NOTE: The following are typed copies of two handwritten letters from Elizabeth Grimes "Bettie" BRYAN DAILEY to her oldest brother, John "Johnnie" Fort BRYAN and his wife Elizabeth "Bettie" Williams Bryan. I did not correct spelling, but I did correct some punctuation. Things typed inside [brackets] have been inserted by me, for information purposes.

Beckville, Tex
Aug 11, 1901

Mr and Mrs J.F. Bryan:

Dear brother and sister, I have been so scared all evening nite. I am nervous so you will get a badly written letter. Bill and I live way off by our selves and he is going off every day working at the mill, and I keep one of Sallie's children with me, but I am afraid to stay with a child. About an hour ago a drunk Negro passed. I took him to be drunk, he was holloring. We are all able keep up and stiring, but we are not well. We get up with our eyes swelled up every morning. I noticed Bill leaning over holding his heart this morning when he got up. I guess we eat to much fruit. I have cut several _____ of peaches to dry. I want to dry a bushel. My baby is so much trouble I can't do much. He can crawl like a rabbit, but can't walk a step. I think it will be a long time before he ever walks. The Dr says the fever he had last summer is the cause of his not walking, he will be 19 months old the twenty fifth of this month. He has the same birthday as Corin. I heard that Coreen had joined the church at Teneha. She has been down there about two years with her granpa WHITE. Little Walter stays there [with his granpa WHITE] part of the time, the last I heard of Kyle and Mattie they were living near Timpson at a mill. Father's family was all up the last time I heard from them. but not very well. Jimmie had got able to work at the mill a little, Father has had a bowel complaint. I want to go up there next Saturday if I can get off. Jobe went to see them in June.

[Corin & Walter's mother had died in 1893. "Granpa White", was their maternal grandfather. ~~ Walter's daughter, Virginia told me that Mr White came on horseback to retrieve the children. He took them home with him , in order, help Kyle. ~~ Kyle re-married later that year.]

Letter 1 con't
September 10

Well Bettie I will send my old letter to. I have had a spell of slow fever, am just able to sit up a little now. It looks like I have done trifling about writing. Looks like I feel so bad all the time, till I can't do any thing. My poor little baby has to stay on the floor all the time. I am not able to lift him about and he can't walk a step, and I am afraid there is something matter with his back. I will be down again in December If I live. Bill has hired a family to gather his cotton and we have moved back close to the gin, he is working at the gin. It belongs to the man we live with. We have about two bales of cotton out, one gined. I think we will have about 4 or 5 bales. We owe about fifty dollar store account. Cotton is selling at 9 ct here now. Our potatoes are very sorry, dry weather hurt them. Bettie I am not afraid where we live now. We have close neighbors. I never have got off to Father's yet. Bill wants to carry me this week, if I am able to ride. I haven't seen mamma in about 5 months. Father and Jimmie come to see me last week and stayed several days, Father was not very well while he was here, said the rest [family] were all well. Mary [assuming Mary is Bettie's sister, both being pregnant] is expecting to send for the Doctor in this month, Kyle's Mattie also. I heard she was at Jobe's to stay until she gets well. Jimmie has got in heap better health, seems to be clear in his head as ever, but can't stand much work. Father raised a little corn crop there by the mill, says he thinks they will have corn shortly to do them another year. He has already payed the rent on the ground. We tried to get Father to go home on the train, but no sir. He said he was to much like a congressman he was reading about who walked 8 hundred miles to attend to business before he would ride a train. So he walked home. Ed's family are all well. They were all here last Sunday. Sallie cooked a fat hen for dinner. Johnnie I want to see you and your family awful bad, but if we never meet on earth anymore, I hope we will meet in heaven, everyone of us, and know each other, where we will have no more sickness nor troubles to endure. Please write to me soon. I want to hear from you.

Your sister,
Bettie Dailey.

[ps] Bettie when you write tell me all about your mother and sisters, where your mother is and how she is getting along.

Charlieville, La
Nov 15, 1909

Dear sister Bettie,

I received your letter last night was glad to hear from you. Bettie, Fort went to Mamma's three weeks ago from here. He went home with Dan. Fort was sick nearly all the time he was here, this place did not agree with him. He never told me anything about telling you he was comming home. I tried to get him to see you. I told him his parents were his best friends, but he didnet seem to like for me to talk to him about it. Bettie, Dan, is not to blame. He never as much as ask Fort to go home with him, but let him know when he got ready to start. Poor Dan is forever ruined on this earth. It would make you cry to look at him. It has nearly ran me crazy. Bettie, I do hope we will meet again on earth and talk it all over. My oldest child is going to school and I have a lot of hard work to do. I hardly have time to write. I don't think you would be satisfied here. I am afraid you would be sick here. People can't raise much cotton here on account of bole weavel. Ed and Sallie have moved off. They told me when they left they was on their way to Texas, said they would not live here. Well Johnnie I recon you are turning gray and looking old [49 yrs]. I look so much older than I use to [43 yrs]. I don't expect you would know me. I would like to see your girls. I only have one little girl living. She is pretty and smart. My little babe can crawl. We call him bowl full of sugar. Johnnie don't you want to see Father and mamma so bad. Someday we will meet to part no more.

Write soon to your sister,
Bettie Dailey

Dear Brother [David Johnson] and Sister,
We are all yet spared for some purpose but I am not able to say for what God only knows but I hope it will all be right.  Jo and Mat left on Friday last to spend a week at Allen Bryans [Panola Co, TX].  We are all in good health at present……. he then goes on to discuss his health, the weather, the crops, etc.  No more about family in the letter. [Enoch Johnson]

Enoch Johnson lived in Mansfield, Louisiana, next door to his nephew, Joseph B. Johnson, who was married to Samantha E Bryan. - They are referred to as Jo and Mat in the above letter. 

Samantha E. (Mat and/or Manny) BRYAN (dau of Unknown BRYAN) married Joseph B JOHNSON. Joseph was born 1828 in Marion Co, GA-died 1883 DeSoto Parish, LA. He was the son of David JOHNSON & Catha Ann SANDERS. Joseph served in the CSA 11th Battalion of the Louisiana Infantry, Co. D.

Joe B. and Samantha moved to DeSoto Parish, Louisiana around 1858 or 1859 and remained there at least until Joseph’s death in 1883, where his succession records are filed.  It is not known if Samantha stayed in DeSoto after his death.

[NOTE: Joseph had siblings that moved to Panola Co, TX, in the same location as my Allen BRYAN.] A portion of a letter from Enoch Johnson, nephew to Joseph B, reads above:

most of the above furnished to me by: Dorothy Johnson Callaway

We are glad to hear that you are coming and now I want you to take particular notice of the following suggestions. it will cost you twice as much to come when the waters are low as when the water is high. red river is now very low and there is a probability of its remaining so until late in the winter. do not come in low water if you can help it. You will need a great many things, but you must do without them for a while in short do not spend a dollar more than you are positively compelled to. For (fair) with all the economy you can possibly now you will scarcely be able to get here with enough to answer your purposes.

I have [sold] the land for $550.00 five hundred and fifty dollars payable Christmas and took the note payable to Pa’s Estate. I shall be almost certain to get it. You might buy the children’s interest that remains. There like [their] receipts for it, if you wished to is so, do not bring any baggage than you can possibly get along without.

You speak of my coming for you nothing would afford me more happiness and I am sure I could save you a great deal but I cannot spend the money for it would cost me the round trip about one hundred dollars and you know George I have a good (servant?) family to support and I must do it, my business is not in the condition I would like to have it and I am at a loss to know what is best, but will -- go when --. I do not know what is best for you to do until you get here and then we will know more about it. I have thought of running a little farm together, ---. I am sorry Will cannot come for my --- I can see no reason for his staying there but I suppose he knows best, Mat is --- and Alice and Harvey, Manny --- and I are well.

Give our love to all. Write again and I will answer.

Yours affectionately. Jos. B. Johnson"

The following letter was written by Elliot Moorer to his wife, Lucinda

While Elliot (of Lowndes Co, AL) is not related to the BRYAN Clan (that I know of), I found the below letter interesting. The MOORER's can be found as early as the late 1600's in Orangeburgh Township, SC. and the original MOORER Clan were neighbors to my POU Clan

Wartrace, Tennessee
31 May 1863

Dear Lucinda,

I seat myself this morning to write you a few lines which leaves me enjoying the best of health except a cold. I received your letter yesterday dated 25 of May which I read with the greatest of pleasure and was very glad to hear from you and the children and that you were enjoying good health.

I have nothing strange or anything of importance to write to you. We had some excitement here the first of this week but all is quiet at this time. We even run out some eight or nine miles to Hoover's Gap to mette the Yankeys but they did not make their appearance so we staid two nights and one day and returned to our camp. When we first went out I was confident we would have a fight but did not which I was very glad we did not as I am in hopes thare will not be any more fighting up here. We have sent a good many troops to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Lucienda today was a week ago Cally Moorer and some others from this camp were sent two and half miles out in the country to guard some beef cattle and he took fever out thare and was not able to walk back to camps and Monday morning I borrowed Col. Lampley's horse and went after him and found him very sick but was able to ride to camps and he had been very sicke with Pneumonia. This morning very early I went in town and assisted in getting him on the cars to go to Chattanooga Hospital where he will be better cared for than this place as they have only a temporary concern here for the accomodation of sick soldiers.

The rest of the boys are all tolerable well except Bill Strickland. The physicians says they can't find any thing wrong with him. I think he is grieving himself about home but thare is no use in that for it will never get him home. He does not eat but very little and not more than once a day if that he has fallen off a great deal and looks very bad indeed.

Well Lucinda I must tell you something tht will rather get you I think. One day this week I was Sargeant of the guards and was sent to Wartrace about two hundred yards from our camps to guard some of our own men for bad conduct desertion and so on. And among them was a good looking girl dressed in soldiers clothing. She looks a good deal like some fair skin boy and curses like a sailor. She calls her name Charly Smith and says she belongs to a Arkansas Regiment and has been in several Battles and always comes out safe. She was a regular Blackguard and gambles. She played cares all the time in the guard house with other prisoners in thare with her. She looks to be eighteen or twenty years of age and says intends going to her Regiment or die. The next night after I left thare she got out of the guard house and had made her escape with one other prisoner and he was from Arkansas. It made me feel very bad to see a woman under arrest. I don't know upon what grounds they arrested her.

Lucinda - Gabe Moore never has wrote me. I have not heard from any of them in two months though I have wrote them and don't think I shall write any more until I hear from them again.

I made Ulrica a ring yesterday and intend making Bettie one next week and send them to you if I have a chance so they can get them. How would you like to have a collar button made like a shirt botton. I think it would look well. I will sent Ulrica's ring in this letter and keep it for her until you have a chance to send it to her.

Lucinda while I think of it I want you to send me some of little Randolph's hair. I dream of him often. I got a letter from Bill Hagood yesterday and he says Randolph is very fat and that I would not know him but the other children has not changed but very little. He says we have a good prospect for a crop and I hope you have had a good rain we had two splendid rains here this week and looks favorable for more. It has been fine weather here on the wheat crops and the Citizens says this rain come just in the right time to make it fine.

Lucinda yesterday twelve months ago I left home to go back to Auburn Alabama you recolect I left on Saturday morning after breakfast and went to Montgomery that day it seems a long time to me though time passes off briskly in camps for the reasons that our minds are pretty well engaged all the time on something we have to do. One day when we are idle we are thinking what is to be done the next day.

I read Bob's letter and from all accounts they must have had a terrible time of it and very glad that they come out as light as they. I was afeared that some of them was killed and I am very anxious to hear how Randolph and the boys from that company came out as I expect they were engaged in the fight at Vicksburg. The papers state that to be the greatest battle ever fought during this War. I suppose our men can hardly stay in side of ther breastworks the Yankeys smelt so bad that was left dead on the field of Battle.