Kentucky: A History of the State, Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 3rd ed., 1885,
Hardin Co.

JAMES HILLERY BRYAN Prominent among the men of Hardin County, Ky., who have
left the impress of their lives upon the community is the name that
introduces this sketch. James Hillery Bryan, commonly called by his middle
name, was born in 1818, in Nelson County, Ky. He descended from purely
Irish ancestry, his paternal grandfather being of Irish birth. He was the
fourth of a family of six children born to Ignatius Bryan and Mary Bryan,
nee Wathen. When he was but four years old his father removed with his
family and settled in the northwest part of Hardin County. There our
subject grew to manhood, receiving only the advantages of the common
schools. In his early manhood, in connection with his father, he began
merchandising on a limited scale, commencing business life with no capital
but his own good name. His success, though slow at first, was assured from
the beginning, for, to honesty of purpose he added a native energy which
characterized his whole after life. About the beginning of the late war,
being frequently annoyed by the guerrilla warfare, he moved to
Elizabethtown, where he engaged in the prosecution of mercantile pursuits,
and also in agriculture. He soon became an important factor in the business
interests of the town. But it was more especially in his social and private
life that he won for himself an enviable distinction, and a place in the
esteem of all who knew him. Possessed of the genial, sunny nature so
characteristic of his nationality, and a generous heart that prompted him
to respond to the suffering or needy with an open hand, devoted to his
family, true to every public or private trust, he has left the impress of
his molding hand on the community in which he lived so long and well. Mr.
Bryan had a decided taste for the beautiful in life, which is evidenced by
his elegant residence at Elizabethtown, and the comforts with which he
surrounded his family. His first marriage was with Miss Hattie Buckman, a
native of Nelson County. She died in 1868, without issue, and in 1871 he
married Miss Sallie M. McDonald. She is a native of Washington County, and
is the only daughter of William C. and Frances McDonald, nee Slack. Both
parents are deceased; the father, who was a native of Maryland, died in
1856, and the mother, a native of Washington County, Ky., died in December,
1881. Mr. and Mrs. Bryan were blessed with five children, seniority of age
as follows: Ernest I, died in infancy; Mary Frances; Joseph T., died in
childhood; Florence M. and Elizabeth Hillery Bryan. Mr. Bryan was ever a
faithful, consistent member of the Catholic Church, in the faith of which
he trustingly died on the 18th of September, 1884.

Bryan Wathen Buckman McDonald Slack
=
Nelson-KY Washington-KY MD

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/hardin/bryan.jh.txt