The Branch
Family of New England
The Line of
William Farrand Branch
COMPILED BY
WILLIAM FARRAND BRANCH
AND
ROGER EDDY BRANCH
CHAMPLAIN
Privately Printed at the Moorsfield Press
1935
To
the memory of
ELIZA ANN BRANCH
[AUNT LILL]
whose exemplary life
has been an inspiration
to the Branches who
have followed
her
Acknowledgments
FOR SOME YEARS the compilers
have been gathering the records of their
ancestors. They have discovered that such
records become more difficult to unearth—and
often disappear entirely— as the years go by.
They here present the result of their research
for the benefit of genealogists.
Grateful
acknowledgments
are
tendered
to all those who have assisted in
piecing together this record; and the
compilers wish particularly to mention Mrs.
Edith Flint Keeler of Westborough, Mass., Miss
Eva Walker of Whiting, Vt., Mrs. Ella Walker
Fisher of Vergennes, Vt., Mrs. Mary Angeline
Hardin of Carthage, Mo., and Mrs. Alice F.
Thomas of Burlington, Vt.
Of
that
portion
relating
to the Branch Family in England—prior to the
emigration of the descendants of Richard
Branch to Virginia and to New England—much has
been drawn from Branch of Abingdon, by James
Branch Cabell, to whom a large debt of
gratitude is acknowledged.
CHAMPLAIN, N. Y.
The
Branch Family of England
Indirect
Ancestors
THERE is no authentic record of
the Branch line prior to 1500, but there are
many facts that prove the existence of the
family more than four centuries earlier.
Several of the lists of "the names of the
great men who crossed the sea with the
conqueror, William the Vigorous" (Chronicle of
John Brompton), still exist in the records of
old churches. Among these is found first
mention of the name—spelled usually Braunche,
although the Chronicle of John Brompton uses
the name Braunz. There seems to be no doubt
but that a Branch was with William the
Conqueror at Hastings in 1066 and is so
recorded in the Roll of Battle Abbey.
The
next
known
mention
of the name is in the Chronicle of Matthew
Paris (Bohn Edition, III, 303), which states
that Peter Branch was sent in 1258 to Pope
Alexander IV, as the representative of the
English nobles then in revolt against the
King.
James
Branch
Cabell
in
"Branch of Abingdon" notes that "in the
sixteenth century unenviable fame attached
itself to the name of WILLIAM BRANCH, sometimes
known as William Flower, one of the most
notorious of the Protestant sufferers during the
reign of Mary I.
"He had formerly been a
monk at Ely, but had abjured the Roman
Catholic religion to become a very zealous
Protestant; so that, on Easter Day, 1555, at
St. Margaret's, Westminster, during the actual
celebration of the Holy Communion, William
Branch attacked and stabbed the officiating
priest, although not mortally.
"He
was
brought
before
Edmund Bonner, then Bishop of London, who
argued with him for a long while upon
religious matters, and eventually offered him
a pardon on condition that he recant his
Protestant opinions and conform to the Church
of Rome.
"William
Branch
refused;
and,
in consequence, the hand with which he had
committed the crime having first been severed
from his wrist, he was chained to a stake
before St. Margaret's Chapel, which was the
scene of the atrocity, and there burned alive.
"Another
member
of
the
family to win to eminence was the at-one-time
famous SIR JOHN BRANCH, who became Lord Mayor
of London in 1580. He died in 1588, being then
seventy-three years of age, leaving no male
descendants. A brief account of his ancestry
is given in the 1568 Visitation of London.
(Harleian Publications, I, 13)
"Sir
John
Branch
bore
the same arms as the Branches of Abingdon,
from whom the Branches of Virginia trace
descent, and was evidently a collateral
relation of the Branches of Virginia, but his
pedigree as given is unfortunately of too
brief a nature to establish the exact
relationship.
"It
is
of
interest
to note that this Sir John Branch was the
Knight Bachelor created by Queen Elizabeth
immediately before the same honor was
conferred on Sir Francis Drake."
The
Coat
of
Arms
of the descendants of the Branches of Abingdon
are: Argent, a lion rampant gules, armed
azure, oppressed by a bend sable. Crest—Out of
a ducal coronet or, a cock's head azure,
combed gules, holding a branch vert.
The Branch
Family of England
Direct
Ancestors
I.
RICHARD BRANCH, a woolen
draper, settled in Abingdon, Berkshire,
England, in the early part of the sixteenth
century. He was a man of considerable
importance, being for many years head of the
Fraternity of the Holy Cross. Originally this
Guild had been founded for the dispensation of
charity, but a long and active existence,
together with ownership of considerable
property, had made it the center of the civic
life of Abingdon. J. Branch Cabell in "Branch
of Abingdon" (pp. 32-37) has given an
interesting picture of this organization and
of its work.
Richard
Branch
married
Elizabeth
Beauforest,
daughter of Thomas Beauforest of Deane,
Gloucester County. He was buried in the north
or Jesus Aisle of St. Helen's Church on 16
September, 1544. His will, dated 27 August,
1544, is as follows:
WILL
OF
RICHARD
BRANCHE
OF ABENTON, (CO. BERKS), WOOLENDRAPER, DATED
27 AUGUST, 36 HENRY VIII.
To
the
high
altar
of St. Elen's church 21s. to be prayed for.
To
Thomas
Branche
my
eldest son a feather bed, a covering with a
mitre upon it, and 10s.
To
my
son
William
Branche my gown that I had of Mr. Wodword and
10s.
To
Thomas
Branche
my
youngest son 20s.
To
my
son
John
Branche a black gown lined with St. Thomas
wolsted and 10s.
To
Margery
my
daughter
a girdle with a dymycent of silver and gilt, a
silver spoon, all her grandfather's bequests
unto her, a saucer of the new fashion and 20S.
To
Marion
my
daughter
a pair of jet beads with silver gawds, a
silver spoon, beside the one that Mr. Wodword
gave her, and 20s.
If
any
of
my
forenamed children die before they come to
years of discretion, their parts shall be
distributed amongst those that shall then be
on live.
Residuary
legatee
and
executrix,
my wife Elizabeth. Overseers, Humfrey Bostock
and Thomas (blank).
Witnesses:
Sir
William
Druett,
brotherhood priest, Richard Maiot, Humfrey
Bostoke, Thomas Erle. No Probate.
(Archdeaconry of Berks: Register C; 164.)
The
"Mr.
Wodword"
mentioned
in the preceding will was Lionel Wodward of
Abingdon, who, with Humphrey Bostock, Thomas
Earle and Richard Mayott also mentioned, was a
Master of the Fraternity of the Holy Cross
during Richard Branch's incumbency. Richard
Mayott was afterward the first Mayor of
Abingdon after the incorporation of the
Borough of Abingdon in 155'5, at which time
Humphrey Bostock was named as one of the first
principal burgesses. (J. Branch Cabell: Branch
of Abingdon, pp. 32-37.)
Children:
Thomas, of
London, d. 1565.
William, of
Abingdon, d. 1602; from whom the Branches of
Virginia descend.
JOHN, of Kent,
b. about 1515; d. 1588; from whom the Branches
of Massachusetts descend.
Thomas, d.
1545-6, unmarried.
Amy, d.
1540-1, unmarried.
Margery, d.
1545-6, unmarried.
Marian, d.
1545-6, unmarried.
II.
JOHN BRANCH, third son of
Richard, was born about 1515. He was married
in Abingdon and had at least one son, also
named John, who was baptised at St. Helen's,
November 3, 1578. He moved to Kent County,
England, soon after 1578 and died there in
1588, aged 73. He figured in a Chancery suit
which he brought against Thomas Brudenell,
William Brudenell and Francis Brudenell
(London Chancery Pleadings: Reign of
Elizabeth; Bundle 20, No. 59) over the
possession of land at Hedcorn Mortimer in
Kent.
Mention
of
him
in
wills probated at Archdeaconry of Berks are:
B:12 Will of Elizabeth King of
Fyfield, dated 25 May, 1545, witnessed by John
Branche.
B:22 Will of John Shorebuck of
Fyfield, dated 14 July, I545, witnessed by
John Branche.
D:180 Will of John Blackgrove of
Watchfield, dated 8 April, 1557, bequeathed to
John Branche, who signed as a witness.
Child:
JOHN, bapt. 1578.
III
JOHN BRANCH, only known son of
John, son of Richard and Elizabeth, was
baptised at St. Helen's Church, Abingdon,
November 3, 1578. Little is known concerning
his life. He probably lived as a youth at
Hedcorn Mortimer in Kent County and later
removed to High Holden, a few miles away. It
is known that he had at least one son,
although the name of his wife and the date of
his marriage are unknown. This son was Peter
Branch, who was born at High Holden, Kent
County, on February 27, 1596. John Branch died
in 1608.
Child:
PETER,1
b.
at
High
Holden, Kent, Feb. 27, 1596.
The
Branch
Family of New England
First
Generation
PETER BRANCH,1 son of John, was
born at High Holden, Kent County, England, on
February 27, 1596. He married at High Holden
on January 13, 1625, Elizabeth Gillame, who
died August 9, 1632, leaving him with one son,
John,2 born in 1628.
"More
than
two
centuries
ago . . . England was growing jealous of her
colonies, and decided to stop emigration.
Therefore, in 1638, when eight ships were
preparing to sail for America, laden with
supplies and passengers, it was reported that
they were to be detained. The captain of one
of these ships, called the "Castle", hearing
of the report, hastened his passengers aboard
and set sail before being officially
detained." (A. E. Paulson, Branch Family
History)
Peter
Branch1
and
his
son, John2, were passengers on board this
boat. Peter was destined never to see the land
that he planned to make his home. He died on
the voyage and was buried at sea, leaving his
ten year old son to the care of Thomas
Wilborne, an old friend from Kent County who
was residing in Scituate, Massachusetts.
His
will,
dated
16
June, 1638, is recorded in Boston, (First Book
of Suffolk Wills, page 16), as follows:
THE
LAST
WILL
AND
TESTAMENT
OF PEETER BRANCH, late of Halden in Kent of
owld England Carpenter, being weake in bodye
but of good & perfect sence and Memorye.
I
will
&
bequeath
and comitt unto Thomas Wilborne, late of
Fonterden in Kent in ould England, my sonne,
John Branch to have the charge of him
providinge for him, & overseeinge him
always a carefull, and ffaithfull feafeere,
duringe the terme of eleven yeares from
henceforth Dated the sixteenth Dave of June
1638. And also I comitt into his hands,
duringe the terme of yt time of eleven yeares,
my whole estate to use this whole terme of
time payinge the sayde estate at the end of
this terme to the sayde John Branch, sonne of
the aforesayd Peeter Branch, or the worth
thereof, in good and lawfull monye, beinge
equally preised, by Judiciall men, but my
minde and will is that the sayd Thomas Wiborne
shall discharge all my debtes out of the
afore-mentioned estate which I leave in his
hands ifurthermore my will is, that if my
sonne shall dye before he come to the end of
this time, that then the saide Thomas Wilborne
shall give to widowe Igleden the late wife of
Stephen Igelden, or to his Children, or to hir
children she had by him, the full some of five
pounds of good and lawfull monye.
Item,
I
will
and
bequeath to Thomas Wilborne for the keepinge
of my Sonne the full some of eight pounds of
good & lawfull monye, If that my sonne
John shall dye before the terme of the first
fower years be expired, but if that he dye not
within this terme of fower years but
afterwards within the terme of eleven yeares,
that then it shalbe imployed as is before,
& shalbe after,
Item I will and bequeath if that
my sonne John shall dye before the terme of
eleven years be expired, that then what
remaynes in the hands of the said Thomas
Wilborne, shalbe given to the use of the pore
of those three congregations, of Concord of
Sittuate & to that congregation wick A
Company, that goes in the Shipp called the
Castle, if there be a company of them if not
then to be devided the aforesd two
congregations, only provided that the sayed
Thomas Wilborne shall have the use of the said
eight pownds till the eleven years be expired,
though he dye not within the fower years, I
doe also ordeine my sonne John Branch sole
Executor, & Thomas Wiborne my feafeer to
whom I comitt the oversight of this my last
will and testament.
Suffolk s.s.
Probate Court
A
true
copy,
Attest,
Arthur W. Sullivan, Register.
Child:
JOHN,2
b.
1628;
m.
Mary Speed; d. May 17, 1711.
Second
Generation
JOHN BRANCH,2 only son of
Peter,1 was born at High Holden, Kent County,
England, in 1628. After losing his father at
sea in 1638, he landed at Scituate,
Massachusetts, and, by the terms of his
father's will, was placed under the
guardianship of Thomas Wilborne, a saddler, to
learn the saddler's trade. In 1643 he moved to
Duxbury and, several years later, to
Marshfield, where he purchased and named
Branch's Island. On December 6, 1652, he
married Mary Speed at Marshfield. He died on
May 17, 1711.
Children:
John,3
b.
1654;
killed
in King Philip's War, 1676, at Rehoboth and
buried there.
Elizabeth,3
b.
Oct.
14, 1656; m. Abel Cook at Preston, Conn., June
22, 1677.
PETER,3
b.
May
28,
1659; m. Hannah Lincoln.
Thomas,3
b.
Feb.
18,
1661; d. Jan. 27, 1683, at Boston.
Mercy,3
b.
Nov.
28,
1664; m. Ebenezer Spooner.
Experience,3
b.
1669;
m.
Lydia------, who d. Nov. 1699.
Third
Generation
PETER BRANCH,3 the third child
of John2 and Mary, was born on May 28, 1659,
at Branch's Island, Marshfield, Massachusetts.
At the age of twenty-one he moved to Taunton,
Massachusetts, where he married Hannah
Lincoln, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Austin)
Lincoln, and niece of Samuel—from whom Abraham
Lincoln traced his descent—and granddaughter
of Thomas Lincoln, the miller. She was born
March 15, 1663, and died January 16, 1732.
Thomas
Lincoln, the miller, was born in 1603. He came
to America in 1633 and settled in Taunton,
Massachusetts, where he built and operated the
old mill in which three commissioners from
Boston met King Philip for explanation of his
hostile maneuvers. He married Mary Stacy,
daughter of Richard Stacy. Thomas Lincoln died
in 1683.
Peter Branch moved to
Norwich, Connecticut, in 1680, and is listed
as one of the nineteen persons to petition the
Legislature for the incorporation of New
Preston as an independent town in October,
1686. The petition was granted in January,
1687. A quit-claim and confirmatory deed of
the new township, comprising a tract five
miles in length between Stonington and
Norwich, was obtained from the Mohegan Sachem
on March 17, 1687. It purports to be from
"Oaneco to Capt. James Fitch, Capt. Josiah
Standish, Thomas Parke, Sen., Jonathan Tracy,
Joseph Morgan, and all the rest of the
inhabitants living in New Preston", and is
signed by the mark of Oanaco, and witnessed by
John Morgan, John Stanton, and the mark of
John Uncas. (History of Norwich. Caulkins. pp.
245-255.)
Peter
Branch
died
on
December 27, 1713.
Children:
Mary,4
b.
Jan.
28,
1685.
Hannah,4
b.
July
12,
1688.
Elizabeth,4
b.
March
5, 1691.
JOHN,4
b.
March
3,
1694, at Norwich, Conn.; m. Martha Williams.
Peter.4
Thomas.4
Samuel.4
Sarah.4
Joseph.4
Fourth
Generation
JOHN BRANCH4,
son of Peter3 and Hannah, was born at Norwich,
Connecticut, on March 3, 1694. On October 20,
1726, he married Martha Williams, daughter of
Nicholas and Dorcas (Davison) Williams. He
made his home in Preston, Connecticut, on what
is still sometimes called Branch Hill. The
house that he built is still used as a
habitation. He died on January 3, 17—
Children:
Olive,5 m.
------- Northrup.
JOHN,5 b. Oct.
7, 1729, at Preston, Conn.; m. Priscilla
Tracy.
Dorcas,5 m.
July 30, 1752.
Zilpha,5 b.
1735; d. June 28, 1800, at Whiting, Vt., and
is buried there.
Huldah,5 b.
1737.
Hezekiah,5 b.
1739.
Shubal,5 b.
1740; m. 1785, at Whiting, Vt.
Amariah,5 b.
July 26, 1741 ; m. Sarah Huntington at
Preston, Conn.
Asa,5 bapt.
April 1, 1744; m. Eliza Tracy, Sept. 18, 1766.
Abel,5 b.
March 3, 1747 ; unmarried.
Fifth
Generation
JOHN BRANCH,5 son of John4 and
Martha, was born at Branch Hill, in Preston,
Connecticut, on October 7, 1729. On January 5,
1758, he married Priscilla Tracy, daughter of
Samuel and Esther (Richmond) Tracy, at
Preston. He moved to Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, in 1767, after the fifth child
was born.
Although
forty-seven
years
of
age at the time, on June 30, 1777, he marched
from Pittsfield to Fort Ann, under the command
of Captain John Strong, in the regiment of
Colonel John Brown, in the defense of Fort
Ticonderoga, which was threatened by the
advance of General Burgoyne up Lake Champlain.
(Record Index to Military Archives,
Massachusetts, Vol. 146, p. 490, and Vol. 23,
p. 13) For some unknown reason, but probably
on account of the death of his son, Simeon, he
was dismissed on July 26, 1777.
While
on
that
march,
he
saw and fell in love with a Quaker's farm at
Whiting, Vermont. In 1785, John5 traded the
Pittsfield property for the Frank Daniels
place in Whiting, and moved there with his
family and his brothers Abel and Shubal. He
died there on March 5, 1812, and his wife,
Priscilla, died, also in Whiting, on October
5, 1813. They were buried in a small burying
ground in the south part of Whiting, but their
bodies were removed, in 1929, by John Branch
of St. Albans, Vermont, to the Whiting
Cemetery, where the original stones, carefully
repaired, were erected. The following
inscriptions are on a single large slab,
placed horizontally:
Priscilla
John Branch
wife
of
Died Mar. 5, 1812
James
Noble
in the 83 year
former
relict of
of his age.
John Branch
Died
Oct. 5, 1813
in
her 74 year.
Why loving friends
indulge that tear,
Why trembling view
my dark abode ?
Though you with me
must moulder here
Yet faith can wing
the soul to God.
All six daughters married
at or near Whiting, and all were left widows.
None married again.
Children:
Abe1,6 b. Oct.
8, 1758; d. 1800. Unmarried.
Lucy,6 b. Oct.
9, 1760; m. Asa Parks at Whiting.
Esther,6 b.
March 8, 1763; m. -------- Babcock.
Simeon,6 b.
June 19, 1765; d. 1777.
Levina,6 b.
Aug. 8, 1767; m. Levi Walker at Whiting. She
was the grandmother of Eva Walker, of Whiting,
who died in 1933.
John,6 b. Oct.
7, 1769; m. Elizabeth Abel; d. 1839. He was
the father of Dr. John Branch of St. Albans,
Vt., and grandfather of John Branch, who moved
the bodies of John and Priscilla.
SHUBAL,6 b.
July 24, 1772, at Pittsfield, Mass.; m.
Freelove Rice.
Priscilla,6 m.
---- Tracy.
Lydia,6 b. 1777; m. Jeremiah Hall,
the inventor of the circular saw ; lived in
Middlebury, Vt. In 1863 she was living with
her nephew, Ables Walker, in Whiting; buried
there in an unmarked grave.
Parthena,6 m.
Ebenezer Keeler; d. at Hammond, N. Y. Ancestor
of Mrs. Edith Flint Keeler of Westborough,
Mass.
Sixth
Generation
SHUBAL BRANCH,6 son of John5 and
Priscilla, was born on July 24, 1772, at
Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He moved with his
parents to Whiting, Vermont, in 1785, and
there married Freelove Rice on January I,
1795. Most of his life was apparently spent in
Whiting. He died January 2, 1815, at Richmond,
Vermont.
Children:
Alvina.7
Horace H.7
JOHN HARVEY,7
b. July 2, 1799; m. Samantha Gaines.
Nancy. 7
Mary Ann. 7
Hiram.7
William,7 b.
April 20, 1809; m. Mar. 24, 1853. He was the
father of Rev. Herbert Branch of Long Beach,
Cal.
Charles W.7
Shubal.7
Seventh
Generation
JOHN HARVEY BRANCH,7 son of
Shubal6 and Freelove, was born July 2, 1799,
in Whiting, Vermont. In 1824 he was living in
Panton, Vermont, and on June 10th of that year
he married Samantha Gaines, daughter of
Jonathan and Betsy (Farrand) Gaines.
Lieutenant
Bethuel
Farrand,
grandfather
of
Samantha Gaines, was born October 4, 1741. On
December 26, 1763, he married Rhoda Smith,
(second daughter of Samuel Smith), who died at
Bridgeport, Vt., June 30, 1839, aged 92 years.
He joined the Continental Army in 1775, and in
June, 1776, was commissioned a Lieutenant in
the Jersey Provincials, Capt. Seeley' s
Company, Col. John Memson's Regiment.
(Officers and Men of New Jersey. Stroker. page
590.) He took part in the battles of Long
Island, White Plains, Monmouth, Connecticut
Farms, Springfield, and in many skirmishes. He
died May 27, 1794, in Morris County, N.J. He
had thirteen children : Daniel (d. Feb.,
1829), Nathan (d. Apl. 1802), Betsy, Isaac,
Moses, Hannah, Bethuel, Samuel (d. in
infancy), Samuel (2), Rebecca, Richard and
Eleanor (twins), and Nancy.
Betsy
Farrand,
the
third
child, was born in 1770 ; married Jonathan
Gaines (1760-1842); died June 17, 1836. She
had five children :
Marie
Gaines,
m.
Seth
Warner.
Anne
Gaines,
m.
Benaiah
Ferris.
Harriet
Gaines,
m.
Joseph
Shedd.
Samantha
Gaines,
m.
John
Harvey Branch.
Farrand
Gaines,
m.
Mary
Hopkins.
John
Harvey
Branch
sold
his
farm in Panton in March, 1836, and moved to
Canton, New York, where he settled on a farm.
On this trip westward, his family, consisting
of his wife and four children, and his
household goods, were loaded on a long sleigh
drawn by two horses, while he rode a third
horse. Years later his son, Walter C., then
six years old, told of the journey down the
Vermont shore, crossing Lake Champlain on the
ice somewhere in the vicinity of Rouses Point,
and proceeding through Champlain and
Chateaugay to Canton.
About
1860,
he
again
sold
his farm and moved to Norfolk, New York, where
he purchased a farm located about four miles
northeast of Norfolk, on the Lost Nation Road.
Unfortunately, the old homestead burned some
twenty-five years ago, so that only the stone
foundation remains to mark the spot, but the
double row of maple trees which he planted,
and which extend a quarter of a mile in each
direction from the house, still stand, as do
the two old barns which are directly across
the road from the house.
By
1870
he
had
sold
the .farm near Norfolk, and purchased a house
in Hewittville, New York, on the high bank of
the Raquette River. This became his home, and
his children's home, for many years. His wife
died there on December 27, 1882, and he
survived her only two years. They are both
buried in the Bixby Cemetery, about three
miles out of Norfolk on the Lost Nation Road.
It
is
to
be
regretted that several years later his
daughter, Eliza Ann, had the old markers
showing the dates of their deaths, together
with the markers of three children, replaced
by a plain but well-proportioned brown stone
monument with only the name BRANCH inscribed
on it. In front of this monument, stretching
the width of the lot, are the small markers
with the following names—but no dates:
Georgie
Harvey
Pamelia
William
Mother
Father
Eliza A.
In
addition
to
being
a very successful farmer, John Harvey Branch
was a wheelwright and casket-maker.
Children:
Mary
Caroline,8 b. May 28, 1825; to. John Shepherd.
Florence Jane,8 b. Oct. 23, 1826; m.
Jesse S. Freeman.
WALTER C.,8 b.
Feb. 5, 1830; m. (I) Sylvia Pamelia Lawson,
(2) Eunice L. Monroe.
Eliza Ann,8 b.
Sept. 5, 1832; d. Dec. 9, 1914, unmarried.
Harriet C.,8
b. April 10, 1836; m. Daniel O. Lawrence.
Helen M.,8 b.
Feb. 8, 1838 ; m. Walter Howe.
William
Farrand,8 b. July 27, 1840; d. Nov. 12, 1862,
unmarried. George,8 d. in infancy, buried in
Bixby Cemetery, Norfolk, N. Y.
Harvey,8 d. in infancy, buried in
Bixby Cemetery, Norfolk, N. Y.
Eighth
Generation
WALTER C. BRANCH,8 son of John
Harvey7 and Samantha, was born in Panton,
Vermont, on February 5, 1830. He accompanied
his parents on the long trip to Canton, New
York, in 1836, and attended district school in
his new home. About 1850 the family moved to
Norfolk, New York. In 1860 Walter married
Sylvia Pamelia Lawson of Norfolk, and went to
live on a farm at Lost Nation, about two miles
northeast of his father's farm. A daughter,
Sylvia,9 was born on March 27, 1861. His wife
having died during the following year, Walter
returned to his father's house.
About
1864
Walter
moved
to Hewittville, New York, with his parents,
and continued to live with them until his
second marriage. On May 11, 1869, he was
married to Eunice L. Monroe, daughter of
George A. and Esther V. (Lane) Monroe. The
ceremony was performed at Potsdam by Rev. J.
W. Daniels, the Baptist minister.
He
bought
the
house
later known as the Shores place, diagonally
across the road from his father's, and it was
here that his two sons, George Harvey,9 and
William Farrand,9 were born.
About
1875,
upon
the
death
of Jesse S. Freeman, the husband of his sister
Jane, he rented the Freeman farm, while she
returned to her father's home at Hewittville.
The Freeman farm was located approximately a
mile north of Hewittville, on a hill
overlooking the Raquette River, and fully a
quarter of a mile back from the road. The
entrance drive passed through a low, marshy
place, which was spanned by a flimsy wooden
bridge. One night in the early Spring of 1880,
while driving home from an entertainment at
the nearby schoolhouse, Walter missed the
bridge in the darkness and the whole family
was overturned into the creek. His wife,
Eunice, caught a cold from this misadventure
from which she never recovered; her lungs were
affected, and later in the year it became
necessary for them to give up the farm and
live with her mother. Troubles piled up on
them; Eunice's mother died in August, 1881,
and she became, herself, too ill to carry on
the household. The year 1882 was the climax.
On October 22nd of that year Walter's wife
died at the age of thirty-nine, and was buried
in the Hewittville Cemetery, and on December
27th his mother died and was buried at
Norfolk.
For
the
following
few
years the family was broken up: William went
to live with his uncle, Charles S. Monroe, at
Hewittville; George lived with another uncle,
George Monroe, a doctor in South Canton; while
the father, Walter, went to Lowell,
Massachusetts, to live with his daughter,
Sylvia, who had married Sylvas C. Shipman. In
1884 he was temporarily recalled to
Hewittville by the death of his father. In
1885 his daughter, Sylvia, died in Lowell, and
he returned to Hewittville and settled in the
family home with his sisters, Jane and Eliza
(Lill), and his two sons. He opened a grocery
store and meat market in 1885, having sold his
house to raise the necessary funds. In 1890 he
sold this business to John Cross. He died at
Hewittville on August 15, 1907, and is buried
beside his wife, Eunice, in the Hewittville
Cemetery.
Child by first wife:
Sylvia
S.,9
b.
March
27, 1861 ; m. Sylvas C. Shipman.
Children by second wife:
George
Harvey,9
b.
Feb.
27, 1870 ; m. Mattie Bell Hazen.
WILLIAM
FARRAND,9
b.
Oct.
12, 1873 ; m. Mary Ellen Eddy.
While essentially concerned
with the ancestry of William Farrand
Branch,9 the compilers are here including
brief sketches of the brothers and sisters
of Walter C. Branch,8 together with some
data regarding their descendants.
MARY CAROLINE BRANCH,8
daughter of John Harvey7 and Samantha, was
born May 28, 1825, in Panton, Vermont. She
married John Shepherd, and moved to Sauk
Center, Minnesota. He was drowned in Sauk Lake
on November 12, 1893. She died and is buried
there. According to a letter recently received
from Mrs. Mary L. Hardin of Carthage,
Missouri, they had three sons.
Children:
Edward
Shepherd, who moved to Minneapolis and died
about 1915, leaving two sons, Roland and
William. Roland moved, leaving no address ;
William went to the Philippines.
Walter
Shepherd.
John Shepherd,
who studied law and died after being admitted
to the bar.
FLORENCE JANE BRANCH,8 daughter
of John Harvey7 and Samantha, was born October
23, 1826, in Panton, Vermont. She became the
second wife of Jesse S. Freeman on February
21, 1866. He was a farmer (born 1800) living
on the Freeman Farm on the Hewittville-Norwood
road that follows the west bank of the
Raquette River. It was located about a mile
north of Hewittville, a quarter of a mile back
from the road towards the river, on a hill
overlooking, from the south, the widest part
of the lake formed by the Norwood Paper
Company's dam. The house itself was destroyed
about twenty-five years ago when the dam
raised and flooded the land in front of it.
Her
husband
having
died
on April 28, 1875, she moved back to her
parents' home, renting the Freeman Farm to her
brother, Walter. She died at the old home at
Hewittville, April 2, 1910, and is buried in
the Freeman lot there.
Child:
George
H.
Freeman,
b.
Oct. 24, 1867; d. June 1, 1871, and is buried
in the Freeman lot.
ELIZA ANN BRANCH,8
daughter of John Harvey7 and Samantha, was
born September 5, 1832, in Panton, Vermont.
She was the youngest child when her father
moved from Panton to Canton, New York. She
attended the district school in Canton until
she had completed the eighth grade. Although
she never attended school again, she became a
very intellectual woman through her own
efforts. She was proficient in several
languages, including German, Latin, French and
Spanish, and in mathematics, particularly
algebra and geometry. By examination she
secured a First Grade Certificate, and taught
in Canton for several years, leaving there to
go West, where she spent a few years with one
of her sisters, probably Caroline, in
Minnesota. She taught school while in the
West, but returned to teach in Parrishville,
New York. A few years later she gave up this
school to return to Hewittville, where she
lived with her brother, Walter, and sister,
Jane, teaching in the district school until
about 1885.
It
was
largely
through
the influence and persuasion of "Aunt Lill"
that her two nephews, George and William,
continued their education beyond the local
district school. She was very highly esteemed
by them both, and a never-failing source of
inspiration.
Eliza
Ann
was
the
last surviving child of John Harvey and
Samantha, and died at the age of eighty-two,
on December 9, 1914, at Hewittville, and is
buried in the Branch lot in the Bixby Cemetery
at Norfolk.
------------
HARRIET C. BRANCH,8
daughter of John Harvey7 and Samantha, was
born April 10, 1836, at Canton, New York, less
than a month after the family had completed
their trek from Vermont. She married Daniel O.
Lawrence at Canton on October 13, 1858, and
moved to Yankton, South Dakota, where she died
on September 1, 1904.
Children:
Carrie Eliza Lawrence, b.
July 25, 1859; d. Dec. 22, 1918, unmarried.
Mary Angeline Lawrence, b.
Mar. 27, 1861 ; m. Franklin. P. Hardin on
April 10, 1883, and had five children. Lives
at Carthage, Mo.
Cora Elizabeth Hardin, b.
Apl. 20, 1884.; m. Albert Amundsen.
Five
children:
Lawrence H. Amundsen, b. Sept. 23, 1909.
Albert
F. Amundsen, b. April
2 5, 1911.
Ann
Christine Amundsen, b. Ang. 2,
1915. [Aug]
Angeline Marie Amundsen, b. Dec. 20, 1916.
Dorothy
Nadine Amundsen, b. Nov. 4., 1922.
Helen Harriett Hardin, b.
Feb. 9, 1886; d. Mar. 5, 1886.
Arthur Lawrence Hardin, b.
June 7, 1887; m. Mary Rath.
Eight children:
Oliver
Rath
Hardin,
b. Mar. 12, 1915.
Alice
Lurene
Hardin,
b. Nov. 2, 1916.
Florence
Edith
Hardin,
b. Oct. 7, 1918.
Andrew
Franklin
Hardin,
b. Aug. 6, 1920.
Thomas
Eugene
Hardin,
b. Mar. 24, 1922.
Robert
Calvin
Hardin,
b. Jan. 27,1924.
Catherine
Hardin,
b.
Jan. 6, 1926.
George
Hardin,
b.
Mar. 1928.
Guida Willard Hardin, b.
July 28,1892; m. (1) Omer Mandeville, (a)
Robert L. Ellis.
Ralph Franklin Hardin, b. Jan.
25, 1896; m. Catherine Jones.
Cora Samantha Lawrence, b.
June 12, 1863; m. Ellery H. Dunn and had eight
children; d. Aug. 6, 1909.
Herbert
Dunn,
b.
Sept.
30, 1887.
Jennie
Dunn,
b.
Feb.
16, 1888; d. Dec. 8, 1891.
Edgar
S.
Dunn,
b.
Nov. 20, 1890. Harold Dunn, b. Jan. 14, 1893.
Harvey Dunn.
William McKinley Dunn.
Charlotte Dunn.
Marion Dunn.
William Farrand Lawrence,
b. April 6, 1865; m. Matilda Thorson in
December, 1888; d. in 1907. Six children :
Ernest
C.
Lawrence,
b.
Sept. 7, 1889.
Helen
E.
Lawrence,
b.
April 13, 1890; m. -----Thompson.
Carrie
Lawrence,
b.
June
4, 1893; m. B. F. Hostetler.
Frances
Lawrence,
b.
Aug.
29, 1895; m.-----McDonald.
Harvey Lawrence.
Olive
Lawrence,
m.
-----
Hall.
Harriet Angenett Lawrence,
b. April 18, 1868; m. Gilmore Fry on Jan. 1,
1896, and had three children; d. Oct. 29,
1928.
Agnes
Fry,
b.
Nov.
3, 1895; m. ------Sherwood. Daughter :
Phyllis Sherwood.
Alice
Fry,
b.
June
23, 1897. Lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Willard Fry.
Olive May Lawrence, b.
Jan. 24, 1870; d. Oct. 14, 1895, unmarried.
Egbert Eugene Lawrence, b.
Feb. 4, 1876; m. Selma Olson and had five
children :
Albert E. Lawrence, b. Sept. 17,
1894; m. Letha Peterson and had six children:
Delpha Irene, Francis Alberta, Alice Virginia,
Albert LeRoy, Wilbert Eugene, Geraldine
Aletha.
David Lawrence, b. April 6,
1896; m. Alice Ellingson and had seven
children: Clifford, Leland, Leona, Ellsworth,
Arlena, David Osro, Verna.
Hattie Lawrence, b. Feb. 26,
1898; m. William Smith and had two children :
Earl, Allan.
Wesley Lawrence, b. June 7,
1900; m. Rose ------ and had two daughters.
Paul Lawrence, b. May 14, 1902.
Arthur C. Lawrence, b. April 11,
1877; d. Nov. 29, 1879.
Winifred Branch Lawrence, b.
Nov, 23, 1880; m. Arthur Hoyer in 1907; d.
June 22, 1933. Two children :
Raymond
E.
Hoyer,
b.
Oct. 10, 1910.
Irma
Joyce
Hoyer,
b.
Sept, 9, 1914.
HELEN M. BRANCH,8 daughter of
John Harvey 7 and Samantha, was born on
February 8, 1838, at Canton, New York. She
married Elon Walter Howe on March 20,
1863. He was born December 2, 1834, at
Jericho, Vermont, and died on August 6, 1910,
at Pasadena, California. They lived for many
years on farms, first at West Potsdam, then at
Diana, near Carthage, New York. Later they
moved to a farm about a mile from Potsdam on
the Sissonville road, their two boys attending
school in Potsdam. They sold the farm and
bought a house in Potsdam, near the Fair
Grounds. Their sons, William and Arthur, left
home to settle in the West, and in February,
1898, they sold their property in Potsdam to
join their sons. The father went to live with
Arthur at Leon, Iowa, but Helen, hearing that
William and his wife, Mabel, were going to
Alaska—attracted by the Yukon gold
rush—refused to let them go without her. The
trip, however, proved to be too much for her,
and she died at Lake Tagish, Northwest
Territory, on May 6, 1898. She is buried in
West Potsdam, New York.
Children:
William
Frederick
Howe,
b.
Sept. 22, 1866, in West Potsdam, N. Y.; m.
Mabel F. Short on Sept. 4, 1895. One child :
Evelyn Howe, b. July 2, 1905; m.
William E. Hullinger on June 9, 1926. Lives at
Los Angeles, Cal.
Arthur
W.
Howe,
b.
Sept.
17, 1874, in Diana, N. Y.; m. Roxana Grace
Gardner, of Iowa City, Iowa, on June 8, 1897.
Lives at Alhambra, Cal. Three children:
Helen Grace Howe, h. May 3,
1898, at Leon, Iowa ; m. Walter W. Taylor.
Lives at Summerland, Cal.
Florence Enid Howe, b. June 10, 1899, at
Leon, Iowa ; m. Elec A. Hoffman. Lives at Los
Angeles, Cal.
Marjorie Elaine Howe, b. Sept.
19, 1911 , at Pasadena, Cal. ; m. C. Hadley
Morris. Lives at Los Angeles, Cal.
WILLIAM FARRAND BRANCH,8 son of
John Harvey7 and Samantha, was born on July
27, 1840, at Canton, New York. He studied law
in Potsdam, but gave up his studies to enroll
as a private in Company M., Eleventh New York
Cavalry at Canton. He entered service at
Albany on September 15, 1862. His diary,
describing the trip from his home to Albany by
train, and thence by boat to New York, is in
the possession of William Farrand Branch of
the next generation. Within a few weeks of his
arrival in New York, he was invalided to Camp
Relief Hospital, where he died on November 12,
1862. He was buried in the Bixby Cemetery at
Norfolk. N. Y.
Ninth
Generation
WILLIAM FARRAND BRANCH,9 son of
Walter C.8 and Eunice, was born on October 12,
1873, in Hewittville, New York. His mother
died when he was nine years old, and for the
following three years he lived with his uncle,
Charles Monroe, in Hewittville, and afterwards
with his father and two aunts, Jane and Eliza
(Lill).
He
attended
school
at
Hewittville
until 1890, and the Potsdam Normal School
until 1892. After teaching school in
Sissonville, New York, for a year, he became a
druggist's apprentice for Charles Bowen, in
Norwood, New York. In September, 1895, he
entered the Albany School of Pharmacy for a
two-year course. During the summer of 1896 he
worked for Charles Ellis in Clayton, New York,
and after his graduation in 1897, for Frank
Kendall at Saranac Lake, New York. He returned
to Clayton for a short while, and on October
1, 1897, became pharmacist for Benjamin C.
Moore at Champlain, New York.
He
worked
in
Champlain
for three years, meeting there Mary Ellen
Eddy, whom he married on July 15, 1900. The
ceremony was performed by Rev. Lloyd Ward,
Methodist minister, at the home of her father,
Albert J. Eddy, in Lyon Mountain, New York.
Mary Ellen Eddy was born at Dannemora,
N. Y., Sept. 22, 1875. She attended public
school in Lyon Mountain, N. Y., and the
Plattsburgh Normal School, graduating in 1897.
In September of that year she became the
Fourth Grade teacher in Champlain, N. Y.,
where she taught until June, 1900. She married
William Farrand Branch on July 15, 1900.
She is a member of the
Clionian Sorority, the Presbyterian Church of
Champlain, Northern Chapter, No. 276, 0. E.
S., and the Saranac Chapter of the D. A. R.
Her ancestry also dates
back to the early Massachusetts Colony. Her
father, Albert Jerome Eddy, (m. Lydia A.
Gonyo) was the son of George Washington
Danforth Eddy (m. Saphronia Brockway Lewis),
who was the son of John Eddy (m. Fannie
Southwick). For the complete history of this
line, see "The Eddy Family in America", p.
206, No. 825.)
A
few
months
before
his
marriage, he had taken over the management of
a drug store in Malone, New York, for Frank
Spencer. On October 25, 1900, he purchased 0.
L. Chapin's drug business in Champlain, and
has made his home in that town since that
time. In 1913, in addition to his drug store,
he took the Ford Agency for that section. He
sold the drug store in 1923, and the
automobile business in 1925, keeping only the
Broder and Branch Insurance Agency, which he
had acquired in partnership with William
Broder from the estate of Thomas H. Dickinson
in 1915. This is one of the oldest agencies in
Clinton County, having been formed during the
early part of the last century. William
Farrand Branch became the sole owner of this
agency in 1918.
This
retired
life,
however,
did
not appeal to him, so he applied for service
as Deputy Collector of Customs, and on
September 4, 1926, he was appointed at Trout
River, New York, but was soon transferred to
Malone, and on February 3, 1927, was stationed
at his home town, Champlain.
He
is
a
member
of the Sons of the Revolution, the New York
State Historical Association, the Vermont
Historical Society, and Champlain Lodge, No
237, F. & A. M. He attends the
Presbyterian Church.
Children:
GUY
FRANKLIN,10
b.
Sept.
4, 1901 ; m. Eleanor Lura Pease.
ROGER
EDDY,10
b.
Aug.
5, 1903; m. Kathleen M. Shirley.
WILLIAM
LESLIE,10
b.
Mar.
16, 1910; m. Charlotte Jean Brown.
GEORGE HARVEY BRANCH,9 son
of Walter C.8 and Eunice, was born in
Hewittville, New York, on February 27, 1870.
After attending the local public school and
Potsdam Normal School, he taught at West
Stockholm and at Edwards, New York. Abandoning
teaching, he entered the Iowa State Medical
College, from which he graduated in 1896, and
immediately began the practice of medicine at
Grand Isle, Vermont. He acquired a large
practice and became well-known throughout the
State. He married Mattie Bell Hazen of North
Hero on June 4, 1902.
In
1910
Dr.
Branch
was elected Representative to Montpelier, and
State Senator in 1923. He was also an
Associate Judge of Grand Isle County. He was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
belonged to Isle of Patmos Masonic Lodge, Hill
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and to the
Commandery at Burlington, Vermont.
He
died
October
26,
1927, and is buried at Grand Isle.
Children:
Katherine Sylvia, b. June 13,
1903; m. Ira Charles Tudhope. Lives at North
Hero, Vt. Two children :
Douglas
Ira
Tudhope,
b. March 7, 1927.
Janet
Branch
Tudhope,
b. June 8, 1933.
George Walter, b. Sept. 26,
1904; m. Thelma Evans. Lives at Welch, W. Va.
One child:
George
Harvey
Branch,
b. Jan. 28, 1930.
Bertha Hazen, b. May 24, 1906;
m. Paul Revere Low. Lives at Roselle, N. J.
One child:
Paul
Revere
Low,
Jr., b. March 16, 1933.
Leonard Harvey, b. Aug. 31, 1908
; m. Edna Mae Rhemus. She died Nov. 1933. He
lives at Milton, Vt.
Richard Olney, b. Oct. 12, 1910.
Lives at Milton, Vt.
Darwin Pearl, b. April 16, 1912; m.
Mary Steuart Newheiser. Lives at Roanoke, Va.
SYLVIA S. BRANCH,9 daughter of
Walter C.9 and his first wife, Sylvia Pamelia,
was born on March 27, 1861, at Norfolk, New
York. Her mother died a few months later, and
was buried in the Bixby Cemetery at Norfolk
where, for some unknown reason, the stone is
marked "Pamelia".
Sylvia
married
Sylvas
C.
Shipman and lived at Lowell, Massachusetts,
where their two sons were born. She died in
1885, within a few days of the death of her
son, Wallace. They were both buried at
Hewittville, New York.
Children :
Walter H. Shipman, b. Sept. 18,
1882. He lived with his uncle, Charles
Shipman, in Madrid, N. Y., until the Fall of
1891, when they moved to Charleston, W. Va. In
1907 Walter entered service with the Young
Mens Christian Association, in Washington, D.
C., and is still connected with that work. He
married Julia DeWitt Phillips of Charleston,
on July 12, 1910. Three children :
Sylvia
Mae
Shipman,
b.
May 6,1911; m. Thomas D. Alward.
DeWitt
Phillips
Shipman,
b.
Dec. 25, 1912.
Ola
Audrey
Shipman,
b.
Jan. 8, 1922.
Wallace B. Shipman, b. 1885; d.
in infancy.
Tenth
Generation
GUY FRANKLIN BRANCH,10 son of
William Farrand9 and Mary Ellen, was born at
Champlain, New York, on September 4, 1901. He
graduated from the Champlain High School in
1919, and attended Dartmouth College and the
University of Vermont. He is a member of
Champlain Masonic Lodge. Now (1935) employed
with the Stanley Products Company. On January
1, 1933, he married Eleanor Lura, daughter of
Henry and Lucy (Barber) Pease.
Child:
Peter
Franklin,11
b.
Sept.
3, 1933.
ROGER EDDY BRANCH,9 son of
William Farrand9 and Mary Ellen, was born at
Champlain, New York, on August 5, 1903. He
graduated from the Champlain High School in
1920, and from Dartmouth College in the class
of 1924. During the year following he read law
in the offices of Wilmer H. and Orville R.
Dunn, at Champlain, and from 1925 to 1928 was
instructor in English and History in the
public schools of Lake Worth, Florida. He is
now (1935) manager of the Flushing, New York,
office of the Household Finance Corporation.
Member of the Masonic Lodge at Champlain. He
married Kathleen M., daughter of Rado T. and
Grace (Smith) Shirley, at Fort Pierce,
Florida, on December 21, 1927.
WILLIAM LESLIE BRANCH,10 son of
William Farrand9 and Mary Ellen, was born at
Champlain, New York, on March 16, 1910. He
attended Champlain High School and Chazy
Central Rural School, and was graduated from
Troy Conference Academy, Poultney, Vermont, in
1930. He then took a course in business and
banking at the Bay Path Institute,
Springfield, Massachusetts. He is (1935)
employed by the Federal Reserve System in the
receivership of two banks at Ellwood,
Pennsylvania. On February 3, 1934, he married
Charlotte Jean, daughter of Dr. O. J. and Cora
(Young) Brown. They were married at Ellwood
City.
The End
This
Genealogy
was
composed,
and eighty-seven copies printed, by Hugh and
Charles Woodberry McLellan, at the Moorsfield
Press, Champlain, New York, in the month of
December, 1935, being the 24th production of
the Press. Number 7.
This
manuscript was scanned into the computer using
OCR (optical character recognition) software
and edited. The document has been
proofread several times but errors could still
be present. The original publication was
#7 out of 87 printed. DSP, January 1,
2011.
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