James Bryan (1789–1822) was an American mining entrepreneur whose efforts in concert with others brought economic development to Missouri.
[4] A transfer of Missouri land to Bryan from his father-in-law, mining entrepreneur Moses Austin, eventually became the subject of the 1885 United States Supreme Court case Bryan v. Kennett, which has been called the Court's ratification of the Louisiana Purchase.
[6] Paternally, James Bryan began a family which had a unique and dramatic impact on the early Anglo development of Texas.
[9] Emily and James married on August 31, 1813, at Durham Hall, in Mine au Breton,[10] Washington County, Missouri.
Descendants of James Bryan meet each year in Jones Creek, Texas, at the Austin-Bryan-Perry reunion in recognition of the achievement of these three families.