Sunday, September 13, 2015

Family Tree - paternal grandmother (5 generations)

My little red-headed grandma "Jack" Abbott has an intriguing genealogy.  The Abbott family of New Jersey were well-known piano makers from England.  John Abbott married into the Whitfield/Godfrey family, who were descendants of some important first settlers in New England including Roger Williams of Rhode Island. My grandmother's maternal ancestors were original land grant holders in Southhampton County, Virginia.  Owens, Bryant, Cobb, Underwood, Chandler, and Edwards are still common names in that area. Eley Bryant was a Civil War POW at Point Lookout, Maryland.  



I still have many questions about this branch of the family tree.  Ida Rene Bryant was the subject of more than one previous post and there are many curiosities about her life. I'd like to know exactly where Eley and Margaret Bryant lived when they moved to Princess Anne County near the end of their lives. I know it was in the Blackwater/Land of Promise area, but have no idea how to find the property.  I'd be willing to bet the house is still there! I'd like to know how the Bryant family originally connected with the Abbott family in New Jersey... Ida Rene's brother Charles Bryant moved from Southhampton County to New Jersey and became a piano dealer.  Another brother, WilliamThomas Bryant, married Rebecca Abbott, George Abbott's sister. William and Bonnie lived in Princess Anne County until his mother Margaret died and then they moved to New Jersey.  Ida Rene later married George Abbott who was 14 years younger than she.  Strange that a family in New Jersey would have so many close ties to a family so deeply rooted in Virginia.

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