Jonathan Bryan (1708 - 1788)

Jonathan Bryan (1708 - 1788) is a Georgia historical marker in Chatham County, dedicated 2011.

At Franklin Square, in front of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah.

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Born in Pocotaligo, SC, Jonathan Bryan accompanied James Oglethorpe on his initial visit to Yamacraw Bluff in 1733. One of Georgia's largest landholders, Bryan was a supporter of evangelist George Whitefield and encouraged religious services for his slaves, including minister Andrew Bryan. Jonathan Bryan supported independence during the Revolutionary War, serving on the Council of Safety and personally financing Continental troops in Georgia. In 1779 he was captured and held for two years on British prison ships. Savannah's Bryan Street recognizes his family's role in the founding of the Georgia colony. In 1793 St. Phillip Parrish was renamed Bryan County in his honor.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1764 · Carte de la Nouvelle Georgie (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1776 · A General Map of the Southern British Colonies, in America. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1778 · Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1779 · Savannah and its environs (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1865 · Savannah, Georgia. Charleston, South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering the location of Jonathan Bryan (1708 - 1788), with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Parte Orientale della Florida, della Giorgia, e Carolina Meridionale. Fogl. XI, 1778, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

First African Baptist Churchsame spot
John Ryan's Excelsior Bottle Worksunder 1 mi
Evacuation of Savannahunder 1 mi
William Scarbrough Houseunder 1 mi