University of North Carolina at Asheville
D.H. Ramsey Library
Special Collections/University Archives

Manuscript Register
for

Solon H. Bryan Collection
(1914-1938)

M78.2.1


"Solon H. Bryan with Lyceum workers", Solon H. Bryan Collection (1914-1938),
D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNC Asheville 28804  
(Solon H. Bryan at front, center with hat in hand)
Title Solon H. Bryan Collection (1914-1938)
Creator Solon H. Bryan
Alt. Creator Virginia Bryan Schreiber (daughter of Solon H. Bryan)
Alt. Creator Wayne Caldwell
Subject Keyword :
Solon H. Bryan ; Piedmont Bureau ; Piedmont Circuit Lyceum ; Andy Tucker
Subject LCSH :
Bryan, Solon H., 1868-1943 
Piedmont Bureau ( Asheville, N.C.)
Piedmont Circuit Lyceum (Asheville, N.C.)
Lyceums -- North Carolina -- History
Chautauquas -- North Carolina -- History
Description Solon Bryan was founder and owner of the Piedmont Bureau and the Piedmont Circuit Lyceum, organizations that planned tours for artists on the lyceum and Chautauqua model throughout the southeastern United States. He worked in Atlanta for the Alkahest[?] Bureau before coming to North Carolina to start his own company. He was a member of the International Lyceum Association, Rotary Club and the Asheville Advertising Club. He attended Central Methodist Church in Asheville. Collection contains miscellaneous clippings, printed material and one photograph documenting Bryan's work as director of the Piedmont Bureau. A scrapbook of columns published in Asheville papers by Bryan under the pseudonym "Andy Tucker", is also included.

Second acquisition: Materials donated by Wayne Caldwell and acquired at auction. Large suitcase containing personal papers, letters and assorted documents related to Bryan's work with the Chautauguas.
Publisher D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Contributor Virginia Bryan Schreiber ; Dr. Conn Bryan ; Southern Highlands Research Center
Date 2001-04-22, Updated 2005-12-01 JW, 2005-12-19 JP
Type Collection ; Text ; Image
Format 1 document box processed; 2 document boxes unprocessed
Identifier http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/bryan/bryan.html
Source M78.2.1-3
Language English
Relation Wayne Caldwell Oral History ; The Lyceum.  Asheville, NC: T. R. Gaines, 1890 (editor Tilman R. Gaines of South Carolina). Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 1890- c.1892) According to Preston Arthur, History of Western North Carolina, (1914), "In it were published many papers of value, among which should be mentioned "Reminiscenses of Western North Carolina," by Col. Allen T. Davidson; "Poets of the South," by L. M. Hatch; "Persecution of the Jews," by W. H. Malone; "Protection of Birds," by J. D. Cameron; "State Landlordism and Liberty," by Judge C. E. Fenner; "Two Days with Gen. Lee at Charleston," by Col. L. M. Hatch; of Forty Years Ago," by Col. J. M. Ray; "Should Women Vote?" by H. B. Stevens, and an address by Col. Charles W. Woolsey on "The Asheville Art Club." ; Daboll, Raymond F., et al.  Recollections of the Lyceum & Chautauqua Circuits. ;  
Coverage 1914-1938 ; Asheville, NC
Rights No restrictions
Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville.
Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.  
Donor Donor number 40, 154, 203
Acquisition 1978-02-21 ; 2000, 05-20, 2004-03-05
Citation Solon H. Bryan Collection (1914-1938), D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
Processed by Special Collections staff, 1978 ; 2001 ; 2004
Biography

Solon Hume Bryan was born June 13, 1868 in Tyro, Mississippi. When he was young his father died and Bryan went to work in an Arkansas cotton mill to help support his mother and two sisters.  He began reading at an early age and always valued education.  In January 1901 Bryan married Mary Louise Conn or Milledgeville, Georgia, and they had two children, Thomas Coner Bryan and Virginia Bryan Schreiber.  Georgia was where Bryan went to school, attending the Mercer University in Macon.  After school he worked for the Alkahest Bureau in Atlanta.

In 1916 the family moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where Bryan planned to start his own company.  He became founder and co-owner of the Piedmont Bureau and the Piedmont Circuit Lyceum, businesses that brought in artists and cultural events to towns and schools throughout the South.  When the family moved to Asheville they lived near Beaver Lake until the Great Depression.  The family might have been able to stay in the house they rented even without paying for a year, but Bryan was not comfortable with that and they moved about Asheville for a while before they settles in Royal Pines, near Arden and Skyland.  There the family stayed for twelve years.  During this time both of his children attended school, both of them going on to higher education.  Thomas went to Duke and Chapel Hill, and Virginia taught at Buncombe County Junior College.  Her job ended up supporting the family during the Depression. 

During his life Bryan was a member of the International Lyceum Association, the Rotary Club, and the Asheville Advertising Club.  He attended Central Methodist Church in Asheville, and at one time preacher there.  Bryan always encouraged the younger generation to pursue education, and founded a scholarship through the Rotary Club for boys hoping to attend college.  Bryan also wrote and published some writing including a column in the Asheville Times called the “Highway House” under the pseudonym “Andy Tucker.”  He died in Asheville on August 29, 1943 of coronary thrombosis.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY
(From Virginia Schreiber's notes)
Full name Solon Hume Bryan
Birth Date June 13, 1868
Birthplace Tyro, Mississippi
Married Mary Louise Conn of Milledgeville, GA in January, 1901.
Children Dr. Thomas Coner Bryan
Mrs. Virginia Bryan Schreiber
Education Mercer University, Macon GA
Memberships Methodist Church; former member of Rotary Club in which Bryan helped to establish a scholarship for boys to use for college educations.
Occupation Owner-manager of the Piedmont Lyceum Bureau which offered concerts, festivals, artists, lectures, Chataugua programs, etc. throughout the South in towns, cities,, and in colleges and high schools. Preacher, writer, and   newspaper columnist.
Died Asheville, North Carolina on August 29, 1943, of coronary thrombosis.
Remarks Good organizer, writer, philosopher. He was eager to encourage young people to read and pursue their studies since he began reading at an early age when he was working in a cotton mill to help support his widowed mother and two sisters. 
ITEM LIST (Original acquisition)
Box Folder Description
M78.2.1 1 14 items, including 1 photograph and notes by Bryan's daughter, Virginia Schreiber

 

Scrapbook

Clippings of "Back Porch Philosophy" and "Highway House," etc., 1936-38
     
ITEM LIST (Second Acquisition, 2003)
Box Folder Description
M78.2.2 1  
  2  
  3  
  4  
  5  
  6  
  7  

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