Edward Raymond Bryant, deceased, was born November 2, 1823, in the old family mansion in Cummington, Mass. He was son of Austin Bryant, who was born in the same place as his son, April 16, 1793, and died in Bureau County, February 1, 1866. Austin Bryant was married November 18, 1819, to Adeline Plummer, a daughter of Edward Plummer, and a native of Pittsfield, Mass. She was born May 24, 1801, and died February 26, 1882. Her children were as follows: Mrs. Sarah L. Reeve, wife of Tracey Reeve (see sketch); Edward R, deceased, William Austin, deceased; Mrs. Frances A. Moseley, deceased; Charles H., deceased, and Mrs. Mary Snell Smith.
Edward R. Bryant Came to Bureau County with his parents in 1835. He was married May 7, 1862, to Ellen Fields McDuffie, a native of Cameron, Steuben Co., N. Y. Her father, Isaac McDuffie, is of Scotch extraction, and was born on the Hudson in Montgomery, N. Y. in 1804. He is a cousin of Gov. McDuffie, of South Carolina. Mrs. Bryant’s mother, Cynthia (Baker) McDuffie, is of French and English extraction, and was born in Athens, Penn., in March, 1804. Her father Samuel Baker, was a soldier in the Revolution and in the war of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. McDuffie now reside in Concord Township, near Sheffield, Bureau County. They are the parents of the following children; Mrs. Ellen F. Bryant, Mrs. Valdea Van Patten, William H., of this county; Mrs. Anna Myers, of Dakota; John V., Probate Judge, of Haynesville, Ala.; James M., deceased, was a soldier in the late war, and died in camp, near St. Louis; and Samuel A. McDuffie. Edward R. Bryant died November 11, 1881, leaving five children, viz.: James M., born April 27, 1863; William A., born December 13, 1865; Edward A., born January 17, 1868; Frederick R., born August 13, 1870; Mary C., born November 27, 1874.
Mrs. Bryant and her children are members of the Episcopal Church.
Source: History of Bureau County, Illinois, H. C. Bradsby, Editor. World Publishing Company Chicago 1885