Rebel Yell

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The O'Berrys and the Bryans

On December 31, 1919 a marriage joined together two very old Southern familes:  The O'Berrys and The Bryans.  Elberta "Dolly" O'Berry (age 15) married John Nathan Bryan (age 22) in Gainesville, Florida.  During their 5-6 years of marriage, three children were born:  Eugenia Elberta "Aunt Gene" (1921), Rose Elizabeth "my mother" (1922), and John Nathan Bryan Jr. "Uncle Johnny" (1924).  Each of the children, in their own unique way, exemplified the strengths and the weaknesses of their O'Berry/Bryan ancestors.

My interest in genealogy began with the family stories my mother (Rose Elizabeth Bryan Bretthauer) and grandmother (Elberta O'Berry Bryan) would tell...but they'd always end with the disclaimer "nothing could be proven."  With pride, the female members of the family belonged to the DAR, and my mother could rattle off tidbits about a particular Bryan or O'Berry cousin, second cousin, twice-removed, etc.  Over the years, when visiting my mother, I would entice her into repeating those stories...and took volumes of notes on who married who and how many times.  My grandmother (Granddolly) was one of ten children; she and the youngest, Elizabeth Ann O'Berry (my Great Aunt Betty) were very close.  Upon my grandmother's (Granddolly) death, my mother inherited all her papers and some of my Aunt Gene's.  Shortly before my great aunt Betty (Elizabeth Ann O'Berry) died, she shipped all of her papers and pictures to my mother.  Almost like foreshadowing, in 1994 I took a Cultural Anthropology class and had to trace a branch of my family back five generations.  My mother dictated (to the best of her ability) five generations of O'Berrys and Bryans...my research shows that she was real close.  Needless to say, when my mother passed away in 1995, I ended up with boxes and boxes of papers and pictures that I carted around - unopened - for about 10 years. 
By nature, I am a researcher...I love uncovering mysteries...and the Internet is such an incredible tool...and when the time was right, I embarked on a captivating journey into the past...discovered, uncovered and recovered volumes of historical information about my family.  The quest continues and is ever-evolving. 

The following are early pictures of the Bryan and O'Berry families.
PS:  When I was little my mother would chase me around; every now and then she would let out an incredible yell...she called it the "Rebel Yell."  She would have loved Billy Idol.