John Neely Bryan - Late Life

Late Life

Bryan joined Col. Nicholas H. Darnell's Eighteenth Texas Cavalry regiment in the winter of 1861 and served with the unit until late 1862 when he was discharged due to his old age and poor health. He returned to Dallas in 1862 and again became actively involved in community affairs. In 1863 he was a trustee for the Dallas Male and Female Academy. In 1866, during a Dallas flood, he was very prominent in aiding those affected. He also chaired a citizens' meeting that pushed the Houston and Texas Central Railway to complete the railway through the city, and presided at a rally that sought to get full political rights for all ex-Confederates. In 1871 and 1872 Bryan became one of the directors of the Dallas Bridge Company, which built the first iron bridge across the Trinity River. He also stood on the platform at the welcoming ceremonies for the Houston and Texas Central Railway when the first train pulled into town in mid-July 1872.

By 1874 Bryan's mind was clearly impaired, though it is not known exactly how. He was admitted to the Texas State Lunatic Asylum in February 1877 and died there on 8 September 1877. He is believed to be buried in a now-unmarked grave in the southeast quadrant of the Austin State Hospital Cemetery, although some believe he is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Texas Historical Marker "Beeman Memorial Cemetery", east of downtown Dallas just off of Dolphin Road, states that John Neely Bryan is buried in the Beeman family plot of his wife, Margaret, and other Beeman family members. This cemetery is somewhat hard to locate, but is located just behind a large Jewish Cemetery (Shearith Israel) on Dolphin Road just south of Military Parkway.