Chronicles of Oklahoma
Volume 4, No. 1
March, 1926
JOHN YOUNG BRYCE
Edward Everett Dale
Page 14
The election of Reverend John Young Bryce of Hartshorne, Oklahoma, to the Secretaryship of the Oklahoma Historical Society is an event of great importance to every
person in the state who has an interest in local history.
Mr. Bryce was born May 5, 1863 in Corsicana, Texas, but removed with his parents to Fort Gibson, Indian Territory in 1868,
his father having been given the pastorate of the Methodist church at that place. Since that time Mr. Bryce has made Oklahoma
his home. He was educated in the schools of Indian Territory but in 1885 was married to Miss Nettie French and the following
year the young couple entered Southwestern University at Georgetown, Texas, where they remained as students for two and a
half years.
Having become a member of the Methodist church in 1871, Mr. Bryce, in 1888, joined the Indian Mission Conference at Whitehead
Hill. Since that time he has served many missions, circuits, stations, and districts and has also had much experience in newspaper
work having owned and published a total of half a dozen or more newspapers in this state.
At the time of his election to his present position Reverend Bryce was pastor and superintendent of Brooks Institute and Hospital
at Hartshorne.
The ancestors of Mr. Bryce can be traced back to the early Bryces of Scotland. His grandfather and the father of the late
Lord Bryce were first cousins. The Bryce family has produced many well known Methodist ministers. Both the father and grandfather
of Mr. Bryce were Methodist ministers as was also James Bryce, the father of Lord Bryce. It is of interest to note that Lord
Bryce’s father married an Irish girl whose maiden name was Young and in consequence the name Young has been handed down as
a family name in the Bryce family.
Mr. Bryce brings to his task as Secretary of the Oklahoma Historical Society a vast fund of experience gained by fifty-three
years of life in the state. His great store of first hand knowledge of early days in Oklahoma, his broad experi-
Page 15
ence and great circle of friends throughout the state, and above all his winning personality and sincere love for history
all serve to make him peculiarly fitted for his new position.
All students and teachers of history in this state as well as every citizen who is interested in the collection and preservation
of material dealing with Oklahoma’s wonderful past will bid Mr. Bryce Godspeed in his work. His opportunity is great and we
have every faith that his energy and experience will be freely given to the task of carrying still further the splendid work
done by his predecessor, Mr. Joseph Thoburn. I am sure that the teachers and students of history in this state gladly pledge
Mr. Bryce their whole-hearted cooperation and support in his great work of advancing historical scholarship in Oklahoma.
EDWARD EVERETT DALE,
University of Oklahoma.
Return to top
Electronic Publishing Center |
OSU Home |
Search this Site
|
