LeMars Sentinel October 1, 1929
"DAD" BRYANT HEARS CALL A Beloved Old Resident of LeMars Answers Final Summons Was a Nonagenarian - Prominent in Daily Life Here For Many Years
Dr. R.M. Figg, of this city, received a telegram Sunday announcing the death of N.B. Bryant, of LeMars, at Cresbard, S.D., where he has been making his home the last four or five years. His death was due to old age and marked the passing of a spirit, which embodied the characteristics of a real man, who lived and labored, had a sane view of life, and was endeared by ties of friendship to a large number of people living in LeMars and vicinity.
Mr. Bryant had reached the age of 94 years, exemplifying the scriptural saying that the days of a good man are long in the land. The sobriquet "Dad", by which he was called for years, is tribute in itself to his qualities and indicates the regard in which he was held in the community.
His life covered a long span and saw the making of much history, and Mr. Bryant, in the course of his existence, was an observer of events and kept in touch with the doings of the world until the last. His unbounded faith in the general honesty of human kind was one of his tenets and one which affected his monetary interests in later life.
BORN IN OHIO
Nathan B. Bryant was born in Butler County, Ohio, June 16, 1835, where his parents, who came from New York, were early settlers. When he was a child they moved to Michigan and carved a home out of the timber.
Nathan Bryant received a meager education in the country schools and helped on the farm. With an inquiring mind and prosperity for reading, he gathered a smattering of knowledge which in after life became well-grounded with additional information gleaned by an open mind.
BECOMES A PRINTER'S DEVIL
When a lad of thirteen years of age in 1848, he went to work in a printing office in Niles, Mich., and worked at that trade until 1860, when he quit the art preservative, and returned to the work of the farm.
Mr. Bryant, while farming in Michigan, made trips to Chicago and used to relate early experiences when that metropolis was budding. He was in Chicago when the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received and well remembered the pall of gloom which overcast the country when the great leader was stricken down by the hand of a crazed murderer.
COMES TO IOWA
Mr. Bryant was married to Susan Currier, of Rockingham, New Hampshire, in 1865. She was a member of a family several members of which were closely connected with political and social life in Washington D.C., for many years. She died in 1897.
The year of his marriage Mr. Bryant came to Iowa and bought land in Buchanan County, where he farmed successfully for fourteen years and then moved to Benton County where he lived eight years. From there he went to Faulk County, S.D., where he lived a year and then came to LeMars and bought a well improved farm in Marion township where he prospered. In 1903 he moved to LeMars and purchased a fine home. Living in well-earned retirement and with a comfortable competence he listened to friends who told of fortunes quickly made. Mr. Bryant made investments which failed to turn out as presaged.
With altered fortune he was the same gallant gentleman as ever and never was heard to utter a murmur or a complaint.
While residing in LeMars, Mr. Bryant was active in political and community affairs and served two terms as a member of the city council. He was one of the men instrumental in bringing the first Chautauqua to LeMars. He was a member of the Congregational Church and of the LeMars Lodge of Elks.
He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Otis Swift and Mrs. Marion Olin, of Cresbard, S.D., and two sons, Frank, of Assiniboia, Can., and Lewis Bryant residing in Saskatchewan.
The remains were brought here for burial, arriving last night and the funeral will be held this afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Beely undertaking parlors.
Members of the LeMars Lodge No. 428, B.P.O.E. will be in charge of the funeral. Dr. C.A. Mock, president of Western Union College, will deliver the sermon."
The Plymouth County History (Iowa) by Freeman was published in 1917 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In volume II of this work is a biography of Nathan B. Bryant on pages 91-93, and it reads:
"NATHAN B. BRYANT
Four score years is a long time to live, and one can accomplish much and do a great amount of good in the period; or, on the other hand, one can idle the time away and spend his days in a manner that is harmful to himself and to those with whom he comes in contact. Human life is at once a serious and powerful thing. It is often said to be what we make it. Be that as it may, Nathan B. Bryant, a venerable pioneer farmer, now living in retirement in Le Mars, has lived to good purpose and now in the December of his years he can look backward with no regrets for idleness or evil ways.
Nathan P. Bryant was born in Butler county, Ohio, June 16, 1835, and is therefore now in his eighty-second year, but is still hale and hearty, being remarkably well preserved, as a result, no doubt, of right living and right thinking. He is a son of Lewis and Susan (White) Bryant, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Nantucket Island. Lewis Bryant was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bryant of New York, who drove an ox-team from that state to Cincinnati, Ohio, in early pioneer times, the long journey being fraught with no little danger, especially from Indiana. They built the first brick house on the site of the present great city. Nathaniel Bryant was a brick mason by trade, but later devoted his life to farming. His death occurred in Butler county, Ohio. All of his eight children grew to maturity. Lewis Bryant, mentioned above, grew up in a pioneer environment and he had little chance to obtain an education. He remained on the home farm in Butler county, Ohio, until 1835, when he went to Barron county, Michigan, and secured wild land, which he cleared and on which he made a home , being thus one of the pioneer settlers of that state. He continued to farm there until 1876, when his wife died, after which he went to live with his children at Dallas, Texas. He made sashes and blinds for windows during his spare time while engaged in farming. Politically, he was a Whig and later a Republican after that party was organized. He belonged to the Presbyterian church. His family consisted of the following children: Ann, the eldest; Hattie, who settled in Dallas, Texas; Charles, next in order of birth; David, who lives in Chicago, and Nathan B., the subject of this sketch.
Nathan B. Bryant grew up on the farm in Michigan, being an infant when his parents removed there from Ohio. He received a meager education, attending the early-day rural schools until he was twelve years old; but he has been a wide reader and is well informed on varied topics. In 1848 he went to work in a printing office at Niles, Michigan, and continued there until 1860, when he abandoned the "art preservative" and turned his attention to farming. He was married in 1865 to Susan Currier, of Rockingham county, New Hampshire. Her death occurred in 1897. She was a member of the Congregational church. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, namely, Marion B., who lives with his father in Le Mars; Frank, who is a grain buyer in Canada, where he makes his home, is married and has one child, Carl; Lewis, who is farming in Alberta, Canada, is married and has four children, and Julia, who married Otis Swift, a farmer of Faulk county, South Dakota, and has two children.
In the spring of 1865 Mr. Bryant moved to Buchanan county, Iowa, where he secured a farm, which he operated along general lines for a period of fourteen years; then he removed to Benton county, where he continued farming for eight years. His next move was to Faulk county, South Dakota, but he only spent one year there, coming to Plymouth county and purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Marion township, where he engaged in general farming with his usual success until 1903, when he sold out an moved to Le Mars, where he owns a nice home and has since lived retired.
Mr. Bryant is a Republican and has served on the city council for three years. He is a member of the Elks, Cub and of the Congregational church. He was instrumental in bringing the first chautauqua to Le Mars. He is deeply interested in this line of entertainment and has not missed attending a single chautauqua since the first one to be given in Le Mars."
The cemetery records for Le Mars Memorial Cemetery gives Nathan's middle name as "Baker".
"DAD" BRYANT HEARS CALL A Beloved Old Resident of LeMars Answers Final Summons Was a Nonagenarian - Prominent in Daily Life Here For Many Years
Dr. R.M. Figg, of this city, received a telegram Sunday announcing the death of N.B. Bryant, of LeMars, at Cresbard, S.D., where he has been making his home the last four or five years. His death was due to old age and marked the passing of a spirit, which embodied the characteristics of a real man, who lived and labored, had a sane view of life, and was endeared by ties of friendship to a large number of people living in LeMars and vicinity.
Mr. Bryant had reached the age of 94 years, exemplifying the scriptural saying that the days of a good man are long in the land. The sobriquet "Dad", by which he was called for years, is tribute in itself to his qualities and indicates the regard in which he was held in the community.
His life covered a long span and saw the making of much history, and Mr. Bryant, in the course of his existence, was an observer of events and kept in touch with the doings of the world until the last. His unbounded faith in the general honesty of human kind was one of his tenets and one which affected his monetary interests in later life.
BORN IN OHIO
Nathan B. Bryant was born in Butler County, Ohio, June 16, 1835, where his parents, who came from New York, were early settlers. When he was a child they moved to Michigan and carved a home out of the timber.
Nathan Bryant received a meager education in the country schools and helped on the farm. With an inquiring mind and prosperity for reading, he gathered a smattering of knowledge which in after life became well-grounded with additional information gleaned by an open mind.
BECOMES A PRINTER'S DEVIL
When a lad of thirteen years of age in 1848, he went to work in a printing office in Niles, Mich., and worked at that trade until 1860, when he quit the art preservative, and returned to the work of the farm.
Mr. Bryant, while farming in Michigan, made trips to Chicago and used to relate early experiences when that metropolis was budding. He was in Chicago when the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received and well remembered the pall of gloom which overcast the country when the great leader was stricken down by the hand of a crazed murderer.
COMES TO IOWA
Mr. Bryant was married to Susan Currier, of Rockingham, New Hampshire, in 1865. She was a member of a family several members of which were closely connected with political and social life in Washington D.C., for many years. She died in 1897.
The year of his marriage Mr. Bryant came to Iowa and bought land in Buchanan County, where he farmed successfully for fourteen years and then moved to Benton County where he lived eight years. From there he went to Faulk County, S.D., where he lived a year and then came to LeMars and bought a well improved farm in Marion township where he prospered. In 1903 he moved to LeMars and purchased a fine home. Living in well-earned retirement and with a comfortable competence he listened to friends who told of fortunes quickly made. Mr. Bryant made investments which failed to turn out as presaged.
With altered fortune he was the same gallant gentleman as ever and never was heard to utter a murmur or a complaint.
While residing in LeMars, Mr. Bryant was active in political and community affairs and served two terms as a member of the city council. He was one of the men instrumental in bringing the first Chautauqua to LeMars. He was a member of the Congregational Church and of the LeMars Lodge of Elks.
He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Otis Swift and Mrs. Marion Olin, of Cresbard, S.D., and two sons, Frank, of Assiniboia, Can., and Lewis Bryant residing in Saskatchewan.
The remains were brought here for burial, arriving last night and the funeral will be held this afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Beely undertaking parlors.
Members of the LeMars Lodge No. 428, B.P.O.E. will be in charge of the funeral. Dr. C.A. Mock, president of Western Union College, will deliver the sermon."
The Plymouth County History (Iowa) by Freeman was published in 1917 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In volume II of this work is a biography of Nathan B. Bryant on pages 91-93, and it reads:
"NATHAN B. BRYANT
Four score years is a long time to live, and one can accomplish much and do a great amount of good in the period; or, on the other hand, one can idle the time away and spend his days in a manner that is harmful to himself and to those with whom he comes in contact. Human life is at once a serious and powerful thing. It is often said to be what we make it. Be that as it may, Nathan B. Bryant, a venerable pioneer farmer, now living in retirement in Le Mars, has lived to good purpose and now in the December of his years he can look backward with no regrets for idleness or evil ways.
Nathan P. Bryant was born in Butler county, Ohio, June 16, 1835, and is therefore now in his eighty-second year, but is still hale and hearty, being remarkably well preserved, as a result, no doubt, of right living and right thinking. He is a son of Lewis and Susan (White) Bryant, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Nantucket Island. Lewis Bryant was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bryant of New York, who drove an ox-team from that state to Cincinnati, Ohio, in early pioneer times, the long journey being fraught with no little danger, especially from Indiana. They built the first brick house on the site of the present great city. Nathaniel Bryant was a brick mason by trade, but later devoted his life to farming. His death occurred in Butler county, Ohio. All of his eight children grew to maturity. Lewis Bryant, mentioned above, grew up in a pioneer environment and he had little chance to obtain an education. He remained on the home farm in Butler county, Ohio, until 1835, when he went to Barron county, Michigan, and secured wild land, which he cleared and on which he made a home , being thus one of the pioneer settlers of that state. He continued to farm there until 1876, when his wife died, after which he went to live with his children at Dallas, Texas. He made sashes and blinds for windows during his spare time while engaged in farming. Politically, he was a Whig and later a Republican after that party was organized. He belonged to the Presbyterian church. His family consisted of the following children: Ann, the eldest; Hattie, who settled in Dallas, Texas; Charles, next in order of birth; David, who lives in Chicago, and Nathan B., the subject of this sketch.
Nathan B. Bryant grew up on the farm in Michigan, being an infant when his parents removed there from Ohio. He received a meager education, attending the early-day rural schools until he was twelve years old; but he has been a wide reader and is well informed on varied topics. In 1848 he went to work in a printing office at Niles, Michigan, and continued there until 1860, when he abandoned the "art preservative" and turned his attention to farming. He was married in 1865 to Susan Currier, of Rockingham county, New Hampshire. Her death occurred in 1897. She was a member of the Congregational church. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, namely, Marion B., who lives with his father in Le Mars; Frank, who is a grain buyer in Canada, where he makes his home, is married and has one child, Carl; Lewis, who is farming in Alberta, Canada, is married and has four children, and Julia, who married Otis Swift, a farmer of Faulk county, South Dakota, and has two children.
In the spring of 1865 Mr. Bryant moved to Buchanan county, Iowa, where he secured a farm, which he operated along general lines for a period of fourteen years; then he removed to Benton county, where he continued farming for eight years. His next move was to Faulk county, South Dakota, but he only spent one year there, coming to Plymouth county and purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Marion township, where he engaged in general farming with his usual success until 1903, when he sold out an moved to Le Mars, where he owns a nice home and has since lived retired.
Mr. Bryant is a Republican and has served on the city council for three years. He is a member of the Elks, Cub and of the Congregational church. He was instrumental in bringing the first chautauqua to Le Mars. He is deeply interested in this line of entertainment and has not missed attending a single chautauqua since the first one to be given in Le Mars."
The cemetery records for Le Mars Memorial Cemetery gives Nathan's middle name as "Baker".
LeMars Sentinel October 1, 1929
"DAD" BRYANT HEARS CALL A Beloved Old Resident of LeMars Answers Final Summons Was a Nonagenarian - Prominent in Daily Life Here For Many Years
Dr. R.M. Figg, of this city, received a telegram Sunday announcing the death of N.B. Bryant, of LeMars, at Cresbard, S.D., where he has been making his home the last four or five years. His death was due to old age and marked the passing of a spirit, which embodied the characteristics of a real man, who lived and labored, had a sane view of life, and was endeared by ties of friendship to a large number of people living in LeMars and vicinity.
Mr. Bryant had reached the age of 94 years, exemplifying the scriptural saying that the days of a good man are long in the land. The sobriquet "Dad", by which he was called for years, is tribute in itself to his qualities and indicates the regard in which he was held in the community.
His life covered a long span and saw the making of much history, and Mr. Bryant, in the course of his existence, was an observer of events and kept in touch with the doings of the world until the last. His unbounded faith in the general honesty of human kind was one of his tenets and one which affected his monetary interests in later life.
BORN IN OHIO
Nathan B. Bryant was born in Butler County, Ohio, June 16, 1835, where his parents, who came from New York, were early settlers. When he was a child they moved to Michigan and carved a home out of the timber.
Nathan Bryant received a meager education in the country schools and helped on the farm. With an inquiring mind and prosperity for reading, he gathered a smattering of knowledge which in after life became well-grounded with additional information gleaned by an open mind.
BECOMES A PRINTER'S DEVIL
When a lad of thirteen years of age in 1848, he went to work in a printing office in Niles, Mich., and worked at that trade until 1860, when he quit the art preservative, and returned to the work of the farm.
Mr. Bryant, while farming in Michigan, made trips to Chicago and used to relate early experiences when that metropolis was budding. He was in Chicago when the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received and well remembered the pall of gloom which overcast the country when the great leader was stricken down by the hand of a crazed murderer.
COMES TO IOWA
Mr. Bryant was married to Susan Currier, of Rockingham, New Hampshire, in 1865. She was a member of a family several members of which were closely connected with political and social life in Washington D.C., for many years. She died in 1897.
The year of his marriage Mr. Bryant came to Iowa and bought land in Buchanan County, where he farmed successfully for fourteen years and then moved to Benton County where he lived eight years. From there he went to Faulk County, S.D., where he lived a year and then came to LeMars and bought a well improved farm in Marion township where he prospered. In 1903 he moved to LeMars and purchased a fine home. Living in well-earned retirement and with a comfortable competence he listened to friends who told of fortunes quickly made. Mr. Bryant made investments which failed to turn out as presaged.
With altered fortune he was the same gallant gentleman as ever and never was heard to utter a murmur or a complaint.
While residing in LeMars, Mr. Bryant was active in political and community affairs and served two terms as a member of the city council. He was one of the men instrumental in bringing the first Chautauqua to LeMars. He was a member of the Congregational Church and of the LeMars Lodge of Elks.
He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Otis Swift and Mrs. Marion Olin, of Cresbard, S.D., and two sons, Frank, of Assiniboia, Can., and Lewis Bryant residing in Saskatchewan.
The remains were brought here for burial, arriving last night and the funeral will be held this afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Beely undertaking parlors.
Members of the LeMars Lodge No. 428, B.P.O.E. will be in charge of the funeral. Dr. C.A. Mock, president of Western Union College, will deliver the sermon."
The Plymouth County History (Iowa) by Freeman was published in 1917 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In volume II of this work is a biography of Nathan B. Bryant on pages 91-93, and it reads:
"NATHAN B. BRYANT
Four score years is a long time to live, and one can accomplish much and do a great amount of good in the period; or, on the other hand, one can idle the time away and spend his days in a manner that is harmful to himself and to those with whom he comes in contact. Human life is at once a serious and powerful thing. It is often said to be what we make it. Be that as it may, Nathan B. Bryant, a venerable pioneer farmer, now living in retirement in Le Mars, has lived to good purpose and now in the December of his years he can look backward with no regrets for idleness or evil ways.
Nathan P. Bryant was born in Butler county, Ohio, June 16, 1835, and is therefore now in his eighty-second year, but is still hale and hearty, being remarkably well preserved, as a result, no doubt, of right living and right thinking. He is a son of Lewis and Susan (White) Bryant, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Nantucket Island. Lewis Bryant was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bryant of New York, who drove an ox-team from that state to Cincinnati, Ohio, in early pioneer times, the long journey being fraught with no little danger, especially from Indiana. They built the first brick house on the site of the present great city. Nathaniel Bryant was a brick mason by trade, but later devoted his life to farming. His death occurred in Butler county, Ohio. All of his eight children grew to maturity. Lewis Bryant, mentioned above, grew up in a pioneer environment and he had little chance to obtain an education. He remained on the home farm in Butler county, Ohio, until 1835, when he went to Barron county, Michigan, and secured wild land, which he cleared and on which he made a home , being thus one of the pioneer settlers of that state. He continued to farm there until 1876, when his wife died, after which he went to live with his children at Dallas, Texas. He made sashes and blinds for windows during his spare time while engaged in farming. Politically, he was a Whig and later a Republican after that party was organized. He belonged to the Presbyterian church. His family consisted of the following children: Ann, the eldest; Hattie, who settled in Dallas, Texas; Charles, next in order of birth; David, who lives in Chicago, and Nathan B., the subject of this sketch.
Nathan B. Bryant grew up on the farm in Michigan, being an infant when his parents removed there from Ohio. He received a meager education, attending the early-day rural schools until he was twelve years old; but he has been a wide reader and is well informed on varied topics. In 1848 he went to work in a printing office at Niles, Michigan, and continued there until 1860, when he abandoned the "art preservative" and turned his attention to farming. He was married in 1865 to Susan Currier, of Rockingham county, New Hampshire. Her death occurred in 1897. She was a member of the Congregational church. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, namely, Marion B., who lives with his father in Le Mars; Frank, who is a grain buyer in Canada, where he makes his home, is married and has one child, Carl; Lewis, who is farming in Alberta, Canada, is married and has four children, and Julia, who married Otis Swift, a farmer of Faulk county, South Dakota, and has two children.
In the spring of 1865 Mr. Bryant moved to Buchanan county, Iowa, where he secured a farm, which he operated along general lines for a period of fourteen years; then he removed to Benton county, where he continued farming for eight years. His next move was to Faulk county, South Dakota, but he only spent one year there, coming to Plymouth county and purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Marion township, where he engaged in general farming with his usual success until 1903, when he sold out an moved to Le Mars, where he owns a nice home and has since lived retired.
Mr. Bryant is a Republican and has served on the city council for three years. He is a member of the Elks, Cub and of the Congregational church. He was instrumental in bringing the first chautauqua to Le Mars. He is deeply interested in this line of entertainment and has not missed attending a single chautauqua since the first one to be given in Le Mars."
The cemetery records for Le Mars Memorial Cemetery gives Nathan's middle name as "Baker".
"DAD" BRYANT HEARS CALL A Beloved Old Resident of LeMars Answers Final Summons Was a Nonagenarian - Prominent in Daily Life Here For Many Years
Dr. R.M. Figg, of this city, received a telegram Sunday announcing the death of N.B. Bryant, of LeMars, at Cresbard, S.D., where he has been making his home the last four or five years. His death was due to old age and marked the passing of a spirit, which embodied the characteristics of a real man, who lived and labored, had a sane view of life, and was endeared by ties of friendship to a large number of people living in LeMars and vicinity.
Mr. Bryant had reached the age of 94 years, exemplifying the scriptural saying that the days of a good man are long in the land. The sobriquet "Dad", by which he was called for years, is tribute in itself to his qualities and indicates the regard in which he was held in the community.
His life covered a long span and saw the making of much history, and Mr. Bryant, in the course of his existence, was an observer of events and kept in touch with the doings of the world until the last. His unbounded faith in the general honesty of human kind was one of his tenets and one which affected his monetary interests in later life.
BORN IN OHIO
Nathan B. Bryant was born in Butler County, Ohio, June 16, 1835, where his parents, who came from New York, were early settlers. When he was a child they moved to Michigan and carved a home out of the timber.
Nathan Bryant received a meager education in the country schools and helped on the farm. With an inquiring mind and prosperity for reading, he gathered a smattering of knowledge which in after life became well-grounded with additional information gleaned by an open mind.
BECOMES A PRINTER'S DEVIL
When a lad of thirteen years of age in 1848, he went to work in a printing office in Niles, Mich., and worked at that trade until 1860, when he quit the art preservative, and returned to the work of the farm.
Mr. Bryant, while farming in Michigan, made trips to Chicago and used to relate early experiences when that metropolis was budding. He was in Chicago when the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received and well remembered the pall of gloom which overcast the country when the great leader was stricken down by the hand of a crazed murderer.
COMES TO IOWA
Mr. Bryant was married to Susan Currier, of Rockingham, New Hampshire, in 1865. She was a member of a family several members of which were closely connected with political and social life in Washington D.C., for many years. She died in 1897.
The year of his marriage Mr. Bryant came to Iowa and bought land in Buchanan County, where he farmed successfully for fourteen years and then moved to Benton County where he lived eight years. From there he went to Faulk County, S.D., where he lived a year and then came to LeMars and bought a well improved farm in Marion township where he prospered. In 1903 he moved to LeMars and purchased a fine home. Living in well-earned retirement and with a comfortable competence he listened to friends who told of fortunes quickly made. Mr. Bryant made investments which failed to turn out as presaged.
With altered fortune he was the same gallant gentleman as ever and never was heard to utter a murmur or a complaint.
While residing in LeMars, Mr. Bryant was active in political and community affairs and served two terms as a member of the city council. He was one of the men instrumental in bringing the first Chautauqua to LeMars. He was a member of the Congregational Church and of the LeMars Lodge of Elks.
He is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Otis Swift and Mrs. Marion Olin, of Cresbard, S.D., and two sons, Frank, of Assiniboia, Can., and Lewis Bryant residing in Saskatchewan.
The remains were brought here for burial, arriving last night and the funeral will be held this afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Beely undertaking parlors.
Members of the LeMars Lodge No. 428, B.P.O.E. will be in charge of the funeral. Dr. C.A. Mock, president of Western Union College, will deliver the sermon."
The Plymouth County History (Iowa) by Freeman was published in 1917 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In volume II of this work is a biography of Nathan B. Bryant on pages 91-93, and it reads:
"NATHAN B. BRYANT
Four score years is a long time to live, and one can accomplish much and do a great amount of good in the period; or, on the other hand, one can idle the time away and spend his days in a manner that is harmful to himself and to those with whom he comes in contact. Human life is at once a serious and powerful thing. It is often said to be what we make it. Be that as it may, Nathan B. Bryant, a venerable pioneer farmer, now living in retirement in Le Mars, has lived to good purpose and now in the December of his years he can look backward with no regrets for idleness or evil ways.
Nathan P. Bryant was born in Butler county, Ohio, June 16, 1835, and is therefore now in his eighty-second year, but is still hale and hearty, being remarkably well preserved, as a result, no doubt, of right living and right thinking. He is a son of Lewis and Susan (White) Bryant, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Nantucket Island. Lewis Bryant was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bryant of New York, who drove an ox-team from that state to Cincinnati, Ohio, in early pioneer times, the long journey being fraught with no little danger, especially from Indiana. They built the first brick house on the site of the present great city. Nathaniel Bryant was a brick mason by trade, but later devoted his life to farming. His death occurred in Butler county, Ohio. All of his eight children grew to maturity. Lewis Bryant, mentioned above, grew up in a pioneer environment and he had little chance to obtain an education. He remained on the home farm in Butler county, Ohio, until 1835, when he went to Barron county, Michigan, and secured wild land, which he cleared and on which he made a home , being thus one of the pioneer settlers of that state. He continued to farm there until 1876, when his wife died, after which he went to live with his children at Dallas, Texas. He made sashes and blinds for windows during his spare time while engaged in farming. Politically, he was a Whig and later a Republican after that party was organized. He belonged to the Presbyterian church. His family consisted of the following children: Ann, the eldest; Hattie, who settled in Dallas, Texas; Charles, next in order of birth; David, who lives in Chicago, and Nathan B., the subject of this sketch.
Nathan B. Bryant grew up on the farm in Michigan, being an infant when his parents removed there from Ohio. He received a meager education, attending the early-day rural schools until he was twelve years old; but he has been a wide reader and is well informed on varied topics. In 1848 he went to work in a printing office at Niles, Michigan, and continued there until 1860, when he abandoned the "art preservative" and turned his attention to farming. He was married in 1865 to Susan Currier, of Rockingham county, New Hampshire. Her death occurred in 1897. She was a member of the Congregational church. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, namely, Marion B., who lives with his father in Le Mars; Frank, who is a grain buyer in Canada, where he makes his home, is married and has one child, Carl; Lewis, who is farming in Alberta, Canada, is married and has four children, and Julia, who married Otis Swift, a farmer of Faulk county, South Dakota, and has two children.
In the spring of 1865 Mr. Bryant moved to Buchanan county, Iowa, where he secured a farm, which he operated along general lines for a period of fourteen years; then he removed to Benton county, where he continued farming for eight years. His next move was to Faulk county, South Dakota, but he only spent one year there, coming to Plymouth county and purchasing a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Marion township, where he engaged in general farming with his usual success until 1903, when he sold out an moved to Le Mars, where he owns a nice home and has since lived retired.
Mr. Bryant is a Republican and has served on the city council for three years. He is a member of the Elks, Cub and of the Congregational church. He was instrumental in bringing the first chautauqua to Le Mars. He is deeply interested in this line of entertainment and has not missed attending a single chautauqua since the first one to be given in Le Mars."
The cemetery records for Le Mars Memorial Cemetery gives Nathan's middle name as "Baker".
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