Allen Bryant b. ca 1793 was most likely a son of John Bryant Jr. and Judith Winfrey. We would like to find male descendant to DNA test and confirm this. (Our research group will contribute to the cost.) In the meantime, here are our reasons for listing him as a likely son:
--There are no other known candidates for the father of Allen Bryant, nor is there any data supporting another candidate.
-- Allen’s DOB. Based on John Jr.’s estimated marriage date, property tax information, and all census information through 1840, we know that John Bryant Jr. and Judith Winfrey could have had children born b. 1784-5 and b. 1787-1802. Allen Bryant’s DOB of ca 1793 fits neatly in the second slot.
--Allen's POB. Allen Bryant was born in Virginia. John and Judith were living in Virginia in 1793.
--Allen could fit in the 1820 household of John/Judith. Allen cannot be found anywhere as the head of his own household in 1820; however, as an alternative, he could have been living in Jackson Co, AL, which was not ennumerated in 1820.
--Jackson County was ground zero for Allen and this branch of the RIC Bryants. By the early 1820’s, the Bryants had begun homesteading in Jackson Co, AL. John Jr. and Judith spent a lot of their lives in Jackson County. Randolph Bryant was entrenched there from ca 1821 until his death in 1856. John III lived in Jackson for a period of time but probably spent most of his adult life in Lincoln Co, TN until 1836 when he moved to Mississippi. William Bryant appears to have lived in Jackson until the 1840s, when he followed John III to Mississippi. Allen was documented in Jackson County from 1830-1870.
--Allen lived closest to his in-laws but not too far from his likely parents and brother Randolph. By 1830, per the census, Allen and Mary Morgan Bryant had their own household in the Big Coon Creek area. Land records show Goin Morgan was an adjacent property owner. It’s not clear whether this was Mary’s father Goin Sr. b. 1770-1780 (per 1830 census) [1] d. bef. 1840 or her brother Goin Jr. b. 1800-1810 (per 1840 census). Both lived nearby. Allen and Mary were about 5 miles from the Mud Creek/Carnes area of Jackson County, AL where Randolph homesteaded.
--RIC Bryants were connected to a Wilson family and so was Allen Bryant. 1) Ca 1830, John Jr./Judith moved from Jackson AL to Franklin Co, TN. Doing so at their elderly age suggests that it was to be close to another family member. In the 1830 census, there were no other Bryants in Franklin Co, so if there was a family connection, it was probably through a sibling of John or Judith or through one of their daughters. Five census pages away was a Thomas Wilson b. ca 1800 in Va. By the 1840 census, John Jr. and Thomas Wilson were both in Jackson living a few households apart. In 1860, Thomas and wife Elizabeth Wilson lived next door to Allen Bryant and Randolph’s son John J Bryant in Jackson. 2) Ca 1854, Mary, youngest daughter of Allen and Mary Bryant married John/Jonathan Wilson.
--RIC Bryants were connected to a Morgan family, and Allen married into it. 1) In 1840, John Jr. lived next door to a William Morgan b. 1790-1800 and a few houses from a John Morgan b. 1790-1800, presumably brothers of Allen’s wife Mary Morgan Bryant. 2) In 1863, James Martin (son of John J. Bryant, son of Randolph) married Amanda Morgan, daughter of Joseph Morgan b. 1817, son of Goin Morgan Sr. (For more information on the Morgans, see footnote 1 below.)
--After the death of his parents, John J. Bryant (son of Randolph, son of John Jr.) moved very close to Allen Bryant; John/Jonathan Wilson who married Allen’s daughter; Joseph Morgan, son of Goin Morgan Sr.; and Thomas Wilson.
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This is a rough, incomplete approximation of the children of Allen Bryant and Mary Morgan:
Jesse Bryant 1829 –
James H Bryant 1831 – 1860 m. Phoebe Sanders
Lorena Bryant 1833 –
Lucinda Bryant 1835
Cynthia Bryant 1837
Mary Bryant 1840 m. John/Jonathan Wilson in 1856
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[1] Some descendants of Allen Bryant and Mary (Pollie) Morgan list Mary's father as Gideon Rufus Morgan b. 1751 in MA m. Patience Cogswell. This is incorrect. The Gideon Rufus Morgan family has been well documented through DAR, SAR, and other sources. Mary's correct father was Goin Morgan. He married Malinda (Millie) Nevilles on 27 Dec 1797 in Knox Co, TN. In addition to all the information above supporting Mary's parentage and family, she and Allen had a Mary Nevels (7) living with them in 1850. Finally, there is a short family history titled "The History of the John Morgan Family"; it was copied from the notes of John Franklin Morgan and dated 28 Feb. 1969. Among other things, the document states that Goin and Millie had 6 sons (Bill, Goin, Nath, Joseph, James, and John) and 6 daughters (Kissa, Pollie, Sallie, Linda, Martha, and Rosa).