The Bryan Family Story as Related To The McFeaters
By Ron McCausland

The Bryan family presented here first settled in New Castle, Delaware where the first Nathaniel Bryan had a family of seven children. Not much is known of this family other than a son Charles went early to the Western Frontier and a son Nathaniel II emigrated into what was then Cumberland County, PA. We first find Nathaniel I and II in New Castle County, Delaware tax lists in 1775. We then find Nathaniel I and II in the Fannett Twp., Cumberland Co. tax list of 1778. Nathaniel II married Hannah Steel and farmed a large tract in Fannett Twp. known locally as the Pyat plantation. They had two sons Nathaniel III born September 1776 and Charles born about 1786. Charles became a school teacher and had a school in Birmingham, PA. Nathaniel III married Jane Taylor a daughter of Samuel Taylor of Path Valley, Franklin Co., PA about 1796. They immediately emigrated to Wheatfield Twp., then Westmoreland Co., now Indiana Co., PA where they settled near the old McCartney Fort. Nathaniel II and Nathaniel III were recorded in the 1800 US Census in Wheatfield Twp. Nathaniel II returned to Fannett Twp. Franklin Co. where he died in 1818. His will left money for the care of his wife Hannah, for the family of McCurdys that he was living with and for who are believed to be his nieces and nephews. The will did not mention his sons.

Within a year of emigrating to Indiana Co., Nathaniel III and Jane took out title for a 450 acre tract of land adjacent to the Joseph McCartney lands. By 1804 they had sold that property and purchased the old Stewart farm in Wheatfield Twp. There they raised a family of eight children. Several others died in infancy. They were farmers and Nathaniel III was the riding constable for Wheatfield Twp. He was also appointed a Justice of the Peace for many years. Jane died about 1855. The youngest son Joseph T. took over the farm for a time and it was sold about 1858 when Joseph T. moved to the state of Indiana with his family and his father.

Nathaniel IV, son of Nathaniel III and Jane, was born August 4, 1814 and was apprenticed when he was 15 years old as a carpenter to a Mr. Gallagher in Indiana, PA. One of his first jobs was to shingle the domed roof of the Lutheran Church in Indiana. Mr. Gallaghers retirement cut short the apprenticeship and young Nathaniel IV was skilled enough to hire out as a carpenter in the Indiana area. He worked around the area as a carpenter for a few years and on January 24, 1833 married Hannah McFeaters daughter of John and Hannah McFeaters of then Green Twp. They rented and moved about as Nathaniel now worked for himself in carpentry trade and they farmed a bit. They bought their first farm, the old Sweazy place, about 1835. While living there he built the first schoolhouse in Center Twp. In 1840 they bought a 214 acre farm that had been part of the original 450 acre tract that forty years before this had been his fathers land. Here they stayed 12 years primarily farming with occasional carpentry work. During this time, Nathaniel was elected constable several times, was elected captain of the local militia called the Washington Guards, served as school director for four years and was an elder in the church. In 1852 Nathaniel purchased one half of the John McLuen farm located on the Armstrong/Indiana County line. His half lay on the Armstrong side in Cowanshannock Twp. There he was elected school director and served for 12 years. During the diphtheria outbreak of 1861, two of their young daughters were stricken and died. Nathaniel said that he could never feel at home in that place again.

After the end of the War of the Rebellion, Nathaniel and Hanna visited their daughter Anna Maria in Kansas and visited Nathaniels two brothers living in the state of Indiana. They decided that they liked Indiana and sold their farm in 1864. Moving west they bought a hardware and livery establishment in Lebanon, Indiana. Farming and carpentry work was behind them now and Nathaniel became a very successful businessman. He expanded the hardware and began to import into the area plasterers materials and the first coal sold in Lebanon. He was appointed the local railway express agent in the town. He then sold the hardware store and began buying and selling corn and grain. This new venture also became a success.

About the year 1870 things began to fall apart. First, his younger brother Joseph T. died early that fall. The last time that wife Hannah walked was from their house to the buggy to go to Josephs funeral. After a debilitating illness Hannah died in January of 1873. Within a week Nathaniels brother Charles, then living in Greensburg, Indiana died. Two months later Nathaniel V, son of Nathaniel and Hannah died. He had never fully recovered from an illness that began while he served in the Army.

A crushing blow was to follow as Nathaniel assumed the obligations of debt incurred by the husband of his daughter Mattie. She had married Albert Parks Stephenson of Lebanon. Stephenson had attempted to set up in business and had failed, what was not obvious were the large gambling debts also due. For whatever reason Nathaniel had for assuming the debts, he paid dearly and ended up nearly broke.

One positive event occurred during this time. Nathaniel visited Greensburg, Indiana after yet another death in the family, his granddaughter Nancy, the oldest daughter of Eliza Jane. There Nathaniel met Mrs. Lydia F. Wilkenson-Woodbury the widow of Wm. Woodbury who lost his life at the siege of Vicksburg. She had been raising her family of four children in Greensburg. She had a small shop where she worked as a milliner and dressmaker. After several meetings they married on July 2, 1873. Lydia's two oldest daughters were previously married. The youngest daughter and a son were teenagers who moved with Nathaniel and Lydia to Lebanon.

As a result of the Stephenson affair, Nathaniel had lost nearly all of his property. To continue in the grain business it was necessary for him to take on a partner. He made a poor judgment of character and ability of the man he chose. However, the business continued to prosper for a time and they built a new grain elevator. On February 9, 1878 with the elevator full of corn and grain it burnt to the ground. Nathaniels partner had grossly underinsured the business and it failed. Nathaniel continued with his coal business and was elected as Justice of the Peace that year. During the next year, the mayor of Lebanon resigned and the city council unanimously elected Nathaniel to fill out the remainder of the term. He declined on some legal grounds but the council named him city administrator effectively filling the office of mayor. He then took on another partner to rebuild the grain elevator. Again poor judgment of character cost him in the end. After some unethical dealings in grain by the partner, Nathaniel was pushed out of the business and lost his investment.

Nathaniel and Lydia had taken an excursion to Kansas to visit his daughter Anna Maria, and a daughter of Lydias. Nathaniel decided then in 1885 at age 71 to start over in Winfield, Kansas. This was not to be. He had no money to start a new business and was too old to farm. They struggled on there for a few years subsisting mainly on Lydias work as hat and dressmaker. After the urging of their children they returned to Indiana County, PA to live with Nathaniels daughter Mary McCausland in the winters and with his son John in the summers. On arriving in PA they had remaining a total of twenty seven cents. They were living there yet when Nathaniel wrote his autobiography in 1893.

The children of Nathaniel and Hannah (McFeaters) Bryan are:

1. Infant daughter b. 24 Nov. 1833 d. 28 Nov. 1833

2. John McCartney b. 21 Mar. 1835 m. first Harriet Reesman 8 Feb. 1859 she d. 13 Jun. 1875 leaving 3 children; m. second F. E. (Effie?) Brown 21 Aug. 1876. John farmed in Indiana Co., PA all of his life.

3. Mary b. 10 Oct. 1836 m. Jacob McCausland 21 Sep. 1864. They farmed and raised five sons in Cowanshannock Twp., Armstrong Co., PA.

4. Eliza Jane b. 4 Feb. 1838 m. William Stewart of Rush County, Indiana 28 Jan. 1863, lived in Decatur Co., IN and raised 3 children.

5. Nancy b. 2 Sep. 1839 d. 7 Jan. 1855

6. Anna Maria b. 12 May 1841 m. Thomas Martin, lived in Tuka, Kansas and raised two orphaned girls.

7. Nathaniel Steel b. 21 Mar. 1843, taught school, served three years in the army, m. Carrie Fall of Boone County, Indiana 1 Jan. 1872, had one son.

8. Mattie E. b. 6 Jun. 1845, m. Albert Parks Stephenson of Lebanon, IN 17 Mar. 1867, had one son.

9. Hannah b. 25 Feb. 1847 d. ? Dec. 1861 of diphtheria

10. Sarah b. 12 Oct. 1851 d. ? Dec. 1861 of diphtheria

11. Infant daughter b. Abt. 1860 stillborn