| Notes |
- Birth: 1824
Cocke County
Tennessee, USA
Death: 1882
Arkansas, USA
William Morris Bryant was a son of Tarlton Bryant and Jane Henry of Cocke County, Tenn. (In genealogy research William Morris is often mistaken for his younger half-brother from Tarlton's second marriage also named William, William Carson Bryant. After leaving Cocke County, both were identified as William Bryant son of Tarlton Bryant.)
In 1841 in Cocke County, William Morris Bryant married Mary "Polly" Mantooth, daughter of John Mantooth and Elizabeth Burke. The Mantooth family was a blend of Native American and European immigrant heritage. Mary's paternal grandfather was Thomas “Cherokee Tom” Mantooth. Mary was a sister of Elizabeth Mantooth, who married William's brother, Aaron Bryant, and Amanda Mantooth, who married William Clevenger (a grandson of Richard Clevenger). She also had a sister named Parmelia. Her brothers were Thomas, Samuel, John Jr., William, Robert and Lawson. Mary's oldest brother, Thomas, married Mary Sisk in Cocke County. After Mary died, Thomas married Lydia Dillon. Thomas and Lydia died on the same day in 1865 in Texas, both from accidental poisoning by a quack doctor. Thomas and Lydia's son Judge James Edwin Mantooth became a wealthy and prominent Texan.
William Morris [or Morrison?], known as "Morris" when distinguished from his younger half-brother William, and Mary moved to Polk County near the Georgia state line where other members of the Mantooth family resided, including her brothers Lawson and Robert and sisters Amanda and Parmelia.
In 1860 (census data), William (36) and Mary (37) were living across the state line in Murray County, Ga. Their children were: Mary (16), Lawson (13), John (11), Amanda (9), Narcissa (6) and Sarah (4).
The family moved to Arkansas in the late-1860s. In 1869 while living in Franklin Co., Ark. where Mary's brother John Jr. also lived, she and John signed documentation granting power of attorney to their sister Elizabeth (Mantooth) Bryant, who was still living in Cocke County before moving to Texas, "to sell our interest in the lands belonging to the Estate of John Mantooth [their father], Deceased, of Cocke County, Tenn."
In 1870 (census data), William and Mary were living in Mill Creek (Franklin Co.), Ark. Children living with them were Narcissa (16), (Sarah) Minerva ["Sarry"] (14), Emma (12) and Martha (7).
In 1880 (census data), William (56) and Mary (57) were living in Bayou (Baxter Co.), Ark. with daughter Alice (14) and grandchildren William (11), Mary (9) and Robert (5).
Data are lacking on the deaths and burials of William and Mary. They likely spent their final years in Arkansas. Some of their descendants eventually found home in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma (before OK became a state). In interviews with Indian Territory authorities, Mary's children indicated that she died around 1880 or 1881. She was alive during the 1880 federal census. William appears to have died a year or two later.
Their son John Bryant changed his name to William Mantooth (combination of his father's first name and his mother's maiden name). His dual life is detailed in in the link below, "William Thomas (John Bryant) Mantooth."
Lawson Bryant (son) married Martha Davis. They moved to Arkansas.
In 1900 (census data), daughter Alice Bryant (35) was living with her son Harvey (10) in the Chickasaw Nation (Indian Territory) of Oklahoma.
Emma Bryant Lyles Brown (daughter) died April 14, 1930 in Chickasaw, Okla.
Mary Jane Bryant Brown (daughter) was born in Cocke Co., Tenn., married Felix Brown in Bradley Co., Tenn., and died 1899 in Choctaw Nation, Okla. Felix died a few years later in Kansas.
Sarah Minerva "Sarry" Bryant Trammell (daughter) died 1904 in Indian Territory, Okla.
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1824 - 1882 (58 years)