Alexander Bryan

• Son of Thomas Bryan and Frances Bryan (born Bowlinge)
• Birth Date: 23 Sep 1602, City: Aylesbury, County: Buckinghamshire, England
• Baptized: September 29, 1602 in Aylesbury, County, Buckinghamshire, England
• Death: November 05, 1679 (77) in Milford, New Haven, Connecticut, United States.
• His name is on a stone on the bridge over the Wepawaug River in Milford for being one of the first settlers.

History

Alexander Bryan , Wm. Fowler, Edmund Tapp, and Zach. Whitman, agents on behalf of the planters of Milford on Feb. 2, 1638/9 made the first purchase of land from the Indians for the settlement of Wepawaug (later changed to Milford). Two tracts of land were reserved by the Indians for their use & benefit but were later purchased from them at a fair price. The original deed of purchase no longer exists. In Oct, 1660 and Dec. of 1661, Alexander Bryan made further purchases of land from the Indians in his own name and later transferred them to the town of Milford. His name was on the list of free planters in Nov. 20th, 1639. In some of the land records, he is referred to as Ensign Alexander Bryan. On page 131 of Lambert's History, the officers chosen at the formation of the military company of Milford in 1640 were .... Ensign Alexander Bryan... and others. His homelot consisted of four acres and twenty-five poles bounded north on the home-lot of Timothy Baldwin, east and south on the highway (on the north side of Broad Street in later years). On July 11, 1668, he and his son, Richard, both of Milford, purchased from George and Mary Baldwin of Huntington, LI for 200 pounds a tract of land known as Eaton's Neck located in Huntington on the east side of the harbor. In his will, he bequeathed the house and land at Eaton's Neck, Long Island, to his grandson, Alexander Bryan, being held in trust until his nineteenth birthday. Alexander Bryan's will and inventory showed that he held considerable property including an old and a new warehouse, pasture land on the Indian side, his house & home-lot in Milford, and a house & home-lot he bought from Samuel Eells. He owned the "great Brig" and brought a complaint to the New Haven Court against James Roggers of Milford in regard to damages in 1655. He was a contemporary of Mr. Allerton and "...Ensign Bryan of Milford sent thence his ships to England, to the Azores, To Virginia, and as far east as Nova Scotia. For many years his credit stood as high as his notes of hand passed as current in Boston as bank notes do anywhere in our own time." (From "History of the Ancient Maritime Interests of New Haven" by Thomas R. Trowbridge, Jr.) In May, 1650, the townw of Milford granted Ensign Bryan and William East a piece of land 20 feet wide and e score foot long on which to build a warehouse. The records also show that he spent money on the dock at the landing place, where he unloaded his goods. On the 7th of Oct. 1653, he gave the town any interest he might have in the dock providing the town keep it in good condition. He held various offices in Milford over the years of his life and was trusted along with Thomas Topping to pay the town's soldiers in the King Philip's War out of the public treasury. In Oct., 1663, he was given the responsibility for three delegates from the New Netherland Colony who came to talk to the Connecticut authorities. He did this by providing horses for them and protecting their sloop in the harbor.

His will was made April 24, 1678 and the following July, he added a codicil to his will. Within three and a half months after this, his inventory was taken. His inventory was valued at 712 pounds and 5 shillings. In his will, he names: son, Richard Bryan; grandchildren: Alexander & Samuel Bryan, Hannah Harriman, Sarah Fitch, Richard Bryan, Jr., Frances Bryan Abigail Bryan, Mary Maltby and husband, John Maltby ; great grandchildren: John and Mary Maltby; stepson: John Whiting. He gave Rev. Roger Newton 5 pounds and the town of Milford 8 pounds to purchase a bell for public use. If the bell was not hung within three years, the money was to be given to the poor.

Alexander Bryan Find A Grave Memorial

The son of my ancestors ,THOMAS & FRANCES (BOWLINGE) BRYAN, he was baptized at Aylesbury, Aston Clinton, Bucks, Eng. on Sept. 23, 1603 and was the sister of my ancestor, SARAH BRYAN BALDWIN. He was in New England prior to 1638, having married (1) Ann Baldwin in England. She died at Milford on Feb. 20, 1661. He married (2) Susannah Fitch, widow of Samuel Fitch of Hartford. She was the first wife of William Whitney and died at Middletown, Conn., July 8, 1673.

His name is on a stone on the bridge over the Wepawaug River in Milford for being one of the first settlers.

Alexander Bryan , Wm. Fowler, Edmund Tapp, and Zach. Whitman, agents on behalf of the planters of Milford on Feb. 2, 1638/9 made the first purchase of land from the Indians for the settlement of Wepawaug (later changed to Milford). Two tracts of land were reserved by the Indians for their use & benefit but were later purchased from them at a fair price. The original deed of purchase no longer exists. In Oct, 1660 and Dec. of 1661, Alexander Bryan made further purchases of land from the Indians in his own name and later transferred them to the town of Milford. His name was on the list of free planters in Nov. 20th, 1639. In some of the land records, he is referred to as Ensign Alexander Bryan. On page 131 of Lambert's History, the officers chosen at the formation of the military company of Milford in 1640 were .... Ensign Alexander Bryan... and others. His homelot consisted of four acres and twenty-five poles bounded north on the home-lot of Timothy Baldwin, east and south on the highway (on the north side of Broad Street in later years). On July 11, 1668, he and his son, Richard, both of Milford, purchased from George and Mary Baldwin of Huntington, LI for 200 pounds a tract of land known as Eaton's Neck located in Huntington on the east side of the harbor. In his will, he bequeathed the house and land at Eaton's Neck, Long Island, to his grandson, Alexander Bryan, being held in trust until his nineteenth birthday. Alexander Bryan's will and inventory showed that he held considerable property including an old and a new warehouse, pasture land on the Indian side, his house & home-lot in Milford, and a house & home-lot he bought from Samuel Eells. He owned the "great Brig" and brought a complaint to the New Haven Court against James Roggers of Milford in regard to damages in 1655. He was a contemporary of Mr. Allerton and "...Ensign Bryan of Milford sent thence his ships to England, to the Azores, To Virginia, and as far east as Nova Scotia. For many years his credit stood as high as his notes of hand passed as current in Boston as bank notes do anywhere in our own time." (From "History of the Ancient Maritime Interests of New Haven" by Thomas R. Trowbridge, Jr.) In May, 1650, the townw of Milford granted Ensign Bryan and William East a piece of land 20 feet wide and e score foot long on which to build a warehouse. The records also show that he spent money on the dock at the landing place, where he unloaded his goods. On the 7th of Oct. 1653, he gave the town any interest he might have in the dock providing the town keep it in good condition. He held various offices in Milford over the years of his life and was trusted along with Thomas Topping to pay the town's soldiers in the King Philip's War out of the public treasury. In Oct., 1663, he was given the responsibility for three delegates from the New Netherland Colony who came to talk to the Connecticut authorities. He did this by providing horses for them and protecting their sloop in the harbor.

His will was made April 24, 1678 and the following July, he added a codicil to his will. Within three and a half months after this, his inventory was taken. His inventory was valued at 712 pounds and 5 shillings. In his will, he names: son, Richard Bryan; grandchildren: Alexander & Samuel Bryan, Hannah Harriman, Sarah Fitch, Richard Bryan, Jr., Frances Bryan Abigail Bryan, Mary Maltby and husband, John Maltby ; great grandchildren: John and Mary Maltby; stepson: John Whiting. He gave Rev. Roger Newton 5 pounds and the town of Milford 8 pounds to purchase a bell for public use. If the bell was not hung within three years, the money was to be given to the poor.

Sources

'Families of Early Milford, Connecticut '- https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/48021/FamMilfordCT-007257-123/...

'Alexander Bryan of Milford, Connecticut (1889)' - https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-56800-17/alexander-bryan...