David P. Bryant was born ca 1789[1] in Buckingham Co, Va. After the death of his father ca 1809, David was listed as head of household in the 1810 Buckingham census. That meant he was "officially" responsible for his 7 younger brothers and sisters. However, most of the real decision-making was probably done by the three older women in the household. One was over 45 (either his mother or a grandmother). The other two were aged 26-44 (probably two aunts or his mother and an aunt). The family was living on Rock Island Creek very close to Austin Bryant.
Along with many other men from Buckingham Co, David P. served in the the 7th Regiment of the Virginia Militia under Lt. Col. William Gray during the War of 1812. Some of the other Bryants in the unit many have been his cousins.
After the War, David moved to Green Co, Ky where he married Elizabeth Puryear. She was the daughter of Rev. War soldier Jesse Puryear and Elizabeth Rice.
This is a summary of the Bryant family:
David P. Bryant b. ca 1789 in Buckingham Co, Va d. 1823 m. 13 Aug 1815 in Green Co, Ky
Elizabeth Puryear b. ca 1794-5 [2] in Va d. ca. 1820-32 m1 13 Aug 1815 in Green Co, Ky (daughter of Jesse Puryear Sr. & Elizabeth Rice)
1. Eunice (“Nicy," “Nellie”) b. ca 1816 m. Henry Benningfield 20 March 1837 (marriage bond stated that Eunice was 21)
2. Anthony Murray b. 20 Dec 1818 in Washington Co, Ky (directly north of Green Co at that time) d. 1889 in Grayson Co, Tx m1 Clarissa E. Young on 23 Oct 1842 in Hardin Co, KY. (Anthony Murray Bryant was named for his grandfather, who was, in turn, named for his mother's brother. See information about the Murrays in Chap. 3) For more on Anthony, click here.
3. Jesse Puryear b. 3 Oct 1820 d. 1886 in Grayson Co, Tx m1 Mariah I. Young on 29 Sept 1842 in Hardin County, Ky. (Jesse was named for Elizabeth Puryear's father.) For more on Jesse, click here.
4. Sally or Sarah b. ca 1821-2 m. Isaac Hodgen Elkins on 26 Feb 1840 in Hardin Co, KY d. 1842
5. Thomas M. b. 11 April 1823 d. after 1835 (he died young and unmarried)
All the Bryants appear to have settled initially in Green Co, Ky. However, deeds show that David and his mother moved to Washington Co, Ky within a few years and owned land adjacent to each other. David's son, Anthony Murray Bryant, stated that he was born in Washington Co. on 20 Dec 1818. Sometime after Anthony's birth and before Aug. 1820, David P. moved his family back to Green Co; however, his mother remained in Washington Co. for several more years. David sold his Washington Co. parcel to Lewis Gare in Sept. 1821.
In the 1820 census Green Co. census, David was listed as a "planter" and ennumerated in the town of Summersville, which is located in the part of Green Co that became Taylor Co in 1848. Deeds indicate proximity to Robinson Creek.
In 1823, David made the fateful trip to Missouri described in the previous chapter. Elizabeth was appointed guardian of their children on Nov. 17, 1823 following her husband's death. Elizabeth's father, Jesse Puryear, provided surety for the guardian bond so did Thomas Wallace, Aaron Harding, and Thomas Miskell.
An appraisal of David's estate was made on 8 Dec 1823.[3] The long list included the following:
· Five head of horse $302.50
· 12 head of cattle $85 and six sheep $9.00
· 3 HHDG prized tobacco supposed 4,000# $108.00
· three negroes $1050.00
· Due by note to estate $1067.06
The total appraised value--not including any land--was $2,960.18; the document was signed by Elizabeth Briant, admin. Also, on the same day, a number of items were sold. Their value totaled $279.01. Among the purchasers were the following people: Thomas Cave (father-in-law of William Price Bryant); Joseph Rice (Elizabeth's cousin, son of Randolph Rice and Sarah Puryear Rice); Samuel Puryear (brother of Elizabeth Puryear Bryant); Jesse Puryear (Elizabeth’s father or brother); George Rice Jr. (Elizabeth’s uncle); Hezekiah Puryear (Elizabeth’s brother); Henry Tapscot (a Bryant neighbor from Buckingham, Va, son of William Tapscott and Winifred Cobb Tapscott). Finally, William P. Bryant (David’s brother) purchased a large bible, which could have additional family information.[4]
Following the death of her husband, Elizabeth Puryear Bryant married Martin Shipp on 26 June 1824, having four more children. Their last child was born 22 April 1829.
In Sept 1829, Anthony Murray, Jesse P. and the rest of the siblings were placed under the guardianship of Joseph Richeson, one of the founders of Green County.[5] (Richeson was also listed as one of the appraisers of David’s estate.) It is unclear whether Elizabeth was still alive at that time. The 1830 census for Martin Shipp's household included a woman of Elizabeth's age. It was either her or a relative of Martin's. (The woman was too old, however, to be Lucretia Burch/Birch, Martin's second wife -- unless there was an enumeration error.)
A short tract written about Anthony Murray by a descendant stated, "His father died when he was eleven years old, and he went to live in a good home with friends of his parents. A good home was also secured for his brother and sister."[6] Despite the errors in those sentences (see footnote), it is notable that his mother was not mentioned.
The whereabouts of the Bryant children in 1830 is hard to discern. Based on the census, it looks like three of them were still living with Martin Shipp. The other two may have been in the Joseph Richeson household.
Elizabeth died 1829-32. If her death occurred in Green Co., she was probably buried in the Puryear family cemetery on Elkhorn Knoll in what is now Taylor Co. Approximately 7 family members were buried there.
There is a minority opinion that Elizabeth moved to Illinois with Martin and left the Bryant children behind.[7] Certainly, Martin had remarried Lucretia Birch by 1831-2 and their first child, Robert, was born in Illinois in 1832-3.[8] Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate Lucretia's father (John Burch/Birch) in the 1830 census, but the 1850 census indicated that Lucretia had a brother, Timothy, who was b. ca 1826 in Ky. Thus, Lucretia could very well have married Martin in Green Co. and moved to Illinois with him and her parents. In that case, Elizabeth certainly died in Green Co.
In 1831, Joseph Richeson signed apprenticeship papers for the Bryant boys. These papers stated the date of their 21st birthday. From that, we derived their DOBs. Anthony Murray was apprenticed to Thomas S. T. Moss, a blacksmith. Jesse apprenticed with Washington B. Webb, a tailor. Thomas went to Micajah Hilliard for a blacksmithing apprenticeship. In 1835, Thomas' apprenticeship was transferred to Joshua Ryan. Starting in 1840, several of the children married in Hardin County, Ky.
On 20 August 1838, Joseph Richeson executed a sale of land and appurtenances on behalf of all the Bryant children. The amount of acreage is difficult to discern but its value was $420.50. The conveyance was to Henry Landers.
Many members of the family remained in Kentucky for decades. For more information on Jesse Puryear, click here. For more information on Anthony Murray, proceed to the next chapter.
[1] He was listed on the Buckingham Co personal property tax rolls as an adult 21 or over for the first time in 1810.
[2] A lot of information on the Puryears was based on a book written by Grace Hollis Puryear and self-published in 1970. Before listing the children of Jesse Puryear, Grace wrote, "All their birth dates are estimated." As it happened, the Puryear information on the Elizabeth Puryear and David Bryant was way off. We have based Elizabeth's DOB on the 1810 census when she was still living with her parents and the 1820 census when she was married to David Bryant. The 1794-5 DOB jives with the 1830 census for Martin Shipp, when she may or may not have been alive.
[3]Green County, Ky Inventory Record Book 1821-1825, pages 222-224.
[4] The fact that the family bible was in David’s possession is yet more proof that he was the oldest son of Anthony and Rhoda.
[5] A Thomas Robinson provided surety on the guardian bond.
[6] Written by Mollie Bryant King, daughter of Anthony Murray, the one page bio is entitled, "Bryant Family Tree." Mollie must not have realized that her father had two brothers and two sisters or that his mother was still alive. Also, Anthony Murray was only 5, when his father died. At 11, he may have moved into the Richeson household.
[7] Some time ago, Richard Henbest, a descendant of Martin and Elizabeth Puryear Bryant Shipp visited the property in Illinois that had once belonged to Martin Shipp. On the property, he found and photographically documented a stone with the initials E. B. S. Mr. Hembest believed it was the grave marker for Elizabeth Puryear Bryant Shipp. Thus, the stone is probably the source of claims that Elizabeth died in Illinois. Of course, the initials could have stood for any Shipp or any family with a surname beginning with "S" that lived in the vicinity.
[8] Robert Shipp's obit stated that his mother was Lucretia Burch. His DOB was stated consistently in censuses as 1832 or 1833.