There were many accounts written by eyewitnesses. One of the most notable, and unusual for the time, was written by a woman.
Eliza Bryan, 1780 - 1866, was one of the most important eyewitnesses to the New Madrid earthquakes. She was a life long resident of New Madrid.
At the time of the earthquakes she was 31 years old and living with her mother who was managing a boarding house. Eliza died in 1866 at
New Madrid and is buried there.