Bryant Family Cemetery

2009 Bryant Family Cemetery Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society PO Box 204 Palmetto, GA 30268 www.chattahoocheehillshistoricalsociety.org info@chattahoocheehillshistoricalsociety.org

BRYANT FAMILY CEMETERY Laurie Searle May 16, 2009 The Bryant Family Cemetery is located on private property, approximately 1.3 miles from the intersection of Campbellton Redwine Rd and Hamilton Rd. The cemetery is on top of the small hill to the west of a dirt road. There are 26 markers that have been identified as possible gravesites. Four have tombstones with the following inscriptions: Elijah L. Bryant, Jefferson D. Bryant, G.W. Ballard, and Joshua Ballard. The rest are unmarked fieldstones. Chattahoochee Hills resident Kenneth Bryant was born on the property in the 1940s in a log cabin built by his father Ballard Bryant. Kenneth s grandfather Jake Bryant also lived on the property and ran the local Jakes Fish Camp on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. There is extensive genealogy recorded on the Bryant and Ballard families (see page 8). The Bryant line goes back to William Bryant (about 1757-1833) & Mary Ann "Polly" Barnett (about 1770-1860) who had eight children: (those underlined are buried in this cemetery): Austin, Elizabeth (m. Joshua Ballard [s. George W. Ballard]), Elijah, John, George W. (s. Jefferson D. Bryant), Sarah (m. Levi Cook), James Bluford, and William, Jr. This photo of Elijah Bryant was found online at: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/h/e/becky-m- Cheney/. It is credited to Minnie Norris and was digitized by Becky Cheney. Elijah L. Bryant. 1800-1890 Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 1

CEMETERY SURVEY Laurie Searle March 21, 2009 1. Location a) Name of cemetery: Bryant Family Cemetery b) County: Fulton c) Specific location: Beginning at a yellow house at 8255 Campbellton Redwine Rd, follow the dirt road, Old Hamilton Rd past the barn, ford a small creek, then turn immediately right on an indistinct road and go 0.3 mile. The cemetery is at the top of the hill on the left side of the road approximately 150 feet in the woods. d) USGS Topographic Map Quadrangle: e) Cemetery Coordinates: Latitude: 084.81425 w Longitude: 33.53947 n f) Cemetery number on map: 2. Property Owner a) Name: Mark Hennesey (Contact Mark s nephew William Hennesey to view cemetery. He lives in the yellow house at 8255 Campbellton Redwine Road) b) Address: Painted Rock Farm LLC, 3040 Piedmont Rd, Atlanta, GA 30305 c) Phone: 770.869.5195 d) Email 3. Classification a) Public: Municipal County State Federal b) Private: Family Church Fraternal Other c) Status: Abandoned Maintained, but not used Currently being used d) Size: Approximate number of graves: 26 Approximate size of cemetery: 100 x50 e) Type: American Indian Black Slave White Unknown Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 2

4. Accessible to Public a) Unrestricted b) Restricted, explain: Cemetery is on private property 5. Condition a) Well maintained and preserved b) Poorly maintained c) Overgrown, easily identifiable d Overgrown, not easily identifiable e) Not identifiable as a burial site, but known to exist through tradition or other means. Explain: 6. Cemetery Enclosure a) Is the cemetery enclosed by a wall, fence, hedge, etc? Yes No b) State condition of wall, fence, hedge, etc: 7. Tombstones or Markers a) Are stones or markers present? Yes No b) If yes are they inscribed? Yes No c) Number of readable stones or markers: 4 d) Date of last known burial: 1891 e) Date of earliest known burial: 1850 f) Are there unusual stones? g) Have markers been damaged? Explain: One large tombstone is leaning. h) Note any hazards imperiling the cemetery s existence: Cemetery is in wooded area. 8. Has this cemetery been listed in an existing published or unpublished cemetery survey: None known. 9. Historical or other special significance of cemetery, if any: Family Cemetery. 10. Any other information: Resident Kenneth Bryant is a descendent. Canvasser: Laurie Searle Date: April 4, 2009 Organization: Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Address: P.O. Box 204. Palmetto, GA 30268 Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 3

TOMBSTONE SURVEY Laurie Searle April 4, 2009 Surname First Name DOB DOD Location Comments BRYANT Elijah L. 09/11/1800 04/22/1890 Row 1 5 He lived as he died an honest man BRYANT Jefferson D. 04/07/1858 03/06/1891 Row 1 6 BALLARD G.W. 1 02/07/1850 Row 2 2 BALLARD Joshua 2 03/13/1860 Row 2 3 Notes: 1. According to the Ballard Family genealogy, Joshua Ballard and Elizabeth Bryant had 10 children, one of whom was George W. Ballard who died in 1850. Source: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/l/allan-j- Ballard/FILE/0001page.html George W. Ballard - 1850 d: February 07, 1850 in Near Whitesburg, Campbell Co? 2. According to the Ballard Family genealogy, Elizabeth Bryant is buried beside her husband Joshua Ballard. Source: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/l/allan-j- Ballard/FILE/0001page.html Joshua Ballard 1783-1860 b: 1783 in Wilkes Co. GA? d: March 13, 1860 in Rico-Whitesburg area, Campbell Co GA Burial: Rico community, near Chattahoochee River and Whitesburg on "Old Bryant Place" +Elizabeth Bryant Unknown - 1854 b: Unknown d: August 17, 1854 in Campbell County, GA Burial: Beside her husband. Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 4

CEMETERY MAP Laurie Searle April 4, 2009 5. Elijah Bryant 6. Jefferson D. Bryant 10. G. W. Ballard 11. Joshua Ballard Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 5

DIRECTIONS TO PROPERTY From the intersection of Campbellton Redwine Rd and Hamilton Rd 1. Begin at yellow house at 8255 Campbellton Redwine Rd. 2. At the gate south of the house follow dirt road (Old Hamilton Rd)... 1.0 mi a. Go past barn b. Take middle fork and follow the tree line past the pasture (Note: don t take left fork as it goes down to the large lake) c. Cross stream 3. Immediately after crossing the stream turn right on indistinct road... 0.3 a. Follow fence line to top of first hill b. Cemetery is on left side of the road about 50-100 feet in woods Look for small orange surveyor flags Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 6

REPORT FOR TAX DIGEST 2008 Tax Digest 2008 Tax Digest 2008 Parcel Id Number 08-3500-0165-009-4 Property Address Owner Name Mailing Address CAMPBELLTON REDWINE RD PAINTED ROCK FARM LLC 3040 PIEDMONT RD ATLANTA GA 30305 Tax Digest Not Yet Complete Try earlier Digests for more info More info from www.fultonassessor.org Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 7

Kenneth Bryant and I visited the Bryant Family Cemetery and while we were there he took me on a tour of his ancestral home place. Kenneth said he was born on this property in the 1940s in a log cabin his father built from logs he had cut and hand hewed. PROJECT NOTES Laurie Searle May 22, 2009 The Bryant home place consisted of 600 acres of land. Ballard Bryant, Kenneth s father, farmed the bottom land by the Chattahoochee River, growing cotton and corn and raising cows and goats. During this time, deer had not yet populated the area, so neighbors thought it was quite the spectacle when they saw a few deer grazing with the Bryant s goats. As we left the cemetery site, Kenneth showed me a plant he said they used to call huckleberries. (These plants are similar to blueberries but have fewer and larger seeds.) He said when he was growing up, they used to love to eat the berries but nowadays most huckleberry plants he sees don t have berries. Kenneth Bryant at his ancestral cemetery Wild Huckleberries grow near the cemetery Driving up the road, we saw an old well and I commented that Mr. Hennesey said it was a landmark for Jakes Fish Camp. Kenneth said it was his grandfather Jake Bryant who used to have the fish camp on the banks of the Chattahoochee River and that he could should me the location. An old well serves as a landmark for Jakes Fish Camp Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 8

We got back on Old Hamilton Rd and where it bent north, we continued straight and parked near a planted pasture. There we walked through the brush until we came to a level spot with tall grass in a clearing. This was the spot where Kenneth remembered his grandfather had lived and had Jakes Fish Camp. Kenneth said there used to be country music and dancing at his grandfather s house. He remembered that the house was fairly large and even had a dance floor. Kenneth s uncle Little Jake also worked at the Fish Camp. A flat grassy area marks Jakes Fish Camp We continued walking and found an old barbeque pit near the site; however, Kenneth didn t think it was a part of the original Fish Camp. Just beyond the BBQ pit and through the trees, we saw the Chattahoochee River. Kenneth recalled wading out to the rocky islands while playing here as a boy. We finished our tour back at the yellow house on the property. Kenneth s family built that house in the 1950s and he lived there as a teenager. BBQ pit near the Fish Camp site. Today, Mr. Hennesey s nephew William lives in the yellow house, caretaking the beautiful property for his uncle. Chattahoochee River where Kenneth Bryant played as a child Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 9

GENEALOGY There is extensive genealogy on the Bryant and Ballard family published on the Internet. A summary of is provided to give background on those buried in the cemetery, with links to more extensive information. BRYANT FAMILY A note from Becky Morgan Cheney: This family research has been a work in progress for MANY years! Many other family members have contributed to the knowledge that I have tried to put into a manageable form for others. Most notably, credit should go to my mother, Reba Bryant Morgan, and the late Laurene Bryant Beckett and W.B. Bryant. Others who have contributed to the total descendant list include persons from the various other family lines who share William and Mary Ann Bryant as common ancestors and also other family members of the various other families who have crossed our paths along the way. Please contact me by e-mail for more specific information at arkbecks@sbcglobal.net. William Bryant & Mary Ann Polly Barnett Source: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/h/e/becky-m-cheney/ Becky Morgan Cheney. arkbecks@sbcglobal.net. We have traced our particular line of Bryants definitively back to William Bryant (about 1757-1833) & Mary Ann "Polly" Barnett (about 1770-1860). They were married on March 4, 1784 at the home of her father, Zadock Barnett in Wilkes County, Georgia. We do not know the exact birthplace of William but suspect it was Bedford, Virginia. Other facts about William include: he served in the Revolutionary War, enlisting as a Private at the age of 20 on 12 January 1777 from Amherst County, Virginia, in the 14th Virginia Regiment. He participated in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and was wounded in the leg at Stony Point, NY. He was discharged in February 1780 at Reading, Pennsylvania. We believe he may have been given a land grant for his military service and migrated to Georgia prior to his marriage. He appears on the 1800 census for Oglethorpe County, GA. Subsequent census records find him in the counties of Gwinnett, Campbell, and Morgan. Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 10

William and Mary Ann had eight children: 1. Austin 2. Elizabeth (m. Joshua Ballard) 3. Elijah 4. John 5. George W. (s. Jefferson) 6. Sarah (m. Levi Cook) 7. James Bluford 8. William, Jr. Buried in Bryant Cemetery Elizabeth Bryant * (no tombstone) Joshua Ballard (Elizabeth s husband) G.W. Ballard (Elizabeth & Joshua s son) Elijah Bryant Jefferson Bryant (George s son) Descendant Report for Jefferson "Jeff" Davis Bryant Source: Becky Chaney (arkbecks@sbcglobal.net) and (Linda Simmons (genfreak@pacbell.net) compiled from research by the late Laurene Bryant Beckett.... 1 Jefferson "Jeff" Davis Bryant (1858-1891) b: 07 Apr 1858 in Campbell County, GA, d: 06 Mar 1891 in Campbell County, GA... + Fannie A. Ballard (1862-1901) b: 10 Feb 1862 in Campbell County, GA, m: 23 Oct 1881 in Campbell County, GA, d: Bet. 1901 06 Apr 1903 in Probably Campbell County, GA... 2 Elijah "Lige" Walter Bryant (1885-1940) b: 20 Jan 1885 in Campbell County, GA, d: 06 Apr 1940 in Fulton County, GA... + Elizabeth "Eliza" E. Capps (1889 - ) b: Jul 1889 in Georgia, USA, m: 17 Oct 1905 in Douglas County, GA... 3 Clastell Bryant (1906-1940) b: Bet. 1906 1907 in Douglas County, GA, d: 14 Jan 1940 in Fulton County, GA... + Unknown Reynolds... + Unknown Lawler... 3 James T. Bryant (1921-1998) b: 04 Apr 1921 in Georgia, USA, d: 17 Jun 1998 in Marietta, Cobb, Georgia, USA Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 11

The Ballards of Randolph County, Alabama Source: Allan Joshua Ballard. Aballard@ix.netcom.com http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/a/l/allan-j-ballard/file/0001 page.html Benjamin Ballard left Princess Anne County, Virginia in 1785 and settled on Camp Creek in Wilkes County, GA. Possibly he was attracted to the area because his parents, John Ballard and Mary Continent, had migrated and died there about 1769. His grandparents died in the Princess Anne area of Virginia near the North Carolina state line. In Wilkes County, Benjamin married Katherine Hammond, thought to be a native of Wilkes County. At some point they moved to Morgan County Georgia, just to the North and West. He died in Morgan County on June 16, 1832. Benjamin s son Joshua married Elizabeth Bryant. They left the Wilkes/Morgan County area and settled or settled in Annistown on the Yellow River in Gwinnett County, just to the North. Joshua built or acquired a mill of some type that eventually burned, along with the family Bible. Joshua was active in local politics as indicated by early Gwinett records detailing his commission to build a road from the Gwinett County seat to an adjoining county. Joshua and Elizabeth are also listed as among the first forty families in Gwinnett (The History of Gwinnett). Although Joshua is not known to be a veteran, about one half of his pioneering neighbors in Gwinnett were veterans of the colonial war for independence. Joshua and Elizabeth produced eight children - ( Elizabeth <b1783?>, Armstead <b1794>, Obadiah <abt 1828 and moved to Arkansas>, Morton <b unknown and moved to Arkansas>, Abraham <b1830?>, Levi <b1833 and lived in Palmetto after a spell in Arkansas>, and Polly Canady, Amanda, and Lucretia <all born unknown> - some possibly born in Morgan, some born in Gwinnett. By 1833 Joshua and his family left Gwinett for the north Coweta/south Fulton county Georgia area separated from Carroll county by the Chattahoochee River. This area became Campbell County, and then Fulton County. This move was to the South and West, and continued the family trend of locating on the western frontier near a river or creek. Joshua and Elizabeth settled amongst his maternal brothers-in-law Elijah, John, and George W. Bryant. This area had previously been settled by the Revolutionary War veteran William Bryant. There they died and are buried on what was apparently a large Bryant land holding on the Chattahoochee river. It contained a fish camp that is much remembered to this day by Ballard relatives and Bryants who visited as children. The nearest towns were Whitesburg, across the river in Carroll county, and Palmetto Georgia, in the opposite direction in Coweta County, now Fulton County. Eventually the Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 12

general area became known as the Rico Community. The Rico Providence Baptist Church was established in the 1850 s. Their son Armisted is buried in Rico about a mile down the unpaved road behind the Rico Providence Baptist Church. Many Bryants also are buried at the Rico Providence Baptist Church. In this area the Chattahoochee is wide, and shoaled. The land on either bank is low bordering up to hilly country. A railroad crosses the river just downstream from the main bridge taking the present day highway from Coweta over the river to Carroll County. Chattahoochee Hills Historical Society Bryant Family Cemetery 13