Hugh Crawford Bryant, son of Eugene Herbert Bryant and Nancy Tallulah “Lula” Bouchelle, was born in Maxeys, Oglethorpe County, Georgia on February 15, 1893. He was the 6th child of 14—Leroy Bryant, Clinton Bouchelle Bryant, J. Iverson Bryant, Nellie Lynn Bryant, Mamie Bryant, Hugh Crawford Bryant, Rebecca “Ree” M. Bryant, Herbert Alexander Bryant, Clark Howell Bryant, Clyde Bryant (female), Emily Elizabeth Bryant, Noel T. Bryant, William M. Bryant, and an infant boy. Hugh is my 2nd cousin 3x removed with our nearest common relatives being Charles L. Lankford and Miss Moore. His grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Lankford, is the sister of my 3rd great grandfather, James Meriweather Lankford.
Two of Hugh’s siblings died before he was born. His brother Iverson, just 10 months old, died on December 12, 1887. His sister Nellie died at the age of three on December 30, 1892. Both were buried near their grandparent’s grave (William and Elizabeth Ann (Lankford) Bryant) at Bairdstown Cemetery in Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
On June 5, 1900, Hugh and his family lived in Maxeys, a town in the Falling Creek district of Oglethorpe County. His parents had been married for 18 years. Hugh’s mother had given birth to nine children, with seven still living. His father worked as a farmer. Four of the children, including Hugh, were attending school. Hugh’s mother was enumerated as Lula, Leroy as Roye, Rebecca as Ree, and Clark as Mark. There were two servants living in the home—J. Kidd, a black male working as a farm laborer, age 21, and Hattie, a black female working as a cook, age 20. I can’t read the census enumerators handwriting but their names are transcribed as Jurls Kidd and Hattie Alere or Alen on ancestry.com. I don’t know what’s correct. The Bryant family lost another child in 1909 when an infant son was born and died on November 15. The infant, apparently never named, was buried at Bairdstown Cemetery.
On April 19, 1910, the Bryant family still lived in Maxeys. Hugh’s parents had been married for 28 years. His mother was enumerated as being the mother of 11 children, all of which were living which we know is wrong. His father was a farmer on a general farm while both Hugh and Herbert worked as farm laborers on the home farm. Hugh, Rebecca, Herbert, Clark, Clyde, and Emily were all attending school. With the exception of Emily, Noel, and William, everyone could read and write. The year 1912 was another sad one for the Bryant family when son Noel died on November 12 at the age of seven. Like the other Bryant children who died before him, Noel was buried at Bairdstown Cemetery.
Hugh, who still lived in Maxeys, registered for the World War I draft on June 5, 1917. A self-employed farmer, he was tall and of medium build, had blue eyes and sandy hair. Hugh was inducted into the U.S. Army on October 24, 1918 at Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He served as a private in Company D, Students Army Training C of the Georgia School of Technology in Atlanta until his honorable discharge on December 4, 1918.
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Military service induction list (click to enlarge) |
On January 7, 1920, the Bryant family lived on Athens Highway in the Falling Creek district of Oglethorpe County. By this time, Hugh was the oldest child still at home. Hugh and his father both worked as farmers on a general farm. Herbert worked as a laborer on a home farm. Only Emily and William were attending school. Once again, there were two servants living in the home—Alonze Wilson, a black male working as a laborer on a general farm, age 18, and Estelle Wilson, a black female working as a cook, age 21. Hugh’s paternal aunts, Sarah T. Bryant (age 77) and Rebecca M. Bryant (age 72), and uncle Jasper Bryant (age 59) lived next door. All were single and had chosen to live together at that stage in life. They were joined by a cousin, Nanny Lankford, age 69 and single. Nanny was Emerette B. Lankford, daughter of James Meriweather Lankford and my 2nd great grand aunt, who also never married.
I have been unable to find Hugh in the 1930 census but know that he had moved to Gary, Lake County, Indiana by 1935. His social security number was issued in Indiana. Hugh’s brother Leroy, a physician, died on September 24, 1932 in Maxeys from bronchopneumonia and influenza. He was buried at Maxeys Cemetery. His brother Clinton died on June 14, 1935 in Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. He was buried at Antioch Church Cemetery in Stephens, Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
A 1940 census enumerator recorded Hugh living as a lodger in the home of Charles Bales on April 2. Hugh had been living there since at least 1935. Hugh worked as a laborer in a steel mill and had an income of $1,200 in 1939. Hugh’s mother died on April 15, 1941 in Oglethorpe County; his father died on June 14, 1948 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Both were buried at Bairdstown Cemetery.
Hugh registered for the World War II draft in Gary, Indiana on April 27, 1942. He listed his place of residence as 836 Madison Street in Gary and a Mrs. John A. Tuttle, of the same address, as the person who would always know his address. Hugh worked at Gary Works, a U.S. Steel manufacturing plant located in Gary. At 5’10”, Hugh weighed 200 pounds, had blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion.
On April 1, 1950, Hugh lived in apartment 10 of the Penn Hotel, a rooming house located on Washington Street in the Calumet Township of Gary, Indiana. At age 57, Hugh was enumerated as having never married. He worked as a barturner in the steel mills. Sometime after the 1950 census was taken, Hugh married Della Harker. Unfortunately, I have no information on when or where the marriage took place or on Della herself for that matter. After Hugh retired from the steel mill, he moved back to Maxeys. I would love to figure out if Hugh met and married Della in Indiana or Georgia. Back in Maxeys, Hugh was a member of Howard Masonic Lodge No. 138.
Hugh died on July 27, 1962 at the age of 69 following an extended illness at Boswell Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia. His funeral, officiated by Rev. Owen Duvall, was held on July 28 at the Bairdstown Baptist Church in Bairdstown, where he was a member.
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Bairdstown Baptist Church |
Hugh was buried in the Bryant family plot along the wood line at Bairdstown Cemetery. Della applied for a military headstone on August 13, 1962.
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Headstone application (click to enlarge) |
That tombstone reads:
HUGH C BRYANT
GEORGIA
PVT US ARMY
WORLD WAR I
FEB 15 1893 - JULY 27, 1962
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Bryant family plot |
Hugh was survived by his wife Della and a daughter, name unknown but listed in Hugh’s obituary as Mrs. J. J. Maxwell of Santa Ana, California. Having married so late in life, I would assume she was his stepdaughter but can’t confirm that. Hugh was also survived by four sisters (Mamie, Rebecca, Clyde, and Emily), three brothers (Herbert, Clark, and William), and two grandchildren.
References
- Bryant tombstones, personal visit to Bairdstown Cemetery, Bairdstown, Georgia.
- Dr. Le Roy Bryant, Certificate of Death no. 32-22438, Georgia Department of Public Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78361105/clinton-bouchelle-bryant: accessed June 4, 2022), memorial page for Clinton Bouchelle Bryant (17 Sep 1885–14 Jun 1935), Find a Grave Memorial ID 78361105, citing Antioch Cemetery, Stephens, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, USA; maintained by Ed Hooten (contributor 47100978).
- Hugh Bryant, Social Security Death Index.
- Hugh C. Bryant, Clinton B. Bryant, and Nancy T. Bryant, Georgia Deaths, 1919–98.
- Hugh C. Bryant, U.S., Headstone Applications, 1925–1963.
- Hugh Crawford Bryant, Georgia, World War I Service Cards, 1917–1919.
- Hugh Crawford Bryant, U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.
- Hugh Crawford Bryant, U.S., Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917–1918, Select States.
- Mr. E. H. Bryant obituary, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, June 16, 1948.
- Mr. Hugh Crawford Bryant obituary, Oglethorpe Echo, August 2, 1962.
- U.S. Federal Census, Falling Creek, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1900, 1910, 1920.
- U.S. Federal Census, Gary, Lake County, Indiana, 1940, 1950.
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