John Briant of Scituate was active in public affairs, a land owner, and frequently a surveyor of public lands. He was a member of the Plymouth General Court in 1657 and 1677/78.[1]
A family tradition states he came from Kent, England in the Ann. He settled first at Barnstable and removed to Scituate by 1643. His name is on a list of freeman in 1639 and on the 1643 list of men able to bear arms in Scituate.[1]
Married:1st - Mary Lewis, daughter of George and Mary (Jenkins) Lewis of Barnstable on the 14th of November, 1643 in Scituate, Plymouth Colony.[2] She died 2 July 1655 in Scituate, after bearing 7 children.[3]
Married:2nd - Elizabeth Wetherill, daughter of Rev. William Witherill of Scituate, on the 22nd of December, 1657 in Scituate, Plymouth Colony.[4] She died between January 1661/62 and April 1664, after the birth of her daughter and before the remarriage of her husband to Mary Highland.[5] There are no other children recorded for John before he remarries to the below Mary, in April, 1664.
Married:3rd - Mary Highland, daughter of Thomas Highland of Scituate, in April 1664 (day NOT recorded), at Scituate, Plymouth Colony.[6]
Another John Bryant: There appears to be another John Bryant who first settled at Taunton. See Great Migration Directory: Bryant, John: Unknown; 1637; Taunton [PCPR 1:31; MD 2:210-11].
Source: Births, Marriages, And Deaths Of Scituate, Mass. 1640 - 1801. Microfilm # 0423512. L.D.S. Genealogy Library - Salt Lake City,Utah. !Lds Church Archive Record For George Lewis & Sarah Jenkins. Genealogical Notes Of Barnstable , Mass. Pg. 119.; New England Register (Am History Vol. 17. Pg 16.) !Marriage: Records Of The Colony Of New Plymouth In New England;1633 - 1689; Miscellaneous Records; Edited By Nathaniel B. Shurtleff,M.D.; Printed From The Press Of William White, 1857. Pg.17. !Marriage:New England Marriages Prior To 1700.By Clarence Almon Torrey;1621-1700;Genealogical Publishing Co.;Pg. 111; In Possession Of Carol Nichols,Gilberts,Ill. !Birth-Marriages-Deaths:Vital And Town Records Of Scituate,Mass, 1640 - 1847;Pg.1,3 ;L.D.S. Genealogy Library-Salt Lake City,Utah;Filmed By The Genealogical Society Of Utah, 1965. !History: Founders Of Early American Families; Emigrants From Europe, 1607 - 1657; Revised Edition; Published By The General Court Of The Order Of Founders And Patriots Of America; Cleveland, Ohio 1985. Pg. 50. !Notes: His Name Was Originally Spelled Briant. Of Plymouth, Mass. 1637, Barnstable 1639, Scituate 1643. He Died There 20 Nov 1684. Freeman.
There is an extensive, but unsourced, biography of John Bryant of Scituate, THE BRYANT FAMILY OF KENT CO., ENGLAND-PLYMOUTH, MASS.- BRYANT HILL, ELLICOTTVILLE, NY Researched by: Edna Bryant Cole of Erie, PA, at Cole
Marriage of John Bryant and Mary Lewis. Records of the Colony of New Plymouth. 1633 -1689, Pub. Boston 1857, Pub. Baltimore 1976, Transcribed by Claire Dietz. Marriages, page 222. BRYANT, John and Mary Lewis, Scituate 14 November 1643. John and Elizabeth Witherell, Scituate, 22 Dec. 1651. John and Abigail Bryant, Plymouth 23 November 1665.
Scituate, F. Apthorp Foster ed. Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, volume 2: Marriages and Deaths. (Boston: NEHGS, 1909): page 46. Includes marriage dates of John Bryant and Mary Lewis and John Bryant and Elizabeth Wetherill.
Scituate, F. Apthorp Foster ed. Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, volume 1: Births. (Boston: NEHGS, 1909). Internet Archive Link.
Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862. Vol 1 p. 283.
BRYANT, JOHN, Scituate [arrived before] 1639.
m. 14 Nov. 1643, Mary, d. of George Lewis of Barnstable, had John, b. 17 Aug. 1644; Hannah, 25 Jan. 1646, m. 1665, John Stodder of Hingham; Joseph, 1646, d. young; Sarah, 29 Sept. 1648; Mary, 24 Feb. 1650, d. young; Martha, 26 Feb. 1652; and Samuel, 6 Feb. 1654. His w. d. 2 July 1655, and
he m. 22 Dec. 1657, Elizabeth d. of Rev. William Wetherell, wh. d. soon; and
in 1664 he m. Mary, d. of Thomas Hiland, had Elizabeth 1665; Benjamin, 1669; Joseph, again, 1671; Jabez, 1672; Ruth, 1673; Thomas, 1675; Deborah, 1677; Agatha, 1678; Ann, 1680; and Elisha, 1682.
Also in this Savage reference:
He was rep. 1677-8, and his will was dat. 1684.
JOHN, Scituate, s. of John of the same, had John, b. 1677; Jonathan, 1679; Mary, 1682; David, 1684; Joshua, 1687; Samuel,1689; and Martha, 1691.
SAMUEL, Scituate, s. of first John, d. in the strange expedit. of Sir William Phips against Quebec.
THOMAS, Scituate, s. of first John, a man of distinct. rep. 1725, 30, 3, and 4, was f. of Rev. Lemuel, H. C. 1739, a disting. man of Braintree.
I have created the below profiles for the missing children of John Bryant & his wives, but could not add them because the parent profiles are "Project Protected". If you could add the profiles to John & his last two wives:
Thank you for adding the profiles. Please add Deborah (Bryant-13637) & Anna (Bryant-13639).
As to your questions:
- Joseph, bp. 1667, was placed there over 2 years ago. I've now placed him with the correct marriage.
- The children are placed with particular mothers, based on the mother's dates of marriage. Elizabeth married in 1657 & no children are recorded in vitals or church records after the birth of their dau. Mary, in Jan. 1662. Elizabeth died between that date & the marriage of Mary Hiland, in April, 1664. Two children are recorded for Elizabeth & all the other children after 1664, belong to Mary Hiland.
I would like to have Thomas Bryant (Bryant-192) added as the son of John Bryant Sr. and Mary Highland (Hiland). He is already listed in the list of John's children in the profile but the profile is not linked. Cherry Cherry Cushing
John Bryant and Grace Wayford were not the parents of the immigrant [[Bryant-8|John of Scituate. Their son John was John Bryant of Bampton. Will proved 1641. I am going to disconnect said.
I have created the below profiles for the missing children of John Bryant & his wives, but could not add them because the parent profiles are "Project Protected". If you could add the profiles to John & his last two wives:
Bryant-13626 (mother, Hiland), Bryant-13627 (mother, Hiland), Bryant-13628 (mother Elizabeth), Bryant-13630 (the rest: mother, Hiland)), Bryant-13636, Bryant-13637, Bryant-13638, Bryant-13639, Bryant-13640.
Thank you,
Nace
Why is this child listed as the 3rd child of the first wife Mary Lewis? Joseph Bryant. Baptized on 7 July, 1667; d. 16 June 1669
How do we know which children belong to Elizabeth Wetherell and which to Mary Highland?
Thank you for adding the profiles. Please add Deborah (Bryant-13637) & Anna (Bryant-13639).
As to your questions:
- Joseph, bp. 1667, was placed there over 2 years ago. I've now placed him with the correct marriage.
- The children are placed with particular mothers, based on the mother's dates of marriage. Elizabeth married in 1657 & no children are recorded in vitals or church records after the birth of their dau. Mary, in Jan. 1662. Elizabeth died between that date & the marriage of Mary Hiland, in April, 1664. Two children are recorded for Elizabeth & all the other children after 1664, belong to Mary Hiland.
Thanks again,
Nace.
She is #15 in the profile list. Cherry Cushing