In 1796 Benjamin Branch’s family with Nancy Neblett made the long hard trek to Nashville,Tennessee, from Southampton County, Virginia. It’s a trip of about 650 miles today– more distance probably in the walk over the Appalachian mountains. According to a mention in the book, “The Washingtons of Wessygton Plantation” by John F. Baker,Jr (2009) this was an endeavor that took three months.
Benjamin was one of a long line of men named Benjamin Branch in Virginia and North Carolina. This Benjamin Branch (1740-1819) was married to Nancy Neblett (1740-1819) in Southampton County about 1778 and many of their children were born in Virginia and made that journey.
Ben was the son of George Branch (of Francis) (1689-1779) of Southampton Virginia who married Martha Bailey. George was the son of Francis Branch Sr.(1666-1717) of Isle of Wight/Southampton County; George’s brother Benjamin settled in NC just adjacent to Southampton County and his other brother Francis Jr. has a fate that was unknown. George was the grandson of George Branch Sr. (1637-1688) of Isle of Wight. This Benjamin Branch was one of seven sons: Edmund, Bailey, Howell, Benjamin, Newsome, and Henry so he probably felt compelled to seek land in Tennessee for his own large family.
Another important book for this family is Thomas Taylor and Benjamin Branch of Nashville, Tennessee, and related families. By Ethel Taylor Ford in 1972. While not without errors on the Branch family, this is a valuable resource on the Tennessee Branch Family. Basically Benjamin Branch’s family brought a lot of people to the Nashville and if you have Branch ancestors in TN consult this line first. There are other Branch families from Virginia and North Carolina that immigrated, but Benjamin’s family brought a large number at one time.
LOCATION
These are his children:
- Martha Branch Taylor (1778-1810) m. Thomas Taylor
- Robert Branch (1779-1821) m. Hannah Frances Taylor
- James Augustus Branch (1780 – 1830) may have stayed in Southampton Virginia
- Rosanna Margret Branch Murray (1783 – ???)
- John Nicholas Branch (1787-1852)
- Wilmoth “Milley” Branch Allen (1788-1812)
- Eliza Branch (1789-1846)
- Peggy Branch Young (1790-1850) m. Dannie Young
- Julia Ann Branch Wair (1798-1860) m. George T. Ware of TN
- Wallace “Willis” Branch (1800-1849) m.
Benjamin Branch’s land was along White Creek about five miles north of Nashville TN. From website “Historic Nashville”: “Located in the northwest section of Davidson County, Whites Creek is the location of Nashville’s only rural historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 157-acre district contains buildings constructed between the 1830s and early 1900s. Some of Nashville’s earliest settlers made their homes in Whites Creek…”.
Benjamin Branch likely stopped in the nearby Col. Frederick Stump Tavern when he and his party arrived in Nashville. The Stump House is two-story log house that was a tavern and early hotel with eight rooms. It was built after Stump’s arrival in 1779 on the road now called the Buena Vista Pike welcoming travelers to the area near 1780 Fort Nashborough. Relocated to preserve the structure it can be visited today at 4949 Buena Vista Pike, Nashville NC. Within a cluster of preserved Revolutionary War structures, nearby is also the Alexander Ewing House. Again while these two structures are not from the Branch family of White Creek, the buildings are early enough to have been standing when Benjamin Branch and Nancy Neblett arrived and thrived in Tennessee.
Leave a Reply