6. Sons John Bryant III and Wm Bryant in MS

Based on the analysis here, we initially determined that John Bryant Jr. and Judith Winfrey had a son, John III, who married Letty/Letha Shelton. This has since been proven by yDNA testing.

John III and was head of his own household in Lincoln Co, TN before 1820. He and Letha were also listed in Lincoln in the 1830 census. In 1832, the Chickasaw Indians, through the Treaty of Potomoc, ceded 6.3 million acres in northern Mississippi. John Bryant III moved his family there in 1835. Final Indian removal happened in 1837. We don't know how many families migrated with the Bryants and whether they did so in an organized fashion or as part of yet another land rush. One family from Lincoln that did move at the same time was that of R. H. Boone, a descendant of Daniel Boone. The Bryants and Boones lived near each other in 1840 and a group of families that founded the town of Carrolville. The city of Baldwyn later replaced Carrolville, when the M & O railroad laid track two miles to the east.

In April 1855, John III made an application for bounty land based on his service in the War of 1812. He died shortly after that application, and it's not clear whether the family received a warrant. Later censuses show Letty Bryant in the Blackland area. Tracking John III to Mississippi, we began to uncover a web of connections between his family and that of William/Molly Bryant, indicating the two Bryant men were brothers. DNA tests on a descendant of William Bryant has proven that he, too, was an RIC Bryant. The totality of the data established that they were brothers.

Based on the age of the oldest boy in his 1820 household, John III probably had a first marriage. If so, Letha Adline Shelton was his second wife. Here's the residence pattern of John III based on censuses and the birthplace of his children:

ca 18013- ca 1821: Lincoln TN

ca 1821- ca 1825: Jackson Co, AL

ca 1825- 1835: Lincoln Co, TN:

1835-to death: Tish, MS

Figuring out the William and Molly side of the family was a challenge. It took us a while to determine that there were two older William Bryants in Tippah, not one, and to locate a mistranscribed census for our William. In time, we discovered a family story, indicating that Harmon and Arena/Irenie were siblings. Since the 1850 census made it clear that Arena (like Seralda Jane) was the daughter of William & Molly, Harmon was also their child. Piece by piece, the rest of the puzzle came together. The fact that Harmon lived next door to Priscilla in 1850, plus other connections, highlighted her as a sibling.[2] Priscilla was very closely linked to Wesley Bryant through Hinkle Baptist Church. Wesley lived next door to William and Molly in 1860. He was also connected to Harmon through the McLain family (see details below). Harmon named a son James Wesley. Arena also had a son named Wesley. Seralda Jane Bryant named a daughter Arena; one son was William Wesley and another was Blake Harmon.[3] The widower Louis McLain lived near and with various members of this family, suggesting his wife had been a Bryant. Also, a McLain child lived with William/Molly in 1860. In short, there were 7 siblings in Mississippi: Priscilla, Harmon, Wesley, Arena, Seralda Jane and Female Bryant who m. McLain, and an unknown Girl Bryant. (The 8th sibling, Elisha, remained in Jackson Co, AL.)

Here's the residence pattern of William/Molly based on censuses and the birthplace of their children:

ca 1811-1815- ca 1819: Lincoln Co, TN

ca 1820-ca 1849: Jackson Co, AL (Two of William's sons married McKinneys that lived nearby in Jackson.)

ca 1849-after 1860: Tippah Co, MS

More Family Connections & Errata

Anthony b. 1818 TN was long an enigma to his descendants. Even prior to DNA confirmation, we felt confident that he was a son of John III. Our reasons were several, including the fact that he and Polly appeared to have been siblings that married Davis siblings. The Davis family apparently lived close to John and Letty in Lincoln. (In 1830, next door to John Bryant III in Lincoln, Tn was an Isom Davis age 20-29. In 1840, there was an Isom Davis household in Tippah with a male 60-69 and another 30-39.)

Anthony arrived in Tippah, MS before 1840 and migrated to Hardeman Co, Tn before 1850. Family lore said:

1. Anthony's family was from “Middle Tennessee.” [The John III line was from Middle Tennessee.]

2. Anthony had several brothers. [John III had several sons.]

3. The brothers moved to Yell Co AR with their Davis kin ca 1855. [actual: 1857]

4. One brother died soon after the move. [This could be William.]

5. Anthony then migrated to Cleveland Co, AR. [Cleveland Co didn't exist until much later. The area of interest was Dallas/Bradley County which later became Dorsey and then Cleveland in 1885.]

6. A third brother supposedly went to Texas [This could be Howard], and there was at least one more brother [see the list above].

7. One or more brothers returned to TN. [Possible brother Elisha could have migrated with the rest of the family and then returned to AL.]

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Hetty Bryant married Pierce Brady before 1843 and had a son with him. Pierce died before 1850. Her son was listed as "Pierce" in the 1860 census, when he was living with his uncle Elza. However, in his Civil War pension record and on his death certificate, he used the name William Price. (William P. or Pierce Brady first married Mary Bartlett ca 1862 in MS. They had one daughter before she died. He then moved to Effingham, IL and married Jemina Jane Osborn in 1869. They had several children, including a "Hetty," named for his mother.)

Around 1852, Hetty married William Price Bryant b. 1827-9, who was probably a cousin. According to family lore, he was illegitimate. If so, his mother was most likely a daughter of John Jr. and Judith b. bef. 1812-4. William Price may have been living in the household of his grandparents (John Jr. and Judith) in 1830 and 1840. He matches an unknown boy in those censuses. There was also a good candidate for his mother in the household.

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The second wife of Wesley was Elvana Kitchens Harrell whose mother was a Yancy. There were a couple of Yancy families in Buckingham Co., Va. Also, a possible RIC, Wilson Marion Bryant, who lived in the Charity area of Lincoln Co, TN in 1860, married Martha Yancy. We do not know if any of these Yancys were related. Harmon had a son with the middle name of Marion. That could have been Harmon's middle name as well.

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Harmon was in Tishomingo in 1850 and 1860. In the 1870 census, he was married to a MaryAnn in Chickasaw MS. He died in Clay Co. MS 1873. Obviously, Harmon was not the son, as some have indicated, of Michael Bryant and Leah Graham. DNA and a large amount of genealogical data prove that Harmon was a Rock Island Creek (RIC) Bryant. Both twin sons of Harmon Bryant married daughters of Elisha Davis and his 2nd wife. (Elisha Davis' first wife was Polly Bryant.) Someone submitted an entry to a Heritage of Tippah County book, incorrectly suggesting that Harmon had a brother named Isaac.

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In 1850 Louis McLain age 26 b AL and 3 McLain children, including Sarah (2 mos), were living with Harmon in Tishomingo MS. In 1860, Sarah E McClain was listed twice in the census. 1) She was listed as age 10 b MS, living with William Bryant and Molly in Tippah MS 2) She was also listed as age 10, living with her father, his new wife Susan Linville.

In 1870, Louis had two Sheltons (Jas V. b. abt 1843 in AL and Wm H. b abt 1853 in MS) in his household. They were relatives of Letha/Letty Shelton Bryant, wife of John III.

Ca 1845, Nancy McLean married Winford Wesley Bryant in AL. Since Louis McLain lived with Harmon Bryant and his daughter lived with William/Molly, his first wife was a Bryant. Wesley Bryant and his unknown sister married siblings Nancy McLain and Louis McLain.

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Priscilla Bryant was probably born in TN. Her birthplace was inconsistent in censuses – TN (1), AL (1), GA (1). However, the GA entry looks like a ditto error. The consensus among Priscilla's children in 1880, when asked to state the place of their mother's birth: TN. Priscilla's tombstone had a DOB of 1812. In censuses, Priscilla herself stated 1811, 1814, and 1815.

Priscilla m Noel Parish (b. GA) ca 1830-1. Trees show their marriage in TN, but her father William appears to have been in Jackson, AL in 1830, and many of Noel's relatives were there as well. Noel may have been living in the Joseph Parish household.

Noel Parish signed John III's 1855 request for additional bounty land based on his 1812 War record.

Priscilla was in Marshall Al in 1840. (Marshall was formed, in part, from Jackson Co, Al.) She was in Tishomingo MS in 1850, in Tippah MS in 1860, and in Alcorn MS in 1870--by virtue of the formation of Alcorn Co, not a physical move. This home was, according to a descendant, about four miles south of Kossuth. The descendant said, "It was brick and stone, very nice and on a large farm."

In 1850, Priscilla lived next door to Harmon and not far from Howard. In 1860, William Price and Hetty lived very close to Priscilla. They remained close to Priscilla in 1870 with the addition of Letty Bryant (70) in their household. Priscilla appears to have been named for Letty's mother, indicating a long-standing relationship between the Bryant and Shelton families.

The Parish family was associated with the formation of the Hinkle Creek Baptist Church in Nov 1853 in Tippah. So was Wesley Bryant. Priscilla was buried in the cemetery cemetery along with a son and grandson.

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There were several William Bryants in Tippah Co:

--The 1830-1850 MS censuses are clearly William Thomas Bryan(t) b. GA and Celia Ann b. SC with 13 children. His DOB was highly consistent (ca. 1792) and so are the ages of the children and his wife. The family followed this migration pattern: In Georgia until 1822; AL ca 1823-1826; Monroe, MS 1827-ca 1834; back to AL ca 1835-1839; and then Tippah, MS from 1840-1850+. All of their children progress perfectly from the 1830 census to the 1840 census to the 1850 census and all were still living with William and Celia in 1850. That means none had married and left home. Therefore, William and Celia cannot be the parents of Harmon, Polly, Elza, William Price, Wesley, etc.

--The second William was married to Molly (Ally/Ollie). He was born (1780-88) in Virginia. He was the brother of John III. Per the 1850 census, they were the parents of Seralda J and Orina/Arena and lived next door to the Measels. Per the 1860 Federal census, William and Molly lived next door to Elisha Davis, widower of Polly Bryant, who had married Hannah Measels. There were no children in the household except a McLain and that links William and Molly to Harmon Bryant and to a deceased daughter who married a McLain. William was in Jackson County, AL in the 1830 and 1840 censuses (there were ennumeration errors in 1840). He was also the father of Elisha Bryant who married Nancy McKinney and remained in Jackson County.

--The third William b. 1835 in TN was the son of John III and Letha. He disappeared after the 1850 census and may have died young.

-- The fourth William migrated from Hardeman, Tn to Tippah after 1850 and died before 1857. Wife Jane remarried Isaac Wilson. Children: Harvey Bryant (DOB 1849), Dorthea, and Elizabeth. Offhand, it sounds like this could be William, the son of John III and Letha. But deeds link him a Simpson Bryant from NC. The RICs have, as yet, no known links to NC. On the other hand, they did have strong links to a Wilson family in Jackson, AL.

--The fifth William went by "William Price." He was b. 1827-8 in AL. He married his probable cousin Hetty Bryant. Mostly likely, he was an out-of-wedlock son of a female Bryant, daughter of John Bryant Jr. and Judith Winfrey.

--The sixth William was listed in the 1845 census with 2 males and 2 females in his household. One possibility is that he could be the son of Gray Bryant from Lincoln Tn.

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Alcorn Co, MS was not formed until April 1870 but apparently some earlier marriages (dating back to 1850) that occurred within the county’s future boundaries have been categorized there. Alcorn was formed from northern parts of Tishomingo and Tippah.

Records incorrectly indicate that these marriages occurred in Alcorn: Seralda Jane Bryant m William Mauldin 16 Jul 1853; Isaac Davis (son of Elisha Dodson Davis and Polly Bryant Davis) married Arena/Irene Bryant on 3 Aug 1856; and Harmon married Sarah Heabbe in 1864.

Priscilla Bryant and Noel Parish did actually live in Alcorn in 1870, shortly after it became a county.

Longitudinal Assessment of Bryants in Tippah/Tishomingo

1840 Federal

Tippah

pg 19: William & Celia from GA with many children; Polly Bryant/Elisha Davis (This proximity appears to be a coincidence, as this is a different William Bryant household from the one heading the right column above)

pg 23 Aaron T (30-40) with wife, many children and slaves (no other info found)

pg 39 Anthony Bryant (20-29) with wife Millie Davis; next door is Zilpha Davis, probable mother-in-law, then Jesse Davis, brother of Millie

Tishomingo

John Bryant III, 2 older males (one is surely Elza), William, John A., Hetty and Letty. Next door: John Shelton, brother of Letty; Priscilla Shelton, mother of Letty; and 2 girls.

Key Event

In 1842, John Jr. and Judith died in Jackson, AL. Any young children or adult grandchildren in their household were on their own. We think some went to Tippah/Tishomingo. If so, they would show up as new Bryants in either 1845 or 1850.

1845 State Census

Tippah

These Bryants were listed along with the number of males/females in their households.

Pg 21: Howard 2/1 b. 1823 in Jackson Co, AL

Pg 26: Grey Bryant 4/5, William Bryant 2/2 (This could be George Gray b. NC from Lincoln, Tn with son William.)

Pg 29: Simpson Bryant from NC is linked (via deeds) to a William Bryant who migrated from Hardeman, Tn to Tippah after 1850 and died before 1857. Wife Jane remarried Isaac Wilson. Children: Harvey Bryant (DOB 1849), Dorthea, and Elizabeth.

Pg 49: Elisha Bryant 5/3 (This could be a son of Michael Bryant and Leah Graham b. 1791 in Moore NC who settled in Hardeman Co, Tn)

Pg 63: Aaron T. Bryant 3/3 b. 1801 in SC

Tishomingo

John Bryant III (5 males/2 females; the same as 1840). John lived next door to Martha Hardin and her son and daughter. (Martha's proximity suggests a close family relationship. What was that relationship? She could not been a daughter of John III and Letty, because she married Elza before 1850. However, she could have been Elza's cousin. Her husband may have been a descendant of the Hardin family that lived in Buckingham, VA and migrated with the Bryants to Kentucky). Letty's brother John Shelton lived in the third house and another brother Thomas Shelton lived in the fourth.

1850 Federal

Tippah

District 2:

Pg 21: William Bryant b. GA with Celia and their 13 children

Pg 38: William Briant (70; born in Va) with Molly (60; born in Va), Serilda Jane (22) and Orina/Arena (17). William Bryant was a brother of John III. (William Bryant b. ca 1820 who married Martha Blakely and moved to Madison County, AR also had a daughter named Serilda Jane.) Living next door to William and Molly was a Nancy Winfrey b. 1781 in Va with grandchildren. The RIC Bryants had a longstanding relationship with the Winfrey family, dating back to Buckingham Co, Va. John Jr. married Judith Winfrey. Thus, Nancy could have been a sister of either William or Molly, or her husband could have been a cousin of William's. Living with Nancy was a John Colston. The RIC Bryants knew a Coulson/Colston family in Jackson County.

p. 40 Wesley Winford Bryant with first wife, Nancy McLain, from AL and children. It's not clear where exactly in the county they lived in 1850. In 1853, Nancy McLain, b. 1822 was buried in the Hinkle Creek Cemetery in the old section near the Parishes and Bryants. Deeds suggest that Wesley was near Falkner after 1857.

Pg 62 Martha Briant (37 AL), Emily (18 TN), Amanda (16 TN), and James Lewellen M. (7 AR). These could be RICs.

Pg 87: John Shelton (45 b. TN) and Sarah (Priscilla) Shelton (80 b. Va). This was Letty's brother and mother. John was single. The Yancys were are on the previous page and Aaron Bryant was on the next page. (According to a Yancy researcher, this Yancy family was not closely related to the Yancy's of Buckingham County.)

Pg 88: Aaron Briant b 1801 in SC was still in Tippah in 1850

Division 3: Simpson & Martha Bryant from NC and children

Tishomingo

Southern Division

Page 44 John/Letty/Hetty (widow of Brady)/William/John A. in a single household. Next door: Elza (26) was shown as head of household. He married Martha Hardin (33) b. in AL and moved into her house. Her children Arabella (9) and Peter S. (6) Hardin were in the household. So was Hetty's son William Pierce or Price Brady (7) whose father died before 1850; he was probably with Elza purely for space reasons, as Hetty was next door. Also in the household was a William L/T Bryant. We think this was actually William Price Bryant, who Hetty (living next door) would soon marry. The last members of the household were Isaac and Mary E. Davis, children of Elisha Davis who has disappeared and Polly Bryant, who had died recently. (Later, Isaac Davis would marry Arena Bryant, daughter of William. They would name one daughter "Letty" for the wife of John III and another daughter "Ollie" for the wife of William.)

Northern Division:

Page 101: H.M. (Howard) 25 b. Jackson Co, AL, wife Elander, Thomas 6, Lousia 2, Marion 1, and William newborn. (Howard, et. al. moved to Van Zandt, Texas where they appeared in the 1860 census. He died in Civil War.) Next door was Hamilton Giles Savage, brother of Kitty Savage who married Priscilla's son William Parish. (The unusual "E" naming pattern was continued by some descendants of Howard. Moreover, his son "Elias" named a daughter "Letty.")

Page 104: Harmon, Millie, and infant John; they shared the household with Louis McLain and his children (Mary, John, Sarah). Next door was Wiseman Tracy Savage (his niece, Kitty, married William Parish). The next house was Priscilla Bryant with husband Noel Parish and their children. The Savages and Parishes were founding members of Hinkle Creek Church. If Priscilla and Noel did not move between 1850 to 1860, this cluster of houses was abt 5 miles SW of Kossuth and about 15 miles due east of Falkner

Page 168: C. Bryant, female (14 b. AL ca 1836) living in Nall/Null household. (Possible RIC Bryant)

1860 Federal

Tippah

Priscilla and Noel lived abt 5 miles SW of Kossuth (about 15 miles due east of Falkner):

155: Priscilla Bryant 49 b. Tn and Noel Parish 50 b. Ga, J. P. Parish 16, Sarah A. Parish 12, GW Parish 4, Lafayette Moore 23, Jasper Moore 21

159: John Shelton (Letty's brother) with wife Melinda and children. It appears that John's mother, Priscilla Shelton moved in with Letty, after John's marriage/remarriage.

161: Thomas Bryant, 4 b. MS (Living with James Yancy 63 b SC? and wife Martha 60. This does not appear to be the son of Harmon, Wesley, or Howard Bryant)

162: William Price Bryant 32, Hetty Bryant 34, and children

331: Martha Bryant 47, b. AL (1813) with Amanda 26 b. TN and James L. M. 16 b. AR (Same family as in 1850). In 1861 James Lewellyn joined the Confederate army. He died of "disease" on Oct. 14, 1861 and was buried in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in what is now Union county. He was survived by his mother Martha Bryant, his sisters Mary Emily Bryant who married D.M. Owen and Amanda J. Bryant. The fact that he was buried in the same cemetery as John Alexander Bryant reinforces the likelihood that he was an RIC. His mother Martha was living in the southern portion of Tippah that became Union Co. in 1870.

368: John M. Bryan (and rest of William/Celia’s children)

369: Robert Bryan (brother of John M. above). The Bryans were unrelated

The following properties are NW of Falkner or in the Falkner area:

535: Elisha Davis 42 b. TN with next wife Hannah and children, one was named "Letty." (Despite intense searching, Elisha is missing in 1850. Some trees have his 2nd batch of children starting in MS; others, in Lincoln, Tn--ca 1850.)

536: William Bryant 72 b. VA and wife Molly 69 b. Va and Sarah E. McClain age 10 (This establishes that one of their daughters married a McClain/McLain and died before 1860.)

565: Wesley Bryant 38 b. AL with second wife Elvira 25 b. Ga and children born in AL and MS

(His land was NW of Falkner.)

566: Isaac Davis (son of Elisha Davis and Polly Bryant) b. Ms with wife and children.

Tishomingo (not stated; by household number)

225: Jacob Shelton and family

226: Letty living with her mother Priscilla Shelton and Polly's daughter Mary E Davis. The census said Blackland P.O.

231: John Alexander Bryant, son of Letty and John III, with wife Margaret Parish and infant son

232: Elza, son of Letty and John III, and family plus Pierce (William Pierce or Price) Brady (son of Hetty by first husband).

337: Harmon, Millie and children

1870 Federal

Alcorn: Noel 57, Priscilla 56, George 15, and Bettie Parish/Briant 7. Alcorn was created from Tippah and Tishomingo in April 1870. Although the census location has changed, the family was apparently still living in the same location abt 5 miles SW of Kossuth and about 15 miles due east of Falkner. (Harmon lost his first wife, Millie McKinney in 1863, probably in childbirth. We speculate that Bettie Bryant could be his child.)

Tippah: On Sept 4, 1870, William Price/Hetty Bryant and children. Letty (70) was living with them. They were probably very close to Noel and Priscilla as per the 1860 census. (After 1870, William Price and Hetty moved to the Blackland Community of what is now Prentiss Co. If so, they may have taken over the land where John and Letty lived in Blackland. That community was roughly 16 miles due south of Priscilla and Noel's farm. Prentiss was formed, in large part from Tishomingo, in April 1870.)

Chickasaw: Harmon

Prentiss: Elza's widow Martha and children.

1880

Grayson Co, Tx: Savages, Noel Parish with sons and Bettie Bryant 17

Union Co, MS: John Alexander with second wife Selena Jane Thornton, plus their children and a mother named "Adline." Based on extensive analysis, we have determined this was Letty who had a middle name of Adline. The DOB fits censuses dating back to 1820 and her place of birth was Kentucky. Selena Jane's mother was listed elsewhere in 1880. Note: John Alexander was in Tishomingo in 1860. Union Co. was formed mostly from the southern part of Tippah. No part of Tishomingo was incorporated into Union. That means John Alexander moved his family to Union Co after 1860. Selena Jane may have had family in the area. Certainly, Martha Bryant was in close proximity, as she and her son, Jame L., were buried in the same cemetery with John Alexander.

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[1] Some descendants of John Alexander have speculated that his father was Elza. This is incorrect. All facts support John III as his father.

[2] We originally listed Priscilla as daughter of John III, but later discovered that her child, Margaret Parish, married John Alexander--a taboo a niece/uncle coupling.

[3] Blake Harmon lived with the widow of his uncle Harmon in the 1880 census where he was identified as a cousin.