Early Branch Groups of NC

This map is a result of my analysis of Branch family groups. As I began to research Branch genealogy not directly related to me, I had to have a handy way to categorize them in order to align my thinking and analysis. Basically, I was taking all evidence of people named Branch before 1850 and trying to make sense of their kin relationships with the hopes that the process would illuminate my ancestors as well. The map illustrates where various early Branch families settled in North Carolina; the bubbles indicate general areas.  Generally these families settled before 1850; in the Wilmington area, the bulk of the Branch families were after 1870 in a deliberate migration from Fayetteville down river to Wilmington.  This is not an exact science but represents my years of research and knowledge of NC geography:

1. Northampton Group:  At the NC/VA line west of Winton and across the border from Branchville Virginia is the bubble representing the Northampton County rural area where Benjamin Branch settled.  Benjamin arrived in the 1750’s from Southampton VA but maintained family ties across this border.  The “Northampton Branches” were also connected to the nearby Halifax group but the connection is still unclear.  By the Civil War, Benjamin’s descendants enslaved large groups of African Americans.  In 1850 John Thomas Branch owned 51 slaves to farm part of his enormous 8000 acres. At the state line was a toll bridge called “Branch’s Bridge” and south of the bridge, an 1863 Koerner Civil War map shows an area called “Francisville” (for Francis Branch). There is some suspicion that the plantation’s proximity to the Virginia border afforded the ability to hide assets by passing back and forth across the state line. This group includes the “Fugitive Branch Family” involved in a family murder and a legend about part of a Branch family that moved to Texas with a large group of enslaved people before the Civil War.
2. Halifax Group: Location bubble is to the southwest of first bubble near the Virginia line. Encompasses parts of Edgecombe County, Halifax County, and Towns of Enfield and Historic Halifax. This is the area where Gov John Branch’s family is centered as well as the founders of BB&T bank. John Branch (1^st) and Ann Brown were in this area as early as the 1720’s.  I would also include nearby Louisburg (to the west) and Franklin County in this group.  Related to Northampton NC group. The “Halifax Branches” were in Halifax, Wake, and Franklin counties and later migrated to FL, GA, TN and other frontier places; note that this group was wealthier and politically active.  I often call this family the “Gov. Branch” group and includes Samuel Branch of Halifax, father of the BB&T bank founder Alpheus Branch. The entire Halifax NC group begin with John Branch and Ann Browne in Bertie County NC in 1720.
3. Chowan Group: In the northeast part of NC, Edenton, Chowan County, and Perquimans County are the locales for this family group. The earliest documented Branch settlers, the George Branch Jr. family, moved from Isle of Wight, Virginia to NC in 1693.  Note that especially in the early era, These Branch descendants from Virginia stayed in the Albemarle region and to the east of the Chowan River.  This group does not migrate west or south until perhaps after the Civil War. Theirs is a fascinating story that resonates even today with new discoveries such as the oldest surviving house structure in North Carolina built by William Branch in 1718 and a woman that participated in the Edenton Tea Party.
4. Dobbs Group: Near the word “Greenville” is a bubble representing the Dobbs County Branch group of Arthur and Moses Branch who came to NC from Southampton VA.  This area of Dobbs later became parts of Wayne and Greene Counties. Actually, these people did not move far but the surrounding counties changed size and shape in the early days of the NC colony. I would also include Pitt County in this group.
5. Duplin Group: The large bubble around the town of Kenansville represents a long and populous settlement of Branch families in this central part of NC. This includes Duplin and Sampson Counties. This family group descends from the Dobbs NC group of Arthur Branch and brother Moses Branch and includes the Archelaus Branch family. “Duplin County Branches” were in Duplin, and later Sampson, Cumberland, New Hanover, Anson, Bladen and started to migrate to other southern states.  These families are numerous, confusing, and have a lot of descendants. This population was large until the 1840’s when many families migrated west to Tennessee.
6. Cumberland Group: West of the large Duplin Group is a bubble at Fayetteville (Cross Creek) and Cumberland County. Most of this group migrated from Duplin/Sampson to the largest city at the time, Cross Creek.  The commerce of the Cape Fear River brought opportunities and prosperity to this area.  I would include Wake County to the north of this bubble because Branch’s from Cumberland are the roots of the Wake Branch families.
7. Wilmington Groups: These two bubbles represent groups of Branches in Pender County and later Wilmington. However, in the period after the Civil War and during the heyday of train and river transport, the larger families in this group moved down the Cape Fear River to Wilmington NC.

Were any of these Branch groups related?  Yes. Over the course of this blog, we will examine these and other Branch families in NC.  These bubbles represent concentrations. For instance, the state capital, Raleigh, had a number of Branch families after the Civil War but these were migrations from other Eastern North Carolina areas. After the Revolutionary War, many Branch families with NC ties, moved to the frontiers of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and other points south and west.  It is astonishing how many Branch families across America had origins in North Carolina.

Let’s go back to the phrase “from Virginia to NC”.  All evidence points to the fact that most Branch families in NC and other parts of the south with colonial origins originated only in Virginia and in North Carolina with a first stop in Virginia. All seem to come through Jamestown. North, there is a “New England Branch Family” that can be traced to a Peter Branch & John Branch on the 1638 ship Castle from England and from all my research the migration from this group is mainly westward and does not influence the southern groups.

The Virginia colonial migration seems initially to be only southward seeking relief from Virginia regulations, taxation or seeking land opportunities that were opening up in North Carolina.  These people would first be migrating from the Tidewater region of Virginia to North Carolina until the western Virginia frontiers later offered similar opportunities.

That being said that the New England strain of the Branch family is a large contributor to Branch genealogy in America. However, the New England Branch family is, for the most part, did not mix with the Southern Branch families – after migration.  There are those that claim we were related back in England, and that may be so, but the New England families did not in general migrate south.

And if you do any research on Branch families from the Virginia Colonial period, you will see the name “Christopher Branch of Jamestown”. Christopher comes from a fascinating and well-documented line of Branches from Abingdon England and from London.  Christopher left a large group descendants that were well-off and great contributors to Virginia history.  However, most evidence points to the conclusion that we have no link to the Christopher Branch line before or after he migrated to the New World.  In fact, DNA evidence seems to prove that very point.

In 1693 and again in1750 Branch families from Southampton County, Virginia, ventured south into central North Carolina.  Today the journey is likely 120 miles and 2 hours of driving, but it seems so far away if you were walking or on horseback.   In addition, the land frontier in North Carolina was a new untamed territory.  Edenton, Bath, New Bern, and Wilmington were the isolated paragons of civilization for colonial North Carolina.  Our ancestors were seeking farm or timber lands and ventured south in overland routes to unclaimed lands previous held by Indian tribes. They sought an opportunity for future generations – and they found it in North Carolina.

This exercise cannot include every Branch family.  We know there is a Duplin family that migrated to Anson County west of Fayetteville and a Virginia group of Branches that migrated to Burke County in the NC mountains, but these really don’t impact our overall study of NC Branch families. This map is to help “non-North Carolinians” understand where their ancestors may have come from.  I would also encourage anyone interested in “genealogical geography” to google “NC County Formation Maps” to get a better historical view.  NC was settled primarily from the east to west with migrations coming from Virginia and through ports at New Bern and Wilmington. The journey is informative, and I urge you to take a look at maps and travel to the places where your ancestors trod.

 

Dawn Branch King February 22, 2025, Ayden, NC