Needham BRYAN
The Bryan, Brienne Families of North Carolina, Ireland, Europe
Ancestry World Tree
Notable Southern Families, Vol. II, CS61 .A6
The Heritage of Johnston Co., North Carolina
Ancestral File
Internet IGI - Oct 2007
Pedigree Resource File
Historical information included in notes CNIDR Isearch-cgi 1.20.06 (File: bryan.txt) BERTIE COUNTY WILL - Bryan, Needham - 1767 File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Pauline Pierce The below was found in the Bryan Family file in the NC State Archives in Raleigh. Will and Settlement of Needham Bryan, Sr., Bertie County, NC. In the name of God Amen the Twentie Third day of September int he year of Our Lord 1767, I Needham Bryan of North Carolina in the County of Bartie farmer being very sick in body but of perfect mind and memory Thanks be Given unto God for the Same and Caling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die do make this my Last will and Testament. That is to say principally and first of all I give and Recommend my Soul into the hands of God that Gave it and for my body I recommend it to the Earth to be burid in a Cristian like and decent manner at the discretion of my Executors nothing douting but that at the general Resurrection I shall Receive the same again by the mity power of God and as Touchen such wordly Estate whearwith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give and devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and forme. Imprimis I give and bequeath SARAH my dearly beloved wife one feather bed and furniture the chose of all my beds one horse choise as she likes side saddell and bridell and after her decease to go into the estate. Item I give to my gran son WILLIAM BRYAN the son of my son WILLIAM my still and my stock of smiths tools. Item I give and bequeath to my fore gran sons EZEKIL WILLIAMS LEWIS GARDNER and JOHSEPH JARNIGHAN and my daughters son WILLIAM hur first born each of them a cr[torn]lin and bequeath to SUSANA HARRELL one [torn] called Anny ? Item and bequeath to young JACOB JARNIGHAN three pounds out of my estate when sheared and after my debts is paid. I do lend all my hole estate to my wife and my gran son WILLIAM BRYAN that now lives with me and after my wifes widowhood to be eaqually devided to my three children all but he has in razen? that his shear all rest to my son NEEDHAM an WILLIAM and daughter RACHELL and my son NEEDHAM nad son WILLIAM and my son in law WILLIAM WHITFIELD for every one of them ot chuse them a man to vally and devide to three lots and each to take their shear and I do make and ordain my two sons NEEDHAM BRYAN and WILLIAM BRYAN my sole executors of this my last will and testament and I do hereby utterly disallow revouk and disannull and all and every other forms testaments and wills and legases bequeaths and executors by me in any wise before this time named or ment. In witness wheeof I have heir unto set my hand and seal this day and year above ritten. Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by me the said NEEDHAM BRYAN SENER as his last will and testament in the presents of us the subscribers. NEEDHAM BRYAN William Turner Jurat James Turner Joseph Turner Proved in March Court, 1770; Bertie Co., NC, Will Book 2, page 8. ************************************************************************** ***** In Bertie, on 15 May 1777, Pursuant to the Dimentions of an order of the Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions....the second Tuesday in May [1777]... We the Subscribers met examined audited and setled the accounts of WILLIAM BRYAN Exec. of NEEDHAM BRYAN deceased and find a ballance due to the said deceaseds estate of four hundred and eighty and eight pounds thirteen shillings and nine pence proclamation money - which we have divided and set apart agreably to the last will and testament of the said deceased to the administrator of NEEDHAM BRYAN son of the said deceased for his part and shair of the said deceaseds estate one hundred and sixty two pounds seventeen shillings & eleven pence... and the same amount for their shares "To Rachel Whitfield daughter of the said deceased". This is signed by Noah Hinton, Samuel Moore, and Thomas House. We may assume the recent death of the elder Needham Bryan's widow Sarah, in 1776 or early 1777, terminating her life interest and allowing final settlement of the estate. The three principal heirs of Needham Bryan, Sr., as clearly indicated in both the will and settlement, were sons WILLIAM and NEEDHAM, Jr., and daughter RACHEL WHITFIELD. Payment to "the administrator of NEEDHAM BRYAN son of the said deceased" indicates the death intestate of NEEDHAM, JR., after date of the will, 23 Sept. 1767, and before the settlement, in May 1777. This conflicts with 1784, given as year of Needham, Jr's death by Zella Armstrong [see below]. The will does not name the daughters who were mothers of "my fore Gran Sons", each of the four being cut off with a crown sterling, thus disinheriting these daughters and or their heirs and avoiding division of the estate per stirpes. The executor's accounting, as approved by the commissioners in 1777, includes payments of five minor monetary bequests: For four grandson, "To pay Ezekiel wimberly [sic] shi Legacy" and, tabulated in immediate succession, "LEWIS GARDNER do do", "JOSEPH JERNAGAN do do", and "WILLIAM BRYAN son of ANN BRYAN do do", each 8 chillings, 4 pence [the equivalent then in local currency of a crown sterling]; to "JACOB JERNAGAN, Jr. do do" 3 pounds [Bertie Co., NC Inventories and sales of estates, 1775-1790, Part I, pp. 18-19, in NC Archives, Arleigh; photocopy in compiler's possession]. Possibly JACOB JERNIGAN, Jr., is a son-in-law. SUSANNA HARRELL, legatee in the will, may be a favored niece, namesake, and or god-daughter of NEEDHAM'S second wife, said to have been born SUSANNA HARRELL. The compiler is uncertain wheather one of the above legatees and grandsons of NEEDHAM BRYAN, Sr., is really EZEKIEL "WILLIAMS", as named in the will, or EZEKIEL "WIMBERLY", as listed in the final accounting. Jewel Davis Scarborough, in a chapter on Bryans and Gardners of Bertie [Southern Kith and Kin, vol. 2, The Davis Family and Their Connections, 1952, page 116-122], misinterpreted NEEDHAM BRYAN's will as though it named three GARDNER grandson - EZEKIEL, WILLIAM and LEWIS GARDNER. With inadequate justification, she then assigned these three as sons to MARTIN GARDNER, Jr. of Bertie, although admitting that they are not mentioned in the latter's will of 1784. LEWIS GARDNER appears in an early Bertie record as a "headright', 9 Nov 1742: "WILLIAM GARDNER proved his rights vis: WM. GARDENER, MARY GARDENER, USELFA GARDINER, NEHOMI [NAOMI?] GARDINER, LEWIS GARDENER, MARY GARDINER, whites, Pegg, black" [Bertie Co. NC Minute Book 1724-1743, pg. 193], presumably WILLIAM as head of family, wife MARY, their four children, and a slave. A conjecture, for further consideration, is that WILLIAM and MARY GARDNER are son-in-law and daughter of NEEDHAM BRYAN, Sr., and LEWIS the GARDNER grandson named in NEEDHAM's will. In 1793 a LEWIS GARDNER [died 1799] of Georgia gave ALEXANDER GARDNER power of attorney to sell two tracts of land in Bertie (Columbia Co Ga, Deed Book B, pg. 202]. Incomplete, and not altogether in agreement, are some published notes on the Bertie County Bryans: J.R.B. Hathaway, "Bryan Record", North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 1, pg. 577-84; Worth S. Ray, "The Bryan Family", Lost Tribes of North Carolina, pg. 655-58; and Zella Armstrong, Notable Southern Families, vol. 2, pg. 50-57. Malcolm E. Gardner Arlington, Virginia 12 November 1969 __________________________________________________________________________ __________ CNIDR Isearch-cgi 1.20.06 (File: gray1726.txt) Bertie County NC Deed: William GRAY to Needham Bryan - 1726 File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Cathy Farris B131 Wm GRAY to Needham BRYAN 1726 To all Christian people to whom these presents shall come I William GRAY of Bertie Prec. Gent. In the name of God everlasting send greeting Now Know yee that I the said Willm GRAY for and in consideration of the sum of Thirty pounds to me in hand paid by Needham BRYAN of the afresd Prect planter the receipt whereof I do hereby acknow and for divers other good causes and considerations me hereunto moving have bargained sold aliens ens___? and confirmed and by these presents doe bargain sell aliene en___? and confirm unto Needham BRYAN his heirs and assigns forever acertain plantation and part of a tract of land know by the name of Snowfield containing two hundred and ten acres of ye sd tract lying in the woods betwixt Cashay and Morrattock, beginning at a water oak in Flint Pocosan turning? thence with one of the lines of the survey which crosses Falling Run in several places So25 ds wt320 pole to a small hickory a corner of sd survey standing of wt side of Falling Run then along another of ye survey lines No 60ds wt 100pole to ye center of three white oaks in the line then No25 ds Et 214 pole to a large sweet gum standing in a slash or branch then down ye several courses of ye slash to a water oak standing in ye slash near ye path then No 70 ds Et 50 pole to a red oak standing on Alligater Marsh thence to the first station, to the use and behoof of him the said Needham BRYAN his heirs and assigns forever Together with all ye rights priviledges and Immunities to the same belonging or in any wise appurtaining. To have and to hold ye sd plantation and percil of land unto the sd Needham BRYAN his heirs and assigns forever and I the said Wm GRAY my Heirs Exr and Adm do covenant promise and agree to and the ye sd Needham BRYAN his heirs Exec and Assigns by these presents that sd Needham BRYAN his heirs Exe and assigns may have hold occupy possess and enjoy ye sd plantation where he now lives and percil of land and all the rights privileges and immuniteies forever with out ye let suite trouble eviction or molestation of or from me ye sd Wm GRAY my heirs Exe or assigns or of or from any other person persons claiming by or under me or them or any or either of them and I the sd Wm GRAY do for myself my heirs Exe and Adm further covenant promise and agree with the sd Needham BRYAN his heirs and assigns by these presents and I Wm GRAY my heirs Exe and Adm shall and will ye sd plantation and percill of land ag__? all or any person or person claiming any right title or interest therein to or to any part or percill thereof unto the sd Needham BRYAN his heirs and assigns forever warrant and defend. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal __th day of May and in twelveth year of ye reign of our sovreign Lord George Britain France and Ireland King and inthe year of our Lord God 1726. Wm GRAY seal In the presence of John SWAIN J Wm Jon? __________________________________________________________________________ __________ Col. Needham Bryan came with his parents to N. C. about the year 1722, and settled in Bertie County until 1767. He was Justice of the Peace there in 1732, 1739, 1745 and 1746 and a member of the assembly from 1750-1759, representing Johnston County. His will, dated dated 23-Sep-1767 and probated in 1770 mentions his wife Sarah, and sons Needham and William. Sarah was his third wife. Needham and all three wives are buried at Snowfield, Bertie Co. __________________________________________________________________________ __________ Here's an excerpt from a Bryan/Bryant entry on pp. 490/491 in the publication "Genealogies of Virginia Families" from the Charleston (SC) County Public Library. I'll try to get author and publication dates and add to a later post... "Needham Bryan Sr., son of William Bryan, was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, on February 23, 1690, and later moved to Snowfield, in Bertie County, North Carolina. On November 11, 1711, he married Annie Rombeau. On August 24, 1732, he married Susannah Harrell, who died in 1752. His third wife was Sarah Woodward. (N.C. Hist. and Gen. Reg., I, 4, p.577.) On March 30, 1721, he patented 640 acres on the Moratuck River (N.C. Colonial Records, II, p. 426.) On May 8, 1731, he was a Justice of the Peace for Bertie County (idem, III, pp. 223, 437.) He left 1. Rachel Bryan married on November 6, 1741, William Whitfield. 2. Needham Bryan Jr. married Nancy Smith, daughter of John Smith and Elizabeth Whitfield. 3. William Bryan. Needham and Elias Bryan were executors, and John Bryan a witness of the will of Josiah Mohoon in Halifax County, North Carolina, on January 1, 1772. William Bryan, son of Needham Bryan Sr., married in 1744, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John Smith and Elizabeth Whitfield (N.C. Hist. and Gen. Reg., I, 4, p.577.) Their children were 1. William Bryan Jr. was born in 1747 and died in 1800. He married in 1788 Elizabeth Gray, daughter of William Gray and Frances Lee of Bertie County. 2. Hardy Bryan 3. Elizabeth Bryan 4. Susannah Bryan 5. Arthur bryan 6. Blake Bryan 7. Esther Bryan 8. John Bryan 9. Lewis Bryan married Nancy Hinton, daughter of Major John Hinton, of Wake County, North Carolina. ---- Hugh B. Johnston, Jr. Wilson, North Carolina."
Historical information included in notes OCCU Farmer William Bryan was a delegate to the Hillsboro Convention, 27-Aug-1775; He represented Johnston County in the Provincial Congress, which met at Halifax, N. C., April 1776 and was commissioned a Lt. Colonel in the Continental Army. Two William Bryans are listed as Revolutionary War pensioner from N. C. The pension numbers are: S8089 & S6699. I do not know if one of these is this William. The Town of Smithfield is located on what was William Bryans Farm. __________________________________________________________________________ __________ Bertie County NC Bryan Cemetery - Lewiston, NC File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Molly Urquhart BRYAN CEMETERY "Snowfield" Plantation in West end of Indian Woods Road; Indian Woods Township, Lewiston-Woodville, NC Information provided by Wayne Modlin transcribed in 1958. Snowfield Plantation burned in 1968 and these tombstones no longer exist. Bryan, Harold b. Dec 6, 1759 d. July 7, 1836 Bryan, Elizabeth (daughter of William and Elizabeth) b. April 7,1783 d. Oct 10, 1840 Aged 56 years 7 months 2 days Bryan, Susan (daughter of Elizabeth and William b. 11 April 1791 d. 3 Sept 1812 Bryan, Elizabeth 11-26-1783 7-23-1849 Bryan, Elizabeth S. 5-27-1759 1-17-1839 Bryan, William 7-18-1747 9-14-1800 Bryan, James Louis no date listed no date listed (Bryan genealogies list his dates as 8-12-1799 to 11-26-1856. He was the last Bryan to live at Snowfield) Martin, Janett Smith 1790 2-12-1818 (nee Bryan, wife of Peter B. Martin) Martin, Samuel Hyman 2-8-1818 to 2-12-1818 [infant son of Peter B. Martin and Janett Smith BRYAN MARTIN] Hyman, Samuel 1768 2-21-1829 (husband of Ann Gray Bryan) Hyman, Samuel b. April 17,1906 (MISTAKE OF COURSE) d. Jan 2, 1829 Ellison, Frances May 23, 1800 8-9-1849 (wife of Wm. J. Ellison) Ellison, Geo. Augustus 5-15-1842 11-18-1843 Ellison, Emma Frances 4-29-1858 10-21-1859 [daughter of William H. Ellison and Emma Ellison] Ellison, Lois Virginia 6-11-1840 4-16-1845 [daughter of William H. Frances Ellison and Emma Ellison] Williams, Susan B. 4-11-1791 9-3-1830
Needham Bryan married the widow of William Hinton, a Mrs. Sophia Hinton Information retrieved from http://www.sallysfamilyplace.com/Rayner/bryanl.htm - See that version for text formatting which clarifies the author's intentions. from Dr. Barry Hayes Colonel Needham Bryan II (1715/26?-ca. 1776/77) married (1) his first cousin and sister-in-law Nancy Ann Smith on 5 February 1747. After her death ca. 1760, he married (2) Mrs. Sophia Hinton, the widow of William Hinton, who left his will in Johnston County in 1761. The proof of this second marriage, long ignored, will follow. Colonel Bryan married (3), not (2), as long supposed, Charlotte Moore ca. 1764. Mrs. Zella Armstrong in her collection, Notable Southern Families, was clearly wrong when she placed Colonel Bryan's death in 1784 and suggested that in 1780 his second wife became Charlotte Moore. The daughter by this third marriage, Charlotte Moore Bryan, was born on 2 April 1765; her marriage was on 27 October 1782 to Reverend Lewis Whitfield (1766-1849), son of William Whitfield, Jr. and Rachel Bryan; and her death was on 9 March 1798. Reverend Whitfield married (2) Tabitha Atkinson on 9 February 1800 and (3) Mrs. Martha Hinton Bryan on 10 November 1816. Mrs. Martha "Patsy" Hinton Bryan, the third wife of Reverend Whitfield, was a granddaughter of Colonel John Hinton and wife Grizelle Kimbrough and daughter of Colonel James Hinton (ca. 1749-after 1794) of "Silent Retreat," assemblyman, senator, and justice of Wake County, and wife Delilah Hunter, daughter of Colonel Theophilus Hunter of "Hunter's Lodge." The first husband of Mrs. Patsy Hinton Bryan Whitfield was Reverend Whitfield's double first cousin, John Bryan, son of William Bryan and Elizabeth Whitfield Smith, as noted above. The proof about the second wife, previously ignored by Bryan researchers, is found in a deed, undated but received by the Johnston County court in August 1769, wherein Joseph Hinton, son of William Hinton deceased, received from Major Needham Bryan, guardian of Joseph Hinton, Joseph's share of William Hinton's estate. Needham's brother William Bryan witnessed, and Needham's son Needham Bryan, Jr. and stepson Joseph Bryan signed the decree. Needham Bryan and "wife Sophia" deeded land to "my son" Needham Bryan, Jr., undated but probably shortly after part of this property was patented in December 1763. The deed to the land was probably filed, the date not indicated, before Needham Bryan III had reached his majority ca. 1768/69. See Deed Book E-1, p. 43. Sophia's name does not appear on another document and had evidently died by early 1764 before the third marriage. Concerning the third wife Charlotte Moore, she was a probably a great-granddaughter of Francis Denson whose will was witnessed in Isle of Wight by Needham Bryan I in 1709. Charlotte may have been a second cousin of the compiler's ancestor John Moore the Hatter (ca. 1760-1843) and the daughter of Reverend John Moore (1717-1803) who did not mention her in his will (Wake County 1795/1803) perhaps because she had died before he signed it. Reverend John Moore, Jr. who left his will in Wake County in 1802 may have named his daughter Charlotte for her. It is noteworthy that Mark Myatt (ca. 1749-1821), with whom Reverend John Moore, Sr. was living, according to his will, at the time he signed his will in 1795 and was executor of the Moore estate, was the father of Alvin Myatt (1782-1818) who married Sarah Moore, daughter of John Moore the Hatter.
He married Annie Rambeau 16 Nov 1711 at Isle of Wight, Virginia . Annie Rambeau was born at Isle of Wight, Virginia 7 Mar 1690/91 .
They were the parents of 6
children:
Sarah Bryan
born 10 Jan 1711/12.
Samuel Bryan
born 10 Jan 1717.
Rachel Bryan
born 10 Jun 1723.
William Bryan, Colonel
born 31 Oct 1724.
Needham Bryan, Jr
born 31 Oct 1726.
Elizabeth Bryan
born 1728.
Needham Bryan died 2 Jan 1770 at Snowfield Plantation, Lewiston Woodville, Bertie, North Carolina .
Annie Rambeau died 16 Mar 1729/30 at Snowfield Plantation, Lewiston Woodville, Bertie, North Carolina .