John Henry Bryant, known as J.H. Bryant, (ca. 1825–1903) was a medical doctor in 19th century Los Angeles, California, a mining entrepreneur, and a member of that city's governing body, the Common Council, in 1888–89. __TOC__

Personal

Bryant was born about 1825, and came to Los Angeles in the 1870s, from either New York State or Saint Paul, Minnesota.

In 1895 Bryant's eye was removed in Los Angeles after it was injured in an accident in Yakima Bay, Oregon, when "a small twig that had been bent and flew back" to strike him."Lost His Eye: Dr. J.H. Bryant Suffered a Most Painful Accident," Los Angeles Times, October 4, 1895, page 8

He died April 5, 1903, in Los Angeles from an attack of cerebro embolus and was survived by four sons, Henry L., E.A., W.E. and Norman L. Bryant, and three daughters, Dora Wetherwax, Olive M. Skelton and Florence G. Bryant. The interment was in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul."Dr. J.H. Bryant's Death," Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1903, page 11"Dr. J.H. Bryant Dies in California," Saint Paul Globe, April 5, 1903, page 3, image 4

Vocation

In 1877 the Los Angeles Times noted that: "Dr. J.H. Bryant and A.E. Clark, two of the directors in the new elevated electric railway company, . . . built the ice palace at the Saint Paul Winter Carnival.February 23, 1887, page 4 The railway was proposed for construction between Pasadena and the ocean via Los Angeles."Personal News," Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1887, page 3

In the 1890s Bryant engaged in mining ventures. He was the president of the Los Angeles Petroleum Smelting and Mining Company, which owned the Copper King mine in Fresno County,"Business: Financial and Commercial," Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1896, page 12 the idea being to use petroleum in the area as fuel for the smelter. Work was halted for several months, according to the Times, when "there arose dissension among the members of the company, and work came to a standstill. Men who were working the mine did not receive their pay and placed an attachment on the company property.""Business: Financial and Commercial," Los Angeles Times, July 21, 1896, page 10

In January 1897, Bryant became secretary of the Los Angeles Mining and Stock Exchange during a reorganization after the exchange had become too closely identified with the Republican Free Silver Club."Divorced From Politics: Mining Exchange Starts Afresh in New Quarters," Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1897, page 9

Bryant filed a petition for bankruptcy on July 28, 1899, stating that his debts were $57,535.84 and his assets were $75."Bryant's Bankruptcy Petition," Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1899, page 7 Nevertheless, in September that year he was listed as one of the directors of the Wabash Mining Company"Briefs: Miscellaneous and Other Items," Los Angeles Times, September 16, 1899, page 10 and in January 1900 as its president. The company had fourteen copper claims and two mill sites on Dog Creek, about twenty-nine miles northeast of Fresno. It "adjoins and entirely surrounds the celebrated Copper King mine.""Mines and Mining on the Pacific Coast," Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1901, page D-4

Public service

Bryant, a Democrat,"The Local Democrats and Their Work," Los Angeles Times, November 29, 1888, page 4 was elected to the Los Angeles Common Council from the city's 3rd Ward on December 3, 1888, and served until February 21, 1889.Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials,1850-1938, compiled under direction of Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles (March 1938, reprinted 1966). "Prepared ... as a report on Project No. SA 3123-5703-6077-8121-9900 conducted under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration."

As a member of the Park Commission, Bryant was in April 1890 part of a committee that went out canvassing [or money "to give employment to idle men in Westlake Park, for three hours." The men were to be put to work on projects to improve the park."The Park Movement: The Commissioners Raising a Fund for the Unemployed," Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1890, page 3

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