CHARLOTTE GREER CHARTER (31) is the oldest known Charter ancestor of the authors.  Charlotte was born in 1800 in Virginia.  Charlotte Charter married Samuel Bryan, both direct ancestors of the authors.  For additional information on the descendants of Samuel and Charlotte Bryan, see the sketch of Samuel Bryan (3).  There are conflicting accounts of Charlotte’s middle and last name.  A 1948 letter from Robert E. Bryant states that “Samuel Bryant married Charlotte Greyer Charter.”  According to “Marriages of Davidson County, Tennessee,”  Samuel Bryan married Charlotte Charlton.  A 1947 letter from Cornelia (Moore) Redfield states that “Samuel married Charlotte G. Charter.”  The book, “Century Review of Maury County, Tennessee,” shows that William DeMoss Bryan’s mother was Charlotte G. (Charter) Bryan.  Several family group sheets by Martha (Mobley) McGill show that Samuel Bryan married Charlotte Greer Charter.

According to a 1957 letter from Martha (Mobley) McGill, Charlotte Charter had a sister named, Ellen.  Ellen Charter married Gilbert Nichols and they had at least two sons:  Henry Gilbert Nichols (born October 3, 1806) and Nehemiah Nichols (born 1808).  Many descendants are known of Henry Gilbert Nichols, however, until Ellen Charter is better proven to be the sister of Charlotte Charter, no additional information on Ellen’s descendants will be included in this manuscript.

References:  1)  Family Group Sheets by Martha (Mobley) McGill;  2)  Letter, Cornelia (Moore) Redfield to Martha (Mobley) McGill, March 25, 1947;  3)  Letter, R. E. Bryant to Martha (Mobley) McGill, July 29, 1948;  4)  Letter, Martha (Mobley) McGill to Miss Jones, June 2, 1957;  5)  “Century Review of Maury County, Tennessee,” Page 296;  6)  “Marriages of Davidson County, Tennessee,” by Edythe R. Whitley, 1981

HISTORY OF BRYAN FAMILY HISTORY

1976 to 1978

CLARA (BALDWIN) BRYAN  -  My mother contacted Clara in 1976 and has had an ongoing correspondence.  Clara sent a history of her line, John Whitfield Bryan, and also a history of Odia (Bryan) Ferguson.  Clara was one of our earliest contacts and provided much information on other Bryan lines which allowed to us to research and discover much more on several lines.

ALMA (HORNSBY) BRYAN  -  Alma contacted my aunt Birch in 1976 and my mother also started writing her that year also.  Alma sent a very complete and extensive history of her line, William Samuel Bryan.  She also contributed on Samuel and Charlotte Bryan, the Revere’s and other Bryan lines.

BERTA (JACKSON) TURNER  -  My mother first contacted Berta in 1976 and Berta provided more information on her line, Odia (Bryan) Ferguson.  In 1983, Berta wrote and gave us another Ferguson contact, Eleanor (Harwell) Roberson.

BEULAH (MCWHORTER) DYER  -  My mother wrote Beulah in 1976 and Beulah sent the history of Ella (Bryan) Dyer line which was compiled by her husband.

CENSUS RECORDS, COUNTY HISTORIES AND OTHER RESEARCH SOURCES  -  The authors located several census records of the descendants of Samuel and Charlotte Bryan which added to the lines where no contact with descendants had been made.  Library research at the State Archives in Austin, Texas and the State Historical Commission in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma helped further expand the manuscript.

1979 to 1982

CASEY FAMILY HISTORY AND BROOKS FAMILY HISTORY  -  The Bryan line is my maternal grandmother’s line.  By 1979, my father’s line (Casey) and my mother’s line (Brooks) were being greatly expanded.  A decision was made to discontinue research on the Bryan line as well as other lines until these projects were completed.  The 200 page book, “Casey Family History” was published in 1980 and the 400 page “Brooks Family History” was published in 1982.

1983

BETTYE (MOBLEY) PATTON  -  Bettye put her pedigree chart in the 1976 “Bicentennial Project of the Home Demonstration Club of Maury County, Tennessee.”  My mother located a copy of her pedigree chart and I wrote her in April of 1983.  Bettye was our first contact with a Bryan researcher other than descendants of Finus Ewing Bryan, my great grandfather.  Several letters, phone calls and a visit let us not only greatly expand the section on the descendants of Ella (Bryan) Mobley, but also added much on several other Bryan lines.  Bettye also was the first to locate the 1832 will of Samuel Bryan in Davidson County, Tennessee, the establishing of another generation of our Bryan ancestry.  Bettye also helped expand the William DeMoss Bryan descendants by his second marriage.  Bettye provided the name and address of Pauline Armstrong, Mattie (Mobley) McGill’s daughter, who generously shared much of her mother’s files with us.  Bettye was also responsible for our contact with Mary (Bryant) Davis.  Bettye is probably the most active researcher of the descendants of Samuel and Charlotte Bryan and her significant contributions to the effort are greatly appreciated.

PAULINE (MCGILL) ARMSTRONG AND MARTHA (MOBLEY) MCGILL  -  I first contacted Pauline by phone and sent her a copy of the manuscript in November of 1983.  In January of 1984, Pauline sent me a very large shipment of Bryan files of her mother, Martha (Mobley) McGill.  Mattie was probably the most active Bryan researcher prior to the compilation of this manuscript.  She had actively corresponded with many descendants of Samuel and Charlotte Bryan in the 1940’s and 1950’s and wrote my grandmother, Julia (Bryan) Brooks, several times.  Much of her research was key in expanding numerous lines and providing information from which more research uncovered many new Bryan lines.  Mattie and her daughter, Pauline, should receive special recognition for their help in documenting our Bryan history.

BRYANT STRASBURG  -  I first contacted Bryant by in phone and sent him a copy of the manuscript in October of 1983.  In the early part of 1984, Bryant sent me a very large shipment of files on the descendants of William DeMoss Bryan’s first marriage.  Bryant’s material sent was very extensive, including numerous biographies, photographs, compiled family group sheets and other material.  His contribution resulted in almost 50 pages being added to the manuscript.

1984

PROSISE COUSINS  -  After calling several Prosise’s at random who lived in the Eden, Texas area, I made contact with Mrs. John Whitfield Prosise.  My mother vigorously pursued documenting the numerous descendants of Charlotte (Bryan) Prosise.  She contacted over a dozen cousins and obtained information that has expanded the Prosise section to almost 50 pages.  Some cousins are:  Ella (Helmers) Prosise, Lillian (Burk) Tomlinson, Imogene (Burk) Pfluger, Lori (Prosise) Jurischk, Thelma (Massey) Ellis, Joan Prosise, Lizzie (Lloyd) Nielson, Vina Lee (Lloyd) Wilson, Earl Lloyd, Harold and Helen Lloyd, Wilma (Lloyd) Logan, Lizzie Belle (Lloyd) Johnson, Nora (Lloyd) Stinson, Emma (Hogan) Prosise, Clara Mae (Prosise) Erwin and Clydia (Johnson) Prosise.

MARY (BRYANT) DAVIS  -  Mary first wrote me in May of 1984, getting my name from Bettye (Mobley) Patton.  A visit with Mary and her family in August of 1985, resulted in more information on the descendants of William DeMoss Bryan’s second marriage.  She also lead us to a new contact, Mildred (Johnston) Bratton, a descendant of Nancy (Bryan) Church.

KATHRYN (HARWELL) ROBERSON  -  I wrote Kathryn in January, 1984 after obtaining her name and address from Berta (Jackson) Turner.  Kathryn responded in February of 1984 sending Bible records and other information of her line, Odia (Bryan) Ferguson.

PATRICIA (FERGUSON) WILLIAMS  -  Pat first wrote me in May of 1984, getting my name from Kathryn (Harwell) Roberson.  She sent many family group sheets and added to the line of Odia (Bryan) Ferguson.

CENSUS RECORDS  -  Dozens of census records of numerous Bryan family members added many more names to the manuscript.  The Dallas Public Library and the regional office of the National Archives in Fort Worth continue to expand the scope of the book.

1985

MCCUBBINS COLLECTION MICROFILM  -  The best find of our July, 1985 research trip was found in the Huntsville, Alabama Public Library which had a microfilm copy of the McCubbins research files on Rowan County, North Carolina.  My mother found the 1801 deed where Samuel Bryan of Davidson County, Tennessee sold land in Rowan County, North Carolina that he inherited from his father, John Bryan.  This discovery uncovered yet another generation back on the author’s Bryan line.  In early 1986, I discovered that the McCubbins microfilm was in the Plano Public Library only a few miles away from my home and research on John and his family began in earnest.  Our second research trip in April of 1986, took us through Salisbury in Rowan County and much of the McCubbins files were copied.

CHARLES STEPHENSON  -  While in the Hickman County court house in July of 1985, the very helpful clerk gave us the phone number of Charles Stephenson who became our first descendant of James Thomas Bryan located.

MR. and MRS. GEORGE S. TATE  -  While visiting the Pulaski Public Library in July of 1985, a researcher there gave us the name of George Tate living in Knoxville, Tennessee, our first descendant of Sarah (Bryan) Tate.

MILDRED (JOHNSTON) BRATTON  -  Mary (Bryant) Davis gave us Mildred’s name while visiting her in July of 1985.  Following a phone conversation with Mildred, I first wrote her in August of 1985.  Mildred responded in September of 1985 adding many descendants of Nancy (Bryan) Church.  Mildred was our first contact with Nancy (Bryan) Church descendant.

BETTYE (MOBLEY) PATTON  -  A visit in July of 1985 resulted in Bettye generously lending me several of her files.  These files greatly expanded the Ella (Bryan) Mobley line to almost 20 pages as well as additional information on other lines.

1986

DEEDS AND WILLS OF ROWAN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA  -  While in Rowan County, North Carolina area in April of 1986, we copied hundreds of pages of deeds and wills from court houses.  Additionally, we copied other Bryan research material found in the excellent Salisbury Public Library.  This material has been most useful in documenting the family of John and Sarah Bryan, currently the oldest Bryan ancestor of the authors.  John’s connection to the line of Morgan and Martha Bryan is now trying to be established.

DAVIDSON COUNTY AND MAURY COUNTY, TENNESSEE RECORDS  -  Both research trips included visiting the Davidson and Maury County Courthouses as well as the Tennessee State Archives.  The link between Maury County and Davidson County Bryan’s was strenghtened.

JOHN K. BRYAN, JR. MANUSCRIPT  -  While at the Salisbury Public Library in April of 1986, a copy of “Bryan History” by John K. Bryan, Jr. was located and a recent telephone conversation with John resulted in him sending his most recent copy of his manuscript which concentrates on Morgan and Martha Bryan and their children’s families.  John will no doubt contribute much more help on unravelling our John Bryan’s connection to Morgan Bryan’s line.

MARY ANNE (WHITFIELD) BEASLEY  -  After finding a copy of “Humphreys County, Tennessee” in the Tennessee State Archives in April of 1986, a sketch of John William Beasley was copied.  This resulted in a phone call to John and he gave the number of his mother who is an active genealogist.  John and his mother are descendants of Amanda (Bryan) Teas line, a second contact of a descendant of James Thomas Bryan.

RUTH (CORBETT) KUNKLE  -  My entry in the July/August, 1986 issue in the Genealogical Helper’s Roots Cellar resulted in a letter from Ruth Kunkle in September of 1986.  Ruth is a descendant of John Bryan’s daughter, Jennet Bryan who married Joseph Orton and is the first descendant of John Bryan located other than those descending from John’s son, Samuel Bryan, our direct ancestor.

PIERCE, PRUITT AND STANLEY COUSINS  -  My mother actively sought and received new information from new cousins descending from Belle (Bryan) Pierce, daughter of Finus and Caledonia Bryan.  Letters were received from Paul Stanley as well as Dwight and Hazel Pierce.

CHARLOTTE (DODSON) PORTER  -  Charlotte contacted my mother and not only added much information on her line, William DeMoss Bryan’s daughter, Odie (Bryan) Dodson, but added much on information on the Samuel Bryan’s daughter, Sarah (Bryan) Tate.  Charlotte grew up around the Tate’s and remained in contact with her distant cousins.

1987 - 1988

UPDATES FROM COUSINS PREVIOUSLY CONTACTED  -  As a result of the Bryan Chain Letter that was started in late 1986, several cousins sent in updates.  Updates were received from Clara (Baldwin) Bryan, Alma (Hornsby) Bryan, Mary (Bryant) Davis, Mildred (Johnston) Bratton, Bryant Stasburg, Bettye (Mobley) Patton and John K. Bryan, Jr.

MARGARET (RICE) WHITFIELD  -  Margaret received my name from her sister-in-law, Mary (Whitfield) Beasley and sent me much information on our Bryan line.  Margaret is a descendant of Mary Louisa (Bryan) Smith and her husband is a descendant of her sister, Amanda (Bryan) Teas.  Margaret added well over 100 descendants of these two lines.

ANCESTRAL FILE, LDS LIBRARY, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH  -  A side trip from a business trip to San Francisco provided me with my first visit to world’s largest genealogical library.  I kept very busy for several days and came back with several hundred sheets of research material for several lines.  The best find on the Bryan line was located in the Ancestral File, a large genealogical data base accessed by a computer terminal.  I discovered that our Bryan line has a second line that converted to the Mormon faith.  John and Mary Bryan’s daughter, Mary Bryan, married Thomas Huey.  Thomas and Mary Huey had a daughter, Rebecca Huey, who married William Reed Orton.  Many descendants of William and Rebecca Orton are members of the LDS church and at least six descendants have entered information into the Ancestral File.  Several hundred descendants were extracted and correspondence should result in hundreds more being added to the manusript.

SHELTON, WININGER AND PACE FAMILIES  -  Most of last two years was devoted to researching my paternal grandmother’s lines and we received our third book from the printers in October of 1988.  This 864 page book includes over 16,300 names in its index.  With the publication my paternal (Casey) and maternal (Brooks) lines in the early 1980’s allowed time to pursue the next generation back, my paternal grandmother (Shelton) and my maternal grandmother (Bryan).  With the publication of my Shelton and related lines, research on the Bryan line will have highest priority of lines being researched.

IMPORTANT DESCENDANTS ADDED TO BRYAN LINE  -  On May 20, 1987, my wife, Diane (Thede) Casey, gave birth to our first son, named Jordan Brooks Casey and then number two, Bryan William Casey was born on May 26, 1989.  Jordan was named after his great great great great grandfather, Jordan Brooks and Bryan was named after two uncles, Bryan Brooks and William Casey.  Bryan Brooks was named from his mother’s maiden name, Julia Ann Bryan, the first of my Bryan line.  Jordan and Bryan are my parents only grandsons (after having five granddaughters from my two brothers).  Needless to say, Jordan and Bryan impact the amount of research getting done, but more cousins keep contributing to the manuscript and time is being found to continue the compilation of our Bryan ancestry.

RENEE (WATERS) HARRIS - Renee was the first descendant of Mary (Bryan) Huey contacted via her entries into the Ancestral File.  She added to valuable information on the Huey family and many additional descendants.  It is certain that she will contribute more on the earlier, Bryan, Huey and Orton lines.

HUEY/ORTON RESEARCHERS - Was successful in contacting two additional researchers of this line, Thera (Johnson) Earl and Grant Orton Johnson, both living in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.  Both are descendants of Mary (Bryan) Huey as is Renee (Waters) Harris.

CENSUS RECORDS - Many additional census records were located and compiled in the last two years which probably represents fifty percent of the time spent on Bryan research during this time frame.  Actual census records for related Bryans doubled during this period and added a couple of hundred additional individuals to our history.

1989 - 1991

OTHER LINES - Most of the time during this period of time was devoted to other lines.  The authors compiled several thousand Olliff cousins as well as added several thousand cousins to the author’s Casey, Tucker, Arrington and Stevenson lines (all related to our Casey ancestry).  On the personl side, my family relocated to Austin, Texas in October of 1989.

RACHEL (ORTON) CAMPBELL - In 1991, it was discovered that one of the granddaughters of John and Sarah Bryan, Rachel (Orton) Campbell, had been extensively researched and that a descendant from this line lived only a few miles from me in Austin, Texas.  John T. Holman generously shared his Campbell files and gave me a copy of the 1974 manuscript on the Campbell line by Olive (Hotchkiss) Cartwright.  John and two other Campbell researchers had also compiled a manuscript on their Campbell line:  “Hiel Orton Campbell and His descendants” which was updated in March of 1991.  Also several dozen census records substantiated and enhanced this line during this period of time.

MARGARET (BRYAN) ALLEN - In response to a query in the Rowan County Register, I contacted an Allen researcher who is a descendant of what appears to be the brother of Thomas Allen who married Margaret Bryan, daughter of John and Sarah Bryan.  Robert G. Allen provided the seed that got this line started.  With new found information from Robert G. Allen and the use of the local bulletin board system which carries the Fidonet genealogy conferences, I contacted another Allen cousin, Alice (Allen) Grogan who provided some information on her Allen line.

MALINDA (ORTON) HOUSE - While researching the Ancestral File in April of 1991, I discovered that part of the Orton line was included in the CDROM collection that LDS church has compiled.  A dozen or so census records also expanded this line, however, no descendants have been located.

1992 - 1993

WILLIAM PARK BRYAN - In May of 1992, I was contacted by John Dorroh who made a major contribution to this Bryan compilation.  John had discovered a 1909 letter by W. C. Bryan which discussed his grandparents family (Samuel and Margaret Bryan).  W. C. had actually attended family reunions that Samuel and Margaret held for the Bryan clan and revealed that many of the children of Samuel Bryan, Sr. had been omitted from his will.  John also shared numerous legal documents and abstracts that greatly strengthened this connection to several previously unknown children.  He also submitted many descendants of his line, Olivia (Bryan) Roland and informed other cousins of the Bryan manuscript being compiled.  In August of 1993, John sent several hundred descendants that had been sent to him by Candi Seaton and in November of 1993, Bessie (Goheen) Bradley sent many more descendants of Julia (Bryan) Goheen, a granddaughter of William Park Bryan.  In December of 1993, Nadine (Bryan) Foley, sent many more descendants of Jonathan Tate Bryan, a grandson of William Park Bryan. The author then added another 30 more census records that validated this new information as well as expanding it.

BEXEY (ORTON) WILLIAMS - In May of 1993, a contact of many years sent in a major update on her Bryan line which included another 200 or more descendants.  Additional census research help round out and enhance this section as well.

RACHEL (ORTON) CAMPBELL - Another 30 or 40 census records were added that resulted in another 100 or more descendants being added to the Bryan compilation.

MARGARET (BRYAN) ALLEN - The electronic bulletin board system provided yet another contact researching Allens in Greene County, Illinois.  In July of 1993, Phyllis Baur added bits and pieces to the Allen puzzle and shared her information on her Greene County, Illinois cousins (cousins that we have in common - but she has no Bryan bloodline).  Over 20 more census records greatly enhanced this section.

1994 - 1995

WILLIAM PARK BRYAN - This section was greatly expanded with major new contributions from Richard E. Bryan and Don Kirk.  John Dorroh continued to add his lines as well and provide source documentation for early Tennessee Bryan family members.

CENSUS RECORDS - Many more census records were added on many different lines with at least 100 new Bryan cousins documented by only census records.

PINKERTON and ALLEN - A very concerted effort was made to add descendants to the several Bryan women that married Pinkerton men and severl letters were written in an attempt to expand the line of Margaret (Bryan) Allen.  Although very few cousins were added, significant information was uncovered.

1996

BRYAN and PINKERTON - Before attending the National Genealogical Society’s national meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, “cousin” John Dorroh and I spent several days going through County courthouses and the Tennessee State Archives as well as visiting Pinkerton cousins who had living in the same house for several generations prior to the Civil War.  Many additional records were located in the State Archives concerning our Davidson County, Tennessee Bryan family.  A major breakthrough on the David Pinkerton line was best find on the Tennessee Bryan lines in several years.

Common Surnames in the Bryan Family History

Rank  Rank  Surname  Number of
Bryan  USA *    Individuals

1  36  Campbell  283
2  484  Bryan  280
3  42,361 **  Revere  174
4  1  Smith  154
5  23  Allen  131
6  2  Johnson  96
7  3,458 **  Seaton  89
8  23,587 **  McGavock  83
9  28,466 **  Prosise  77
10  111  Bryant  70
11  54  Bell  70
12  1,172  Mobley  69
13  5  Jones  61
14  32,986 **  Revier  53
15  13,997 **  Manly  49
16  4,386 **  Pinkerton  48
17  18,208 **  Goheen  43
18  29,554 **  Teas  41
19  543  Massey  40
20  452  Lloyd  38
21  438  Tate  36
22  3  Williams  34
23  7  Davis  32
24  39  Evans  32
25  1,650 **  Roland  32
26  20  Walker  32
27  4  Brown  31
28  38  Carter  31
29  4,958 **  Orton  31
30  88,800+ **  Cassle  30

Common Surnames in the Bryan Family History

Rank  Rank  Surname  Number of
Bryan  USA *    Individuals

31  1,357  Winn  30
32  97  McDonald  29
33  8,166 **  Selman  29
34  2,432 **  Ashton  28
35  9  Anderson  27
36  18  Clark  27
37  799  Hooper  27
38  1,362 **  McClendon  27
39  10  Taylor  27
40  763 **  Church  26
41  756  Dodson  26
42  11  Moore  26
43  38  Carter  25
44  43,948 **  Eardley  24
45  1,098  House  24

*  Based on 1964 Social Security Account Number File.
**  Based on 1990 Census sampling.