Spouse: Abigail BRYANT. Abigail BRYANT and John BRYANT were married on 23 November 1665 in Plymouth,Plymouth,Massachusetts. Children were: Bethiah BRYANT.

In 1979, many years after Mom died, I ran across a small bundle of old love letters among her possessions, and in looking further, discovered they were written in 1848-1853 by my great-grandparents, JOHN WARREN BRYANT and ELVIRA HARMON, before and after they were married. There were 12 letters written by John to Elvira, and only one written by Elvira to John. We know that women are more sentimental than men about keeping things which are
precious to them. I think that speaks for the old letters. [I, Cheryl Harmon Bills, now have a copy of those old love letters.]

The letters were somewhat difficult to read, because of the fancy writing in those days, done with a quill pen dipped in ink. The sentiments expressed were flowery and filled with affection, sometimes with a bit of a poem thrown in. In order to make them easier to read, I typed a copy of each letter to keep with my records. It seems that John traveled quite a bit, whether looking for work or out of restlessness, it's hard to say, and it's not really fair to speculate. Most of his letters were written from hotel rooms in various cities, from southern Ohio to states in the deep South, were he speaks of the Mississippi River, modes of transportation, i.e., the steamboat, the stage coach, and the "cars" (railroad) just beginning; and, finally, his move to Indiana in 1853. You can get a pretty good picture of what was going on between him and Elvira. It was obvious that her father, HORATIO HARMON, disapproved of John. Why? I don't know. Her mother,
LUCY (CLARK) HARMON, died on Aug. 15, 1846. HORATIO died on March 4, 1848. JOHN
and ELVIRA were married on Oct. 15, 1848 in Pittsfield, Lorain Co., Ohio, where she and her siblings lived. I have no idea where John was born, or who his parents were. I would appreciate any data you may have on him.

There is one letter dated Jan. 27, 1850, from John to Elvira, addressed to her in Findlay, Ohio. I have no idea why she was there, since it seems that she spent most of her time in Pittsfield.

John and Elvira's first-born son was named WARREN C. BRYANT. I have no data on him, except that he was born in Pittsfield, Lorain Co., Ohio. It's possible that he may have died in infancy. Hopefully, not. Do you have any info on this?

According to the letters, from wherever he was at the time, John went to Warsaw, Indiana in May 1853 as a pioneer, cleared the land, and built a log house, and was planning on sending for Elvira, after their second son, EDWARD S. BRYANT, was born on July 12, 1853, in Pittsfield, Ohio.

JOHN WARREN BRYANT was written up in the history of Noble County, as one of the early settlers of that area. I have a couple of interesting articles which I received about him from the Kendallville Public Library, Kendallville, Indiana, These were taken from biographical sketch books of
"Alvord's History of Noble County." It was stated that John bought a printing press and became the editor and printer of a controversial Democratic newspaper, which he took from Warsaw to Albion, Indiana. The Director of the Library, in Kendallville, wrote that she was not able to
find any listing in their Tombstone Record books, marriage records, census, or any obituary index.

ELVIRA was very close with her siblings, so it was understandable that she would want to have her baby born in Pittsfield, Ohio, near her family. Besides, her husband John was just trying to get established in Warsaw, Indiana, after being one of the first settlers.

Since there were no more letters after the one in May 1853, I can only speculate that Elvira and her baby, Edward, and son Warren (if he was living) went to live with John in their log house in Warsaw, Indiana. It's questionable, however, since their third son, CHARLES H. BRYANT (my
mother's father and my grandfather) was also born in Pittsfield, Lorain Co., Ohio.
Aside from this, I have wondered if his middle initial "H" stood for Harmon(??).

I have no data after that, until JOHN WARREN BRYANT'S death in Albion, Noble County, Indiana, in 1857. He was buried there, but I have no information on the exact date, or cemetery where he was buried. Do you have any information on him at all?

If ELVIRA went to live with JOHN in Warsaw, Indiana, in 1853, she would have to have traveled back to Pittsfield, Ohio, for the birth of her youngest son, CHARLES H. BRYANT, born May 22, 1855 in Pittsfield. Perhaps she traveled back and forth. If she wasn't already living in Pittsfield,
Ohio, she obviously moved back to Pittsfield, after John's death...unless she never moved to Warsaw in the first place. I wish I knew the missing pieces to this puzzle.

DEATH: Bryant John W, Fd: 2_22_1859. Sp: Elvira. Will of John on Noble Co, IN site.
There is an unknown Bryant buried in the Rice cemetery. Could it be he?

DEATH: Noble Co. site:
Bryant John W, ex_editor and printer and attorney_at_law, had been to Kendallville on foot and was returning – it was supposed – intoxicated; and had endeavored to gain admittance and shelter at Sloan’s – but fell unconscious at the fence and lay there until he froze to death. His course was traced back to the Sweet School House, where he had entered and tried to start a fire in the stove – but failed. From the school house on to Albion his tracks showed that he wandered from side to side, stumbled into hollows and wallowed in the wet snow; struggled to his feet again and stumbled on, ever groping his lonely and devious way toward shelter and rest. It seemed that it could not have been an ordinary "dead drunk" or he would not have struggled so fiercely when down (as he had been many times) to recover his footing and resume his progress – ever in the right direction – always toward home. It was said there was a mystery about it, but if so, it remains as much a mystery after forty years, as ever. On the 9th of March 1859, Stephen Shaw, the coroner, was notified of the finding, in front of the house of Mrs. Sloan (afterward the residence of John McMeans, ex_treasurer) half a mile east of the courthouse, of the dead body. + Clippings book This was on USgenweb Indiana, Noble Co. site under obituaries.
John's death notice is on this page toward the bottom.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~innoble/Obituaries/Brot.htm
To find it quickly, have your mouse anywhere on the page and then click
CTRL+F on your keyboard and write Bryant in the Search box and push enter.

DEATH: The following is on the Noble County Site called the J. M. Baker letter:
J. M. Baker writes about early pioneers To Noble Co Settlers
I was very much pleased to read in The Democrat of June 24 the early history article of Albion, and as I came to Noble County July 4, 1854, just 72 years ago, I was probably more interested than many that are now living in the county that have come in comparatively recently, say 50 years ago.
The Democrat was published in those days but later on was closed by an attachment against it and the press dismantled and the type "pied" in a soap box, but it soon came to life again and you bet there were some hot articles in it. Theodore Tiddball and John Bryant were at the head and Bryant made so many enemies that they got him to Kendallville one day and got him "full" and brought him home in the night and left him at the front steps of a house about a half mile east of the public square. It was a stinging cold night and he was dead before he was found.
J. M. Baker, 311 Laurel St., Ventura, Cal.
The Noble Co Democrat July 22, 1926

DEATH: # Probate Records A-D
Noble County Probate Records - 1859-1928 A-D E-H I-O P-S T-Z Abbreviations: Bro - brother; Ch - children; ...
... , Ernest Brust. bryant John W, Fd: 2-22-1859. Sp: Elvira. Buchanan ...
http://www.rootsweb.com/~innoble/Probates/AD.htm

MARRIAGE: The site of the Old Love Letters:
<http://www.rootsweb.com/~innoble/Scrapbook/Bryan.htm>

Here is the Noble County Indiana home page. The letters are under
Scrapbook.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~innoble/

.

EMAIL: A Google search for Mr. Bryant led me to the BryantLetters page at the Lorain Co. geneology pages, where I read that his descendant (you?) was puzzled as to his occupation, etc. I found a reference to him in the book by Elmo Arnold Robinson, "The Universalist Church in Ohio," The Ohio Universalist Convention, Columbus, 1923:
Page 185 contains this notation in a list of Universalist ministers:
"1847, J. W. Bryant. A resident of Oberlin. He was disfellowshipped in 1849."
If he was preaching Universalism in Oberlin in Finney's day, I can understand why he might have found his neighbors a bit cool. I'm afraid I have no record of why he was kicked out of the fellowship -- I'v quoted above all that I know.
Hope this is useful, what little it is.
--Cal Frye, Network Administrator, Oberlin College
www.ouuf.org, www.calfrye.com
Oberlin is in LORAIN county, Ohio

EMAIL: Doris wrote: I remember reading in one of J. W. Bryant's letters to Elvira, early in 1848, asking for her hand in marriage...he told her to contact the Universalist preacher to marry them. Do you remember reading that? Ithought that was odd at the time, but thought that maybe that's all they had
around there then. So, he must have had something to do with the Universalist Church.

RESIDENCE: 1847: A resident of Oberlin. Oberlin is in LORAIN county, Ohio

Records of Cheryl Harmon Bills
cherylbills@@gmail.com

Spouse: Elvira HARMON. Elvira HARMON and John Warren BRYANT³⁷⁷ were married on 15 October 1848 in Pittsfield, Lorain, Ohio.³⁷⁷ md by James M. Clark, Esqr. Children were: Warren C. BRYANT, Edward S. BRYANT, Charles H. BRYANT.

Spouse: Gordon OLSSON. Children were: Lindy OLSSON, Kelly OLSSON, Holly OLSSON.

Spouse: Mrs. Shirley BRYANT. Children were: Russell BRYANT, Kimberly BRYANT, Dee Dee BRYANT, Mark BRYANT, Scott BRYANT.

Spouse: Lola Joanne DEMI. Children were: Michael Bruce BRYANT, Katherine Susan BRYANT.

Spouse: Taylor Charles BOWEN. Mable E. BRYANT and Taylor Charles BOWEN were married on 18 March 1896. Children were: Josephine BOWEN, Elwood Thomas BOWEN, Hattie BOWEN, Dorsey BOWEN.

Spouse: Thomas TURNER.

Spouse: Albertina DAYTON. Children were: Michael Bruce II BRYANT.

Spouse: John Bryant OR BRIANT. Children were: John BRYANT.

Spouse: Isaac BRYANT. Children were: Anne Eliza BRYANT.

Spouse: Lloyd Franklin BRYANT. Children were: Russell BRYANT, Kimberly BRYANT, Dee Dee BRYANT, Mark BRYANT, Scott BRYANT.

Children were: Elizabeth BRYANT.

Spouse: Eleanor BLENDISH. Children were: John BRYANT.

Spouse: Ivy Adaline PERRY. Children were: Jeanie BRYANT, Lloyd Franklin BRYANT, Loren Bruce BRYANT, Jeanie BRYANT.

Spouse: Agibail TURNER.

Spouse: Abigail SHAW. Abigail SHAW and Stephen BRYANT were married in 1646 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts. Children were: Abigail BRYANT.

Spouse: Emily OFFIELD.

Letter addressed to:

Mrs. Elvira Bryant
Findlay, Ohio

Urbana, Ohio Jan 27th, 1850

My Dearest Ella,

About the 7th of the present month I addressed to you a letter. On the 15th I received one, which said nothing of your receiving the above mentioned one from me. I took it for granted that it had miscarried, and immediately addressed another, similar to the first, to you, and to which I expected an answer last week. Last week came–but no letter. Another week has commenced, and my mind is now led to believe that some prying miscreant has made use of my letters before they reached you.

But I hope such will not be the case with this, as I shall adapt means to avoid it.

I’ll repeat now what I have written before; that with your consent we will settle in Urbana, as long as I shall have to work as a Journeyman. It is a pleasant place, in a pleasant country, and I do not know as I can do better than nine dollars a week and stay here. And now if you will write me immediately, stating that you will get on the cars and come down here, without my going after you, what money you require at once, and you will thereby curtail our moving expenses $12,00, and that we can dispose of profitably after you arrive.

I wish you would enquire of Mrs. Mariem what she charges per month for those rooms. Mr. Beach says $3.00 per month; but that is more than she charged for the other part, and is too much.

I have purchased a new suit of black, and am playing the genteel at present as well as I know how. The young ladies are falling in love with me, and I am afraid if you do not come ere long to allay the excitement, that I shall be abducted by some of them.

Since writing the foregoing page, I have been over to a pond on the east side of town, to witness the baptism of eight new converts. I saw while there Mr. and Mrs. McKinney, and two eldest daughters, formally of Lima; they are residing here at present.

Now Dear Ella in closing allow me to implore you to write soon and tell me that you are coming down here for I long to see you, and our little boy. If it is not necessary for me to return to Findlay, I will get Mr. Beach to hire a man to pack up the things and put them on the cars for you. My health is good and I am growing fat. No more now. Good bye. But
Every your affectionate
J. W. Bryant Urbana

Mrs. Elvira Bryant Findlay

Haec
Ego
Amor Forever

On the back page of this letter, John wrote:

I direct this to Mr. Beach because I think he will be sure to get it. J.W.B.

CENSUS: 1880 Census Place: Pittsfield, Lorain, Ohio
Source: FHL Film 1255042 National Archives Film T9-1042 Page 549B
Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace
Warren BRYANT Self M M W 30 OHIO
Occ: Farmer Fa: N Y Mo: OHIO
Ellen BRYANT Wife F M W 25 OHIO
Occ: Housekeeper Fa: N Y Mo: OHIO
Ada BRYANT Dau F S W 5 OHIO
Fa: OHIO Mo: N Y
Edna BRYANT Dau F S W 3 OHIO
Fa: OHIO Mo: N Y
Ray BRYANT Son M S W 4M OHIO
Fa: OHIO Mo: N Y

CENSUS: 1900 Bloom, Wood, Ohio
Warren C. Bryant head; b. Aug 1849; age 50; md 27 years; b. OH; father b. NY; mother b. OH; water well driller
Ella H. wife, b. Nov 1854; age 45; md. 27 years; mother of 7 children; 5 still living; b. OH; fb NY; mb OH
Arthur W. son, b. Feb 1880; age 20; single; b. OH; day laborer
Lena E. daughter b. Sep 1884; age 15 single; b. OH; attended school
Scott A. son b. Sep 1886; age 13 single; b. OH, attended school

CENSUS: 1910 Bloom, Wood, Ohio (Harrison Street)
Bryant, W.C. head age 60; md 37 years b. OH
Ella H. wife, age 55; md 37 years; mother of 7 children; 5 living; b. OH
Franks, Laverne age 12 granddaughter; b. OH; father b. OH; mb. Indiana

CENSUS: 1920 Bloomdale, Wood, Ohio
Bryant, Warren C. head; age 70 b. Ohio
Ella H. wife; age 65 b. OH

Records of Cheryl Harmon Bills
cherylbills@@gmail.com Parents: John Warren BRYANT and Elvira HARMON.

Spouse: Florence DARRELL.

Spouse: Anne HELGESEN. Children were: Christen HANSEN.

Spouse: Nancy RAY. Nancy RAY and Charles BRYON were married in 1844 in ,Marion,Kentucky.