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Below is a family biography included in The History of Barry County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Charles S. Bryan was born in New Berne, Craven Co., N. C., September 28, 1832, and is a son of John H. and Mary (Shepard) Bryan. John H. Bryan was of German stock, and was born in New Berne, N. C, in 1798. His father, James W. Bryan, was also a native of the “Old North State,” and was a merchant in New Berne for many years. He was the owner of several vessels, with which he engaged in trade with the West Indies. John H. Bryan was reared at New Berne, and was a lawyer by profession. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, and became one of the prominent attorneys and politicians of the State. He served in both houses of the State Legislature, and was in the lower house of Congress from 1825 till 1829, and declined a re-election. Possessing superior ability he achieved a national reputation in politics as a Henry Clay Whig. His death occurred in 1870 in Raleigh, N. C., he having removed thither in 1838. During the last years of his life he practiced his profession in the State Supreme Court and United States Circuit Courts, and was one of the leading legal lights of the State. His wife was also a native of New Berne, born in 1800. She died in Raleigh in 1881. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom eleven are living. They are Capt. Francis T. (a retired army officer and capitalist of St. Louis), John H. (professor in an English college in Brazil, S. A.), William S. (chief justice of court of appeals of Maryland), Henry R. (an attorney at New Berne, N. C.), Mary S. (widow of Edwin G. Speight, a cotton planter of Sumpter County, Ala.), Elizabeth (widow of Kenelm H. Lewis, a cotton planter of Edgecombe County, N. C.), Octavia (wife of John C. Winder, superintendent of the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad), Isabel (wife of Mr. Bryan, of Raleigh), Charlotte (widow of Maj. Gen. Grimes), Annie (wife of Mr. Syme, cashier of bank at Raleigh), and Charles S. The last named graduated from Chapel Hill University of North Carolina in 1852, and the same year entered the mercantile business at Petersburg, Va., which he continued four years. He was then employed as traveling salesman, with headquarters at Baltimore and Philadelphia, until 1858, when he removed to Greenfield, Mo., and resumed merchandising. In 1863 he proceeded to Cooper County, Mo., and in 1868 came to Cassville, where he has since resided. For twelve years he was engaged in merchandising in Cassville, and has held various public offices since coming to the county. In 1870 he was elected superintendent of county public schools, and in 1873, at a special election, was elected county collector. The next year he was elected by the Democratic party to represent Barry County in the Legislature, and was re-elected to the same position in 1878. He served on committee of Ways and Means in both assemblies, and the last session was also chairman of committee on County Boundaries. From 1880 till 1886 he was a traveling salesman in Missouri and Arkansas. In 1886 his party chose him for county recorder of deeds, his present position. His marriage with Mildred Wear, who was born in Cooper County, Mo., in 1843, was celebrated in 1863: To them have been born three children: Mary (now the wife of Dr. Alexander S. Hawkins), William and Sarah Y. Mr. Bryan is a Mason and a member of the Episcopal Church. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

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This family biography is one of 103 biographies included in The History of Barry County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Barry County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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