Elisha Bryant

We believe the following data proves that Elisha was the son of William Bryant and Molly, grandson of John Jr. and Judith.

1. Elisha was a common name among the RIC Bryants in both the Austin and John Jr. lines.

2. John Jr. and Judith had a DNA-proven son named William Bryant. In the 1830 Jackson census, William Bryant was on Ancestry Image 13. He had a son with a DOB of 1810-1815. This son was gone by the next census. Elisha appeared for the first time in the 1840 census, a match for William’s missing son. The two Bryants closest to Elisha in 1840 were William and Allen Bryant, a probable son of John Jr. and Judith. (Elisha could not have been a son of Allen, because Allen did not have a son b ca 1815 in the 1830 census.)

3. In 1850, Elisha stated that he was born 1815 in Tennessee. This date/location matches other RIC Bryants who were in Lincoln Co., Tn at that time.

4. The proven and possible family connections below further prove that Elisha was an RIC Bryant.

Proven Connection to the McKinney Family:

Elisha: A death certificate proves that Elisha married Nancy McKinney. In 1830, John McKinney was 2 actual census pages away from William Bryant and had a girl 5-9 (DOB 1821-1825) in his household. This girl appears to have left her father's household before the 1830 census. We believe she was Nancy McKinney who married Elisha Bryant ca 1837. What was Nancy's DOB? The 1850 census cited 1824, and the 1860 census said 1818. A midpoint of 1821 appears to the best choice. That makes her 16 at the time of marriage and fits the 1830 census of John McKinney. In 1840, Elisha and Nancy lived only 3 actual census pages from John McKinney. In summary, it appears almost certain that Elisha's wife came from John McKinney's household, as there were no other McKinney households with children close to William or Elisha in 1830 or 1840.

RIC: William's DNA-proven son Harmon Bryant married Millie McKinney b. in AL. The marriage took place in AL before 1849 prior to moving to MS with Harmon’s parents and siblings. In 1840, the oldest girl in John McKinney's household was 10-15 (DOB 1825-1830). This fits the 1825-6 DOB of Millie based on the 1850 and 1860 MS censuses. (Some descendants of Thomas McKinney, brother of Millie and Nancy, suggest that his father was a Thomas McKinney, Sr., presumably of Madison Co, AL. We can find no evidence whatsoever to support this and much to contradict it.)

Proven Connection to the Kennamer Family:

RIC: John Preston Bryant (descendant of John Bryant/Judith Winfrey by son Randolph) married Minerva Tennessee Kennamer.

Elisha: Ida Hunter (grandaughter of Elisha) married C. C. Kennamer, uncle of Minerva Tennessee Kennamer. Ida and CC had a daughter named Maude. She had a 1920's album with a photo of Hazel Helen and Mildred Virginia, daughters of John Preston and Minerva Tennessee.

Possible connection to Hunter family.

RIC: LCT records state that on 1 May 1815, William Prude, Joseph Riley & Hance Hunter were appointed commissioners “to lay off a support for one year for the widows and familys of Vardeman Shelton and Charles Duncan and make report to this court.” Another entry stated that, on 7 Aug. 1815, Joseph Kelley, Hance Hunter & William Prude were appointed to “set apart a sufficient part of estate of Charles Duncan decd for the use of the widow, made return of same.” (Vardeman Shelton and Charles Duncan died in the War of 1812.) Both the Duncan and Shelton families were related to the Bryants through marriage. Therefore, the Bryants and Hunters knew each other prior to 1820. In 1840, Sarah Hunter, widow of Hance Hunter was living next door to Thomas Bryant, a probable RIC in LCT.

Elisha: Elisha's s daughter Eliza Jane married James Hunter Jr. in JCA before 1866. This could be the same Hunter family.

Possible Connection with the Berry & Hunter families.

RIC: When some of the Berry brothers from Jackson Co, AL led a migration to Madison Co, AR in the early 1840s, two grandchildren of John Jr. and Judith (Kesiah and William) joined the caravan. Kesiah's husband either died or abandoned her and she had a couple of children with one of the Berry boys.

Elisha: Living next door to William Bryant in both the 1830 and 1840 census was a William Berry. He appears to be the father of Rebecca Berry who married James Hunter Sr. Their son James Hunter Jr. married Eliza Jane Bryant.

Possible Connection to the Corn Family:

RIC: In 1850, Randolph Bryant owned land with or purchased land from a William S. Corn. Also, Sarah Alvenia Bryant (granddaughter of Randolph) m. Samuel Corn bef. 1861.

Elisha: In Elisha’s 1860 household was a boy named James Corn (mistranscribed by Ancestry as Cora.)

Possible Connection to the Mauldin Family:

RIC: William Bryant's daughter Seralda Jane married a Mauldin.

Elisha: Millie McKinney's brother Thomas supposedly had a daughter who married a descendant of Seralda Jane Bryant Mauldin.

Another research area:

In 1860, Elisha lived in Bellefonte near a William L. Shelton, who appears to be the father of Amanda C. Shelton who married James A. Bryant, probable son of Tillman Bryant. Tillman’s origins are unknown. Octavia Bryant < David Bryant < James A. and Amanda Shelton married George Mauldin in Dekalb Co, AL.