Two 1885 Autograph Albums of Edith W. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois

Two autograph albums commenced in 1885 by owner Edith W. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois.  The cover of the larger album, which measures approximately 7-3/4" by 5", is shown above.  It was given to Edith at Christmas in 1885 by Harry, presumably her brother Harry G. Bryant, who also inscribed a page in the album, toward the end.

The smaller album, which measures approximately 5" by 2-3/4", was tucked inside the larger album; it may be missing its front cover and perhaps a page or more.  The first page shown is the ownership page.

The albums contain the sentiments of Edith's relatives, friends and schoolmates: the larger album with 37 pages of sentiments and the smaller with 19.

From brief online research, hopefully correct:  [corrections and additions welcome!]

Edith W. Bryant was born December 1, 1878 at Princeton, Illinois, the daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth (Hughes) Bryant, and the youngest of 9 siblings, some of whom inscribed pages in one or both of the albums. Facing pages in the smaller album were inscribed by Edith's parents.

The next page in that album was inscribed by C. B. Hughes, who was possibly Edith's maternal grandmother Cassandra B. (Jones) Hughes.

Siblings who inscribed pages in one or both albums:

• Guy Arthur Bryant
• Harry G. Bryant, who was presumably the Harry who gave Edith the larger album; he also inscribed a page.
• Lester P. Bryant
• "Cassa" Bryant; Cassandra H. Bryant
• Henrietta Bryant
• R. C. Bryant; Ralph Clement Bryant
• G. A. Bryant; Guy Arthur Bryant

Other relatives, either by blood or marriage, who indicated a relationship, and there were likely others who did not:

• Lou; Edith's cousin
• Jennie L. Bryant; presumably a cousin
• Hattie Bryant; Edith's cousin
• Lester R. Bryant; Edith's paternal uncle Lester Raymond Bryant
• Minnie H. Bryant; presumably a cousin
• Clement Freeman; Edith's uncle
• M. C. Hughes of Washington, Illinois; Edith's uncle, presumably maternal uncle Morris Clark Hughes
• Flora Hughes; presumably Flora (Stormer) Hughes, wife of Morris Clark Hughes
• Emilada Lanktree of Hennepin, Illinois; Edith's cousin
• Julia Mathews; Edith's cousin
• Lucy Olds and Edna Olds of Wyanet, Illinois; Edith's cousins
• Lucy Shearer of Streator, Illinois; Edith's maternal aunt Lucy L. (Hughes) Shearer, wife of Frederick S. Shearer

Not long after 1900, Edith W. Bryant married Curtis Dunbar Brigham, son of Joseph Hardy Brigham and Carrie (Dunbar) Brigham.  They lived for a time in Kansas, where Curtis worked in real estate and life insurance and then returned to farm in Illinois.  I believe they had four children: first, two sons, and then, two daughters.  

Edith died in 1939, and Curtis in 1949.  If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, or information on any of the inscribers in both albums listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Surnames in the Larger Album

?	F	M	R
B	Freeman	Mahan	Rockwell
Baldwin [2]	H	Mathews	S
Bryant [11]	Hoyte	McManis	Shearer
C	Hughes [2]	Meltz	Smith [3]
Crater	L	N	T
D	Lanktree	Nash	Topliff
Douglass [2]	Lorton	O	W
		Olds [3]	Wiley

Surnames in the Smaller Album

? [4]	C	H	S
B	Conner [2]	Hock	Sahlberg
Brown	D	Hoffman
Bryant [7]	Downing [2]	Hughes
Downing [2]

Inscribers in the Larger Album

• Lou; inscribed on February 20, 1889; Edith's cousin

B

• Ed Baldwin of Oswego, Kansas, inscribed on December 24, 1888
• Burton L. Baldwin of Oswego, Kansas, inscribed on June 16, 1886
• Edith W. Bryant, album owner. Given by Harry at Christmas 1885. Harry was presumably Edith's brother Harry G. Bryant.
• Mother, inscribed on December 27, 1885. Presumably Edith's mother Elizabeth (Hughes) Bryant.
• Jennie L. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on February 19, 1888
• Guy A. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on February 23, 1886. Edith's brother Guy Arthur Bryant.
• Hattie Bryant of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on February 19 [no year written]; Edith's cousin
• H. G. Bryant, inscribed on February 20, 1889. Possibly Harry G. Bryant, Edith's brother, who had given her the album at Christmas in 1885.
• Lester R. Bryant, inscribed on February 19, 1888; Edith's uncle. Lester Raymond Bryant, brother of Edith's father Arthur Bryant.
• Lester P. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on February 16, 1886 [not sure of last digit]. Edith's brother. He wrote on the page upside down.
• Cassa Bryant of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on November 23, 1886. Edith's sister Cassandra H. Bryant.
• Henrietta Bryant of Princeton, Illinois; Edith's sister.
• Minnie H. Bryant, inscribed at Princeton, Illinois, on March 21, 1886

C

• E. B. Crater of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on March 12, 1886

D

• E. M. Douglass, inscribed at Princeton, Illinois, on February 1, 1886
• Hannah F. Douglass, inscribed on February 1 [no year written]

F

• Clement Freeman, inscribed at Princeton, Illinois, on March 21, 1886; Edith's uncle

H

• Matie L. Hoyte of Dover, Illinois, inscribed on September 16, 1887
• M. C. Hughes, inscribed at Washington, Illinois, on January 3, 1887; Edith's uncle. Presumably Morris Clark Hughes, brother of Edith's mother Elizabeth (Hughes) Bryant.
• Flora Hughes, inscribed at Washington, Illinois. Presumably Flora (Stormer) Hughes, wife of signer Morris Clark Hughes.

L

• Emilada Lanktree of Hennepin, Illinois, inscribed on August 3, 1888; Edith's cousin
• Miss Fannie Lorton of Davenport, Iowa

M

• Emma V. Mahan of Steubenville, Ohio, inscribed on July 30, 1887
• Julia Mathews, inscribed on September 15, 1890; Edith's cousin
• Jessie McManis of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on February 4, 1886
• Mrs. Meltz

N

• Bessie M. Nash of Warsaw, Illinois, inscribed at Princeton, Illinois, on December 13, 1887

O

• Blanche Olds of Wyanet, Illinois, inscribed on August 20, 1890
• Lucy Olds of Wyanet, Illinois, inscribed on August 17, 1890; Edith's cousin
• Edna Olds, inscribed at Wyanet, Illinois, on August 20, 1890; Edith's cousin.

R

• Ellen Rockwell of Hamilton, Illinois. Middle initial might be F or H

S

• Aunt Lucy Shearer of Streator, Illinois, inscribed on August 19, 1886
• Ida R. Smith, inscribed on April 4, 1888
• Hattie L. Smith of Manlius, Illinois, inscribed on February 4, 1886
• Nettie Smith, inscribed at Manlius, Illinois, on February 18, 1886

T

• Sarah Topliff, inscribed on January 1, 1886

W

• Ella K. Wiley of Dunlap, Illinois, inscribed on March 28, 1888.

Inscribers in the Smaller Album

• Unsigned, possibly inscribed by Edith herself or by her maternal grandmother Cassandra B. (Jones) Hughes, who inscribed the left facing page.
• Clara Sahlberg. Not sure of the first letter of the surname.
• Unsigned, inscribed on February 14, 1894. Possibly inscribed by Edith or by her maternal grandmother Cassandra B. (Jones) Hughes.
• Unsigned, possibly inscribed by Edith or by her maternal grandmother Cassandra B. (Jones) Hughes.

B

• Susie Brown or Broun of Princeton, Illinois, inscribed on May 28, 1888
• Edith W. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois; dated January 1885. Album owner
• Lizzie H. Bryant of Princeton, Illinois. She was presumably Edith's mother Elizabeth (Hughes) Bryant; and it was presumably her husband Arthur Bryant who inscribed the right facing page.
• Arthur Bryant of Princeton, Illinois. Presumably Edith's father; and presumably it was his wife Elizabeth (Hughes) Bryant, "Lizzie" who inscribed the left facing page.
• Hattie Bryant, inscribed on May 8, 1888; Edith's cousin.
• Lester P. Bryant; Edith's brother.
• R. C. Bryant; presumably Ralph Clement Bryant, Edith's brother.
• G. A. Bryant, presumably Guy Arthur Bryant, Edith's brother.

C

• Eva Conner, inscribed on May 26, 1890; Edith's schoolmate
• Clara B. Conner

D

• Nora Downing
• Olive L. Downing

H

• Bertie W. Hock
• Lizzie Hoffman, inscribed in 1888
• C. B. Hughes, inscribed on February 14, 1894. Presumably Edith's maternal grandmother Cassandra B. (Jones) Hughes.

S

• Clara Sahlberg; not sure of the first letter of the surname.