John L. Bryan

John L. Bryan  Assistant Surgeon  26th MO Inf 
also sergeant 18th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

The following information comes from the Civil War Veteran's Widow Pension papers filed by Hannah Moore Dietz-Bryan, the widow of John L. Bryan.  As Hannah mentions in one of her letters to the Pension Board, John was too proud to file for a pension, believing that he could always support himself and family through his post war profession as a doctor.  As will be seen, disabilities incurred from his service with the 26th Missouri inhibited his ability as a provider and ultimately resulted in an early death in 1884.  The papers are found in the National Archives under Hannah's pension claim number 333,173, or her pension certificate number 261,631.

November 27, 1885 – Widow’s Pension Declaration filed by HANNAH M. BRYAN in Henry County, Illinois, stating that her husband, JOHN L. BRYAN was commissioned as an assistant surgeon in the 26th Missouri on December 31, 1861.  Prior to this he had enlisted in the 18th Indiana Volunteer Infantry at Camp Morton in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He was assigned as a sergeant in company G.  She stated that he became ill during his service with the 26th Missouri and contracted spinal, renal, and “cattarahal” disease which lead to his death on January 22, 1884.  She stated that her maiden name was Hannah M. Dietz and she married John on October 18, 1857.  Seymour Guernsey performed the ceremony at Blue Lick, Indiana.  Their only child was John L Bryan born February 19, 1869.  She was residing in Cambridge, Illinois, which was in Henry County.  She appointed G. W. Tallmadge of Washington D. C. as her attorney.  Hannah signed the Declaration in her own name with very precise and neat handwriting.

December 17, 1885 – A Proof of Birth statement was made by Abigail Dietz of Black Lick in Clark County, who acted as a nurse at the birth of JOHN L. BRYAN Jr., the son of John and HANNAH M. BRYAN.  She stated that he was born in Buda, Illinois, on February 19, 1869. 

January 4, 1886 – Affidavit given by Dr. W. S. BRYAN in Henry County, Illinois, stating that he was a student and partner of JOHN L. BRYAN for the past 12 years (since abt. 1874).  He diagnosed John’s condition as being totally disabled from his practice by “bronchial catarrh and catarrh of the nasal passages also from attacks of abdominal and general dropsy caused by a condition of chronic nephritis.”  He also stated that John had difficulties with his kidneys and bladder, which originated “from a severe attack of visiral and renal catarrh.”  He attributed this from John’s service in the army caused by “hard riding over rough mountain roads in rain and snow.”  He further stated that he believed that JOHN L. BRYAN’s death was caused by “aggravation of both the catarrh and the kidney disease.”  He thinks that this specifically happened during the Vicksburg campaign of 1863.

January 4, 1886 – Physician’s Affidavit given by Dr. G. W. DUNLAP, a doctor practicing medicin for 24 years and living in Cambridge in Henry County, Illinois.  He never knew JOHN L. BRYAN before the war, but treated him for his condition, specifically remembering the winter of 1881-82.  He stated that John suffered from “rheumatism, dropsical effusions of abdomen and thorax and the inferior extremities.”  The remember that he treated him for 3 weeks, but couldn’t remember the specific dates.  He did know that John’s condition prevented him from practicing his profession for the last 4 years of his life.

August 23, 1886 – An affidavit filed by Edgar Hawes, a 32 year old (born about 1854) teacher living in Brandenburgh in Meade County, Kentucky, stated that he boarded with JOHN L. BRYAN since 1873 until John’s death.  He knew him to be too ill in the last years of his life to ride a horse or buggy to practice his profession.  He always understood from their conversations, that John was disable from his service in the war.

November 17, 1886 – A U. S. Army Adjutant General’s request for information regarding JOHN L. BRYAN.  They stated his service as being enlisted July 27, 1861 as a sergeant in company G, 18th Indiana Volunteer infantry and was commissioned an Assistant Surgeon in the 26th Missouri Vols. on Dec. 31, 1861.  It also states that he was disabled by Spinal, Renal, and Catarrhal disease, which caused his death on January 22, 1884.

September 28, 1887 – War Department statement that JOHN L. BRYAN was a 1st sergeant of company G, 18th regiment Indiana Volunteers and enlisted on July 27, 1861 at Indianapolis, Ind. for 3 years and was on rolls dated October 31, 1861.  Absent detached August 24, 1861 in Hospital at Jefferson City, Mo.  Transferred to 26th Missouri by promotion Dec. 1, 1861.  Was reported to be sick in February and March 1862

November 4, 1887 – Department of the Interior Bureau of Pensions issued a document stating JOHN L. BRYAN’s service in the 18th Indiana and the 26th Missouri infantry regiments.  Also states a record that he was sick on Feb. 13, 1862 in Jefferson City, Mo., hospital.

November 4, 1887 – Report from Surgeon General’s office that JOHN L. BRYAN was admitted to Post Hospital in Jefferson City, Mo. with Rheumatism on Jan. 2, 1862 and returned to duty Feb. 12, 1862.

November 5, 1887 – Physician’s Affidavit filed by Dr. J. H. FARRELL, who was a resident of Cambridge, Henry County, Illinois and had practiced medicine for 25 years.  Dr. FARRELL stated that in 1877, JOHN L. BRYAN consulted with his father, Dr. John Farrell of Rock Island, Illinois.  He diagnosed John with renal spinal and catarrhal disease and treated him for that problem until his death on January 22, 1884.  The younger Dr. Farrell believed that reason for John’s death was caused by the original diagnosis.  He stated that he also believed that “undue exposure” during his service in army was the cause of John’s disease.

January 9, 1888 – HANNAH M. BRYAN, the widow of JOHN L. BRYAN, wrote a letter to John C. Black, the Commissioner of Pensions to explain her husband’s service and disability.  At the time, she was living in Memphis, Indiana.  She is responding to what she considers a requirement of the Pension office for additional proof of John’s disability.  She believes that getting that information is very difficult since as a doctor, he tended to treat himself and didn’t commit his treatments to himself.  She was concerned that she didn’t have access to men of the 26th to confirm her claims of her husband’s illness.  She mentions that prior evidence from D. T. WEIR, a hospital steward and E. C. WILSON, a member of the 26th Missouri and close friend should have made John’s history of service in the war clear.  She goes on to explain how he entered the service and the following are from her words:

She went on to indicate that he suffered from his illness for the rest of his life.  When Dr. Bryan left the 18th Indiana, he got his friend D. T. Wier a discharge from the 18th to follow him into service as a hospital steward with the 26th Missouri.  After reading Wier’s affidavit, HANNAH M. BRYAN mentioned that she went back and re-read wartime letters sent to her by her husband.  She believes that these letters confirm what Wier stated in his affidavit.  Two years before Dr. Bryan’s death in 1884, he went to Chicago to consult with the “Rush Professors” Drs. Jewell and Ross, who did extensive studies on JOHN L. BRYAN with conflicting diagnosis.  As mentioned in an earlier Physician’s affidavit, Dr. Ferrell diagnosed the reason for John’s death as Spinal Renal Catarrah. 

Hannah further states that her husband would not apply for a veteran’s pension for himself because he felt that he didn’t need it because of being able to provide for his and his family’s welfare through his profession.  She indicated that he had a great deal of pride and didn’t want to reach out for what he felt was a form of charity.

January 31, 1888 – General Affidavit given by J. K. Haines a 56 year old (born about 1832) resident of Baldwin City in Douglas County, Kansas, stated that he knew JOHN L. BRYAN prior to his enlistment in the Civil War.  Haines lived for 3 years prior to the war within 100 yards of Dr. Bryan and was well acquainted.  He remembered that JOHN L. BRYAN was a physically fit person and never complained of any internal problems.  He saw him after he returned from the war and found him in ill health.  He often saw Dr. Bryan with cotton in his ears.  Haines didn’t explain the purpose of the cotton, but it can be speculated that it was used to protect his inner ear from the air.  He said that he heard Dr. Bryan complain about his affliction in his back and head and attributed it to exposure during the war.

February 27, 1888 – The Department of the Interior represented by John C. Black, Commissioner, requested that the post master of Cambridge, Illinois, give a character endorsement for Dr. J. H. Farrell.  The post master, James Keazy, said that anything that Dr. Farrell said in this case the commissioner can “entirely rely on.”  He also mentioned that HANNAH M. BRYAN was a “lady of refinement and cultivation” and she was quite poor causing her to support herself by teaching school, despite her old age (being 49 or 50 years old at the time).

March 26, 1888 – A letter in the form of an affidavit was filed by Dr. H. Cushman in Howell, Nebraska.  Dr. Cushman stated that he knew Dr. JOHN L. BRYAN during the fall of 1864 and winter of 1864-65 when John was in charge of Branch No. 4 (measles) of the Eruptive General Hospital in Louisville, KY.  Dr. Cushman was then in charge of Branch No. 1, when he was ordered by Dr. A. Swartzwelder, surgeon in charge of the hospital, to take charge of Dr. Bryan’s patients due to Dr. Bryan being ill.  Dr. Cushman took charge of Dr. Bryan’s patients for Branch No. 1 and Branch No. 4 were four miles apart at the time.  Dr. Swartzwelder was a close friend of Dr. Bryan and personally took care of him at the time.  It was believed that Dr. Bryan suffered from chronic nephritis complicated with cystitis

April 2, 1888 – An official copy of a Marriage License issued to JOHN L. BRYAN and Hannah M. Dietz on October 2, 1857, by Charles P. Furgasan, clerk of Clark County, Indiana.  Seymour Gurnsey certified that on October 13, 1857, he married JOHN L. BRYAN and Hannah M. Dietz.

May 24, 1888 – Document from Surgeon General’s office indicating that Dr. JOHN L. BRYAN and Dr. H. Cushman were on duty at the Eruptive General Hospital in Louisville, KY, from September 1864 to March 1865.

November 13, 1888 – A General Affidavit was filed by HANNAH M. BRYAN stating her age to be 50 years old (born about 1838) and her current residence being in Memphis, Clark County, Indiana.  This affidavit was to state that she could not find any public record stating her husband’s cause of death and she requested that the attending physician’s statement be accepted as proof of date and cause of death.

November 13, 1888 – General Affidavit was filed by James K. Dietz aged 34 and a resident of Blue Lick, Clark County, Indiana.  He stated that he was a resident in the home of Dr. JOHN L. BRYAN from August 1868 to the spring of 1870.  He was going to school and worked around the “place” during that time.  He remembered how sick the doctor was with “constant cough which was accompanied by the raising of much mucus.”  He also remember often helping the doctor our of his buggy due to pain in his back.  He also remembered that he suffered from ear aches.  No mention of his relation to Hannah despite sharing the Dietz name.  He did sign his own name Jas. K. Dietz.

February 28, 1889 – A Physician’s Affidavit was filed by David T. Weir, who was at the time was a resident of Mt. Vernon, Posey County, Indiana.  He was filing as a hospital steward, who served in the 26th Missouri Volunteer Infantry.  He remembered attending to Dr. Bryan in July, 1862, while stationed near Clear Creek, Mississippi.  He stated that he was sick from “disease of kidneys and catarrh of head.  Dr. Bryan’s problems again flared up while on the march in the Vicksburg campaign (May 1863 – July 1836) and was unable to attend to his duties as assistant surgeon.  Weir remembered that Dr. Bryan resigned during the campaign.

June 19, 1889 – Proof Of Disability was filed with Edgar C. Wilson as a witness.  Wilson was a 56 year old (born about 1833) resident of Mapleton, Bourbon County, Kansas.  He stated that John L. Bryan was in Camp Clear Creek, Mississippi, on July 10, 1862, when John L. Bryan became ill with a kidney disease, which made him unable to perform his duties.  His kidneys were so affected that Bryan was unable to stay on a horse for any length of time.  Dr. Bryan also told Wilson that during the summer of 1862 he had the “camp Diarrhea.”  He stated that Dr. Bryan also complained of “pains in his eyes and ear from Catarrh of head.”  Edgar C. Wilson was a blacksmith and a private in company A of the regiment and became acquainted with Dr. Bryan because he was shoeing the doctor’s horses.  Wilson remembered Dr. Bryan being with the regiment until July 1863.

October 17, 1889 – Letter sent by Hannah M. Bryan from her home in Memphis, Indiana, to Jason B. Brown.  She is responding to a letter sent by Mr. Brown, but mistakenly addressed to Andrew Bryan.  She thanked him for his offer to help her in her claim, but already had a solicitor in a Captain Coward.  She went on to describe her husband’s history in the service starting with enlistment in the 18th Indiana commanded by a Colonel Patterson (Thomas Pattison was colonel of the 18th Indiana Infantry regiment).  She goes on to state that Dr. Bryan was assigned to duty in the Post Hospital at Jefferson City, Missouri, and remained there when the 18th regiment moved on.  He was eventually associated with the 26th Missouri assisting its organization at Medora.  There was some difficulty with his discharge from the 18th to allow him to assume the position of assistant surgeon with the 26th, but a General Henderson and someone she describes as Adjutant General Drum assisted to remove the confusion.  She continues to describe his service as being 2 years serving until his discharge near Vicksburg in July, 1863.  She mentions that he never applied for a pension due to his belief that he could support her with his profession.  She does thank Mr. Brown for his offer and asks that he help if possible.

October 22, 1889 – Letter sent by Hannah M. Bryan from her home in Memphis, Indiana, to Jason B. Brown.  She identifies her pension claim number as 333,173.  The balance of her brief letter just reiterates her letter of October 17, 1889, stating that Captain Jones (John W. Jones) was the commander of her husband’s first company in the 18th Indiana, which was commanded by Colonel Paterson (Thomas Pattison).

November 14, 1889 – A Widow’s Pension for Hannah L. Bryan with one child named John L. Bryan (Jr.), born February 19, 1869, was approved on November 14, 1889.  It records that the pension was filed on March 29, 1887 by Mrs. Bryan’s attorney, T. W. Tallmadge of Washington D. C.  The original Declaration was filed by Mrs. Bryan on December 5, 1885.  The pension was to pay $17 per month retroactively paid from January 22, 1884, the death date of her husband, John L. Bryan.  She is also to be paid $2 for her son until his 16th birthday (paid retroactively from Jan. 22, 1884 until Feb. 18, 1885).  The attorney Fee was $25.

November 20, 1907 – Type written letter written by an unknown pension commissioner to the Auditor for the War Department responding to an inquiry by the Auditor.  Mentions Hannah Bryan’s pension certificate number as 261,631.  It also mentions Dr. J. H. Farrell of Cambridge, Illinois, testifying on November 5, 1887 that he had treated Hannah’s husband John L. Bryan during his last illness and that he died on January 22, 1884.  It also mentions that they had a certified copy of a marriage record from the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Clark County, Indiana, showing that John L. Bryan and Hannah M. Dietz were married October 13, 1857.  It also notes that Hannah’s post office address in 1889 was Memphis, Indiana.

September 9, 1919 – A copy of a Court Certificate of Guardianship was filed by Judge M. N. Jordan in Saguache County, Colorado.  It shows that John L. Bryan was appointed guardian on September 9, 1919 for Hannah M. Bryan, who was described as an “insane person.”  John L. Bryan, Hannah’s son, had to post a $1000 bond.

July 28, 1920 – A letter was written by John L. Bryan to the Commissioner of Pensions in Washington D. C. as a notification of Hannah M. Bryan’s death on July 7, 1920.  The letter was signed by John L. Bryan.

July 24, 1934 – A letter was written by Grace Barnes of 3572 Dekalb Avenue, Bronx, N. Y. to the Commissioner of Pensions requesting pension information for Mrs. Hannah Moore Bryan.  She said that the local GAR had suggested that she write.  No relationship was given or purpose for her inquiry.

Important dates in JOHN L. BRYAN’s life and family.