Bryant, Alfred

Bryant, Alfred a Presbyterian minister, was born at Springfield, Essex County, N.J., March 12, 1807. He commenced his preparatory studies in the Academy at Princeton, continued them in the Manual Labor Institute at Germantown, Pa., and then for two years at Elizabeth, N.J.; entered Princeton Seminary in the fall of 1831, and spent three years; was licensed by the Presbytery of Elizabethtown, October 9, 1834, and ordained by the Presbytery of St. Joseph at South Bend, Indiana, April 14, 1836. Soon after completing his seminary course at Princeton, Mr. Bryant went to the West, and labored at South Bend nearly eight years (1835-43), preached also extensively through all the northern counties of Indiana and of south-western Michigan, and aided in securing the erection of at least three Presbyterian churches. His next field was Edwardsburg, Mich., where, as a missionary, he preached from 1843 to 1848. He was pastor at Niles from 1848 to 1863, having accomplished the erection of the present large church in that place. He was then missionary and stated supply at North Lansing from 1863 to 1870, preaching also in many neighboring places. He was pastor of the Second Church of North Lansing from 1870 to 1874. From 1874 to 1877 he was in very infirm health, but so far recovered that he served the Church at Dublin, afterwards that at Delhi, and then at Holt, until 1880. He died at Lansing, June 2, 1881. With one exception he never labored for any length of time in a place without building a church edifice. He was instrumental in gathering and organizing a large number of congregations. See Necrological Report of Princeton Theol. Seminary, 1882, page 26.