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RETURN TO NEW STUFF PAGE OR TO HOME PAGE ISABELL KEMP BRYANT
.. ............................................................................................Susan, Wife of John Kemp
Does anyone know what the guardian was paying taxes on?
John Kemp 1745 - 1844 Isabell's Grandfather This was the last picture on the roll so it's the only one I have until I finish the new roll and get them developed. I'm hoping the others will come out better. The trees were shadowing light and dark on the stone. This grave has a Revolutionary flag placed on it and the stone is fairly new. The old base was used but this new flat stone was put on it. I think it was probably done by the Revolutionary Society. This is the Sand Ridge cemetery in Bascom, Ohio. It is right in the heart of town. This is the only Kemp at this cemetery. I found lot of other Kemps but don't know who they are. They are at the Fountain Cemetery in Tiffin, Ohio. Tiffin is the county seat of Seneca country. It's about 14 miles from Fostoria and 7 miles from Bascom. It's a lot bigger cemetery than Sand Ridge. I took pics. of the sites but will have to investigate to see who they belong to. When we go to the Seneca county court house, we should be able to identify all the other Kemps we found. Patience...............Luv BARB
The
Kemps' Dirty Little Secret
........"If I'm reading this correctly, the doctor was our Isabell's brother. Apparently her father, brother, husband & son were named "George W". The "Isabel (Hughes) Kemp" mentioned here must have been the 67-year old living with George & Isabell Kemp Bryant in 1860"......... AS I SEE IT by Bill Johns According
to an excerpt from the history of Wyandot County Ohio, G. W. Kemp,
M. D. was born in Stark County, Ohio, June 24, 1822; son of George
and Isabel (Hughes) Kemp, natives of Maryland and Pennsylvania
respectively. George W.'s Grandfather Kemp was a Revolutionary
soldier for seven years. G. W.'s mother Isabel had eight children:
Mary and Agnes (twins), David, George W. (himself, brother of
Isabel, who was our Great Great Grandmother), Sarah, Isabel (our
GG Grandmother), John and Jesse. Why
so many George W's in the family. You wouldn't believe the elation
this G.W.(Nellie/Wm>Alta>George William Johns) felt when
he came across some really rich material on William Cullen Bryant
while doing research on W.C.B. only to find some insensitive,
uncaring, geneaologically-deprived souls had named their son W.C.B.
in the year of our lord 1865. Wrong W.C., obviously. Dang!!! (Ed Note: Does anybody have any idea what that "disease" was that GW, Isabell's brother, contracted and why it went unmentioned?)
This is a little additional background to Barbara's posting of Isabell's brother, George W. Kemp's biography. He is listed as a physician living in Marion Township west of Kenton, OH, in the 1850 census and living in Kenton in the 1860 census. As the biography states he moved to Marseilles (13 miles NE of Kenton) after the war. In the 1880's Marseilles, a village of 250, and the surrounding farms supported 3 doctors and several businesses. George Bryant came from Finley to Marseilles to work for his Uncle George Kemp. That is how he learned some medicine and met Ruth Terry. The story I was told by my Uncle Leon Parish (GW/Ruth Terry Bryant>Mabel>Leon) was that George and Ruth met when he stopped her runaway buggy that was spooked by a rabbit. Mark Emptage (GW/Ruth Terry Bryant> Mabel> Ellen> Mark) 9-27-02 "Our" Isabell's family...a window into the "haughty" Isabell's upbringing...If I'm reading this correctly, the doctor was our Isabell's brother. Apparently her father, brother, husband & son were named "George W". The "Isabel (Hughes) Kemp" mentioned here must have been the 67-year old living with George & Isabell Kemp Bryant in 1860. (Excerpt from research conducted by Barbara Burdett S. below: George Kemp married Isabella Hughes, b.1788 in Pennsylvania. She died in 1861 in Findlay, Ohio The above mentioned George and Isabella were the parents of our Isabelle Kemp b. 1832.)
Below-Isabell's death certificate - Note confusion concerning date of birth & age
Aaron Bryan (NOT BRYANT) was appointed guardian of Isabel. The first record of that fact was dated 1898. That must have been when she was institutionalized or that was when the family turned her welfare over to someone besides themselves. I can't document (yet) just when she was incarcerated but I'm working on it. One document had Mr. Bryan's name spelled wrong. Some dumb clerk somewhere. When Aaron died, his wife, Margaret took over the guardianship and remained such until Isabel died April 24, l925. Three different dates of Isabels birth have been uncovered. 1830, 1832 and 1836. Take your pick. Without a birth certificate, I'm stuck. Barb Burdett S. 9-19-02 I have some bad news. I just got back from the library and came home empty handed. The lady at the Library tried her best to help me but to no avail. She called Bowling Green State U. and the Ohio Historical Soc. in Columbus and the Medical Archives (AMA) in Columbus and got the same answer. NO RECORDS available from Toledo State Hosp. The Archivist at BGU said he had no idea what happened to the records. When people started contacting them, he went on the search and came up with zilch. Ohio Historical Society told her the same thing. It seems the records just mysteriously disappeared. They either left them in the building for the wrecking ball to take care of or they destroyed them. That is unlawful but there is no one available anymore to lay the blame on. The AMA had some records at one time but couldn't give out any information unless you had concrete proof that you were a relative. There was a time limit and that expired. I guess we'll never know. Maybe that's for the best. We probably should just put poor Isabell to rest. So sad......Barb Burdett S. .9-18-02
George not only signed up with the Army & left 3 teenagers & a spoiled wife....but if the mother-in-law was still living with them, he left her too...To Barb from Virginia Census document sent by Barb Burdett S
I don't know where the Andersonville story got it's start but I would just imagine, some the old geezers sitting around shooting the s..t probably mentioned it and someone overheard just part of the conversation and repeated it using their own version and the next person elaborated on it more, and etc. That's how most of those yarns start. Someone repeating a whole story when they only and 1/10th it. 9-6-2002 It was over. (the Civil War) But he didn't get drafted. He joined and signed up for three years. I think he still had two years to go. Everyone didn't get right home when the war was over. The guys who had voluntarily signed up for a designated time had to finish it up. Can you figure out why he would voluntarily leave Isabell for 3 long years? 9-6-02 It was probably some Con artist of the day trying to get some of Isabell's money. I don't think the United States Army would tell some to send the train fare to ship someone home that was dying. Does that sound feasible to you?????? 9-6-02 Of course I can't say definitely that some of your story is not true, but from all these papers that I've been poring over, I doubt any of it. There is no evidence anywhere that he was ever in Andersonville prison. He was on a Pioneering mission when the tree fell and hit him on his right side. They evidently needed logs for building purposes. Either barracks or fences or some nature like that. Since he was only a Private in the Army, he got the menial tasks. When the accident happened he was taken to Lotten Hospital, which was a field hospital near Nashville, Tenn. He was kept there and treated until the Erysipilas set in. Then he was transferred to Eruptial Fever Hospital in Louisville, They had no Penicillin in those days, and Erysipilas was a sure sign of impending death. But it's a slow death and he was a pretty healthy person, so it took awhile before it got him. A falling tree would have really done some damage to his hip and his side. From the handwritten transcript that I have, He was very, very badly hurt. The tree smashed his right hip. Probably was a big gaping wound and no doubt done a lot of internal damage Barb 9-6-02 Isabell's pension started out at $8. It then went to $12 then $20. At the time of her death it was $30. When she was incarcerated in 1899 it started going to the guardian. He and his wife administered it until the day she died. Barb 9-6-02 Her incarceration did not cost the family one penny. Toledo State Hospital was a free state run institution. Her widow's pension was used to buy her things that she wanted. Clothing, shoes, sewing stuff, hats, candies and etc. Her guardian, Aaron Bryan, received her pension and doled it out to the hospital as it was needed for her personal things. If she needed or wanted anything, the Hospital told him and he saw to it she got it. (not many inmates had such luxuries) I have a document written by the Hospital Administration that says he never failed to provide whatever she needed. When he died, the guardianship was turned over to his wife, Margaret. She took care of it until Isabell died I'm in the process of (trying) to find the records of the hospital. I don't think that the story about her being so upset over the loss of G.W. that she went berserk, has any validity. She was 32 years old when GW was killed. She did not enter the Toledo Insane Asylum until she was 66 yrs old. More than likely dementia or Alzheimers. 9-6-02 I don't know. I've been trying for several days to find records, but the Hospital, I understand, is so longer there, so I'm going to have to find out what they did with them when they knocked down the old place. Looks like it will be awhile but I'll keep at it. Barb 9-6-02 That pension claim form is the one where Isabell told them that GW died of small-pox. You might add a note to the bottom of that because everyone will be asking questions. later luv BARB 9-7-02 If
the truth were known, not one of us would have liked Isabell if
we had lived in her generation. She was a spoiled brat, pampered
and catered to like a queen. Consequently she acquired this haughty
attitude. That attitude followed her to her grave. Didn't it ever
seem strange to anyone that when she was institutionalized, that
a perfect stranger would be proclaimed her quardian? I would think
it would have been one of her children.Barb 9/7/02
DOCUMENTS PROVIDED BY BARBARA BURDETT SLAUGHTERBECK
STATE HOSPITAL, TOLEDO, OHIO, WHERE ISABELL LIVED FOR MANY YEARS Her spelling is different than ours. She spells it Isibell I wonder who's right. She may have been a little illiterate. Girls back then didn't get much education in spelling and grammar. They were taught more useful things. Like sewing and crocheting and embroidering. Chances are she probably never attended school. Have fun on your trip. I'll hold off sending anything until you tell me you are back. luv later BARB 9-1-02 I thought it was interesting that both Isabelle & some…..(who completed the form for my birth certificate) spelled it the same way. I looked at it for awhile, and I think she spelled it "Isabell", just couldn't make the letters very well. That makes me REALLY named in her honor. I was pretty mad when I saw my birth certificate for the first time & had planned to try to get it changed to add the "e" at the end. Now I think I'll leave it as is. Yes, I agree, that handwriting looks cramped as though she wasn't used to paperwork. She was gussied up in her photo as though somebody taught her all about looking good. The Bryants had such a tradition of education, I wonder if she felt sort of outclassed when she married into the family, and perhaps the "haughty" demeanor was over compensation. Poor George Bryant, her husband. What a terrible death. It wasn't even as romantic as getting wounded & put in prison. He just got hurt by a falling tree & ignominiously departed this world. Virginia 9-1-02 The only time Isabell is spelled Isabelle is when it is written on the documents by someone else. The same thing happens today, when a common name has an uncommon spelling, everyone gets it wrong. If your birth certificate spells it without the last E it's probably because your Mom wanted it spelled like the One and Only Isabell. BARB 9-6-2002
Isabelle's Claim for Widow's Pension Page 1-She was 32 or 35 years old. Document was dated 1865, and her grave stone says she was born 1830; the widow's form says she was 32 years old. She may not have been very literate judging by her signature, but someone had schooled her in looking good according to her photograph. Her son, George W. Bryant 2nd, later the father of Nellie, Carl, John, Charlie, Mabel, was thirteen years old at the time. Documents sent by Barbara Burdett Slaughterbeck.
Page 2 Isabelle's Widow's Pension Claim bearing her signature
Document retyped by Barbara Burdett Slaughterbeck for clarity---Now emerges the real story of George W. Bryant Senior's death WAR
OF 1861 Act of July 14, l862 Brief
in the case of Isabelle M. Bryant Widow of Service (EDITOR'S
NOTE:George W. Bryant, Senior, indeed did probably die of gangrene
in his "wound", but his wound was caused by a tree and
not a bullet, and it seems that the story of Andersonville Prison
may not be valid.
From: Gail Tharpe-Lucero
Virginia wrote: I have not yet sat down with the new print maker to learn it. I am sailing pretty smoothly with the new web design program, so I think I will tackle the new printer soon. I will publish an announcement about the photos whenever I feel capable of making them for the family. I will be happy to make one for you of IKB. She was beautiful, wasn't she? I look forward to your visit. We can have some fun I'm sure on the weekends. V From: Gail Tharpe-Lucero
To: Virginia Virginia
wrote: Me too. I am excited about seeing you soon. I live in a native village in Alaska and some of the natives here have blue or green eyes because of mixed blood. Some even have red hair. I saw the picture on the net and she does look a lot like some of the old pictures of native women here. Some people tried to hide their native blood because of prejudice and for safety. My husband is 1/3 Piaute and his birth certificate says his father and mother were white. You can look at him and see that he is not white and when you see the pictures of his Dad it is obvious that he is Native American. Oh well, we may never know. BABSlaugh@aol.com wrote: Yes, same generation. Your mother and I were first cousins. (Ed Note: Barbara Burdett Slaughterbeck{Nellie/Wm>Austin>Barb} & Charlene Higgins Folk, Gail's mother{ Nellie/Wm>Viola>Charlene>Gail} ) About Isabelle being Cherokee, well, I traced that family clear back to the 1700's and found no trace of cherokee anywhere. I went way back in the Kemp family, way back in the Terry family, also the Burdetts and the Bryants. I think the black hair and braids led someone to think that maybe she was part Indian but I don't think so. She had blue eyes. You are not the first one who posed this question. Anymore questions, just ask. If I can help I will. Luv BARB P.S Isabelle was a very aristocratic Lady
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H A U N T E D
by VIRGINIA ISABELLE I was fed goat’s milk when I was a baby either because I was already well on my way to having an intolerance for cow’s milk or because we had a goat and not a cow. At any rate, the goat was an ornery nanny named Isabelle. Little children have a problem figuring out what came when in sequential events, so I was easy prey for older siblings who informed me that the goat was really my mama, and I had been named for it. That was when my mother (who frequently had to do damage control in the form of reality testing with the younger siblings) first told me about the two Isabelle’s I had really been named for and the fact that I was named before Isabelle the Goat came to live with us. Isabelle Pearl Burdett, my mother’s sister, I came to know and to cherish, and she bestowed upon me the very last smile she gave to anyone on this earth. Isabelle M. Kemp Bryant had been Isabelle Pearl’s great grandmother, the mother of her mother’s (Nellie Bryant Burdett) father (George Washington Bryant the Second). We learned that Isabelle Kemp had been married to George Washington Bryant Senior when he served as a Union soldier, that he was wounded in battle and imprisoned in the infamous Southern prison, Andersonville, in South Carolina, where he died. Throughout the years I would hear bits and pieces of my great great grandmother’s story, some of it conflicting with some of the rest of it. According to one source, GW Bryant Senior developed gangrene in his wound, and the South sent word that he would be released and sent home if Isabelle would send his train fare. By the time she raised the money her husband had died. Recently Bryant cousins told me that he died of smallpox while in prison. I believe that both versions could be true. Some have said she was Indian. Recent research turns up no verification of this although different elders have sworn that the family springs from fairly recent Indian ancestry. Isabelle’s eyes were light colored while her granddaughter, Nellie, had black hair and very dark eyes. All of the stories share the information that she gradually lost her sanity because of an inability to accept her husband’s death, and the family was forced to commit her to an institution where she lived around fifty years. Isabelle Pearl Burdett (date of birth 1910) once told me that she was taken when a child to see her great grandmother. She was introduced as Isabelle, and the elderly woman exclaimed, "Oh, no! You cannot be Isabelle. I AM ISABELLE BRYANT!" The word describing her which persists in following her memory is, "haughty". Her family tried in vain to care for her as she slipped into confusion, but she would run away from them and turn up far away in strange cities. One time she greeted the detective who found her in a New Orleans hotel with the familiar pronouncement, "I AM ISABELLE BRYANT!" Another time she was caught in an attempt to pull the family baby out through the bedroom window by his night shirt, obviously intending to take him along with her. During her confinement in the institution she would awaken each day thinking she was to be married that day to George Washington Bryant. She was a shadowy figure who haunted me, captured
only in stories until I attended the Bryant Family Reunion in Nevada,
Ohio, in the summer of 1997. Someone, I can’t even recall who
it was, suddenly placed her photograph in my hands and told me that
this was my great great grandmother, Isabelle. And the earth moved.
Here in Washington a framed copy of that photograph has since then
stood on a shelf alongside those of my other elders. One time a
friend stood looking at those photographs and commented, "You
know, usually displays like that call for a polite remark, but I
have to tell you. Your ancestors were really beautiful."
***CORRECTION*** Andersonville Prison ... It was not in S.C. it was in Andersonville, Georgia. George W. was captured and taken there during some battle. He was kept there until the war ended. The Rebels turned him loose, and he had to return to Louisville, KY, to get his discharge from the Army so he could go home. While he was there waiting for the discharge papers to come thru, he contracted smallpox and died. He was in an emaciated conditions as it was so he had no defenses against the disease, which was running rampant. I hope this clears up some discrepancies. . LOL Later BARB 8-25-01 "...Seems a couple of our ancestors didn't have any kids." I'm going to have to talk to him (Larry Bryant) because he has a lot of Bryantinformation. He has the history of Nellie's Grandfather who was in the civilwar and is buried in Rogers & Clark Cemetery in Louisville. He survived thewar but died of TB or something in the Army hospital. Let me know. If youdon't have them I'll make copies and send them to you. Barb 6-27-01...You had more info. on Isabelle's husband than I ever had. I think Larry Bryant has a lot on him too. He went to that Civil war cemetery in Louisville and saw the grave. That's where he got most of his information. Uncle John also provided him with info. He has the man's Civil war rifle. Uncle John had it up in his attic. It was retrieved when he died. I don't know how he got it. I'll have a good talk with him. I am also going to Findlay (14 miles away) and go thru the courthouse and the Library to see what I can find on Isabelle. The web site article says she was born there. Also the article says that Geo. W was born right here in Fostoria so I will make a trip to my own Library. I got the Newsletter today. It's just great. Later luv BARB 6-28-01...To Isabelle Kemp, Georges past & present---you can run, but you cannot hide :-) Love this. Barb, you are a treasure. Glad that you enjoyed the newsletter. Oh, oh, re: the search for Isabelle KB- want me to hold off printing any of it until you hit pay dirt? I am thinking I will add a WANTED page to the site and list what we know about these folk, William A. & Uncle Charlie (whose grands are asking questions). Should we just keep the mechanics of the search off the site until we have more to report, or should we stir up the hound dog in the gene pool & begin the pursuit? Hugs, V 6-28-01...I spent 3 hours this afternoon going thru records at my library here in Fostoria. I could find zilch on Isabell. I found a George Kemp in Hancock county but by that time I was too pooped to go any further. I found two Isabell Kemps. |
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Both were in the far southern part of Ohio, clear down by the river. I found all kinds of Bryants and Burdetts. I looked thru census records form 1840 thru 1880. 1890 is not available. I think I might have found Willie's dad. Ask around and see if anyone ( Aunt Dot or Aunt Thelma maybe) might know what his name was. I found a lot of Williams plus a lot of other names.I also found the boys that came over here from England. Looks to me, by the records, that their Mother came with them.. Name was Mary. I'll keep looking and may find out more when I talk to Larry. I wouldn't say anything except that the hunt is on. Big Time OK? Save it until she's found. Will make a good story if I ever find her. I'm beginning to think someone made her up. LOL I need to go to Hancock, Harden (again) and Marion counties to do a bigger search. I did find out what the discrepancy was between Goshen township and ??????! ?! I can't remember the name of the other one right now. Mind is all jambed up. Two Simons. One in one township and one in another. I think one was the father and the other the son. Oh well, if I live long enough, I'll get it all straightened out. Gotta get those pictures copied and sent out to you Luv Later BARB 6-28-01...I think I have found the connection between our family and William Cullen Bryant. I ran into a snag tho. I have found everyone up to the Bryant/Kemp and the Bryant/Terry link. Seems a couple of our ancestors didn't have any kids. That brings everything to a screeching halt. I will make a trip shortly to the Findlay Library where I'm supposed to find additional information (according to my local librarian) 7-1-01...I haven't had a chance to follow up on any of my leads on Isabelle but just as soon as things get settled down around here, I'll get back to it. I wish I knew where she was institutionalized. That would make it a lot easier. A lot of those places are gone now too. They have closed a lot of them down and consolidated facilities. If Isabelle was part Indian, we didn't get the body hair from her. Indians didn't have body hair. Just hair on their heads. They couldn't even grow a beard or mustache. By the looks of the picture, old George had a lot of facial hair. lol. I don't know about the tribal records. It's been so long since there has been any Indians around here I wouldn't know where to look. Kemp is not an Indian name anyways. I found a lot of Kemps when I was at the Library, but couldn't find what I needed there. It was just a county directory. I have to go to Findlay to look at the big stuff. Maybe they have some Indian records. I'll ask when I get over there. All us blue eyed blondes came from the Burdett side. Barb 7-13-01...Isabelle Kemp Chapter 1 The elusive "Isabelle Kemp" has finally reared her beautiful head. Thanks to the research of Mark Emptage and Betty Lou McFarland, granddaughter of Uncle Carl Bryant. Betty Lou was kind enough to pass the information on to me. The saga is not yet completed because the demise of dear Isabelle needs to be investigated further. I now know where she met her maker so I should be able to find the institutional records of the place that cared for her in her later years. History |