My Bryson Lineage

Home > Genealogy > Surnames > Bryson > Lineage

I did not have to do much work initially on this family for it was all handed to me on a silver platter by researchers before me. (Read my acknowledgements here). Since I did not have to do any groundwork on this line I decided it would be important to verify and correct what was done before me so that is mainly what I've done. I've not found any major flaws in the lineage outlined back to William Bryson and Isabella Holmes though of course the earlier work had a few mistakes and omissions in it.

My 5th Great Grand parents were William Cathey (1782-1850/60) and Elizabeth Bryson (1787-1872). To date, I have found no direct evidence that Elizabeth was a Bryson but family tradition and circumstantial evidence are strong in her favor. One huge point is that her family bible contained the family record of Andrew Bryson (1804-1828) who would be her younger brother. Elizabeth Bryson was born in North Carolina, grew up in Haywood County (now Jackson County) and after marriage moved to Union (now Towns) Co, GA for a few years. After her husband's death she returned to Jackson Co, NC where she died ca 1872.

Family tradition (as told by one of Elizabeth's grandsons who knew her personally though was young when she died) states that she was a child of Andrew Bryson, a Revolutionary War Soldier, Protestant, and Irish (which normally means Northern Ireland). This tradition combined with various bits of circumstantial evidence supports Elizabeth Bryson as being a child of Andrew Bryson.

Andrew Bryson (c1752-1835) and wife Agness Nail married in 1783 in Rowan (now Iredell) County, NC and soon moved to Pendleton District, SC just before 1790. They remained there only a few years before moving back to Iredell Co, NC. Agness died ca 1796 either in SC or back in NC. Andrew joined several of his siblings in the Haywood County area of western NC and then remained out of sight for many years, studiously avoiding the census of 1810, 1820 and 1830. He died in 1835 in what is now Jackson County, NC. Records show that he married again after Agness but his 2nd wife's name is not known. She died and he married a 3rd time to Sally, a Cherokee woman. For this marriage he received a "Reservation" of 640 acres as a result of the 1817 treaty. He presumably lived on this land until his death. His alleged Revolutionary War service has never been proven. His son James N. Bryson applied for a pension on Andrew's behalf, but was rejected for lack of proof of service.

Andrew Bryson is said to be a son of William Bryson (c1720-c1795) and Isabella Holmes. No direct proof of this connection has ever been found, but all the early Bryson family histories include Andrew as one of the sons, and they are clearly referring to this same Andrew. The earliest history was written by someone (Telitha Bryson Allen) who would have been 24 years old when Andrew died, so she likely knew what she was talking about. I take her word for Andrew being a son of William and Isabella.

William Bryson, according to family tradition, was born in County Antrim, Ireland. He came to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where he married Isabella Holmes in the 1740's. This marriage is proven by the 1749 Will of her father James Holmes (spelled "Homes") in Lancaster Co, PA, it is also confirmed by the numerous descendants named "James Holmes Bryson." William and family left Pennsylvania in the early 1760's and settled in Rowan Co, NC (now Iredell County) where they remained until ca 1789 when they moved to Pendleton District, SC. The 1790 census is the last record found for them, so they may have died there in SC or perhaps made the move with their children into western NC and died there before 1800.

To date no one has been able to prove the parents of William Bryson (c1720). Ethel Updike listed his father as also being named William Bryson but offered no proof to back this up, not even an inkling of where that may have come from. Therefore I consider it highly suspect. Was it based on some old family tradition or some old family records? I just don't know. Lawrence Wood's book (the first edition) listed William Bryson's father as being named Samuel Bryson but Lawrence discovered that to be incorrect shortly after the book was published. So the mystery remains, who were William Bryson's parents? Did they come to the America with him or did he come on his own? Perhaps time (and more research) will tell.

The last mystery is whether or not William Bryson (wife Isabella Holmes) is related to the many other Bryson families found in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina. Since the vast majority of those Brysons can also be traced back to County Antrim and other parts of Northern Ireland, I'd say the odds are good. Perhaps the new Bryson DNA Study will help solve that mystery and pick up where the paper trail ends.

Bryson Page (Main) | Bryson Families | What's New?

Home | Surnames | Christian Pages | Search this Site | Contact Me

Books by Marty Grant:

Marty and Karla Grant: http://www.martygrant.com