Jonathan Bryan (1708 - 1788)

Born 12 Sep 1708 in South Carolina

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 9 Mar 1788 at age 79 in Savannah, Chatham, Georgia

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Biography

Jonathan Bryan was a Georgia colonist.

The whole Indian world from Mobile to Cape Fear was in commotion. The Yemassees of South Carolina, the most warlike of all the Southern tribes, renewed friendly relations with the Spaniards at St. Augustine, won alliances with many other tribes, and on the morning of Good Friday, April 15, 1715 indiscriminate massacre of the English began, hiding by day in the swamps, and by night attacking settle- ments. All who could fled to Charlestown (afterwards called Charleston), which was also in peril, and the colony seemed near its ruin. At last the deliberate courage of civilized man prevailed, and the savages fled. The colonists checked them on the north, and thev vanished into the forest. On the south, Charles Craven, Governor of the province, pursued them ; the Yemassees retired into Florida and were warmly welcorned to St. Augustine by the Spaniards, with peals from bells and a salute of guns. Gov. Craven, on his return to Charlestown, was greeted with gratitude and applause.

The locality where this bloody conflict began is identical with the seat of the Bryan family, who escaped massacre solely because of the kindness shown the Indians by Joseph Bryan. Hugh Bryan was in his seventeenth year, and was carried a captive to Florida. The Indians solicited his death whenever they heard of the success of the Carolinians, but the King- interposed in his behalf and would not hurt him, because of regard for his father. While in Florida, where he was held in captivity a year, he found a Bible and a copy of Bishop Beveridge's Private thoughts, both, the Indians had taken from some white family they had killed. These were his constant companions, and, surrounded by savages, he found a refuge in God. Later in life he became an ardent follower and close companion of Whitefield. The third child of Joseph Bryan, Hannah, married William Edwards Cochran. In 1732 Joseph Bryan, Sr., died. But little is known of his life, and he was not prominent in any of the public events of the day, but his influence over the character of his children, and the reverence in which he was held by the Indians, leaves his memory fragrant.

"The Life and Times of Joseph Bryan 1708-1788"

Mr. Bryan assisted Gen. James Oglethorpe in the selection of the siteupon which Savannah stands^[1]; was useful in the construction of the country roadleading to Darien and Frederica, and in 1740, as lieutenant of a company of"Gentleman Volunteers," attended General Oglethorpe's expedition to capture St.Augustine in Florida. ^[2]

Jonathan Bryan and Mary (Williamson) Bryan, were married October 13, 1737. Mary (Williamson) Bryan was a daughter of John Williamson, of South Carolina, and Mary (Bower) Williamson.

Their children included:^[3]

1. Hugh Bryan, 1738-1776.
2. Jonathan Bryan, 1739-1761.
3. John Bryan, 1741-1749.
4. Joseph Bryan, 1743-1762.
5. Mary Bryan, m. (1) John Morel; (2) Richard Wylly.
6. Josiah Bryan, 1746-1774; m. Elizabeth Pendarvis; issue: Joseph Bryan, 1773-1812; m. Delia Forman.
7. William Bryan, b. 1748.
8. John Bryan, 1750-1767.
9. James Bryan, 1752-1832; m. Elizabeth Langley.
10. Elizabeth Bryan, 1755-1757.
11. Hannah Bryan, b. 1759, m. John Huston.
12. Ann Bryan, 1763-1767.
13. Sarah Bryan, 1769-1780”

Mr. Bryan moved in December, 1752, with his family, to Savannah, permanently. With a high standing in South Carolina, he soon became more prominent in Georgia: One of the king's council; one of the judges of the court of over and terminer (?) and the general court; treasurer of the province; captain of a company of horse militia; prominent in the councils of the malcontents with the actions of the British government in regard to taxation, who desired and finally succeeded in a separation of the province and state from the control of that government; resigned from the king's council, because of its threat to expel him, whereupon the Union Society bestowed upon him a silver vase, a gift expressive of the society's appreciation of his devotion to the cause of his fellow citizens; member of the Council of Safety and Executive Council, at onetime acting as president of the state; in January, 1779, captured with his son,James, by the British at his "Union" plantation, twelve miles north and west of Savannah, but on the northern shore of the Savannah river, both taken to New York and held there in close and severe imprisonment for more than two years;when exchanged they returned to Georgia or South Carolina.

Mr. Bryan's last effort for the colonists was his fighting with General Wayne in the latter's victory over the British and Indians near Savannah in the last year of the war.

His daughter, Mary, widow of John Morel, married in 1784 Richard Wylly, a distinguished officer of the Revolution and member of the Society of the Cincinnati; and another daughter, Hannah, married John Houstoun, lawyer by profession, son of Sir Patrick Houstoun, and member of the congress of the states, governor of Georgia, 1778, first mayor (1791) of Savannah, again governor of the state, judge, etc. (Chatham County, GA. Archives)

Slaves

• Andrew Bryan

Death and Legacy

Jonathan died at his Brampton Plantation and was buried in a crypt on the property. ^{[4][5] [6]} Brampton and the cemetery where Jonathan Bryan is buried, is located “on the Savannah River some two miles above the present Union Bag and Paper plant….^[7]

Bryan County, Georgia, is named in Jonathan Bryan's honor.

Research Notes

Christening: 24 OCT 1740 (needs source.)

Sources

1. ↑ Jonathan Bryan
2. ↑ Chatham County Ga Archives Biographies by William Harden p. 588-595
3. ↑ Bryan Book by Lindsay M. Brien page 119.
4. ↑ Savannah Unit, Georgia Writers’ Project, Work Projects Administration in Georgia. (1943). BRAMPTON PLANTATION. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 27(1), 28–55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40576868 pages 40, 45, 49, 54-55
5. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 September 2019), memorial page for Jonathan Bryan (7 Sep 1708–9 Mar 1788), Find A Grave Memorial no. 84042324, citing Brampton Plantation, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, USA ; Maintained by Olivia Williamson Braddy (contributor 47128539).
6. ↑ Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends by Lucian Lamar Knight page 93
7. ↑ Screven, F. B. (1956). The Georgia Bryans and Screvens 1685-1861. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 40(4), 325–348. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40577747 page 329

• Mrs. J. H. Redding, Life and Times of Jonathan Bryan, 1708–1788 (Savannah, Georgia: The Morning News Print, 1901); digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofjonat00reddi/page/n6/mode/1up).
• Men of Mark in Georgia, Volume I|Men of Mark in Georgia, Volume I, (Northen, Georgia, 1907, pages 23-31.
• Georgia Historical Society Jonathan Bryan Papers
• https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WME5W9_Jonathan_Bryan_1708_1788_GHS_25_38_Chatham_Co_GA
• FamilySearch PID: LWFD-9KV
• Screven, F. B. (1956). The Georgia Bryans and Screvens 1685-1861. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 40(4), 325–348. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40577747

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Bryan-889 created through the import of ATD.ged on Sep 18, 2011 by Richard Draper.