Page 84 - The Ancestry of Francis Bryan (1770-1863)

CHAPTER ONE: THE FAMILY OF FRANCIS BRYAN AND PHOEBE WOODRUFF
Francis and Phoebe have been mentioned in a few histories published about the families that populated the southern portion of Virginia and the northwestern portion of North Carolina in the late 1700's to mid 1800's.
The absolute best synopsis of Francis and Phoebe’s family history that I have found was put together by Rebecca Moon. Rebecca is a descendant of Francis’ sister, Peggy Bryan, who married Alexander Sutherland. I have copied the following excerpts directly, and without any editing, from Rebecca Moon's research on her website; http://www.moonzstuff.com/bryan/ francis1770.html (44).
Although Francis Bryan (b. 1770) was a notable person in the history of Ashe and Alleghany County, his origins are a bit obscure. Several sources claim that he was born in Virginia, either Orange or Culpeper County, or the "eastern part of the state." But census records indicate that Francis Bryan was actually born in North Carolina. Francis' wife, Phoebe WOODRUFF, was from Surry (Yadkin) County, NC, where her father Moses WOODRUFF owned land near Fox Knob (now called Star Peak) on the headwaters of the South Fork of Deep Creek, not far from the Morgan Bryan Settlement.
According to Wilkes County Heritage, Vol. 1 (Wilkes Gen. Society, 1982), p.120, and Alleghany County Heritage (Alleghany Co. Hist-Gen. Society, 1983), p.96, Francis Bryan arrived in Grayson County, VA, as a young man and was hired or bound himself to work at Blair's Forge. At the age of 21, he removed to what is now Alleghany County, NC, and settled on Glade Creek. (Blair's Forge was on Chestnut Creek near the present-day town of Galax, VA.)
John Preston Arthur, Western North Carolina: A History (1914), Ch. VIII, p.197, identifies Francis Bryan as one of the first settlers in the area that later became Alleghany County.
"It seems that there were no settlers in Alleghany prior to the Revolutionary War; but it had been visited by hunters both from Virginia and the central part of this State, among whom were three brothers named MAYNARD from what is now Surry, who crossed the
Blue Ridge and built cabins along Glade creek.
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