After getting his normal certificate he taught two terms of school and a term of night school. It seemed to him that the best school positions were held by college graduates. Why couldn't he be a college graduate and hold a good position too. From now on the changes in William's career must be brief, and without much explanation. Attended Alleghena College, Meadville, Pa., for two years. Financial difficulties took him out of college and he went to Buffalo, N.Y., 1889. His two sisters were at Niagara Falls, one being married at this date. He joined the 74th Reg., National Guard, N.Y., now known as the 174th Regiment, in which he was a corporal and a sergeant during most of his years of service in his regiment, being honorable discharged about 1914. In 1900 he enrolled as a clerk in a law office. Did practically no clerical work. Learned to feed a Gordon Printing press, spent a year at $1 day wage. Solicited printing to meet other expenses. Taught on Buffalo street railway during the Pan American Exposition. On guard at the 74th Regiment, N.G.N.Y., when President McKinley was assassinated. Did home study and earned a New York Regents high school certificate, equivalent to four years of high school work. Clerkship in a law office failed to prepare him for the law examinations for admission of attorneys to the bar. He failed two or three times to pass the test. A friend talked him into taking the law school course and get a foundation. With only about $110 to his name he entered the law school as a student in 1909, paying $100 tuition and $5 library fees. Books had to be bought on time. Friends helped. His landlady said that he could drop behind with his room rent for two years and that she would help him in other ways when she could. He had already learned to hang paper and to paint some. He worked afternoons and week ends and during the summer, when there was no law school study, and earned enough money to pay for his second year's school fees, books, meals, some back rent, graduation fee, pictures, etc., and had something like twenty dollars left after paying all bills. He passed the law examination test in the fall of 1911 and was admitted to the N.Y. bar that fall. The next fall he was admitted to practice in the Federal Court, Fourth District. Thus ended a project of some magnitude. He often wonders how he did it. William practiced law in Buffalo for a year. His father, James, was a very sick man and needed an operation. The cost of which would require $300 and over within a year if his father's life was to be saved. William could not raise that much money, although his books showed that he had that much outstanding. The surest way out would be to give up the practice of law for a year or two and to teach school and raise the money in a short time. A classmate in Hegren, North Dakota, heard of William's plans and he got the rural school at Holliday (farm house and a general store with Post Office, a small bank building, and a one-room shack for a lawyer), N. Oak., 40 miles from a railroad. William earned over $300 in six months, went to Hutchinson, Kansas. Paid out $300 and over for the cost of the operation on his father. His father got well and lived many years longer than he would have lived had he not received timely medical assistance. William now turned his eyes to the east and returned to Buffalo, N.Y. He hadn't a dollar to his name, so he decided to teach school again somewhere. An agency sent him to Marlten, N. J., for a four-month term (half term). By helping one of his nephews to meet expenses at Valparaiso University, Indiana, he found himself without funds when he again returned to Buffalo. The next year and for about twelve years afterwards, William taught school in Pennsylvania, having charge of both elementary grades and high school, and served as supervising principle of township schools, also as the secretary of his school board. After his teacher's contract expired, he was elected an auditor of the school and read districts funds, serving as the chairman of the auditing board for five years. During the twelve years of teaching he found time to study in the school of education at the University of Pittsburgh, taking extension course work of evenings and on Saturday, and during the summertime. In 1923 he received his B.S. degree and in 1925 his M.A. degree, with 42 extra credits to apply on his doctor's degree, which he decided he could do without. He was now fifty-eight years old and he felt that more education was a waste of time. He already had acquired his education thirty years too late, but that was not all his fault. He taught school a term or two after receiving his master degree and then took a year off to rest. He also wanted a better job, in keeping with ability. But jobs were rather scarce at this time, so William was without a school for several years and the outlook seemed gloomy. He therefore decided to turn about and look in another direction. William had a love for the farm and all that goes with it, especially a riverside farm. He bought such a farm in the Shanandoah Valley, Virginia, twenty eight miles below Winchester and two miles north of (above) Woodstock, in 1928, and weathered the trails of a farmer thru the 1930 drought and thru about four years of national depression. He had a mortgaged farm and a few dollars left when he had an offer to exchange his farm for his present residence at 749 Chenange Street, Village of Fort Dickinson, Binghamton, N.Y. The exchange was even up, and each part took the others debts and paid the difference between the sides of the ledger. William got a little over one hundred dollars as his share and sold the new owner a hundred dollars or more of personal property. His present residence is heavily encumbered, but he has weathered the depression as it applies to his new situation and looks forward to the time when Time shall again smile upon him and he shall be free again to spend life in the mode and manner best suited to his happiness. Harry A. S. Bryan, son of James H., was born December 6, 1868, at Bridgeport coal and coke works, near Mount Pleasant, Pa. His educational advantages and his early life history are more or less bound up with that of his brother William's until the year 1887, when William was in training for a cadetship in the Salvation Army, and Harry was still at home in Warrensburg, Mo. Along about 1889 he left his home and went to Scottdale, Pa., where relatives dwelt. He found employment in a machine shop and boiler plant. Later on he found employment as a worker in the National Foundry and Pipe Mill of Scottdale, a position he held as foreman for over thirty years. In the mean time he enrolled in the course in drafting with Scranton Correspondence School and mastered that course in a few years. He was promoted to an inspectorship and held that position for a short time when the Mill Company reorganized and transferred him back to his old job. Harry was a church worker in the M.E. Church and was highly respected as one of Scottdale's leading citizens. He resided at times at a Mr. John Dick 's, a leading hardware merchant of the place, and through meeting young folk s at church and through his associates about Dick's, he met Miss Ella Vena Gaspar, daughter of John and Margie Gasper of Washington, Pa. Miss Gasper was living with her friend, Mrs. John Dick, at Scottdale at that time, an engagement followed. Harry and Miss Gasper were married December 29, 1892, at the home of John I. Dick, Scottdale, Pa., the Rev. George S. Holmes, M.E. Church pastor, officiating. The middle name of the writer, William Holmes Bryan, was chosen from the name of the minister's father. To this union were born the following children: Walter H., Erma May, Mabel Grace, Helen Marie, James Strickler, and Martha Jane. Walter H. was born April 5, 1895: died February 15, 1917, age 21 years, 10 days; Walter is reported to have been killed in a motorcycle accident. The stories about Walter say that he was very bright, handsome, with a very outgoing personality. He was apparently the "apple" of his parents eyes and they were deeply grieved by his sudden death. Source: Uncle Walter Wunderlich -1997) Walter was unmarried. He is buried in the cemetery at Wesley Chapel, near Scottdale, Pa. Erma May Bryan, (She changed the spelling of May to Mae) daughter of Harry A. and Ella V., was born January 13, 1897, at Scottdale, Pa. (Erma died September 30, 1995 age 98 at Hamilton, N. Y. were she was staying with her son Walter O. Wunderlich. She is buried beside her husband, Herman Wunderlich in Kettlville, N.Y.) After leaving high school she took up Bible study at the famous Harry Davis Bible School, located in Johnson City, N.Y. Erma contributed to her Bible education by doing clerical work in the office of Endicott Johnson Shoe Manufacturing Company of Binghamton, N.Y. While thusly engaged she met on Herman Otto Wunderlich. It is said that they met in the same noon lunchroom and at the end of the day they took the same direction home. Mr. Wunderlich was employed in a nearby manufacturers. At any rate they saw each other frequently. It is said that Herman Otto Wunderlich was born in Berlin, Germany, January 16, 1897, and came to the United States with his parents, Ferdinand and Anna (nee Ender) Wunderlich, when very young. The Wunderlich's American became citizens and contributed their share in the early 80's toward education their son, and no doubt other members of the family of children, and building a home and reputation for thrift and citizenship German citizens are known for. They finally settled in Johnson City, N.Y., where they resided until their deaths. The son, Herman, learned the cabinet trade in his younger days and followed his trade for several years. Later he was employed by the Eastman Camera Works at Rochester, N.Y., perhaps elsewhere. For the past twenty years or more he has been employed in the body department of the Agfa-Ansco Camera Company of Binghamton and Johnson City, N. Y., as a general foreman of department. Herman served in the Spanish-American War as a cavalryman in Cuba in 1898, after which he spent part of a year in traveling through Central American countries. On his return home, he again took up his trade at the camera works. Erma May and Herman Otto were married September 3rd, 1921. To their union were born two sons, namely: Walter Otto, March 19, 1826; and Arthur Harry, September 7,. The family residence is No. 27 Baker Street, Johnson City, N.Y. 13790. This was still Erma's address until 1995. As a young man, Arthur Harry Wunderlich attended Johnson City High School where he lettered on the football team. At 17, he enlisted in the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program during WWII and taught Photo topography at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. While at Fort Belvoir, Art wrote his autobiography for inclusion in the Bryan Family History. After the war, he attended the University of Syracuse and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and Pi Beta Kappa honors. He worked on projects including many countries in France, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Alaska. He eventually went to work for Esso Oil Company, as an engineer in Research and Development. He then worked in England, Spain, and Holland. In February 1962, Arthur married Agnes Hamill, daughter of James and Agnes Hamill of Port Glasgow, Scotland. Four children were born from this marriage. Karen Anne Wunderlich (1963), Mark Edward Wunderlich (1964), Robert "Scott" Wunderlich, and Dirk Bryan Wunderlich (1974). Arthur H. Wunderlich died of multiple mylanoma in August, 1989. Agnes Wunderlich, (divorced from Arthur in 1981), still lives in the family home at 550 Memory Lane, Addison, IL 60101. E-mail: Agnes@xnet.com Karen Anne Wunderlich married Richard Stezowski, son of Clarence and Stephanie "Sally" Stezowski of Elmhurst, IL on August 18, 1991. E-mail Karens@xnet.com. Mark Edward Wunderlich married Michelle Bigham, daughter of Tom and Ruth Bigham of DuQuoin, IL. in 1989. Email: wunderlm@mcs.com Robert "Scott" Wunderlich married Leian Leverence, daughter of Jeanne and Robert Leverence of Addison, IL in 1989. Dirk Bryan Wunderlich is not currently married. Mabel Grace Bryan, daughter of Harry and Ella, was born September 27, 1889, at Scottdale, Pa. Mabel was graduated from the Scottdale High School and took a post graduate course in the Scottdale Business College. She taught school in Upper Tyrone twp., Fayette County, Pa., near her home and later pursued her studies in music and voice and other subjects at the University of Pittsburgh, Pa., as well as teaching in the public schools near Pittsburgh. Mabel met and married one Wilbur or Wilburt Snyder, son of Joseph and Anna Snyder of Dawson, Pa., who later moved to McKees Raeks(?) Pa. Wilburt was born May 15, 1897. The marriage took place at the home of the Bride's parents at Scottdale, Pa., November 29, 1919. To this union were born four sons, namely: Joseph Bryan Snyder, September 24, 1920 in Brownsville, Pa.; Wilbert, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa; and twins, Waren and Herman, May 30, 1937, at Pittsburgh, Pa. Present address in Scottdale, Pa. Helen Marie Bryan, daughter of Harry and Ella, was born November 21, 1903 , at Scottdale, Pa. Helen was graduated from the Scottdale Business College. For several years she was private secretary to the manager of a local manufacturing firm. She held secretarial positions, at Binghamton, N.Y., and elsewhere. Helen met and married one Peter Arthur Telech, son of Simon James (deceased) and Marion Theresa Telach of Lopez, Pa. Mrs. Telech is employed at Hotel Statler in Buffalo, New York. They reside at 743 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, N.Y. (1998 - Helen had two children, Arthur Telech and Joy Telech. Joy is known to have a daughter June. Helen passed away on January 21, 1998 at age 94. She was living in Florida. Source: Cyndie Hunt -niece.) James Strickler Bryan, son of Harry and Ella, was born April 19, 1907, at Scottsdale, Pa. After James was graduated from the Scottsdale High School he took up salesmanship and worked in various stores in his village. He was manager for an Army Store in Scottsdale and later entered the Miller Department Store of Scottdale, where for ten or more years he has had charge of the clothing (men's) department. James met and married Miss Alma Hough, daughter of Elmer and Fannie Hough of Connellsville, Pa., December 22, 1929, at Greensburg, Pa. Alma was born May 19, 1909. To their union were born the following children; Jeanne Louise, July 31, 1930; James Richard, April 1, 1932; Barbara Belle, October 10, 1934; and Gwendolyn Mae, May 1, 1937. Their street address is not permanent, so address them at No. 36 Grove Street care of Harry A. Bryan, Scottdale, Pa. Martha "Jane" Bryan, daughter of Harry and Ella, was born July 25, 1914, at Scottdale, Pa. Martha was graduated from the Scottdale High School and took a post graduate course in the Scottdale Business College. Martha remained at home with her mother and did not pursue her studies as did the other sisters. She met and married one Alfred Joseph Klyne, son of Mrs. Elizabeth (nee Styles) Klyne of New York City, December 7, 1939. Mr. Klyne is an electric engineer and has operated a drill machine in tunnel work and electrical crane. He is now working in a powder factory in Ohio. His present temporary address is care of Harry A. Bryan, No. 36 Grove Street, Scottdale, Pa. Franklin M. Bryan, son of James H. Bryan, was born March 14, 1871, in East Huntington Twp., Westmoreland Co., Pa.; and died February 14, 1875, at Uniontown, Pa., age 4 years. Died of dropsy, the doctor said. He is buried in the cemetery at Wesley Chapel, near Scottdale, Pa. Anna Belle Bryan, daughter of James H. and Martha B. Bryan, was born August 9, 1873 in Uniontown, Pa. She died January 29, 1875, at Uniontown, Pa., of scarlet fever, the doctor said, age 1 year, six months, 26 days; and is buried beside her brother Franklin in the cemetery at Wesley Chapel. Mamie C. Bryan, daughter of James and Martha Bryan, was born August 9, 1875, in East Hunnington Twp., Westmoreland County, Pa., and died the same day. She is buried beside her sister Anna Belle, in the Wesley Chapel cemetery, about four miles from Scottdale, Pa. Aurilla Blanche Bryan, daughter of James H. and Martha B Bryan, was born July 25, 1876, in East Huntington Twp., Westmoreland Co., Pa., near or on the Isaac Strickler farm, home of the mother, four miles from Scottdale, Pa. Aurilla received her early schooling in the country schools and village schools. Being the oldest girl about the house, after her mother died, she learned to be the housekeeper of the family. When in her middle teens she met and married on Frank Walter Snyder, son of John and Margaret Snyder of Layton, Pa., December 5, 1892. Soon after their marriage they moved to Niagara Falls, N.Y., where Frank went to work at the new carborudum works. he became foreman of the wheel room. Later he was employed in the chlorine works. The chlorine gas injured his health and he quit the work. He took up the trade of painting and paperhanging, getting some of his first lessons from the writer in Buffalo. He soon became trained enough to work alone, and he followed the trade for the remainder of his days. He taught his son Cecil the same trade and it has stood them well when other employment was scarce. To the union of Aurilla Blanche and Frank W. were born the following children: Cecil Cameron, born in 1893, probably near Layton, Pa., George Quay, Lola Edna, Arta Phillis, and Hazel Harriet. Another child, Edward, probably died in infancy. Cecil Cameron Snyder, son of Aurilla and Frank, had an equivalent high school education and studied for a year and a half at Balparaiso (Indiana) Law School. The lack of funds compelled him to give up his studies, and he returned home and learned the painting trade under his father. Cecil met and married Miss Maybell M. Connelly, daughter of John and Ann (nee Wisnett) Connelly of Buffalo, N.Y. in 1923. To their union were born the following children: Eugen George, October 19, 1928; Ronald George, March 15, 1930; Jean Maybelle; September 17, 1932; and Douglas Grant, December 14, 1934. Maybelle, wife of Cecil Snyder, was a graduate of the Buffalo High School , and trained as a stenographer and typist. She was occasionally engaged by the local U.S. Army offices at Port Niagara to take down testimony at court s-marshal sittings. With all her acquirements she preferred to be a mother to her children and a wife to her husband. She was an earnest church worker and enjoyed the work of social organizations affiliated. She contracted a breast tumor, which was removed and she seemed to have recovered her health. But this was only apparent, and she had a relapse a year or more afterward. She died October 21, 1939, leaving to survive her a husband and four small children. George Quay Snyder, son of Aurilla and Frank Snyder, was born about 1895 (exact data not reported), at Niagra Falls, N.Y. He was graduated from the Niagara Falls high school. He clerked in the A & P grocery and later was employed as the store manager, which position he held for several years. He was manager of another chain store in Niagara Falls and in Tonawanda, N.Y . The store closed its business and George was out of a job. He and wife had been thrifty in the past and had been able to buy themselves a home on the outskirts of the city, so George set himself up as a teacher of Tap dancing at his home. His wife ran a home bakery. Latest news in that George has been employed by the Niagara Falls Carbide Company and has quit toe tapping. George met and married Miss Alice Buhar, daughter of Harry and Elenor Nellson Buhar of Niagara Falls, N.Y. (No date of marriage or births of children reported). George was the father by his wife of Joy, Arline, June, Marylin, and Jerauld. Another child died in infancy. Their address is Niagara Falls. Arta Phyllis Snyder, daughter of Aurilla and frank, was born February 4, 1898 at Niagara Falls, N.Y. She received her high school education in Niagara Falls schools. Like many young girls she liked clerking in stores an d enjoyed the parts she took in local plays. She met and married one Nessie Carr of Buffalo, N.Y. Nessie was a railroad fireman and worked nights. Arta was probably not yet eighteen. The irregularities of home life was dissatisfying to the wife, probably also to the husband, and they decided to part with the best wishes. Arta secured a divorce and remained unmarried for many years. To this union was born a son, Charles William (Carr). Charles William Carr, son of Arta and Nessie Carr, was born about 1915 (no definite age given) and received his high school education in the Niagara Falls schools. He took some post graduate work and waited for a job. He finally entered into the printing trade as a learner or helper, in which work he has been for about six years, another year being required to complete his training and to graduate as a full fledged printer. Charles William et and married Miss Ann Gertude Phelps, daughter of Earl (deceased) and Margaret (nee Brady) Phelps of Niagara Falls, N.Y. Address not reported. To this union was born a daughter, Judith Anne, yet very young. Art Phillis (nee Snyder) Carr met and married one John (Jack) Henry, son of James and Mary E. Henry of Bertz Falls, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Henry is employed by a gold mining company in the far north woods of Canada, going and coming by plane when visiting home. He is interested in mining claims in the north woods, but expects soon to retire from the Arctic winters and devote his time to other matters. There have been no issue from this union. Arta's sister lives outside Niagara Falls, so address care Mrs. Hazel Bank s, Lewiston, N.Y. Senders Settlement Road, RFD. Hazel Harriet Snyder, daughter of Aurilla and Frank Snyder, (date and place of birth not reported) received her high school education in the schools of Niagara Falls and took a post graduate course in business and secretarial work. For years she acted as private secretary to the president of Niagara University, and only gave up her work when she seemed to be falling under the strain of confinement. She trained for a while to be a nurse, but the hard manual work of the first year's course in nursing was to o much for her. When she was in her middle twenties she met and married John Lionel Banks, son of Frank and Anne Brown Banks, of Niagara Falls, N.Y. (Date and place of marriage not reported). John Lionel, second name used, is a carpenter by trade, and has erected his own house on a five-acre plot outside the city of Niagara Falls. Lionel is employed by and works hard at a manufacturing concern in Niagara Falls, He and wife are earnest church workers in the Baptist Church of their community, or where they have membership. To this union one son was born, John Lionel, Jr., by name, now in his tenth or eleventh year (1941) date. Harriet Jane Bryan, daughter of James H. and Martha B. Bryan, was born September 29, 1879, in east Huntington Twp., Westmoreland County, Pa., on or near the home of her mother. Hattie received her education in the public schools and in high school at various places of her residence while she was with her brother William H. She was his housekeeper between the years she was fourteen and twenty. After William broke up at Niagara Falls, N.Y. Hattie as most people call her, became a clerk in Buffalo, servicing in department stores and jewelry stores. She had to possess a certain knowledge of salesmanship in most of her positions. While living with her sister Aurilla she met and married one Charles Robert Burgess, son of Joseph Mayo and Mary Elizabeth Burgess (both deceased ) of Niagara Falls, N.Y. Charles' parents were Canadians by birth and the grandparents on both sides of the family came from England on the same boat, it is said. Mr. Burgess, S., died October 23, 1906, and his wife died June 8, 1937. (Date and place of marriage of Hattie and Charles not reported). Charles was a divorced man in his early twenties and his marriage to Hatttie was his second venture. He was a carpenter by trade and engaged in contracting and building. Later he was engaged in an official capacity in building mausoleum for a company at Erie, Pa. In later life, although yet young, his health failed him, and he died near Erie, Pa., absent from home. There were no children born of this marriage. The widow returned to work, as widows do, and followed the work of a saleslady in Buffalo stores. Her health has never been good, subject to neuritis and sinus troubles, yet always cheerful. She resides now (1941, at No. 340 E. Utica St., Buffalo, N.Y.) Samuel W. Bryan, son of James and Emma Bryan, second marriage, was born September 5, 1882, and died the same day, on a farm near Windsor, Mo. James B.H. Bryan, son of James and Emma, was born February 26, 1884, on a farm near Windsor, Mo. He received his education in the local schools and has an equivalent of a high school training or better. He was blessed with the faculty of curiosity, which caused him to develop his faculties along mechanical lines. He spent many years at lettering gravestones with a local concern, perhaps he had his own business. The dust from the stone affected his lungs, so he quit work and began repairing automobiles, at which he is an expert. He now runs his own garage in Hutchinson, Kansas, and spends his home hours on a small farm near the city. James met and married Miss Nellie May Belsfield, daughter of Charles Milton and Mrs. Belfield of Rush Center, Kansas. Nellie May had educated herself for hospital work and was a graduate nurse. It is said that James went to the hospital for treatment of a fever or injury and that Nellie was the nurse assigned to his case. After he was convalescent a friendship sprang up between them, and the rest is known. To their union was born Thelma Marie (date not reported), who has now reached her majority. She was graduated from the Hutchinson High School and then her parents sent her to Bethany College at Lindsberg(?), Kansas, where she majored in music and voice, of which she is said to have a natural. There is no further data to report since 1938. George Wilson Bryan, son of James H. and Emma A. Bryan, was born June 28, 1889, at Nevada, Missouri. He received his high school education or better at Hutchinson, Kansas, where his father and mother resided shortly after young George began to walk. After leaving high school he lectured for still pictures in the entertainment field. It is said that he made many new acquaintances in this work, one of which was his future wife, Miss Alice Vaneil, daughter of Charles Henry Madison and Pheobe Myrtle Banceil at Great Bend, Kansas. They were married December 8, 1909, at the home of the bride 's parents in Great Bend. The bride's full name is Maud Alice Vaneil, the first name being dropped in friendly address. After his marriage George secured a job with one of the railroad companies in Hutchinson, Kansas, of which there are three or more. For many years he served as chief clerk for the Rock Island railroad, its divisional point at Hutchinson. Later he entered the employ of the Carey Salt Company at Hutchinson, and is the traffic manager of a small railroad company affiliated with the salt concerns, with offices in Hutchinson. His permanent business address is the Carey Salt Company. By his marriage to Maud Alice Vaneil he became the father by her of George Wayne, Gerald Eugene, Wilma Jean, and Marggueritte Elaine (Dates of birth not reported, but all were born in Hutchinson, Kansas, it is thought.) George Wayne Bryan, son of George and Alice Bryan, was graduated from the Hutchinson High School, as were his other brothers and sisters later, and afterwards took up field work in salesmanship. While so engaged he met and married Miss Emma Lee Hall (date and place and parents not reported). To this union were born one daughter, named Beverly Ann, probably now in her teens. Wayne (preferred to name George) is said to be now (1938) employed by a transportation company in Wichita, Kansas. The other son and two daughters of George and Alice are presumed to be unmarried and still at home with their parents. Florence Lydia Bryan, daughter of James H. and Emma A. Bryan, was born March 14, 1898, at Hutchinson, Kansas. She was graduated from the Hutchinson High School and took a postgraduate course in business training and clerical work. For fifteen or more years she had been employed by divisional headquarters of the Rock Island Railroad Company at Hutchinson. At times she has acted as chief clerk, or has been regularly employed as such, or has perhaps acted in a higher capacity. It is said that she is still with the railroad Company. In June, 1937, Florence met and married one John Wesley Whiteker, son of Frank L and Lida A. Whiteker (both deceased), presumably of Hutchinson, Kansas. John is employed as an automobile salesman in Hutchinson, Kansas. John is employed as an automobile salesman in Hutchinson. There were no issue of this marriage. They reside at 1010 North Washington Street, Hutchinson, Kansas. This ends the story of James Hamilton Bryan and his first and second marriages. Emma A. Bryan, the widow is still living and her health is in keeping with her years. She resides at No. 404 West Eighth Street, Hutchinson, Kansas, her home for many years past. She is near her children and her near relatives of her own parents, of whom there are still living a sister Della (nee Bensecter) of Gardner, the mother of several grown children; Frank Bensecter, a lawyer in Hutchinson, and probably a veteran if the first World War, and Sofia (nee Bensecter) Britt, mother of several grown children, living at Warrensburg, Mo., at last report. Tow brothers, Joel (never married) and Bhinney(?) L. Bensecter, who married and was the father by his wife Beckie of several children, are now dead. We shall now return to the remaining children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, the parents of John, Daniel, and James, the male members of the family already reported. Part IX Children of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan Samuel, Mary, R. Alsinas, and William Bryan Samuel Bryan, son of James and Mary (nee Goodge) Bryan, was born August 23, 1841, near Uniontown, Pa. In 1862 or 1863 he enlisted as a private in the 15th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War. He was promoted to a noncommissioned officer rank about a year after entering the service. A photograph of Samuel shows the stripes of a corporal or sergeant on his coat sleeve. It is stated that he had gone thru the battle of Five Forks, West Virginia battle ground, and with several other soldiers, was covering the battle field for wounded soldiers, when a southern soldier, on the other side of the battle field, together with squad men, picked up a rifle from the ground and shot Samuel, of which was a violation of the common military law of alienation's and men. Samuel's body was brought to his home, then near Dawson, Pa., and buried in the Bryan Church cemetery beside his parents. Mary Bryan, daughter of James and Mary Goodge Bryan, was born about 1843. Her gravestone inscription gives her date of birth as 1848, but it was guessed at or was hearsay, for on that date, 1848, Mary's mother would have been 48 years old, and there is at least one brother younger than Mary and maybe two, the nature of which sets up a biological factor that would dispute the correctness of the 1848 date. So the writer has with reason adopted the earlier date as nearer correct. Mary died in 1918, age 76 years, and is buried beside her husband in the cemetery at Alverton, Pa., about four miles from Scottdale, Pa., the place of her last residence. Mary and her sister Maria were inseparable. Remaining at home after their father died, they chose to never leave their mother during her life. After the mother died they lived in or near Scottdale, Pa., three or four miles from the farm home, which at that time had been sold. It may have be en the late nineties that one John Ober, ex soldier, ex postmaster and general merchant of Alverton, Pa., a town four miles from Scottdale, came to the latter place one day to inquire about getting a housekeeper. It is stated that one of John's friends jokingly told him that if he was looking for a wife instead of a hired housekeeper he might get on of the Bryan girls. John laughed and said that might be a good idea. The Bryan girls were visited, but they had their home and did not care to break it up, and they would not separate. John, then, spoke of taking the younger girl as wife if she would care to consider such a plan. After several buggy rides John's courting came to an end when Mary agreed to marry, but on the condition that her sister Maria be allowed to live with her during the latter's life. John willingly agreed to this contractual arrangement. Mary and John were married sometime in the late nineties and the girls, the younger being over fifty and the older being in her sixties, disposed of their Scottdale property and moved to Alverton, where they lived until their deaths. John Ober was a widower with several grown children, married and living near Alverton. His first wife was Catherine (family name not known), who was born January 12, 1850, and died April 23, 1885. John was born in 1846 and died in 1926. He is buried beside his second wife, Mary, in the village cemetery, their graves being kept by the cemetery association under a perpetual agreement. John was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in Company F., 28th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He drew a government pension which was sufficient to provide for him and wife in their declining years. During the last years of Mary's life she sat in a wheel-chair, in which, by some help from John, she managed to do nearly all of her housework. Her ailment, results of a stroke, left her unable to walk, but otherwise she was normal in health and suffered no other ill effects than being unable to walk. Mary was the last member of the James Bryan branch of the Bryan family to marry and one of three of the children to survive after 1917. R. Alsinas Bryan, son of James and Mary Bryan, was born about 1843 or 1844, near Uniontown, Pa., and died April 11, (or within a day of that date) , 1916, in the State Hospital (emergency case), at Nevada, Moussori, and an undertaking establishment gave him a decent burial in the city's Deep Wood Cemetery. He is said to have died of chirresis of the liver, and at his death to have been without any known funds. Alsinas is said to have married a woman named Susie (last name forgotten) of Nevada, daughter of a family of several children, all very poor and in need of assistance. It is thought that his wife Susie survived him. Alsinas' first name may have been Robert , but no facts support this statement. His interment came to forty-five dollars. William Bryan, son of James and Mary Goodge Bryan, was probably born in 1839 or 1840, and died when quite young. But he may have been born at an earlier date, his position in the Bryan family of births has been put last for convenience. There may have been another son born and died young, but this is not definitely known. This completes the history of the Bryan family from James Bryan, the first, and his son James Bryan, the second, who married Mary Goodge, sister of Catherine who married one William Cotton and sister of John Goodge, mentioned frequently in this hosiery. The name of James Bryan, the first, his Christian name is referred to, was given the writer by his father James Hamilton Bryan, and this is all that is known about him, exception that he was married and was the father of a large family, the names of which have been recorded in the first part of this narrative, and that he is supposed to have lived in Virginia and to have migrated to Maryland, near Cumberland, or to Pennsylvania, near Uniontown. Whatever the connection may be between James Bryan, the first, and Morgan Bryan of Winchester, Virginia, is not definite. James Bryan, the first, may have been a son of Morgan or a son of any one of Morgan's sons who married and had issue of sons.