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there is a public member story i wish to see as is came up in a search for mark courtney born 1801 ireland im not a member so i cant view it i would be so grateful if any1 ould get it for me its

title;mr hudnal
attached to:francis morgan brian (1805-1860)

-------------------------------------------------------------------- This document is the work of: MARTHA ROWENA HUDNAL and is presented here as a "historic work", unedited and unproven. We make no claims about it's accuracy and encourage you to PROVE anything you find in it. We are MORE THAN WILLING to post, in addition to this document, any data that COMPLETES or CORRECTS this document. SO FAR AS I KNOW, THE FOLKS MENTIONED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE NOT RELATED TO ANYONE IN OUR DATABASE ... THIS IS PRESENTED BECAUSE IT IS NO LONGER ON THE WEB AND MAY BE HELPFUL TO SOME OTHER PERSON IN THEIR RESEARCH. WE HAVE NO FURTHER DATA TO ADD TO THIS. -------------------------------------------------------------------- On December 24,1921 MARTHA ROWENA HUDNAL FRANCIS BRIAN WILLIAM BRIAN William Brian was born May 2, 1735 in Ireland On July 21, 1754 William Brian married Sara Jane Williamson in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Sara Jane Williamson was previously married to Peter Crocker. It is not know when Sara Jane Williamson and Peter Crocker were married. Peter Crocker was living in Isle of Wright County, Virginia in 1746. On February 7, 1746 he purchased three hundred acres of land on the South side of the Tar River in Edgecombe County, North Carolina from William Reynolds. Peter Crockers name is mentioned several times in the Edgecombe County, North Carolina Deed Records as either purchasing or selling land or witnessing the sale of land by his neighbors. The will of Peter Crocker was filed at the Courthouse in Edgecombe County, North Carolina on October 24, 1752. Sara Jane Williamson is named as the executor of the estate. There are children mentioned in the will, however they are not names. The executor of Peter Crockers will was Francis Williamson, Sara Jane Williamson father and the will was witnessed by James Williamson, her brother. Sara Jane Williamson was born October 8, 1727 in Isles of Wright County, Virginia. Shewas the daughter of Francis Williamson and Martha Thompson and a descendent of Richard Williamson. More information on the family of Sarah Jane Williamson is included at the end of this chapter. When the first United States Census wasrecorded in 1790, William Brian was living in Darlington County, South Carolina.

The record reads as follows: First Census ofthe United States - 1790 CherawsDistrict, Darlington County, South Carolina Brian, William 1 Free White Male 16 years and upward 2 Free White Females 1 Slave In 1797 William Brian and Sara Jane Williamson joined the Padgett Creek Baptist Church in Darlington County, South Carolina. In the book South Carolina Baptist by Leah Townsed April 19, 1797 PadgettCreek Baptist Church CherawsDistrict, Darlington County, South Carolina Church body called to meeting to acceptmembership, on statement of faith, of William Brian and wife Sara Jane. Membership accepted without no objections or conditions by unanimous vote. William Brian and Sara Jane Williamson remained active members of the Padget Creek Baptist Church until SARAH JANE WILLIAMSON BRIAN Sara Jane Williamson was born October 8, 1727 in Isles of Wright County, Virginia. Shewas the daughter of Francis Williamson and Mourning Thompson and a descendent of Richard Williamson. FrancisWilliamson was born in England, one of five children born to Francis Williamson and Ann ____________. In 1721 he was married in Isle of Wright County, Virginia to Mourning Thompson. Francis Williamson died in 1737 in Isle of Wright County, Virginia. FrancisWilliamson and Mourning Thompson had seven children; Francis Williamson, James Williamson, Martha Williamson, Sarah Jane Williamson, Benjamin Williamson, Joseph Williamson and Mourning Williamson. FrancisWilliamson II was born in England, the son of Robert Williamson and Joan Allen. Francis Williamson II was married in Isle of Wright County, Virginia to Ann. They had five children; Francis Williamson, Martha Williamson, Arthur Williamson, Benjamin Williamson, and Joseph Williamson. Robert Williamson was born in 1625 in London, England. He was the son of Richard Williamson and Margaret Brown. Robert Williamson was married in Isle of Wright County, Virginia to Joan Allen. Joan Allen was the daughter of Arthur Allen and Alice Tucker. Richard Williamson died in 1670 in Isle of Wright County, Virginia. Richard Williamson and Joan Allen had four children; Robert Williamson, George Williamson, Arthur Williamson and Francis Williamson. RichardWilliamson was born in Kent, England, the son of James Williamson. He was married to Margaret Brown. Richard Williamson and Margaret Brown had four children; Richard Williamson, Thomas Williamson, John Williamson and Robert Ramson.

RichardWilliamson came to the United States in 1639 and settled in Isles of Wright County Virginia. On June 23, 1640 Richard Williamson witnessed a deed of John Upton to Christopher and Ann Benn of some land on Pagan Creek in Isle of Wright County, Virginia. On Jun 23, 1641 Ambrose Bennett used his name for a head right in patenting land in Isle of Wright County, Virginia. On April 18, 1646 Richard Williamson and John Newman witnessed a deed made to John Snellock by Farrar Flinton. On March 14, 1647 Richard Williamson and Thomas Wombwell witnessed a deed of William Yarrett to Thomas Brandwood. By August 9, 1659 Richard Williamson had died and his wife Margaret Williamson married was married to John Druett. In 1659 John Druettconveyed to Thomas Elmes a tract of land that had been conveyed to his wife Margaret Druett by her parents George and Elizabeth Brown. The book Isle of WrightCounty, Virginia - Seventeenth Century by Boddie states: On September 29, 1664 Dr. Robert Williamson was granted seven hundred acres on the third swamp of the Blackwater, River. Three hundred and fifty acres at the mouth of a branch parting over from Mr. Bouchers land, the other three hundred and fifty acres being opposite this on the other side of the swamp. Sara Jane Williamson was previously married to Peter Crocker. It is not know when SaraJane Williamson and Peter Crocker were married. Peter Crocker was living in Isle of Wright County, Virginia in 1746. On February 7, 1746 he purchased three hundred acres of land on the Southside of the Tar River in Edgecombe County, North Carolina from William Reynolds. Peter Crockers name is mentioned several times in the Edgecombe County, North Carolina Deed Records as either purchasing or selling land or witnessing the sale of land by his neighbors. The will of Peter Crocker was filed at the Courthouse in Edgecombe County, North Carolina on October 24, 1752. Sara Jane Williamson is named as the executor of the estate. There are children mentioned in the will, however they are not names. The executor of Peter Crockers will was Francis Williamson, Sara Jane Williamson father and the will was witnessed by James Williamson, her brother. HARDY BRIAN Hardy Brian wasborn May 20, 1755 in Darlington County, Cheraws District, South Carolina. He was the oldest child of William Brian and Sara Jane Williamson. Hardy Brian lived on the land owned by his father and helped his father and younger brothers with the clearing of the land and the farming. A description of Darlington County South Carolina in 1700 is taken from the book A History of Darlington County South Carolina by Erwin: From the years 1696 to 1730 immigrationto South Carolina was very slow. To encourage more rapid expansion and settlement, in the later part of 1730 the Crown adopted a new system which proved even more successful than was previously anticipated. This plan, known as the township system, offered land to the colonist under very encouraging conditions. As a result of this scheme, Governor Johnson was instructed to mark out eleven Townships, in square plots, on the sides of rivers, consisting each of 20,000 acres, and to divide the land within them into shares of 50 acres of each man, woman and child that should come over to occupy and improve them. There was very little delay in carryingout the orders issued. The township on the PeeDee was named Queensborough.

It was here, from the years 1731 and 1732 that some of the first settlements were made. It was laid out on the Great PeeDee River, a short distance from the mouth of the Little PeeDee River. The favorable conditions and enticing inducements were very appealing to a group of Welsh settlers then living in Delaware. Because the soil was very suited to the Raising of hemp and flax, in 1737 this party of immigration settled on the PeeDee River, in the township of Queensborugh. The book Names In SouthCarolina by Claude Neuffer describes the area of Society Hill where the Brian family lived. Removal of theplanters from the Welsh Neck on the Marlboro County side of the Great PeeDee River to Long Bluff on the west side in what is now Darlington County was made between 1748 and 1752. The name Long Bluff was given this settlement for its extensive bluff, extending without a break for about three miles along the west bank of the PeeDee River. About the year 1785 the name Long Bluff was changed to Greenville, so called in honor of General Nathaniel Green of Revolutionary War fame. The circuit courts of the Cheraws District were held at Greenville until the year 1791. Charles Mason, Evander McIver, Thomas Power and William Dewitt set forth in their petition to the Legislature that they had laid out the town of Long Bluff on the PeeDee River out of their own property, haven given the streets, several lots of land, Town House and Market Place. In December 1778, St. Davids Society was incorporated for the purpose of instituting and endowing a seminary of learning in the District of the Cheraws. The first building was erected near the site now occupied by the Welsh Neck Baptist Church and as the inhabitants began to move into the hills about half a mile from the site of Greenville, they gave the name Society Hill to the new settlement, named for St. Davids Society Seminary. This was about the year 1798. The Welsh Neck Baptist Church, founded in the year 1738, erected their first meeting house in the Welsh Tract in what is now Marlboro County. Soon after the settling of Society Hill, about the year 1798, the Church was moved to that location. In the book A History of Darlington County South Carolina by Erwin, the following account is provided of the Welsh Neck Baptist Church. In 1738a group of the early Welsh settlers organized a Baptist church and erected in 1744 a small house of worship. The first meeting was held at the home of John Jones, a prominent man in the little Welsh Neck group at this time. From the time of its founding to March 1759, Reverend Joshua Edward and Reverend Robert Williams served as pastors; Reverend Nicholas Bedgegood served as pastor from 1759 to 1775. The first house of worship was a small building that was erected on the east bank of the river, a very short distance from the ferry. The construction of this building was completed in 1744. The second, a building 45 by 30 feet was constructed in 1759 on a lot given by Daniel Devonald. In 1798 the little church was moved to the West side of the river and a building was erected on the present site.

The church was a plain square building with a porch in front. A large room was added to one side of the building for the use of the Negroes. It was divided from the larger part by a low wall about as high as the backs of the pews. An isle in the middle of one of each side led back to the pulpit and a lower platform on one side. several of the pews were square with seats on three sides. Pews were rented and each family had its own. The pulpit was a high one with a flight of steps on each side and doors which closed. The seats could accommodate at least three ministers. The Welsh Neck Church was the mother of the other Baptist Churches in and around Darlington. Its ministers preached to or assisted weak congregations up and down the river; its people let it to aid in forming other Baptist groups; it descendants cover the PeeDee section with branches of this church. The following map provides a look at the Cheraws District of South Carolina. Hardy Brian became a member of the Welsh Neck Baptist Church inMarch 1772 when he was seventeen years old. Hardy Brian listed his church affliction as Episcopalian although there is no record of an Episcopalian church in existence tin that area of South Carolina. Hardy Brian probably listed the church affiliation of his father William Brian. The record where Hardy Brian was accepted into membership of The Welsh Neck Baptist Church reads as follows: Welsh Neck Baptist Church, March 1772 Accepted for membership: Hardy Brian, Church affliction, Episcopalian, Accepted by baptism. On May 15, 1778Hardy Brian married Jemima Morgan in Darlington County, Cheraws District, South Carolina. Jemima Morgan was born June 4, 1762 in Darlington County, Cheraws District, South Carolina. Jemima Morgan was the daughter of Solomon Morgan and Sarah Ludlow. More information will be included on the Morgan family at the end of this chapter. Since Jemima Morgan wasunder eighteen years old, South Carolina law required she have permission from her parents to marry. A copy of the application for a certificate of marriage and a copy of the consent is on file at the courthouse in Darlington, South Carolina. The application reads as follows: Count of Darlington CherawsDistrict Petition for marriage filled this the 10th day of May, 1778 by Hardy Brian, a citizen and resident of said county to marry and wed Jemima Morgan, the daughter of Reverend Solomon Morgan of said District. The consent to marriage of Jemima Morgan, a minor being under eighteen years of age, so filed by her father, Reverend Solomon Morgan Given by my hand the right and privilege to marry Jeffery Mattewson, Clerk of Courts After their marriage Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian lived on a small tract of land near High Hill Creek near thehome of his parents. In 1781Hardy Brian filed a Homestead Claim with the state of South Carolina for right to this property he had settled. The South Carolina Homestead Law required a person to live on a tract of land for at least two years and to make improvements to the land to produce an income from farming. The following entry is found in the land records at the Darlington County Courthouse in Darlington, South Carolina: CherawsDistrict, South Carolina June 1,1781 To record my right to twenty-five acresof land located near the site of the old courthouse near High Hill Creek as a homestead for and with my wife and family. Justly settled by me and cleared and cultivated since the year of 1778. Hardy Brian The exact location of this tract of land is notknown because many of the early land maps of the Cheraws District have been lost or destroyed. Hardy Brian andhis wife Jemima Morgan Brian joined the Jeffreys Creek Baptist Church in Darlington County, South Carolina. Hardy Brian served this church as a deacon and as a messenger to the association meetings for several years. It would The following entry is taken from the book South Carolina Baptist by Crozer Edwards: Ebenezer, Jefferys Creek Baptist Church 1780 Solomon Morgan, Pastor; Hardy Brian, Messenger 1781 Solomon Morgan, Pastor; Hardy Brian, Messenger 1782 Solomon Morgan, Pastor; Hardy Brian, Messenger 1783 Solomon Morgan, Pastor; Hardy Brian, Messenger When the colonies declared their independence from England a group of men in the Cheraws District established asmall militia to fight against the British troops. Hardy Brian enlisted in the militia and served under the leadership of such famous Revolutionary War generals as Nathaniel Green, Thomas Sumpter and Francis Marion, nicknamed the Swamp Fox .

Hardy Brian did not serve continually during the war years but would volunteer from time to time and participate in special campaigns in the Cheraws District. In the book, Early Settlers Of The Cheraws there is an account of a special campaign that occurred in the Cheraws District in 1782. The account reads as follows: In thelater part of 1781 a large group of British troops landed in the District near Georgetown at the mouth of the Great PeeDee River and then preceded up the PeeDee River into the heart of the District. The mission of the British troops was to cut off the supplies and support the citizens of the District were providing for the soldiers of the Colonies. The British established a temporary garrison near the settlement of Cheraws and from that garrison would sent out patrols to burn nearby farms and kill those sympathetic to the cause of the Colonies. In 1782 a company of troops had been assembled from the Ninety Sixth and Charleston Districts to rid the area of the British troops. But the men, being unfamiliar with the many swamps in the area, were unable to penetrate the area. A group of local men were employed by Generals Marion and Matthewson to assist the force by serving as guides. The battle plan was established and the men of the District were summoned to assist in the campaign. The District produced a force of well over two hundred men and under the leadership of Thomas Williamson they set out to rid the District of the British. The British troops must have been warned of the upcoming battle for when the men from the District reached the garrison the British troops had already left. The men of the District followed the British to the mouth of the PeeDee River and encountered them near the settlement of Holly Branch. The matter was settled without a single man from the District being lost and this was the last permanent garrison the British attempted to establish in the District . Recordson file at the Darlington County Courthouse in Darlington, South Carolina indicated that Hardy Brian was a participant in this campaign. Hardy Brian participated in several other campaigns with the militia of the Cheraws District in 1781 and 1782 serving both as a soldier and a scout. Records also indicated that 1782 Hardy Brian and his wife Jemima Morgan Brian sold several head of cattle to the army of the colonies during 1781. A record of this payment, on file at the National Archives in Washington, DC reads as follows: In 1785 Hardy Brian petitioned the state of South Carolina for payment for his service in the Cheraws District Militia. Records on file at the National Archives in Washington, DC show where Hardy Brian was paid for his service. The records read as follows: No 346 Book F South Carolina Pursuant to an act of the General Assembly passed on the 16th of March 1783 We,the Commissioners of the treasury have on this day delivered to Mr. Hardy Brian this indent certificate for the sum of five pounds sterling for duty done as a scout in the militia of the Cheraws District in 1782 under the command of General Thomas Williamson. No 694 Book Y South Carolina Pursuant to an act of the general assembly passed on the 16h of March 1783 We, the commissioners of the treasury have on this day delivered to Mr. Hardy Brian this indented certificate for the sum of seven pounds sterling for duty done on foot in 1781 and 1782 in the militia of the Cheraws District under the command of General Thomas Williamson. No 694Y, No 90 South Carolina December 31, 1785 Hardy Brian for 98 days duty as a private soldier in General Marions Brigade in 1781 and 1782. Seven Pounds Sterling. In 1785 Hardy Brian purchased fifteen acres of land adjacent to his farm from Archibal McBride. A record of that land transaction is on file at the Darlington County Courthouse in Darlington, South Carolina. The record reads as follows: County of Darlington CherawsDistrict, South Carolina To wit, Recorded for the right to the sale of fifteen acres of land owned, settled and occupied by Archibald McBride of said District. The said tract of land being located as part of section II, NR, 123, South, Bounded by High Hill Creek and The recorded Homestead of 2E11 and 2H15 of Harold Harness to Hardy Brian for payment as agreed. Final payment for this tract of land was made by the assignment of and indent issued to Hardy Brian in 1782 by the State of South Carolina for his service in the Revolutionary War. The record reads as follows: Hardy Brian was living on this tract of land with his wife Jemima Morgan Brian when the first United States Census was recorded in 1790.

The record reads as follows: 1790 United States Census Darlington County, Cheraws District, South Carolina BRIAN, Hardy One Free White Male over 16 years One Free White Male under 16 years 3 Free white females Hardy Brian purchased atract of land near Lake Swamp on the PeeDee River and established another small farm. The land records at the Darlington County Courthouse in Darlington, South Carolina record this purchase. The record reads: County of Darlington, South Carolina Sale of Thirty five acres of land in Section I, N2, 103E, to Hardy Brian by Andrew Tomlins Hardy Brian was living on tract of land when the Second United States Census was recorded in 1800. The record reads: 1800 United States Census Darlington County, South Carolina, Page115 BRIAN, Hardy In 1800 Hardy and Jemima Morgan transferred their membership from the Ebeneezer Jeffreys Creek Baptist Church to the Welsh Neck Baptist Church. The Welsh Neck Baptist Church was one of the first churches formed in the Cheraws District. In the book Names In South Carolina by Claude Neuffer, there is the following entry regarding the Welsh Neck Baptist Church: Welsh settlers began coming to South Carolina in 1736. They settled in the bend of the PeeDee River know as James Neck. This settlement was to become a place of great Baptist influence in that part of the State. In 1738, thirty of the settlers constituted the PeeDee Baptist Church. There are two traditions existing as the origin of the name PeeDee. One version is that it is the name of an Indian Tribe, the other that it was named after Patrick Daley, and explorer who discovered this area. This section of the District soon became know as Welsh Neck and the name of the church was changed to Welsh Neck Baptist Church. In 1798 the Welsh Neck Church was moved to Society Hill, but the name was never changed. Hardy Brian learned about the land available from settlement in the Louisiana Territory and set out tomove this family to this new area. The book East Feliciana Parish Past and Present: A Sketch of the Pioneers by H. Skipworth provides an account of how the settlers learned about the Louisiana Territory. Vast schemes of colonization were generated in the older settlement when Mr. Jefferson made proclamation in October 1803 that a boundless fertile un-populated empire had been transferred the previous April by France to the United States. That famous state paper found eager reads among our immediate ancestors, a population clinging to the sides of the mountain ranges of the Carolinas. In 1804 Hardy Brian sold his land in South Carolina of land and prepared to move his family to the new Louisiana Territory. He was not able to make the trip by sea that year because the United States government had placed an embargo on all ships due to the war expected with France. Hardy Brian changed his plans and prepared to move his family to the Louisiana Territory overland. An uprising of the Cherokee Indians along the Tennessee river caused him to abandon this plan and to once again settle in Darlington County, South Carolina.

In 1806Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian once again prepared to leave South Carolina and move the Louisiana Territory. In the book East Feliciana Parish Past and Present: A Sketch of the Pioneers by H. Skipworth there is the following account of the movement of the settlers from the Carolinas into East Feliciana parish. The entry reads: A moving panorama truthfully depicting the march of civilization in the Third Ward of East Feliciana would lift the curtain in 1802 and disclose the Carneys and Rogillios felling the cane breaks and fighting the panthers and bears over the identical land now included within the cooperate limits of the town of Jackson. That was the nucleus that attracted the Scotts, Winters, McKneelys, Kellers and McCants from Union District, South Carolina in 1805, the Brians from Darlington District and Benjamin Fauvre and Temple Nix from Edgefield District in 1806. Many of whom found not only good lands but good wives among the primeval cane breaks and forest in Jackson and its immediate vicinity and many of those who have been conspicuous in shaping the civilization of the ward trace their genealogy to a graft of the South Carolina blood upon the old Carney and Rogillio stock. Hardy Brian sold everything he could not move and set out on the journey. A description of that move is recorded in the book East Feliciana Parish Past and Present: A Sketch of the Pioneers by H. Skipworth. The entry reads: On a fleet of flat boats they floated out of South Carolina down the headwaters of theTennessee River through the perilous Muscle Shoals, down the Ohio River and the Mississippi River to Natches, Mississippi. The Tennessee River, the largest branch of the Ohio River is formed by the meeting of the Holston and French Broad Rivers about four miles about what is today Knoxville, Tennessee. The Tennessee River flows southwest through the State of Tennessee and enters the State of Alabama at the northeast corner where the Muscle Shoals, a series of rapids, stretches thirty six miles and the River drops one hundred and thirty two feet. The Tennessee River enters the State of Tennessee again then flows northward through Tennessee and northwest across the state of Kentucky emptying into the Ohio River. The Ohio flows southwestern and empties into the Mississippi River. On this fleet of flatboats, out the same neighborhood came of column of immigrants with their families, slaves and household goods and from Natches, Mississippi, the oldest city on the Mississippi River, on foot and in wagons, probably along the same trail which old Leonard Hornsby blazed in 1802, came to the banks of Beaver Creek, near which most of the colonist commenced their clearings. This large column of colonist coming into Ward 3 of East Feliciana Parish in 1806 embraced the ancestors of the Doughtsys, Rents, Brians, Morgans and Whites, who used to tell their descendants some thrilling tales of the hairbreadth escapes from shipwrecks on the snags, sawyers and hidden rocks in the unknown channels of the French broad and how appalled by the angry roars of the swift torrents, whirlpools and eddies of the Muscle Shoals, the immigrants from Darlington District landed their wives, little ones and slaves at the head of the shoals and trusted the arks containing their herds and household and kitchen goods and plantation outfits to the skilled Indian pilots, who standing with their long poles at the bow with their squaw at the helm, would brave the dangers of the perilous passage, while the human passengers footed around the Shoals by a cutoff . In 1806 the Louisiana Territory was still under the rule of the Spanish Government and remained so until 1810. The part of the Louisiana Territory East of the Mississippi Rivers, then known as West Florida was annexed by the United States in 1812 and was admitted as the eighteenths state. Hardy Brian cleared about five hundred acres ofland located about five miles north of the present town of Jackson, Louisiana and established a cotton and sugar cane farm. On June30, 1806, according to the records a the Welsh Neck Baptist Church in Darlington County, South Carolina, Hardy Brian requested a transfer of his church membership to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. On July 25, 1806 Jemima Morgan Brian was received into the membership of the Ebenezer Baptist Church by transfer of membership from the Welsh Neck Baptist Church in Darlington County, South Carolina. The following entry is found inthe book, Minutes of Ebenezer Baptist Church of Amite County, Mississippi compiled in 1948 by Arthur Lester White: June 31, 1806, Saturday. Met in conference. Received Hardy Brian from Welsh Neck Church, South Carolina by letter. Received Laban Bacot by letter from Mt. Pleasant Church, South Carolina. Motion made and seconded for the choice of a deacon. It is laid over until next conference. July 5,1806, Saturday Met in conference. Laban Bacotappointed church clerk. Hardy Brian chosen deacon. Ezra Courtney, Mark Cole, Batson Morgan, James Morgan and Eaes Parkins chosen visitants at the conference at Coles Creek Church on Friday before the firs Sunday in August. Friday,July 25, 1806 Met in conference. Ezra Courtney ordained by the Reverend Richard Curtis and Thomas Mecer. Received by letter Jemima Brian from Welch Neck Church, South Carolina. Batson Morgan was dealt with for shooting out the eyes of a bul which belonged to Lewis Perkins, for which he is laid under censure. Ezra Courtney called to take the pastoral care of the church. Hardy Brian served the EbenezerBaptist Church faithfully and became on of its most devoted members. In 1807, 1808 and 1809 he was elected a messenger from the church to the Mississippi Baptist Association meeting. The following entry is found in the book, Minutes of Ebenezer Baptist Church of Amite County, Mississippi compiled in 1948 by Arthur Lester White: Saturday, August 1, 1807 Received by letter MarySkinner from Burke Camp Church, Curks County, Georgia.

One motion made and seconded Reverend Ezra Courtney and Hardy Brian delegates to the Association at Bethel on the forth Sunday in this month. Saturday, October 31, 1807 Met in conference, Received by letter Solomon Morgan from Ebenezer Church, Darlington District,South Carolina. In 1808 Hardy Brian was ordained as a deacon by the Ebenezer Baptist Church. The following entry is found in the book, Minutes of Ebenezer Baptist Church of Amite County, Mississippi compiled in 1948 by Arthur Lester White: Saturday, December 5, 1807. Resolved that Hardy Brian, who has been on trial as a deacon in our church, be ordained at the church meeting on Sunday. Saturday, June 2, 1808. Reverend Richard Curtisto be called to the assistance of Reverend Ezra Courtney in the ordination of Hardy Brian. Saturday, September 3, 1808 Reverend Ezra Courtney,Hardy Brian and Charles Barfield were appointed delegates to the Association at New Providence. Saturday September 30, 1809 Ezra Courtney, Hardy Brian and Charles Barfield delegates to the Association. Brother Hardy Brian chosen Treasurer of the Church. Saturday, September 1, 1810. Met in conference. Ezra Courtney and Hardy Brian unanimously chosen delegates to write Association letter. Information on Hardy Brian has been located in several of the records at the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana. On of the entries reads: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana May 15,1807 This is to certify that I Hardy Brian, Hereby give my consent to the marriage of my daughter, Elizabeth Brian, to Mr. Levi Harrell. Another entry reads as follows: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana June 2,1812 Purchase of three slaves by Hardy Brian A woman named Martha and her two children Joe and Matthew for $450.00 from Nathan White for cash and property as agreed. There are many other entries regarding Hardy Brian in the Courthouse at Clinton, Louisiana that have not been included in this work for they are faded with age and are extremely difficulty to transcribe. Hardy Brian died July 31, 1813 at his farm in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. He was buried in the White family Cemetery on the land once owned by Eli White. The family cemetery is located about five miles north of Jackson, Louisiana. The tombstone read: Our Father, Hardy Brian May 20,1755 July 31,1813 A Servant to His Lord There is no tombstone standingtoday in the White Cemetery that bears his name. Miss Tallulah Arbour, the granddaughter of Erastus Francis Brian, records the following information about Hardy Brians death. My grandfather, Erastus Francis Brian,was born on the Evergreen Plantation. He inherited a share of the land after his fathers, Solomon Morgan Brian, death. He later purchased the remainder of the land from the other heirs. My grandfather told me that his sister, Mehitibel Brian, had married Eli White and they set up a large farm near the Brian farm in East Feliciana Parish. After the death of her father, Mehitibel Brian White insisted that Hardy Brian be buried in the White Family Cemetery near his friend John White, who had made the journey with Hardy Brian from South Carolina. He also told my mother that this was one of the few cemeteries that had been established in the area, thus the reason he was buried in the White family cemetery. I do not know what happened to the tombstone. Some have said that is was made of wood, others say that it was destroyed, but my mother told me what was inscribed on the tombstone. On of Mehitibel Brian Whites grandchildren told me that Mehitibel White was buried in the White Family Cemetery near her father and husband, thus furthering supporting this claim. I also have a record compiled by the East Feliciana Parish Garden Club that shows Hardy Brian was buried in the White Cemetery. But I am certain he was buried in this cemetery for I have heard my grandfather and Aunt Nina (Peninah Appoline Brian) tell the story . From a letter written by Solomon Morgan Brian, the oldest son on Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian, we find the following description of Hardy Brian. My grandfatherWilliam Brian immigrated from Ireland to American early in the eighteenth century and settled in South Carolina on the great PeeDee River and he then married a widow Crocker whose maiden name was Williamson, originally from North Carolina. They had four children born unto then, Hardy, William, Francis and Sara. They all married and raised families. Hardy Brian my father was born May 20, 1755 and remained in South Carolina Darlington County until 1778 he then married Jemima Morgan my mother who was the daughter of Solomon Morgan who married a Miss Ludlow.

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Solomon Morgans ancestors were from Wales and I am not informed at what time they emigrated to America. When the Revolutionary War of 1776 broke out my father volunteered in the defense of this countrys liberty and he was in the Army by terms of seven years. He fought under Generals Green, Sumpter and Marion and some times would join a small company to hunt out and check the Tories in the operations. At the close of the War he settled a place on High Hill Creek near Darlington County Courthouse where I was born in 1797. His four oldest children died in infancy. He raised seven children and I was next to the oldest that was raised. In 1796 my father sold out everything he could not move preparatory to moving to or near Natches, Mississippi. He was prevented moving by an embargo being laid on all American vessels on account of the war that was expected any day with France. At the same time the Cherokee Indians prevented immigrants from coming down the rivers. At that time he then bought land and settled again near Lake Swamp. In 1798 He opened a field and planted an orchard. In 1800 he sold his land and bought a place on Horse Branch near the Long Bluff on the Great PeeDee River and he remained there until 1806. He then sold out and moved to East Feliciana Parish. It was then under the Spanish government and remained so until 1810 when the inhabitants rose and took it from the Spaniards. That part of Louisiana on the east of the Mississippi known as West Florida and subsequently the United States took it from the Floridas and Louisiana was constituted in 1812. In 1813 my father died at the age of 58 years. He enlisted under the Banner of King Jesus when he was quite young, before his marriage in the 23rd year of his life. He was a faithful soldiers of the Cross until the day of his death. He was raised an Episcopalian, but when he came to years and was converted, he joined the Baptist church and remained in it until the day of his death. He died full in the faith and triumphed even death for it had lost its sting. He was a good man full of truth and good works and where ever he live he was looked up to for council and advise, especially in Church matters. He was six feet in height, straight built and weighed one hundred eighty pounds. I have heard him say that he never was intoxicated or struck his fellow man in anger in his life. He would often give good advice to his children. He taught them the way of salvation and gently led them to Christ. He would never stand security for any man. He was poor by this worlds goods but lived plentiful, labored with his own hands throughout his life. He made his bread and meat at home and tanned his leather and made his shoes for himself and his family. My mother clothed the family with her wheel and cords and looms. He held family worship night and morning through his life and if business call him off, my mother would fill his place at the family alter and at the table. I have great reason to thank God for such parents. From the diary of Solomon Morgan Brian,there is more information about the Brian family. Now for my owncourse through life, I will say nothing of my child and boyhood life in South Carolina. My father emigrated to East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana in 1806. It was then know as West Florida. I was eighteen years old and assisted in taking the country from the Spanish and setting the land up for ourselves, but the United States soon sent down an armed force to Baton Rouge and they took possession of all that we had gained from the Spaniards. I still lived with my father until his death in 1813. I then lived with my mother until December 1814 when we were all called out to defend our country, then invaded by the British. In early life I took great interest in military tactics and I was elected a Second Lieutenant in the Army of the United States and I was in the Battle on the 8th day of January 1815 under the command of General Jackson in New Orleans. Peace was then concluded and we came home. I then went to live with my sister that had lost her husband, Levi Harrell, when he was serving in New Orleans. I remained there for two years. Then I left and lived with my brother William and my mother and began to take and finish off jobs of carpenters work, for I had acquired the use of tools and did well at that business.

In 1817 I found a good site on Beaver Dam Creek and proceeded at once to erect a mill in the company of my mothers brother, Isaac Morgan. The mill was built on the old plan of flutter wheel under shot. I did the mechanical work myself which lightened the expense. We bought the land at three dollars and acre and when the mill started on the 9th day of February, 1818, we found ourselves in debt $1,500 and with no resources but the mill. The mill would cut from eight to twelve hundred feet a day. Light lumber bore a good price, sometime $20 and sometimes $30 per thousand and we soon got out of debt. I was elected in 1823 Captain of the Company that mustered at Jackson, In January 1823 I married Mary Rogillio. We lived together near 19 years and had eight children. After her death, I married again to Anna Sands. I sawed lumber and ground corn and built house for those who wanted from 1818 to 1839. I then began the culture of cotton until 1850. I then went to making sugar and followed it for six years. I then quit the sugar and started growing cotton again . After the deathof Hardy Brian his wife Jemima Morgan Brian and her sons William, Solomon Morgan and Francis Brian continued to live on the land and operate the family farm. On November 6, 1813 Jemima Morgan Brian requested that the Ebenezer Baptist church remove her from the church membership due to the death of he husband. No record of her membership has been located in any other church in that area. 1820 United States Census On September 16, 1828 the following was entered in the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana September 16, 1828, Notaries Record, Book A, Page 434 Be it remembered that on the day of thedate hereof, before me, Thomas W. Scott, Judge of the Parish aforesaid and Ex-Officio Notary Public in and for the same, came and appeared the following named persons, heirs of Hardy Brian, deceased to wit: Solomon Morgan Brian, William Brian, Francis Brian, Nathaniel Brian, Marcy McClendon, aided and abetted by her husband Dennis McClendon, Mehetabel White, represented by her husband Eli White, duly authorized to that effect, Ann Peitzell, aided and abetted by her husband William Reitzell, Jacob Harrell and Elizabeth Harrell, minors of the State of Mississippi, and Mehetabel, minor of the Parish of Natchitoches, all represented by their curator and hock, Lemuel P. McCauley, Esq., and all heirs of the late Hardy Brian, deceased, and at the same time came Mrs. Jemima Brian, widow of the said Hardy Brian, deceased, and the parties aforesaid declared that they were now ready to go into a partition of a tract of land belonging to the community of acquiesce and gains between the said Hardy Brian, deceased, and the said Jemima Brian - and the said Jemima relinquished her right of drawing for lots and gave the heirs of the said Hardy Brian, deceased, the right of choosing, and they chose Lot No. 1 as laid out by Levi Doughty and Charley Jackson and the said Jemima Brian accepted Lot No. 2 and laid out by the said Levi Doughty and Charley Jackson, and the parties aforesaid did declare that they accepted the lots which they had chosen as their full portion of the tract of land now partaken, warranting and defending to each other respectively the said lots. In witness of all which the parties sign hereto in presence of me, the Judge and Notary Public aforesaid, and in that of the subscribing witnessed, this 16th day of September 1828. The following is an inventory and examination of a tract of land held uncommon between the heirs of Hardy Brian, deceased and Mrs. Jemima Brian, the widow of said deceased andagreeable to the above by Thomas W. Scott, Judge of the Parish aforesaid, Appointed Lei Doughty and Chelsea Jackson, experts appointed and sworn for the purpose done in Clinton the 15h day of September 1828 Preparatory to partition of said land between the heirs of said Hardy Brian, deceased and Jemima Brian Done in the presence of subscribing witnesses. One tract of land consisting of 480 acres in the State and Parish aforesaid on the waters of the Amite River on a Creek called Clear Creek and bounded on the North by John White, on the East by Ezereal Rodgers, on the South by Isaac Knighton and on the West by Chesley Jackson and Timothy Dunn, estimated at $600.00. Which experts aforesaid signed hereto with me the judge in presence of the subscribing witnesses the day and date aforesaid. On May 10, 1831 a part of the land remaining in Hardy Brians estate, some two hundred and forty acres, was sold at public sale to William Brian. This was the site of the home established by Hardy Brian for his wife Jemima and their children. After the land was sold, Jemima Morgan went to live at the plantation Evergreen, owned by her son, Solomon Morgan Brian. From the diary of Tallulah Arbour, a great-grandchild to Solomon Morgan Brian, we find the following description of the plantation Evergreen.

The Evergreen Plantation was built across the creek from the Brians first home. My mother, Anna Ernestine Brian Arbour, was raised there and had many happy memories of life on the plantation. It was a very pretty place, red brick with white columns across the front. Mother said the bricks for the home were made on site by the slaves and that the timber was all cut by Solomon Morgan Brian. The approach to the home was an avenue of Crepe Myrtles and large evergreen oaks, thus why the plantation was called Evergreen. There were also several beautiful flower garden with boxwood hedges borders and all types of fruit trees in the orchard behind the house. Mother said there were several large barns and storage building and a row of small houses where the slaves lived. Evergreen burned in 1925 and there is nothing left but the trees and the underground cistern. When my grandfather, Erastus Frank Brian, sold the land of Evergreen Plantation, five acres on which the Brian Cemetery is located was retained by him. I do not know who at this time holds the legal rights to this property, but I am told it is still in the descendants of Solomon Morgan Brian. My grandfather once told my mother that the cemetery is on the exact spot that Hardy Brian first settled. There is also adescription of the Evergreen plantation provided by Milton Brian, the fourth child of Solomon Morgan Brian. The house was a two story rockor brick with a wide verandah with large colonial post across the entire front. A breezeway connected the dining room and the large kitchen where the food was prepared and carried to the dining table for serving. At the rear of the kitchen a large storeroom held the supplies and dried vegetables, fruits, coffee, syrup, home, flour, cornmeal, rice and other products from the farm grist mill. Adjoining the storeroom was the smoke house for the cured meat, lard, salt and etc. for the family and Negro helpers to use. The Negro cabins were closer to the back field. A large dinner bell hung the yard to call the workers from the field at mealtime. The vats for sugar and syrup making were located close to cane fields. Board walks were laid to the bee hives and poultry houses. The rock mill house was built near the spring. The shed for harness and saddles was at the rear of the carriage house, located across the driveway. Many items of food and commerce, corn, cotton, sugar cane, rice and fruits and vegetables were grown in the fields of this old plantation home. Rows of oak and magnolia trees shaded the wide drive leading from the road to the house. Cape Jasmine, roses, mock orange blossoms gave a delightful fragrance. Hedges of crape myrtle and other evergreens with the well kept flower beds added beauty to the premises. Jemima Morgan Brian died October 8, 1834 and isburied in the Brian Cemetery on the Evergreen Plantation. The following inscription is recorded on her tombstone: My Mother Jemima Brian Died October 8,1834 Aged 72Years She wasa loving wife, an affectionate mother A kind neighborand a devoted Christian Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian had eleven children. Four children died in infancy. The other children were Elizabeth Brian, Solomon Morgan Brian, William Brian, Hardy Brian, Mehitibel Brian, Francis Brian and Nathaniel Brian. Elizabeth Brianwas born February 26, 1791 at High Hill Creek in Darlington County, South Carolina. She was the fourth child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. Elizabeth Brian was married on April 14, 1807 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana to Levi Harrell. Levi Harrells family had emigrated to East Feliciana Parish in 1803 from the Charleston District, South Carolina. Levi Harrell ward killed in 1812 while participating in the Battle of New Orleans. Elizabeth Brian died June 12, 1822 and is buried in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. No further information is available on Elizabeth Brian or Levi Harrell. Solomon Morgan Brian was born December 26, 1792 at High Hill Creek in Darlington County, South Carolina. He was the sixth child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. Solomon Morgan Brian was married on January 15, 1823 to Mary Rogillio, the daughter of Ysidara Policarpio Rogillio and Margaret Kelly Thomas. Mary Rogillio died on December 21, 1841 and is buried in the Brian Cemetery in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. On June 15, 1842 Solomon Morgan Brian married Ann Manard Case Sands. Ann Manard Case Sands was born January 20, 1820 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. She was the daughter of William Case Sands and Abigail Wicks. Ann Manard Case Sands died on March 21, 1878 in Palestine, Texas. She is buried in the Brian Cemetery in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Solomon Morgan Brian died December 26, 1792 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana and is buried on his farm in the Brian Cemetery. Solomon Morgan Brian and Mary Rogillio had eight children, William R. Brian, Elijah M. Brian, Margaret M. Brian, Milton Brian, Martha Elvira Brian, Andrew Fuller Brian, Mary Adeline Brian and Rachel Thomas Brian. Solomon Morgan Brian and Ann Manard Case Sands had three children, Penihah Appoline Brian, Erastus Francis Brian and William Sands Morgan Brian. WilliamBrian was born January 1, 1795 in Darlington County, South Carolina. . He was the seventh child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. William Brian was married on April 8, 1817 to Temperance Ann Rowley. Temperance Ann Rowley was born February 15, 1799 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. She was the daughter of Job Rowley and Caroline Roberts who emigrated to Louisiana from the Beauford District, South Carolina. Temperance Ann Rowley died April 17, 1851 and is buried in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. William Brian died February 29, 1836 and is buried in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. William Brian and Temperance Ann Rowley had three children, Emily Brian, William Morgan Brian and George Washington Brian. Hardy Brian wasborn January 31, 1797 in Darlington County, South Carolina. He was the eighth child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. Hardy Brian was married on January 17, 1818 to Sara Sinks. Sara Sinks was the daughter of Jacob Sinks and Catherine Williams. She died February 12, 1823 and is buried in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Hardy Brian died November 17, 1823 and is buried in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Hardy Brian and Sarah Sinks had one daughter, Catherine Brian.

Mehitibel Brianwas born November 12, 1799 in Darlington County, South Carolina. She was the ninth child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. Mehitibel Brian was married on March 4, 1816 to Eli White. Eli White was the son of John White and Sara Connor who came to Louisiana from Timmonsville, South Carolina in 1806. Mehitibel Brian died on October 5, 1820 and is buried in the White family cemetery in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Eli White died __ and is buried the White family cemetery. Mehitibel Brian and Eli White had one daughter, Virginia Brian White. FrancisBrian was born January 11, 1805 at Horse Branch near the Long Bluff on the Great PeeDee River in Darlington County, South Carolina. . He was the tenth child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian There is not additional information available about his life. Nathaniel Brianwas born December 14, 1805 at Horse Branch near the Long Bluff on the Great PeeDee River in Darlington County, South Carolina. . He was the eleventh child born to Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. Nathaniel Brian was married on October 13, 1824 to Susanna Jones in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. He died April 22, 1824 in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana and was buried in the Harmony Grove Baptist Church Cemetery near Columbia, Louisiana. Nathaniel Brian and Susanna Jones had one daughter, Susanna Brian. JEMIMA MORGAN Jemima Morgan was born June 4, 1762 in Darlington County, Cheraws District, South Carolina. Jemima Morgan was the daughter of Solomon Morgan and Sarah Ludlow. Since Jemima Morgan wasunder eighteen years old, South Carolina law required she have permission from her parents to marry. A copy of the application for a certificate of marriage and a copy of the consent is on file at the courthouse in Darlington, South Carolina. The application reads as follows: Count of Darlington CherawsDistrict Petition for marriage filled this the 10th day of May, 1778 by Hardy Brian, a citizen and resident of said county to marry and wed Jemima Morgan, the daughter of Reverend Solomon Morgan of said District. The consent to marriage of Jemima Morgan, a minor being under eighteen years of age, so filed by her father, Reverend Solomon Morgan Given by my hand the right and privilege to marry Jeffery Mattewson, Clerk of Courts Solomon Morgan was born in Wales. He immigrated to South Carolina in 1737 from Delaware, part of the Welsh movement into the area. FRANCIS BRIAN FrancisBrian was born January 11, 1805 at Horse Branch near the Long Bluff on the Great PeeDee River in Darlington County, South Carolina. Francis Brian was the youngest child of Hardy and Jemima Morgan Brian. In 1806, when Francis Brian wasjust over a year old, his father, Hardy Brian moved the family from South Carolina into the Louisiana Territory, to what is today East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Francis Brian grew to manhood on the farm owned and operated by his father learning the skills of farming from his father and older brothers. In 1813 when Francis Brian was only eight years old, his father, Hardy Brian died. Francis Brian lived with his mother Jemima Morgan Brian on the family established by Hardy Brian and to assist his mother and older brothers with the daily operation of the farm. In 1820when Francis Brian was fifteen years old, he was sent by his mother Jemima Morgan Brian, to assist his older brother Solomon Morgan Brian in his lumber mill. Solomon Morgan Brian had established a large and very profit be lumber mill on the banks of Beaver Creek, about three miles North of the present town of Jackson, Louisiana. According to a diary kept by Solomon Morgan Brian, Francis Brian worked several times in the lumber mill over the next three years. In 1823 Solomon Morgan Brian was married to Mary Rogillio, the daughter of Policarpio Rogillio. According to Solomon Morgan Brians diary, the lumber mill was sold in 1823 and Solomon Morgan Brian and purchased a large tract of land near the home of his mother Jemima Morgan Brian and set out to clear the land for farming. Francis Brian was again sent to work with his older brother to help clear the land and prepare for the planting. In 1824 Solomon Morgan and Mary Rogillio Brian were expecting their first child and Mary Rogillio Brians twelve-year old sister Hanna Rogillio was moved to the home to assist with the operation of the family home. By this time Solomon Morgan Brian had increased his land holding several time and had a large operating cotton plantation called Evergreen. According to Solomon Morgan Brians diary, Francis Brian and Jemima Morgan Brian spent a great amount of time on the plantation during that year. On October 13, 1825 Francis Brian was married in St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish Louisiana to Hanna Rogillio. It is interesting to note that Hanna Rogillio was only thirteen years old at the time of the marriage. The following information is taken from the records at the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana October, 10, 1825 Petition for the right and consent for marriagebetween Hardy Brian of said Parish and Hanna Rogillio, minor child. Consent given to the celebration of marriage by my written signature, Policarpio Rogillio, father of said minor child. Hanna Rogillio was born November 23, 1811 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. She was the daughter of Policarpio Rogillio and Margaret Kelly Thomas. More information will be included on the Rogillio family at the end of this chapter. After their marriage, Francis and Hanna Rogillio Brian lived with Jemima Morgan Brian in the home built by Hardy Brian. Francis Brian continued to work for his brother Solomon Morgan Brian on the farm and in the lumber mill. In 1826Francis and Hanna Rogillio became members of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Amite County, Mississippi. This was the church Francis had attended with his parents. Records of the church show the following information: Ebenezer Baptist Church, Amite County, Mississippi January15, 1826 In Conference, acceptedfor membership FrancisBrian, Received by statement. Hanna Brian, Received by baptism In September 1828 the estate ofHardy Brian was settled and divided to the heirs. Francis Brian received a portion of the estate as a direct heir of Hardy Brian, but exactly how much land or the exact location is not known. We do know from family stories that in 1830 Francis Brian built a large four room home across Clear Creek from the home of his mother, Jemima Morgan Brian. Francis and Hanna Rogillio Brian lived in this home for several years. On December 15,1832 the inventory of the estate of Policarpio Rogillio was filed in the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana. In the division of the estate, Hanna Rogillio Brian was awarded five Negro slaves and a forty acre tract of land. The record reads in part: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana December 15, 1832 Hanna Brian Negro Woman Melinda $700.00 her twochildren Moses and Aaron Negro boy Levi, $150.00 Negro Woman Winnie, $400.00 In November 1834 JemimaMorgan Brian, the mother of Francis Brian died.

The inventory of the estate of Jemima Morgan Brian was filed in the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana. Francis Brian was awarded another tract of land as a direct heir. Again the exact size or the location is not known. In May 1840 Francis Brian sold a tract of land to Antonio Rogillio, the brother of his wife, Hanna Rogillio Brian. According to family stories, this was the same tract of land that Hanna Rogillio Brian inherited from her father Policarpio Rogillio. The entry in the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana reads: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana May 21,1840 Agreement to sale forty acres of land near the Amite River on Clear Creek to Antonio Rogillio of said Parish for the sum as agreed, paid in cash and personal property. Francis Brian was living on this tract of land when the United States Census was recorded in 1840. The entry for Francis Brian reads as follows: 1840 United States Census On September 16, 1840 Francis sold this tract of land to Sarah M. Catlett. The entry in the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana reads: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana September 16, 1840 Book J,Page 92 Agreement to sell a portion of land to Sarah M.Catlett bounded on the North by Joseph Rogillio, on the East by Francis Brian, on the South by Anthony Rogillio and on t he West by Solomon Morgan Brain. The land, consisting of one-hundred and thirty nine acres, the consideration being the assumption of an outstanding not and mortgage for $1,000.00. Agreement to sale fortyacres of land near the Amite River on Clear Creek Francis and Hanna Rogillio Brian were both devoted members of the Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Church records show that in 1841 and 1842 Francis Brian represented the Ebeneezer Baptist Church as a messenger to the Mississippi Baptist Association meeting in Natches, Mississippi. In 1843 Francis Brian transferred his Church membership from the Ebeneezer Baptist Church to the Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, Louisiana. Francis represented the Jackson Baptist church at the annual Mississippi Baptist Association meeting in 1844 and 1845 in Liberty, Mississippi. Hanna Rogillio Brian died January 2, 1846 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana and is buried in the Brian Cemetery on the Evergreen plantation. The following inscription is recorded on the tombstone: HANNA BRIAN LATE WIFE OF FRANCISBRIAN DIED JANUARY2, AD 1846 AGE 34 YEARS, 1MONTH AND 10 DAYS With the death of HannaRogillio Brian, Francis Brian was left with the care of eight children ranging in age from nineteen years to one year. Francis Brian also had the additional burden of operating the family farm to ensure there was ample food for his family. According to family stories, the care of the children was given to the Negro slave, Melinda and Francis Brian set out to locate an new wife and mother for his children. Francisand Hanna Rogillio Brian had eight children, Hardy Brian, Mary Geneva Brian, Matilda Brian, Benjamin Franklin Brian, James Marion Brian, Martha Brian, Lydia Isodora Brian and Elizabeth Brian. FrancisBrian married again May 12, 1846 in Amite County Mississippi to Salome Riviana Causey. After their marriage, Francis Brian moved his new wife Salome Riviana Causey into the home that he had built on the banks of Clear Creek near Jackson, East Feliciania Parish, Louisiana. Salome Riviana Causey was born February12, 1822 in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. Salome Riviana Causey was the daughter of Thomas Causey and Martha Webb. Salome Riviana Causey was married in Amite County, Mississippi to Thomas M. Thompson. Thomas M. Thompson died in 1840 and is buried in Amite County, Mississippi. In 1857 Rowland Thompson filed the final settlement of the estate of Thomas M. Thompson in the Amite County Courthouse in Amite, Mississippi. The petition reads as follows: Amite County, Mississippi, Records of Probate, File 188, July 3, 1857 Thomas M. Thompson decease estate year 1841. Inventory and appraisal of the estate 26 day of June 1841. Household and farm equipment $554.00. File June term 1841. Petition of Salome R. Brian resident of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, mother of Thomas M. Thompson, age fifteen years, who resides with her, says that said Thomas M. Thompson is the issue of the former marriage with Thomas M. Thompson deceased late of Amite County in the sate of Mississippi. That said Salome R. Brian afterwards married in Amite County, state of Mississippi to her present husband Francis Brian, that said Thomas M. Thompson had considerable property in real and personal estate in Amite County, Mississippi amounting to about $2,500.00. Petition dated 3rd of July 1857. Sale of personal property of Thomas M. Thompson, August 19, 1841, $425.00. Francis Brian continued to operate a small farm and work from time to time with his brothers Solomon Morgan Brian and Nathaniel Brian. The following entry is taken from a letter written by Iley Marion Brian, one of Francis Brians descendants. By 1846 cottonhad replaced sugar cane and timber as the major cash crop in Louisiana and Mississippi. Cultivating cotton required great amounts of land and slaves but land was not available for sale in Southern Louisiana. In the Spring of 1846 Emmanuel Rogillio, the brother of Francis Brians first wife Hanna, made a trip to Central Louisiana to explore stories he had heard about the abundant and inexpensive farm land. When Emanuel Rogillio returned to SouthLousiana, his stories excited Francis Brian. Francis Brian immediately began to make plans to liquidate his holdings in East Feliciania Parish and move his wife, children, live stock and slaves to this new frontier.

In September 1846 Francis Brianand Emmanuel Rogillio made the trip to Ouchita Country in Central Louisiana to seek out land suitable for farming. In the later part of 1846 Francis Brianand Emmanuel Rogillio returned to East Feliciania Parish, Louisiana The following entry is taken from a letter written by Iley Marion Brian: Francis found a tract of land in the Ouchita County located on the river a few miles from the town of Columbia on the road to Monroe. On January 5, 1847 Francis Brian sold his land in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana to his brother Solomon Morgan Brian. The following entry is found in the East Feliciana Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana. State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana Sale to S.M. Brian one hundred and twenty five acres of land including all improvements and buildings bounded on the North by Clear Creek and on the South by the estate of Timothy Dunn for five hundred and eighty dollars cash, payable January 25, 1847. With the money Salome Cause Brian had received from the sale of the land and property of her previous husband, and the money Francis Brian could obtain from the sale of his property in East Feliciana Parish, he would be able to purchase enough land to establish a very profitable cotton and corn plantation. What Francis Brian found in Central Louisiana must have suited him for when he returned home in October 1846 Francis Brian immediately made plans to sell his property and move. After the sale of the land Francis Brian returned to Central Louisiana to purchase property. Records at the Caldwell Parish Courthousein Columbia, Louisiana show that on February 15, 1847 Francis Brian purchased two hundred and fifty acres of land in Section 15, Township 11, Range 3 East from Matthew Jointer. From the letter written by Hardy Iley Brian, there is the following description of Francis Brians relocation from East Feliciana to Caldwell Parish, Louisiana: After the sale of his land Francis Brian prepared to move his wife, children and all their household goods and Negro slaves to Caldwell Parish, Louisiana.

From the scouting trip Francis Brian had major concern about the many rivers and swamps that he must encounter overland. So, Francis Brian chartered a boat in St. Francisville, Louisiana and in February 1847 the family left East Feliciana Parish. The steamboat moved up the Mississippi River and then onto the Ouchita River. About one hundred miles North of Bayou Sara the steamboat enter Old River and moved into the mouth of the Red River. Not many miles up the Red River the steamboat entered the Black River and turned North again to where the Little River and the Ouchita River merge with the Black River. The steamboat entered the Ouchita River prodding North on the Ouchita River to about five miles past the settlement of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana. In 1848 Francis Brain gave a Power of Attorney to his brother Solomon Morgan Brian to act for him in the administration of the estate of his wife Hannah Rogillio. This tract of land was the land that Hannah Rogillio had inherited from her father Policaripo Rogillio. The entry in the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse in Clinton, Louisiana reads: State of Louisiana, Parish of Feliciana September 16, 1840 Book L,Page 361 I hereby issued and convey this Power of Attorney to Solomon M. Brian, to represent me in all respect and to act for me in the administration of the estate of my wife Hannah Rogillio Brian, decease, of above said Parish and to dispose of all real and person property. Francis Brian began to clear the land in Caldwell Parish and build a home for his family. In a letter written by an ancestor of Francis and Salome Causey Brian we find the following description of the home. The house was a large plank house thatoverlooked a small creek. The house had ten large rooms and a porch on both the front and back.

In the kitchen, the heart of the house, was a large oak table that had been brought by Salome Brian from her home in Mississippi. At this table all the family would gather to share the many blessings the Lord provided from the abundant earth. The house served as a gathering place in the community and many times was used as a church since none had been formally erected. Memories of that old homestead are now somewhat faded by the years but I do remember the crops of corn and cotton that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. I also recall the large barns that housed the livestock and the row of house where the Negro slaves lived. There was always much laughter and excitement associated with the old Brian homestead and I would visit every opportunity possible. Some of my fondest memories of my early life are associated with that old house. FrancisBrian was living on this location when the United States Census was recorded in 1850: 1850 United States Census Caldwell Parish, Louisiana BRIAN, Francis 45 Male SC $8,000 Real Estate S. Carolina BRIAN, Salome 28 Female MS BRIAN, B.F. 16 Male LA BRIAN, James 14 Male LA BRIAN, Martha 11 Female LA BRIAN, Lydia 9 Female LA BRIAN, Eliza 6 Female LA BRIAN, Iley 3 Male LA BRIAN, S.M. 1 Male LA Records at the Caldwell Parish Courthouse in Columbia, Louisiana indicate that on August 11, 1845 Francis Brian exchanged one male Negro slave with John Bannister for improvements Bannister had made on his home . The farm continued to prosper and in 1856 Francis Brian purchased one hundred and five acres of land in Section 15, Township 13, Range 3 East from the Pine Grove Academy. In 1859 Francis Brian purchased another two hundred and one acres of land from the Pine Grove Academy. Twenty days later he sold part of that land to his cousin, Jerimah Roark. Francisand Salome Causey Brian were devoted members of the Baptist church. Again from a letter by Harvey Iley Brian: Francis Brian was borna raised a Baptist. When he was a young man, long before his marriage to my mother, he was faithful in his worship. When the family moved to Caldwell Parish there was no church and Francis Brian would often hold worship services at his home, and many times lead the worship service himself. When a group of people in the area decided to establish a church site, Francis Brian was one of the key leaders. On May 5, 1858 Francis Brian deeded four acres of land to the newly formed Harmony Grove Baptist Church. The dedication service for the new church was held in June 1858 and as part of the dedication service Francis Brian was appointed a deacon and trustee. Below is a copy of the deed where Francis Brian awarded the land to the Harmony Grove Baptist Church. State of Louisiana, Parish of Caldwell Before me, JohnC. Hill, Parish recorder, and ex Officio Notary Public in and for said Parish and State, duly commissioned and sworn, personally came and appeared Francis Brian, a resident of the said Parish and State and also personally appeared James McQuarters of the same residence, acting as a trustee of the Harmony Grove Missionary Baptist Church situated in said Parish of Caldwell, said James McQuarters have been appointed at a conference meeting of said church on Monday the 3rd day of May 1858, as a trustee to appear herein for the purpose of accepting for said church this act of donation, which said appointed will fully appear by reference to the minutes of said church and the said Francis Brian declared and acknowledged that for and in consideration of his earnest desire for the growth, furtherance and prosperity of religion and religious influence, he has given, granted and donated and does by this permit give, grant and donate, transfer and deliver unto said James McQuarters and his succession perpetually for the use of said church. The following described tract of land situated in said Parish of Caldwell to wit, four acres of land situated in the Southwest quarter of section 15, in township 13, Range 3, East, being the same on which said church now situated and bounded on the East by the Clairborne Road, fronting on said road one hundred and forty acres and running back far enough so as to include the said quantity of four acres. To have and to hold the said above described land unto the said church and its future trustees forever. A fully guaranty against the claims of this vendor and his heirs forever, hereby deviating himself and his heirs of all rights, title or claim of said four acres of land and investing said church which full complete and perfect title hereto, binding himself and his heirs at all time and under all circumstances to acknowledge and sustain the validity of this act. The parties do appear with the production of the recorder of mortgages as required in articles 3323 of the Civil Code of Louisiana.

In testimony whereof the said parties have hereto signed their names in presence of John E. Hanna and Wiley G. Grayson, witnesses who have hereto signed with the said parties and the said recorder at my office this the 5th day of Maya, AD 1858. John E.Hanna, Francis Brian, W.B. Grayson, James McQuarters John C.Hill, Recorder Francis Brian served the church over the next two years as deacon and as a representative to the association and state meetings. FrancisBrian died of paralysis on February 27, 1860. He is buried in the now abandoned cemetery of the Old Harmony Grove Baptist Church. The tombstone stands in a heavily wooded area about four miles west of Columbia, Louisiana on State highway 165. The inscription on the tombstone reads: FRANCIS BRIAN DIED FEBRUARY 27, 1860 55 YEARS, 1 MONTH, 16 DAYS AND HIS IS GONE WHO WE SO DEARLY LOVED WHOSE TENDER KINDNESS WE SO OFT HAVE PROVED YES, HEIS GONE, HIS HAPPY SPIRIT FLED AND HOW HES NUMBERED WITH THE SILENT DEAD After the death of Francis Brian the Harmony Grove Baptist Church adopted a resolution deploring his death. A copy of the resolution was printed on March 3, 1860 in the Louisiana Baptist. The resolution reads: Whereas, it has pleased almighty God in the dispensation of his all wise providence toremove by earth from our midst our beloved brother, Francis Brian, Therefore, resolved that we, the surviving members of the Baptist church of Harmony Grove, Louisiana, of which he was a member, do deeply and sincerely deplore his death by which the Baptist church lost a zealous and good member. Resolved, that we mingle our sympathies and feelings with those of his many friends and that we offer to his beloved wife, our sister, and family our heartfelt and deepest sympathy in this their said affliction. Resolved that a copy of these proceeding be sent to them, so to the Louisiana Baptist for publication, that the Tennessee Baptist and The Fairfield Herald were requested to copy. Done by order of the church in conference this the 3rd day of March, 1860. Francis Brian left a considerable estate consisting of land, slaves together with personal property and credits due. Salome Causey Brian, his wife, filed a petition with the Eleventh Judicial District Court in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana asking that she be appointed administrator of the estate. The request file in the Caldwell Parish Courthouse in Columbia, Louisiana reads: State of Louisiana, Eleventh Judicial District Caldwell Parish, Louisiana April 27, 1860 Salome R. Brian, wife of Francis Brian,deceased of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana appears before this court with an application and request that her application be duly advertised and that the issue and order directing the Parish recorder of Caldwell Parish to make a full and exact inventory and appeasement to be made of all the property composing said succession and estate of Francis Brian, deceased, and also be appointed trustee of her minor children. The request was approved and an order issued by the Eleventh Judicial Court, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana on September 25, 1860.