(Photo is the Branch-Rogers house near Severn NC. Built by the Branch family. This house exists today.)
There is confusion around the name Benjamin because… of course there are so many of them in the Branch family for a certain period in time – 1720 to 1860. Check back on this site – I have 5 Benjamins outlined and more research will add to this group. Sometimes now I have names but no useful background.
- Benjamin Branch of Francis, Southampton County, Virginia
The first Benjamin of this family, the George Branch line of Virginia was a young child when his father died. Francis Branch, son of George Branch Sr. of Isle of Wight, married Elizabeth Norwood maybe around 1688 but no date is recorded. They had a large family of 8 girls and 3 sons named George (III), Francis (Jr.),and Benjamin. Their farm was first located in Isle of Wight and later fell into the new county of Southampton VA when the new county was created in 1749; the location was near the county line in north Southampton VA near present day Zuni. Lots of descendants stem from this George in Virginia. However no info is left about brother Francis Jr. so we must assume he died young. The third son Benjamin was named after a maternal relative but I have not found them as yet. Note that Ben was born before his father’s 1717 death in Southampton at approximate 1711 and was the family’s youngest. However, he stayed at his mother’s side until her death in 1749 when he was about age 38. Then he migrated to just south of the NC/VA line in Northampton County NC where he founded a wealthy part of the Branch family. His endeavors include a toll bridge at the NC/VA border named Branch’s Bridge. The Northampton NC area is west of Severn NC and south of Branchville VA and on some maps is labeled Francisville.
- Benjamin Branch of George (III), of Virginia and Tennessee
Benjamin Branch (1757-1819) and Nancy Niblett are known as one of the founding families for the state of Tennessee. There was a 46 year age gap between Ben of 1711 and this Ben – they were uncle and nephew. George, Benjamin’s brother, named his last son Benjamin as well. Both natives of Southampton Virginia, the other Ben (uncle) migrated a short distance to northern NC and Northampton County. This younger Ben migrated to hundreds of miles to White Creek, four miles north of Nashville. Ben’s father, George Branch of Francis (1705-1770) was the oldest son of Francis Branch and grandson of George Sr.; George (of Francis) married Martha Washington Bailey (1710-1771) in 1722. This Benjamin was born in 1757 as the last child of the family and died in Tennessee in 1819 at age 72. Nancy Neblett (1756-1819) married Benjamin in 1778. Eighteen years later in 1796, the family make a migration journey to Tennessee. They had at least 10 children. The book “Thomas Taylor and Benjamin Branch of Nashville, Tennessee and Related Families” by Ethel Taylor Ford, ( 1972) is about this Benjamin Branch family.
- Sheriff Benjamin Branch (III) of Willow Hill VA (1732-1786)
This Benjamin was a descendant of the Christopher Branch family tree not the George Branch line. The other “Benjamins” here are George Branch line descendants. Benjamin was the third Ben in the Christopher Branch Jr. line; his namesake is unknown. Benjamin was a prominent member of the Chesterfield VA community as a Revolutionary War patriot and a sheriff that died in a tragic horse accident. His namesake, Benjamin, died as a toddler but his other sons, David Henry, and Thomas were heads of leading families in the Petersburg and Richmond area along with sons, Jordan and Dr. Julius Caesar Branch. The Tudor Mansion, Branch House, in Richmond is a legacy of the wealth and power of this Branch family.
- Benjamin Branch of Cumberland County NC
While we have some information about Benjamin Branch of Cumberland County NC, many questions remain. Benjamin was married to Susannah Massey in 1794, Duplin County NC. In 1805 Benjamin buys land from the prominent William Lord at Cross Creek (Fayetteville NC) that is across the Cape Fear River from the early city and is a small but valuable lot of seven acres including Lock Creek and a ferry. Susannah Massey’s brother Stephen marries an Elizabeth Branch who may have been related to Benjamin. In the 1820 Census, Benjamin has a household of 6 persons but his children’s names are unknown. Benjamin may have been born about 1773 but died and the estate probated in 1822. In 1813, Benjamin witnessed a wedding between a Levi Branch and a Nancy Branch and we are fairly certain that he was the father of Nancy.
- Benjamin C. Branch of Archelaus, NC to TN
Archelaus Branch named Benjamin C. Branch (1801-1848) one of his youngest sons in his will of 1819. Benjamin married Zilpha Ann Glisson around 1825 and in the 1830 census is only two doors down from brother Archelaus Jr. in Duplin County NC. He moved to West Tennessee with his Duplin family and community in 1834. Zilpha died in 1840 and Ben or B.C. died in 1848 in Shelby County TN (Memphis). Their children were Solomon, William Bryan and Sarah Ann Branch Jones.
Feb 19, 2025 Dawn Branch King (official post date may be changed to facilitate blog order.)
Stay tuned to this space where Ben Branch genealogy may be updated and added.