JOHN EMORY BRYANT PAPERS. 1,818 items and 40 volumes
Personal and political papers of John Emory Bryant. Correspondence from his tenure as a
solider in the 8th Maine volunteers describes black religious practices and the organization
of slaves during an owner's absence. In 1865, Bryant worked as an
agent in the Freedmen's Bureau in Augusta, Georgia. His letterbook and his wife's journal of
1865-1866 outline the work of a bureau agent and speak to the chaos and destitution
surrounding those ex-slaves who flooded Augusta in the wake of the war. Included in the
collection are a series of letters from Henry McNeal Turner, black Republican later noted as
a bishop of the African Methodist church and as a staunch emigrationist. Also included are
the correspondence, letterbook, and scrapbook of William Anderson Pledger, a black Republican
and educator.
