Bryant-Gordon Biography by Frances Prince, Conway County - Our Land, our Home, Our People, 1989-Conway County Historical Society
James Monroe Bryant was born in Tennessee May 19, 1856. His parents died when he was a small boy. He had one brother, Thomas. An aunt and uncle whose last name was Leary from Jonesboro took the boys and cared for them. Jim was a fiddler in the Leary Band when he was a teenager. His first job away from home was helping survey Southeast Missouri. He came to Arkansas to work as a surveyor and chimney builder. He met and married Roxie Gordon-Halbrook about 1889.
Roxie grew up near Center Ridge and attended a two room log school just across the present No. 9 Hwy, from Center Ridge Cemetery. They had school three months in the summer. Children who lived too far away to walk boarded with people in Center Ridge. Roxie was the daughter of Lizzie Prince-Gordon and Alexander Gordon and the granddaughter of Jasper Prince who came to Center Ridge from S. Carolina in 1778. She had three brothers: Joe, Alex and Willie. Her dad died before Willie was born.
Lizzie Gordon later married Issac "Ike" Bradley. They had four sons and three daughters: Johnny, Bluford, Issac, Alex, Charity, Maryjane and Cassie. Lizzie died July 25, 1905 at the age of 65 and is buried in Halbrook Cemetery.
Roxie married Nuton Halbrook and they had five children: Joe, George, Nora (who died at 11 months), Lizzie (Charity Elizabeth), and Nutie. Nuton died in the winter of 1887 and Roxie and her oldest son wrapped him in a sheet and buried him under the biggest oak tree on the hill. She placed a fan shaped rock at the grave and set out a cedar (that was cut down last year). The place now is know as Halbrook Cemetery.
Jim Bryant and Roxie were married in 1889 and had five children: Mirtie, Zellar, Cerrena, Ella and Johnny Thomas.
Mirtie married Joe Bowman. They built their house on the Conway-Van Buren County line. He was a farmer, cattleman and horsetrader. They had two children: Bernice and J.N.
Zellar married Jake Richardson, a rural mail carrier at Center Ridge, but they later lived in Port Arthur, Texas. They had six children: Lee, Marvelle, Fay Dean, Kilburn, Kavanaugh and Fletcher.
Kilburn worked in the Morrilton Post Office and then carried the mail at Solgohachia in the 1960's. He is buried in Center Ridge Cemetery.
Ella taught school at Middleton where she met and married Irving Harrington. They moved to Missouri in the mid 1930's and lived there the rest of their lives. They are buried at Bernie Missouri. They have two children buried in the Halbrook Cemetery, Montene and Roy Dee. Their other children are Zulema, Jim, Benny and Ella's nephew, Larry Roberts "Bobby" whose mother died when he was born.
Cerrena married Granville Childress. They had four children: Gustine, Jackie, Jimmy and Franklyn. They moved to Oklahoma and from there to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Johnny married Irene Bowling, daughter of Isom Bowling and Ella Winninham of Formosa, Van Buren County. Irene was teaching school at Austin when they married. Johnny and Irene had ten children: a stillborn son in 1926,a daughter who lived two days, Ilene b. July 26, 1927, Willard Frances b. Oct 4, 1928, Aneta b. Sep 23, 1934, Sharon b. Jun 10, 1939, Kenneth b. Jan 10, 1931, Joe Kermit b. Oct 4, 1932, James Isom b. Oct 10, 1936, Eldon b. Apr 2, 1941, and Larry Robert "Bobby" b. Jun 6, 1943. Bobby's mother, Irene, died when he was born. Johnny's sister took him to her home in Bernie Missouri and reared him. Johnny kept the other children and reared them by himself.
In 1954, Johnny moved to California (after the boll weevils ate up his cotton) for two or three years. While living in Conway County, he was a farmer and surveyed cotton for the government. He was an active member of the Church of Christ and served on the Nemo Vista School Board. He married Maudie Harnish on April 1, 1956 and she died on Dec 26, 1978. He came back to Arkansas Jan 4, 1979 to make his home with Roy and Frances Prince at Center Ridge. He lived there until it was necessary to put him in Morrilton Manor Nursing Home where he died on Aug 28, 1983. He is buried in Halbrook Cemetery.
Frances married Roy Prince and they have two sons and four daughters: Roy Gene b. Sep 2, 1947, Billy Ray b. Mar 1, 1960, Mary b. Jan 12, 1943, Etta Irene b. May 30, 1950, Ella Jo b. Sep 24, 1952 and Rosie Ilene b. Jun 17, 1965.
Kenneth married Nadine Williams of Birdtown Dec 15, 1955. He is manager of the Ft Smith Water Co. and they have two sons, Ralph and Phillip.
Joe Kermit married Melva Sampson of California on Dec 15, 1955 (double wedding with above couple). He teaches math in a college in Monterrey California. They have four daughters: Brenda, Susan, Peggy and Debbie.
Aneta married Charles Milton of California, formerly of Coal Hill AR. He teaches in Pepperdine College. They have four children: Richard, Bobby Ray, Johnny and Beth.
James Isom married Jackie of Calfornia. They have one daughter, Sandra.
Sharon married Dick French of California and they have two daughters: Janice and Jerri. They live in Yakama Washington.
Eldon married Cynthia Dosier. He is an FBI agent stationed in Las Vegas. They have two children, Kimberly and Kelli.
Larry Robert "Bobby" married a California girl and they have twin boys. Brian and Sean. They live in the San Francisco area.
Much of this information was told to me by my grandmother, Roxie Bryant who died on Jan 10, 1944.