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John and Hester (Westfall ) Bryan
John was born in Virginia on January 15th, 1794 and died in Greenup, Cumberland County, Illinois on August 28th, 1855. He is buried at Davison Cemetery of Greenup. In Rockingham County, Virginia in April 1815, he married Hester Jane Westfall. Hester was born in 1796, and was living in 1870 at the age of 74, residing in Union Township, Greenup, Cumberland County, Illinois. Family tradition states that John's father was a James Bryan, who went to Logan County, Kentucky and who was a brother of the grandfather of William Jennings Bryan, John Bryan. This area of our ancestry is under research.
George Washington and Sarah (Stokes) Bryan
George was born near Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky on April 1st, 1819 to John and Hester (Westfall) Bryan. In Elkton on September 9th, 1842 he married Sarah "Sally" Stokes. Sarah was born August 26th, 1821 to Larking and Mary "Polly" (Keeling) Stokes and died in Davis County, Iowa on October 22nd, 1914; she was buried beside her husband.
George Washington Bryan taught school in Todd County, Kentucky. In the spring of 1859, slave ownership was a big issue in Kentucky, and Missouri was a sanctuary for people looking for a new land. George and his brother John Wesley, married sisters and the families were very close. Together they joined a wagon train bound for Missouri. Upon reaching Missouri, the wagon train dispersed with some of the families traveling on to Illinois and Iowa. George and John continued to Ray County, Missouri, near Richmond, and settled on land called Pleasant Hill. In 1860, George enrolled in the Missouri State Militia, Company A. This militia consisted of 56 enlisted men and 3 officers - General C. B. Fisk, Colonel Andrew J. Barr and Captain Clayton Tiffin. George was discharged on December 1st, 1862 due to having a pneumonia, which had developed into tuberculosis.
In the spring of 1863, wanting to remove themselves from the border and Civil War, George, Sarah and their children traveled by prairie schooner to Iowa. They settled on 80 acres of land in Davis County, located 4 miles northwest of Drakesville. George's health did not improve, and he grew weaker each day, . He died on January 5th, 1864, leaving Sarah to life's battles alone. She was expecting a child who was born on February 27th, 1864, and named Sarah Elizabeth. The war was still raging, but Sarah and her family were far enough away to not be as troubled as they had been while living in Ray County, Missouri. On April 9th, 1865 Grant and Lee met and agreed upon the terms of surrender.
Jones Marion and Lucinda ( Cameron ) Bryan
Marion was born near Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky on August 10th, 1851 to George and Sarah (Stokes) Bryan. He died in Colorado Springs, Colorado on January 4th, 1944 and was buried at Stonington Cemetery. Marion and Lucinda were married in Drakesville, Iowa on January 5th, 1873. They resided on a farm 4 miles from Drakesville until March 1888, when they relocated to Baca County, Colorado. There they resided on a farm near Konantz, where they raised their large family and spent the remainder of their lives.
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