Silas Bryan Explained

Silas L. Bryan
State Senate:Illinois
State:Illinois
Term Start:1852
Term End:1860
Birth Date:4 November 1822
Birth Place:Culpeper County, Virginia
Spouse:Mariah Elizabeth Jennings
Residence:Salem, Illinois
Profession:Politician
Party:Democratic
Children:9, including William and Charles

Silas Lillard Bryan (November 4, 1822 – March 30, 1880) was a judge and member of the Illinois Senate.

Silas Lillard Bryan, of Scots-Irish and English descent,[1] was an avid Jacksonian Democrat. Silas won election to the Illinois State Senate in 1852 and again in 1856 but was defeated for re-election in 1860. He did win election as a state circuit judge for the 2nd Judicial Circuit, and moved to a 5201NaN1 farm north of Salem in 1866,[2] living in a ten-room house that was the envy of Marion County.[3] He retained his position on the bench through 1873.[4] [5]

Bryan and his wife, Mariah Elizabeth (née Jennings), were the parents of nine children, including William Jennings Bryan and Charles W. Bryan. Also, Ruth Bryan Owen was a granddaughter.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Asked when his family "dropped the 'O'" from his O'Bryan surname, he responded there never had been one. Bryan Memoirs of William Jennings Bryan; Kessinger, p. 22-26. Likewise there never was a "T" in the name.
  2. Paolo E. Colletta, William Jennings Bryan: Colletta: Volume 1, Political Evangelist, 1860-1908 (University of Nebraska: Lincoln, 1964) pp. 3-4.
  3. Paulo E. Colleta, William Jennings Bryan: Volume 1, Political Evangelist, 1860-1908, p. 5.
  4. 'S. L. Bryan,' Chicago Tribune, April 1, 1880, pg. 2
  5. 'Five Minutes With News Of The Day-Hon. Silas Bryan,' The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), April 1, 1880, pg. 1
  6. http://www.politicalgraveyard.com/families/10183.html Political Graveyard-Bryan-Jenninggs Family of Illinois