Elmer E Bryant (1886 - 1972)

Born Mar 1886 in Derby, Union Township, Perry, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Died 10 Mar 1972 at about age 86 in Flower Hospital, Ohio, United States

Biography

This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import. It's a rough draft and needs to be edited.

Name

Elmer E /Bryant/^[1]

Birth

MAR 1886

Derby, IN,^[2]

Death

10 MAR 1972

Flower Hospital, Ohio, United States^[3]

Residence

1930

Toledo, Lucas, Ohio^[4]

1910

Pine Bluff Ward 4, Jefferson, Arkansas^[5]

1900

Godair, Pemiscot, Missouri^[6]

1920

Concord, Pemiscot, Missouri^[7]

Note

Elmer Ellsworth Bryant was born in Derby, Indiana on March 3, 1887. Parents were Peter Bryant and Elizabeth (Skiles) Bryant. When he was a small child is dad, Peter, played a violin in a band. One night he was stabbed to death, where he was playing at. His mother had begged him not to go that night. A man that was considered to be an outlaw stabbed him, and he died that night. Peter was sometimes called Arthur. He used to drink a lot and was mean to Elizabeth (Betty), Elmer's mom. Elmer's mother had to go to work and take in washing to support the family, since she had 5 children. She made their clothes, and used walnut shells to dye the cloth. Betty worked many different jobs trying to keep the family together. They were once staying in a house and she overheard some men talking that the house was haunted and she wouldn't stay there anymore. He chopped cotton when he was young, as did his brothers and sisters. They had no shoes and the sand burnt their feet. When he was 16 his oldest brother Henry who was 21 took sick and died. Claude was 18, his sister Ada was 15 and Lydia was 14. They worked in the fields to pay off the funeral debts. His mom lived with his sister Lydia until her death in 1927. They had moved to Portageville, Mo., after his father's death. He met and married Lelia. He worked in a saw mill, ran a gas station, share cropped, and ran a slip-bottom scoop that was pulled by horses, which they used to dig out things. He used to hunt a lot. He and his brother Claude would get on a train and get off and hunt for 2 or 3 days then catch the train back. He talked on time about fishing as a water moccasin snake tried to get in the boat; they had to fight it off with an oar. When they were young the use to get in a skiff (boat) and go to a bend in the Mississippi River and pick up cola where the barges would lose it going around the bend where the water was shallow. Sometimes when they were doing this they could get close to the paddle wheels on the old stern or side paddle boats and really have to row to get out of the wake, for fear it would draw them into the wake. They use to do a lot of jug-fishing on the Missouri River. They would take quart jugs and tie string through the handles from jug to jug, and then put weights on them so they didn't float away. Then would hen tie fish line with hooks on to the string, and leave overnight. Elmer only went to the 2nd or 3rd grade but was self-taught. He was very smart and could do any repairs on a house or car. While married to Lelia his first wife they had 7 children Pauline, Maggie, Louis, Ellsworth, Vergie, Earl and Della. Della was accidentally scalded to death and Louis died from ptomaine poisoning, drinking from an old tin can. Ellsworth died at an early age. He had a dog that used to carry messages from Lelia to him wherever he was working. Lelia May was born on Sept. 18, 1892, married Elmer March 27, 1908 and died Jan. 18th, 1922. He met Serena May Estes and married her Feb. 27th, 1927 in Portageville, Mo. They moved to Benton Harbor, Mich. with the children. May's sister Leona and her husband went with them. Elmer worked picking fruit and then went to work for the Studebaker Car co. They then moved to Toledo, Oh. They lived on Marmion Ave., and moved to various places in Toledo. He worked at a landfill for the city; before he went to work for the Auto-Lite Co. They made starters and generators for the cars. He moved to 7448 Dunbar, which is now is Temperance, Mich. He bought property there and built a house on part of it. He raised vegetables, cows, chickens, and had a mule and horse. During the war he was a guard at Auto-Lite. They were making bazooka shells for the bazooka guns which was a big gun that you held on your shoulders while kneeling to fire. It took about a 3-in. shell. He was working there when the workers wanted the union to come in so they could get a decent raise. It was a bloody time and men were killed over it. After he married May he had 5 more children: Fay, who lived for 1 hour, Lois, Ray, Ruth and Opal. Earl, his oldest son had an old car that he did not want. Elmer cut the top off, and took the trunk off and made a doodlebug tractor out of it. Elmer did not do a lot of traveling; he used to go see his children that lived in Benton Harbor, and Niles, Mich. Use to go to Tenn. to see relatives, and drove out to Kansas to see Ray his youngest son when he was in the Air Force. He enjoyed many years of retirement. He was preceded in death by 4 children. He retired on June 10th, 1954 after 27 years of work. He passed away at Flower Hospital in Toledo Ohio on March 10th, 1972. Cause of death was coronary thrombosis, heart disease, and multiple decubitus (bedsores) ulcerated to the spine. He was cared for at home, by a daughter Opal overseeing his medical care. He is buried at Memorial Cemetery in Sylvania Oh, section # 12.

Sources

• Source: S-1761213085 Repository: #R-1788892175 Title: Public Member Trees Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;
• Repository: R-1788892175 Name: www.ancestry.com

1. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169
2. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169
3. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169
4. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169
5. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169
6. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169
7. ↑ Source: #S-1761213085 Page: Database online. Data: Text: Record for Peter Bryant CONT http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=46486836&pid=169

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Stephen Gregory for creating WikiTree profile Bryant-2476 through the import of Gregory Ancestors.ged on Feb 28, 2013.

Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Stephen and others.