Friends of the City Cemeteries
Villa Rica, Georgia
BRYCE
Rev. James Fulton Bryce
Born: January 18, 1806, Union County, South Carolina
Death: February 23, 1880, Carroll County, Georgia
Age: 74
Married: Eleanor Ray 'Nellie' Sharp Bryce
Military Service: Corp / Co. E 9th Battalion, Cavalry (GA State Guards) CSA
Parents: William Bryce and Mary Orr
Listed in Marriages--Georgia to 1850
James Bryce to Eleanor Ray Sharpe on May 14, 1829 in Carroll Co., GA
James and Nellie had 13 children.
In his book, Carroll County and Her People (1907), Joe Cobb lists James Bryce as among the 'good and true men' that settled Carroll County long before the Civil War. Cobb notes Bryce as a minister of the Gospel and a successful farmer.
​
James Bryce was a charter member of Concord Methodist Church and is listed as one of the ministers the church sent from Concord to Brazil.
​
Bryce conducted the funeral service for Fannie Floyd Conner, who is also buried at this cemetery.
May 2021
Headstones:
James Bryce has two stones:
​
-
Style:
#1 is a government style flat marker from the SCV
#2 is a double rooftop obelisk companion monument sitting on a double base. He shares the obelisk with his wife, Eleanor Ray Bryce.
-
Symbols:
Iron Cross on the SCV marker
Square & compass: Freemasonry symbol
Acorns: denoting power, authority, or victory.
Often seen on military graves.
Courtesy Emily Galloway
James Fulton Bryce, his wife, Nellie, and their children.
Eleanor Ray "Nellie"
[Sharp(e)] Bryce
Born: November 25, 1812, Warren County, Georgia
Death: February 17, 1879, Carroll County, Georgia
Age: 66
Married: James Fulton Bryce (1806-1880)
Parents: Hiram Jackson Sharp (1789-1875) and
Sarah Ann Owens Sharp (1787-1870)
Nellie and James had thirteen children.
Nellie's father, brothers and husband, are listed by Joe Cobb in his
book, Carroll County and Her People (1907), as "early white settlers in Carroll Hiram Sharp, Sr., and his two sons, Hiram and George, John T. Chambers (known as “Honest John”), and James Bryce", respectfully.
Eleanor's side of the obelisk as it was being cleaned
October 2019
March 2023
Headstones:
-
Style:
Nellie's name appears on the west side of a double rooftop obelisk, a companion monument sitting on a double base.
To the right of the obelisk is a sunken plot outlined with bricks. This is most likely Eleanor's plot.
-
Symbols:
Above her name are leaves and acorns. Acorns on a headstone symbolize the power of spiritual growth from a kernel of truth and potential strength as it can grow into a mighty oak.
Nellie's death was reported in two newspapers.
The Carroll County Times, February 21, 1879
The Columbus Daily Times, February 25, 1879
Courtesy Emily Galloway
Nellie with either her children or grandchildren
