Bio from Hardesty's Encyclopedia:
ELEY BRYANT—son of Jacob and Tempie (Owens) Bryant, was born in Southampton county, March 6, 1829. In this county, May 16, 1858, he married Margaret Cobb, and the birth and death record of their children is: Charlie F. born February 18, 1859; Jacob F. born Jane 8, 1860, died June 5, 1861; Mary E., born December 6, 1862; William T., March 29, 1867; Addie and Ida K.[sic], March 2, 1868; Gattie J., June 14, 1870; Maggie, born October 21, 1880, died in October, 1881. William and Evie (Wallace) Cobb are the parents of the wife of Mr. Bryant, and she was born in Southampton county. In 1861 Mr. Bryant enlisted in Company H, 41st Virginia Infantry, and he was made prisoner in 1864, and sent to Point Lookout, where he was held till after the close of the war, when he was paroled. He is engaged in farming, and his post office address is Delawares, Southampton county, Virginia.
Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Special Virginia Edition, Southampton County Personal Histories, 1885, from the collection of the Suffolk Public Library System, Suffolk, Va.
According to the Bryant family Bible, Eley and Margaret were married on May 19, 1858. This photo was taken before Eley died in 1895 in Princess Anne County.
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| The photo above from this family Bible belongs to the Weismantel family in New Jersey. |
Southampton County
The Bryants were illiterate farmers, owning land on the east side of the Nottoway River, according to the 1860 U. S. Census. They had nine children, three of whom died as infants:
- Charles F. Bryant, 1859-
- Jacob Fenton Bryant, 1860-61
- Mary Eliza Bryant, 1862-
- William Thomas Bryant, 1867-1932
- Ida Rene Bryant, 1868-1933
- Ariadne Bryant, 1868-1948
- Gattie Jane Bryant, 1870-
- Margaret Bryant, 1880-81
- Fenton Bryant, 1886-87
[Notes on Eley's children: Siblings William and Ida married half-siblings, Bonnie and George Abbott, who were from Fort Lee, NJ, where Charles worked as a piano dealer (the Abbott family built pianos - coincidence?). Eley and Margaret later moved to Princess Anne County. Their farm was near Addie and Blucher Fletchers' in the Blackwater area. William and Bonnie were married in 1900 and lived in Blackwater with Margaret until 1900, then moved back to NJ. Ida's husband (?) Williams was probably from Princess Anne County. Ida and George Abbott were married and made their home in Richmond.
Civil War POW
Eley enlisted in the Confederate Army on March 15, 1862, and joined Virginia Regiment 41, Company H. He was captured on October 31, 1864 near Petersburg and imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland, the largest Union POW camp (now a state park). He was exchanged on March 28, 1865.[Note: Eley's daughter "Addie" was married in 1889 to Blucher Fletcher from Camden County, NC, who had also been a Civil War POW. Addie's twin, Ida Rene, the widow of a man named Williams, married William Butler (another POW) in Princess Anne County in 1895. Both Blucher and William Butler were considerably older than Addie and Ida. Sources explain that marrying older men was common at that time due to the shortage of young men after the war.]
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| Eley's signature on a military record |
Princess Anne County
Eley was a plantation owner in Franklin until 1886. He and Margaret then moved to "Land of Promise Plantation" in Blackwater (now part of Virginia Beach) which they purchased in 1888. There Eley grew cotton, tobacco, and peanuts. He died in 1895. Margaret is listed as a widow and "Head of Household" in the 1900 U. S. Census, Pungo District, Princess Anne County.
Three questions:
1) Where exactly is "Land of Promise Plantation?" [FOUND! present day property: southeast corner of Head of River Rd. and Blackwater Rd.]
2) Why did Eley decide to leave his farm in Franklin? [deed stolen? depleted soil? land grant?]
3) What is the identity of Ida's [3rd?] husband, last name Williams?
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