Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina

Bryans of Craven & New Bern

I will be updating often, I think… its good fun digging up the history (the bonus being it really happened)… I suspect some of these folks actually met Blackbeard.

Simple question… did Lewis have a son named John? C’mon, Fess Up… whaddaya think?

…as usual click on the blue filename under the graphic to open in a better view

I have recently been studying Lewis Bryan Sr … I have not as yet looked at the records with the date of 1718 in mind. It would be easy to debunk my theory of his death date if it can be shown that he was still around after 1718. Also it would dispel the rumor of his dying in Nansemond.

That expression finds its way to many Chowan and Bertie “precinct” patents and deeds. I always tried to picture where it was… then I started researching … and mapping.

A HISTORY OF
BERTIE COUNTY’S COURTHOUSES 
by
Gerald W. Thomas

"The justices selected a site owned by John Jones Jr. along Timber Branch, a
small stream located between the present towns of Ahoskie and Woodland."

http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/bertie/history/other/courthou283gms.txt

…and another reference…

Google maps above… my map below…

The creek is not on modern maps (that I can see) and is not on the base map I used. There is not an earlier USGS base map I can find.

Has anyone snooped around this branch creekside?

My reason for bringing all this up is that there was a “proposed” later site that was considered at a place called Stony Run. The above account of Timber Branch was about 1724 or so… now jump ahead to about 1741… quoting the account by Mr Thomas’s article:

“The next quarterly session of the Bertie County court convened on Wednesday,
November 10, 1741, with three justices – Needham Bryant, William Cathcart, and
Peter West – presiding. The justices quickly moved to consider the location of
the future courthouse. After deliberation the justices determined that the most
convenient site for the courthouse and associated facilities was on the south
side of Stony Creek. The justices ordered that the courthouse, gaol, and stocks
be located on land owned by Joseph Barradail. The courthouse was to be 32 feet
long and 24 feet wide (768 square feet) with a semi-circle pathway and other
approach ways. Also, a prison (24 feet by 12 feet – 288 square feet) and a pair
of stocks were to be co-located with the courthouse. The justices appointed Col.
Benjamin Hill, Col. Robert West, and Thomas Hansford as commissioners to
contract with the “proper persons” to construct the buildings and facilities.
The justices approved a two-shillings tax to be assessed to each taxpayer for
financing the project, which included the purchase of a two-acre parcel of land.6
However, Justices Bryant, Cathcart, and West’s decision to have the new
courthouse and facilities built in the Stony Creek area was not popular with
certain county citizens.“

So naturally I try to track down where Joseph Barradail had land.

Below is from the Collet 1770 map… it clearly shows Stony Cr. Br. (Stony Creek Bridge).

Continuing the quote from the Thomas account:

“The next court session convened in February 1742. At
the session James Castellaw, James McDowall, and Thomas Whitmell (all justices)
filed a petition conveying that Gov. Gabriel Johnston had appointed several new
individuals as justices of Bertie County prior to the selection of the Stony
Creek site. The new justices’ commissions had not arrived prior to the sitting
of the last court. The petitioners contended that the selection of the
courthouse site should not have been settled prior to all the appointed justices
having been qualified to serve. The petitioners further positioned that the
small number of justices who made the site decision had no legal authority to do
so. Furthermore, the three men asserted that the Stony Creek site was very
inconvenient to a great number of county residents. Seven justices – Bryant,
Cathcart, West, Castellaw, Whitmell, McDowall, and John Harrell – attended the
February court. The justices directed that the order of the last court for
building the court structures on Joseph Barradail’s land at Stony Creek be
reversed. Justices Cathcart and West dissented.7
Having “reversed” the decision for the Stony Creek site, the justices proceeded
to consider another location. They decided that the “most Proper Place” for
building a courthouse, prison, and stocks was near Red Bud Branch (near
present-day Askewville). Justices Castellaw, Whitmell, and Harrell were
appointed commissioners to purchase two acres of land and to let the necessary
contract(s) for construction of the structures. The dimensions and approach ways
were the same as previously set for the Stony Creek site. Once again, the
justices levied a two-shillings tax on the county’s taxpayers.8
During the three months following the November 1741 court session, a controversy
arose related to the selection of the Stony Creek site. Justice Needham Bryant
publicly declared that he never gave his consent to the building of a courthouse
and related structures at Stony Creek.“

All of this is background “fluff”….. which leads to my real interest…

Who was Doctor John Bryan? And why was the bridge at Stony Run called “Dr. Bryant’s Bridge“?

The instigators to my question are my co-conspirators Jennifer from California and Traci the Librarian… each of which have prognosticated on this mysterious Dr. John Bryan character… he is elusive. David Gammon has a Dr. lurking around Edgecombe County near Scotland Neck. Take your best shot… we are all ears.