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Description
Portrait of Susan Hyde Braly, signed 1877. Exhibited in 1978 as part of "19th Century San Jose Portraits" at the Pacific Hotel, History Park, with the following caption: A leader in Santa Clara County's religious community, John Eusebius Braly was influential in establishing the first Protestant church between San Jose and San Francisco. Braly began his preaching in 1826 at the age of 21, riding circuit for the Presbyterian Church in Missouri. At one of his stops he met Susan Hyde. She had recently experienced what might now be called "rebirth" and must have been greatly influenced by the young Reverend Braly. They were married September 21, 1830. A few years later John Braly suffered from ill health, and, in search of a better climate, organized a wagon train bound for Oregon. It was a grueling trip to make with seven children but they all reached Oregon. The necessity of providing for his family meant that Reverend Braly had to supplement his preacher's salary. In Oregon he leased a farm, and in 1849 moved his family to Yolo County, California where he ran a hotel. The next year he bought 160 acres on Lawrence Road near what is now Mountain View. On April 4, 1851, Reverend Braly organized the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at his home. As the demand for more Presbyterian congregations grew, Braly was influential in establishing other churches in Santa Clara and San Jose. Susan Braly was an ardent keeper of diaries, of which over thirty remain as sources of first-hand information on events and daily life in early Santa Clara County.
Type
Image
Format
Oil on Canvas
Identifier
FB285C63-B07E-43F0-B625-245882452881 1974-635
Subject
Women Portrait paintings Nineteenth century (LCSH) Braly, Susan
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