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JOHN H. BRYANT,
contractor and builder, having his office at the intersection of Northeast and
Douglas streets, Bloomington, may
be properly numbered among the pioneer settlers of
Illinois, as he came here in 1837 with his parents,
being then a young child. He was born in
East Cambridge,
Mass., Dec. 3, 1833, his parents being Eben and Martha (Brown) Bryant,
natives of
Wakefield and Charlestown,
Mass. Eben Bryant was a farmer by occupation, and emigrated from the Bay State
to Illinois in 1837, settling in
Pike County, upon 160
acres of wild land, which he improved and cultivated and occupied until his
death, which occurred in 1866. The mother survived him twelve years, dying at
the old homestead in 1878. They were the parents of five children, four now
living, as follows: Eben F., of Pike
County; John H., our subject; Harriet and Joseph B., of
Kansas City. The father of our subject was a strong
Abolitionist, and
both parents were members of the
Baptist
Church.
John H. Bryant
was reared on his father's farm. and received a practical education. He remained
at home until nineteen years old, and then served three years at the carpenter's
trade, in Griggsville. He
soon afterward commenced as a contractor, which he followed in that locality
until 1859, and then came to
Bloomington. Here he first established himself on
West Mulberry street, removing to his present
quarters in 1884. He now gives employment to from five to twenty men, and among
the important structures which he has had in charge are the City Hall, Turner
Hall, the German
Methodist
Episcopal Church and the Eagle Block, besides some of the finest residences
in the city.
Our subject was
married in 1855, to Miss Nancy English, a native of
New Salem, Ill., and the daughter
of Robert and Martha (Hooper) English, of
Ohio.
Mr. English was a farmer who, after coming to Illinois,
settled first at New Salem, whence he removed to
McLean
County in 1863. His
declining years were spent in
Normal
Township, where his death
occurred in about 1865.
Mr. and Mrs.
Bryant became the parents of five children, as follows: George A. is in
California; Alice, now Mrs.
Gilbert Eldridge, is the mother of two
children -- Clare and Pansy; Frank married Miss Mary Ellen Ingersol, and they have one daughter, a
babe, Ethel Frances; Arthur is doing business with his father; Charles, the
youngest, is at home. The family residence is located at
No. 806 West Oliver street, and is the resort of the
best people of Bloomington.
Mrs. Bryant is a member in good standing of the
Baptist Church.
Mr. Bryant is one of the largest contractors in the city of
Bloomington, and both as a business man and a citizen, is
one of the important factors in its business and industrial interests.
Portrait and
biographical album of McLean County,
Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with portraits and
biographies of all the governors of Illinois,
and of the presidents of the
United States.
(Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887), 260.
Transcribed by Judy Rosella Edwards. Please
link to this page if you find it useful —
and
drop us a note if you do!
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