Gilmore Ward Bryant papers, 1860s-1933

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Summary

Creator:
Bryant, Gilmore Ward, 1859-1946.
Abstract:
The collection concerns the Bryant family, who came to Durham, North Carolina to found the Southern Conservatory of Music. There are seven diary volumes: five by James Alonzo Bryant, Gilmore's father and a Bethel, Vermont farmer, and two by Mattie E. Bryant, Gilmore's wife and voice teacher; 19th and early 20th century tintypes, an ambrotype, an albumen print, and gelatin silver photographs of members of the Bryant, Clark, Bird, Dean, Chamberlain, and McConoll families from Vermont, and others; sheet and manuscript music by Bryant; and a copy of the 1920-1921 illustrated Southern Conservatory "Calendar," as well as a sheet of examination grades.
Extent:
2.0 Linear Feet (3 boxes; 35 items)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.11487

Background

Scope and content:

Gilmore Ward Bryant (1859-1946), originally from Bethel, Vermont, founded the Southern Conservatory of Music in Durham in 1898 or 1899, along with his wife, Mattie E. Bryant. The collection contains seven diary volumes: five by James Alonzo Bryant, Gilmore's father and a Vermont farmer, containing brief entries related to the weather, visitors, farm tasks and sales, and church activities; and two by Mattie Bryant, containing brief entries about weather, church activities, visitors, and Conservatory events.

The collection is rich in photographs depicting members of the Bryant, Clark, Bird, Dean, Chamberlain, and McConoll families from Vermont, and others. There are 19th and early 20th century tintypes, many mounted in two small personal albums; an ambrotype; an albumen print; and gelatin silver photographs.

The Conservatory's history and Bryant's career in music are represented by published and manuscript sheet music composed by Bryant (there is also one piece by P.A. Schnecker), and a sheet of examination grades. A copy of the 77-page illustrated "Calendar" of the Southern Conservatory of Music, contains information about its mission, faculty, administration, facilities, and programs, accompanied by many images of the Conservatory building, its faculty and staff, interior rooms, and students at practice.

Biographical / historical:

Gilmore Ward Bryant (1859-1946), originally from a farm family in Bethel, Vermont, taught piano in many locations in New England and the South. He was reportedly invited to Durham by Washington Duke, who financed the design and construction for what was to become the Southern Conservatory of Music. Finished in 1898, the grand Italianate-style Conservatory stood on the corner of Main and Duke Street.

Bryant was its founder and director until his retirement sometime in the 1930s, and his wife Mattie Emily Bullard Bryant, an accomplished musician and teacher, served as head of the Voice Department; his daughter-in-law also served as a teacher. Bryant was also a composer, publishing many pieces from the 1890s through the 1930s.

According to Mattie's diary, in the summer of 1923, the Bryants purchased their own land and laid the cornerstone for a new Conservatory on South Alston Avenue, then open countryside, and the old Conservatory was demolished in 1924. Mattie Bryant passed away in 1934; Gilmore Ward Bryant in 1946, in Durham. Their only son, Max Wylie Bryant, worked at Erwin Mills and continued to live in Durham until his death in 1967.

Acquisition information:
The Gilmore Ward Bryant papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2000.
Processing information:

Processed and encoded by Paula Jeannet, June 2017.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2000-0363

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: Diaries and Memorandum Book, Photographs, Conservatory Records, and Sheet Music.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Gilmore Ward Bryant papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.