William Price Bryant

Based on the 1840 census, William Price Bryant and Nancy Cave[1] had at least six children. This included at least two sons. According to a family story, one son was Joe, a singing master, who moved to Illinois. Here is the family composition based on censuses from 1820-1870:

William Price Bryant b. 1793 in Va d. aft. 1860 in Mo or IN m. 6 May 1816 in Green Co, Ky

Nancy Cave b. ca 1800 in Va d. after 1870 in Indiana m. 6 May 1816 in Green Co, Ky

Rhoda Ann b. 29 June 1818 in Green Co, Ky d. 9 Nov 1897 in Morgan Co, In m. James Hardwick 22 Dec 1837 in Hendricks Co, In

Sarah M. b. 20 Feb 1820 in Green Co, Ky d. 20 Apr 1901 in Cass Co, M0 m. Charles Elias Moudy Mar 1846 in Hendricks, In

Son b. 1820-5 in Green Co, Ky, perhaps Joseph A. m. Elizabeth Ann Snoddy in 30 Dec. 1846 in Hendricks Co, IN. (According to a family story, there was a son named Joe, who became a singing master and moved to Illinois.)

Nancy S. b. 7 July 1825 in Green Co, Ky d. 19 May 1905 in Morgan Co., Ind. m. Peter Staley on 29 April 1846 in Henricks Co., Ind. (Peter died before they had any children and Nancy remained "the Widow Staley" for the rest of her life.)

Possible Unknown Girl b. 1827-8 d. bef. 1840 (based on a possible interpretation of the 1830 census)

Elizabeth Isabelle b. 9 Nov 1830 in Green Co, Ky d. 7 May 1906 in Morgan Co, Ind. m. A. Calvin Westmoreland on 28 Sept 1851 in Hendricks Co, Ind

Son b. 1830-1835 in Green Co, Ky 

Most of the family was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. According to a survey of the cemetery published by the DAR in 1966, the family plot had:

1. Four unmarked stones identifying graves (two of these are presumed to be Nancy Cave and William Price)

2. Buried next to them was Rhoda A. Bryant Hardwick

3. Buried next to her was Nancy S. Bryant Staley

4. Buried next to her was Elizabeth, wife of George R. Bryant, who shares a stone with her son Franklin S. (George R. Bryant was presumed to the the son of John Strange Bryant. Elizabeth ("Emily") was supposedly a Gordon. At this point we cannot explain why they were buried with the RIC Bryants.)

Buried elsewhere in the cemetery was Elizabeth Bryant Westmoreland and Calvin Westmoreland.

Below is a timeline on the family followed by brief bios on the known daughters.

1814 (Oct 24): Rhoda Briant executed a power of attorney, authorizing her son Price Briant to dispose of the land left to her by her late husband, Anthony Bryant, in Buckingham Co, Va.

1816 (May 6): Wm. P. Bryant m. Nancy Cave in Green Co, Ky.

1820 The census for Green County, Ky listed him as Price Bryant (26-45). He appears to have been a wealthy man as he had seven slaves. There were 2 boys under 10, 3 boys 10-15, 1 male 16-18, plus his wife Nancy (16-25), and two girls under 10. Based on the date of their marriage and an analysis of all censuses over their lifetimes, it appears that there were 5-6 extra boys in the household. Who were they? William P.'s youngest siblings were living with his mother Rhoda in Washington Co, Ky. The rest of his siblings were married and had their own households. Nancy's parents were alive at this time so it's unlikely any were her brothers. The DOBs of the unknown boys were: 1802-1804 (1), 1805-1810 (3) and 1810-1820 (2).

One possibility is that they were the children of Winniford Rice m. David Bowles.

The John Bryant and George Rice families lived very close to each other in Buckingham Co, Va and descendants migrated to Ky. Living very close to William Price Bryant was his brother Richard Bryant, who married a granddaughter of George Rice. Another brother, Anthony Bryant, also married a granddaughter of George Rice. William Price apparently had a large plantation, so he may have taken in the boys to help with it. This could explain why all the Bowles children who were born in Bourbon Co, KY married in Green and why one of the Bowles boys ended up in Hendricks Co, Indiana (William Price migrated there.) Another possibility is that some of the extra boys could be sons of Edwin Rice, son of George, who died between 1813 and 1820 in Green.

1830 The census for Green Co listed him as Price Bryant, age 30-40.  In addition to Nancy (20-30), the household included 1 boy age 5-10; two girls age 0-5; 1 girl age 5-10; and another girl 10-15.

1833 William P. Bryant purchased 250 acres in Green Co and recorded the deed.

1836 The family moved to Morgan Co, In

1837 (Dec 20) Daughter Rhoda M. married James Hardwick in Hendricks Co, In

1840 Wm P. Briant was in the Morgan Co, IN Census with 1 male 5-10, 1 male 15-20, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 15-20, 2 females 20-30,  1 female 40-50

1844 Index to Hendricks Co, Indiana listed W. P. Bryant in Franklin Township. 

1846 (17 Feb) The will of Nancy's father, Thomas Cave, named his children as follows: Clara Rice, Nancy Bryant, Pemberton Cave, Jeriah Rice, Betsy Rice, Abner Cave, Robert Cave, Ann Allen, Mary Cave, Martha Cave, William Cave and Thomas Cave.

1846 (29 Apr) Daughter Nancy S. m. Peter Staley in Hendricks Co, In 

1846 (March) Daughter Sarah M. married Charles Elias Moudy.

1848 (14 Sep) Nephew James M. Bryant, son of Willis Bryant, visiting from Pulaski Co, Mo, married niece Elizabeth Higgins (daughter of Nancy S.) in Hendricks Co, In. The newlyweds returned to Missouri.

1850 (March 21): William P. Bryant purchased 100 acres for $937 from Abner Alexander in Hendricks Co, Ind.

1850 The census for Hendricks Co (Franklin-post office) listed William (middle initial indecipherable; it has been mistranscribed as "J") age 57, born Virginia; Nancy J. age 50, born Ky; and Elizabeth R. age 20, born Ky. (Ennumerated in the Bryant household was a Day family: Israel B. Day, Deborah Day, Joseph B. Day, plus Elizabeth, Martha, John, and Phebe who married a McCormick. Israel's occupation was wagon wright. He was b. 1804-5 in New Jersey. William and Israel may have had a business together. If there was a familial relationship, it was more likely through Deborah, who was born ca 1814 in Ohio; her father was from Virginia. Israel B. died 8 March 1865.)

1851 (28 Sept) Elizabeth Isabelle m. A. C. Westmoreland in Hendricks Co, In

1853 A special census in Hendricks Co showed William P. Bryant in Franklin Township

1856-7 The Bryant, Westmoreland, and Moudy families moved to Cass Co, Mo. The Hardwicks moved to adjacent Bates Co, Mo.

1860 The Cass Co, Mo census showed Wm. P. Briant (67) and Nancy (63) living with their daughter Elizabeth and her husband A.C. Westmoreland.

1862 Civil War Records indicate that Azariah or Albert C. Westmoreland served in Company B of the Cass Co. Home Guard, Missouri Calvary.

1870 The Morgan Co, Ind. census showed Nancy Bryant, living with her daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law, Calvin Westmoreland. Also in the household was a John Bryant b. 1850 in IN, an apprentice carpenter. This must be one of Nancy's grandchildren, indicating that at least one son survived long enough to marry and have children.

1880 The Morgan Co, Ind census showed that Nancy Bryant had "Paralisis" and A. C. Westmoreland had dysentery. 

1900 The Morgan Co, Ind census had Elizabeth Westmoreland, age 70. 

Rhoda Ann was b. 29 June 1818 in Green Co, Ky. She was one of the first children to leave the parental roost, marrying James Hardwick 22 Dec 1837 in Hendricks Co, In. The couple had no children. They were ennumerated in Hendricks in 1840. Rhoda and her husband moved to Bates Co, Mo bef. 1850. She and James remained there in 1860 where they were ennumerated with a boy, John W. Hardwick (11), a nephew. In 1870, James and Rhoda were in McLean Co, Illinois. Living with them was Mary McHatton (30) and Josephine McHatton (7). They remained in McLean in 1880 and Josephine was still living with them. After her husband's death, Rhoda returned to Morgan Co., In where she spent the last two years of her life with sister Nancy Staley in Hall, Indiana. She died 9 Nov 1897 and was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Her obit was published 16 Dec 1897 in the Martinsville Republican.

Sarah M. was born on 20 Feb 1820 in Green Co, Ky. She married Charles Elias Moudy in Hendricks Co, IN in March 1846. The family lived in Morgan Co, In for the 1850 census. Ca 1856-8, the Moudys along with Sarah's parents and her sisters' families moved to Cass and Bates Co, Mo. Elias was a farmer. He and Sarah remained in Cass for the rest of their lives. They had five children: Wilson B., Priscilla, William P. (named after Sarah's father), Rhoda (named after Sarah's sister and/or grandmother), and Othias A. Sarah died April 20, 1901 and was buried in the Moudy cemetery.

Nancy S. Bryant was born in Kentucky 7 July 1825, she married Peter Staley in Morgan Co. on 29 April 1846. They were listed in the 1850 Morgan Co. census. Presumably, Peter died ca 1850. For the 1860 census, Nancy was a widow, living with her in-laws, Eli and Polly Staley. “The Bryant Family History” states that she returned to Ky for a visit in 1866 with her aunt, Millie Bryant Adams. In 1870, Nancy was shown as head of household for a large group of younger Staley relatives in Douglas Co, IL. For the 1880 census, she was living with a Brown family in Morgan Co, IN. (Two of Peter Staley's siblings married into a Brown family. Margaret Staley m. Thomas Brown and John B. Staley m. Sarah Brown. The latter family was on the same census page but Nancy was living with Oliver Harris Brown, presumably a brother of Sarah and Thomas Brown.) Ca 1895 her sister Rhoda M., a widow, came to live with her. In 1900, Nancy was living alone in Morgan County, Ind. She died 19 May 1905 and was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Morgan Co, Ind.

Elizabeth Isabelle Bryant was born 9 Nov 1830 in Ky and died 7 May 1906. She married A. Calvin Westmoreland on 28 Sep 1851 in Hendricks Co, Ind. Along with her parents, the couple and their children moved to Cass Co, Mo (adjacent to Bates where Elizabeth's sister Rhoda was living) ca 1856-8. Calvin served in the Missouri Home Guard at the onset of the Civil War, an interesting fact as he and his family were Quakers. The Westmorelands returned to Ind before 1870. In the 1900 census record, Elizabeth said she had three children, two of whom were still living. One was Nancy Perlina b. May 1854 in Morgan Co., Ind. Another was Surlina or Sarah Sophina born 1855 in Ind. Calvin died 29 Sept 1905 of asthma and complications.  Elizabeth followed him on 7 May 1906. They were also buried at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Morgan Co, Ind.

[1] The Bryants had other connections with the Caves through the Rice Family.