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Click on the map to enlarge. The mouth of Rock Island Creek is on the James River just below the "o" in Albemarle County. The property owned by John Bryant Sr. was east of the creek near the James River. (Do not confuse the squares in this map with survey sections.) The road to Woodhaven Farm B&B (see link below), which sits on the old Bryant land, is very close to Red Bud Ln.
The Rock Island Creek Neighborhood
Richard Murray, father-in-law of John Bryant, purchased land on George's Creek in 1764 and 1765. (It was adjacent to the Jefferson's Snowden estate, a portion of which Richard leased.) Richard's land was later inherited by his son Anthony Murray. The Bryant and Murray properties were very close, linked by Howard's Road.
Harden Perkins and son Price Perkins m. Sarah Blakely. (A descendant of John Bryant Jr. later married a Blakely in Franklin Co, Tn).
Peter Jefferson and son Randolph Jefferson owned Snowden, a 2000-acre family estate close to the Bryant property. The original ferry to Scottsville operated from Snowden. (Mildred Bryant married, Thomas Ware, an overseer for Snowden.)
Widow Tapscott (Some of the Tapscotts later moved to Ky with the Bryants)
Thomas Meade Cobbs had a large estate (his brother Robert appears to have been a signer of the Declaration of Albemarle)
James Couch (We have been investigating migratory links with this family. Many Couches migrated to Lincoln Co. Tn in the early 1800s and were closely linked to the family of John Bryant III.)
John Thomas (signed the Declaration of Albemarle; some of this family migrated with the Bryants to Ky and intermarried with Winfreys)
William Howard, Thomas Carter, Daniel Puckett, and Capt Thomas Anderson who married Sarah Howard (he signed the Declaration of Albemarle)
George Rice had 2 children that married in to the Puryear family. Descendants migrated with the Bryants to Ky and intermarried; some also went on to Missouri together). Land tax summaries state that George arrived in Buckingham from Goochland Co.
Israel Winfrey probably from Lincolnshire, England (descendants intermarried and migrated with Bryants to Ky); Richard Bryant was still living near the Winfreys in 1830 in Adair. A Nancy Winfrey lived near the Bryants in 1850 in Tippah, MS.
John Staton d. ca 1789 m. Dameron were long time neighbors. John's children were named in his 1789 will. He had a son William Staton. Two of William's sons, George and Thomas, moved to Ky with the Bryants and settled near Richard Bryant. A John Staton lived near Richard's mother Rhoda in Washington Co, Ky in 1820.
Reuben Puryear and David Pryor (a spelling variation of Puryear). A niece of Reuben's married David Bryant in Green Co. Ky.
A branch of Ballowes match the RIC Bryant DNA. Thomas Ballowe owned land adjacent Richard Murray in the part of Albemarle that became Buckingham. In 1772, Thomas Ballow and Elizabeth Ballow witnessed the will of Richard Murray in Buckingham County. The 1810 census showed a Fanny Ballowe living near RIC Bryant. In 1882, T. H. Ballowe and W. S. Ballowe witnessed the will of Richard's great great grandson, Henry K. Bryant in Buckingham Co.
Daniel Low and Beverly Low
Joseph Cunningham, who had a large stable of horses
What happened to the Rock Island Creek property?
In 1798, following the death of John Sr., a series of land transactions took place:
John Bryant paid taxes for two tracts (200 and 140).
Anthony Bryant paid taxes on 500 acres with notation “Jno. B” to the side.
Austin Bryant paid taxes for 150 with a notation by his name that is difficult to read
John Jr. sold 150 acres of the 790 to Austin Bryant
John Jr. sold 500 acres of the 790 to Anthony Bryant
John Bryant's widow may have retained a life interest in the original 200 acres until her death. We have not been able to find records from 1799-1803. After that, Anthony Bryant, John Bryant, Jr. (John B.), and Austin Bryant were involved in several land transactions, mostly among themselves, although Anthony did sell a tract to Wilson Cary Nicholas, a US Senator, governor of Virginia, and political protégé of Thomas Jefferson. To see a summary of land activities, click here
Apparently, some of the property was still in the hands of a “John Briants” as of December 12, 1832. John Couch and William Anderson recorded 170 acres “on small branches of Rock Island Creek joining lines and land formerly Price Perkins and now owned by Doct John Ghant, John Briants, and James Tapscotts." (This was probably Austin's son or grandson.)
In a booklet entitled "Of Kith and Kin: The Family of Reuben and Sallie Amos Bryant," the author wrote that Henry Bryant and his wife Elizabeth Robertson owned a home on 300 acres in the Slate River District. She then cited the following from Buckingham Court House, Land Book 1869-1872 page 2: "Henry Bryant, owner, resident, fee simple, 80 acres, Rock Island Creek, fourteen miles north of Buckingham Court House, total value of land including buildings for tax purposes $3.00, the sum included in the value of each tract of land on account of buildings $1.50, total value of land and buildings $1.40, amount of tax on entire tract $1.20, derived from J. C. Turner (John C. Turner), amount of levy for county purposes $0.48 per centum for state tax. The same listing was carried through 1882....This was the property owned by John Turner, father of John C. Turner. John C. received it from the estate of his father, who in turn sold it to Henry Bryant." At Henry's death, 300 acres were broken up and willed in parcels to each of Henry's children. It's unclear whether this is part of the original property owned by John Bryant Sr.
Today, 250 acres of the property originally owned by John Bryant Sr. is occupied by Woodhaven B & B.
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