Left Behind. Mary Branch Brockett

Mary Branch Brockett (1831-1886) is at the center of a fascinating family story that illuminates several family trees.  Her complete name is Mary Jane Branch Brockett Davis. The key record is a 1886 death record that identifies her father as Aaron Branch (1801-1870)

So apparently Mary’s mother, Elizabeth “Betsy” Terrell, died in 1836 at about age 31. The death is likely a result of childbirth as this coincides with the birth of son.  Three young daughters and a son were left:   Sarah Ann (b. 1827), Elizabeth “Eliza or Lizzie” (b. 1829) and Mary Jane (b. 1831); Jephtha Terrell (b.1836).  (Note that while Jephtha is a name found in this time period was often misunderstood and translated at Jenipher or other such variation.)  The story unfolds as four children lost their mother and their father was compelled to leave North Carolina.  The youngest, a son, traveled with his father.  The three sisters stayed in North Carolina.  They appeared to be well-cared for and remained tight in their remaining family unit.

Aaron Branch and Betsy Terrell of Cumberland County NC

Back to Aaron, he appears to be the son of James Branch (1780-1850).  According to the 1810 census, James is in Cumberland County and in nearby Chatham County briefly in 1820.  At some point, Aaron marries Betsy Terrell in Cumberland County likely around 1826. In 1830 James and Aaron are side by side in the census for Cumberland County NC in the “Buck Hover” district that is apparently mis-transcribed and is actually “Buck Horn”. Buckhorn is in the northwest part of the county that becomes Harnett County.  Buckhorn is also across the county line from Wake and near today’s Fuquay-Varina in Wake County.

Both Aaron and father, James, migrate to West Tennessee by 1840 or 1850.  James settles in Henderson County TN east of Jackson.  James sold 89 acres of NC land in 1836 and in 1846 receives 140 acres of land in Carroll TN. Aaron finds a place in Carroll County TN that is northeast of Jackson.

So Mary, age less than 9, and her older two sisters were left in North Carolina as their father journeyed to West Tennessee. Maybe an older mother-figure insisted that the girls stay home while their father gallivanted to the frontier; maybe he intended to send for them after a time and the time got long.  Maybe conditions were not what he envisioned.  Definitely a contributing factor was that nearby Fayetteville NC suffers a large catastrophic fire in 1831 no doubt ruining the local economy for a time. Whatever the reason, Aaron leaves Cumberland County NC (near Fayetteville) and takes his son, Jeptha Terrell Branch to TN.  The girls all end up moving from Fayetteville to Goldsboro, a distance of 60 miles. That move that Aaron made seemed to have created a permanent schism from his daughters.  All that was left to cement this genealogy is Mary Ann’s declaration on her marriage certificate and death certificate that Aaron Branch and Eliza were her parents.

Aaron and Betsy’s family in 1830 Cumberland County NC:

1. Sarah Ann Branch (Phillips) 1827-1887
2. Elizabeth “Eliza or Lizzie” Branch (Casey) 1829-1878
3. Mary Jane Branch (Brockett Davis) 1831-1886
4. Jeptha Terrell Branch 1836-1890 Cumberland NC to Carroll Co. TN

 

In the 1840 Census, Aaron Branch is in Tennessee; it’s unclear where the three girls are.

In 1850 Census, children of Aaron Branch:

1. Mary Jane Branch (age 18) in Wayne County NC with John Fulks household. She later marries Grif Brockett and then W.D. Davis.
2. Sarah Ann Branch Phillips (age 22) with Stephen Phillips, husband, of Goldsboro, Wayne County NC. She later has a family with Phillips.
3. Eliza Branch (age 20) is in sisters Phillips household. She later marries Richard Casey and has her own family.
4. Jeptha Terrell Branch age 14) is in Gibson County, Tennessee with his father’s second family.  He also has a family of his own in later years.

All three girls go on to marry but they all stay in the Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina area.  Fayetteville to Goldsboro is a distance of about 60 miles. Each woman, and many of their families, are buried in Willow Dale Cemetery in downtown Goldsboro.

Aaron Branch and Catherine Harrison of Carroll County TN

In 1838, December 6, Gibson TN, Aaron remarries with Catherine “Caty, Kitty” Harrison (1804- 1880) who already in Tennessee but is from Rowan County NC (Salisbury).  Their first child is born the next year, 1839. Caty’s parents both died in later years in Gibson County, TN so its unclear if Caty or Aaron were in Tennessee first.  Caty’s parents were Joseph Joel Harrison and Christiana Wilson. Note that Joseph Massey was a witness to the marriage, and he has other ties to the Branch family. Caty and Aaron Branch are both buried in McLemoresville Cemetery, in Carroll County, TN which is about 30 miles northeast of Jackson TN.

In 1840 Aaron and Caty are in the census for Carroll TN, both pegged at age 30-39 (actually 35).  They have two boys and one daughter, all under five.  In 1850 they have a family of five.  By 1860, their grown children live in Carroll TN side-by-side: Aaron, Terell, William, Jesse.

This is Aaron Branch’s family of five in Tennessee:

1. Jeptha Terrell Branch 1836-1890 Cumberland NC to Carroll Co. TN
2. Jesse R. Branch TWIN 1839-1865 Carroll Co. TN
3. Mary Lucretia “Luch” Branch (Hunley) TWIN 1839-1870
4. William M. Branch 1841-1880 ??TX
5. Joseph Jesse Branch 1844-1910 Jackson, Madison Co. TN

Aaron & Catherine go on to have a large extended family and Catherine is the only mother that Jeptha Terrell Branch has ever known.  Whether this was a forgotten detail of a previous tragic life or a family secret, we will never know.  The Tennessee branch of Aaron’s family apparently did not know or did not pass down information about Aaron Branch’s NC family.  There is no evidence of reunification.

Mary Ann Branch Brockett Davis of Goldsboro NC

We don’t know where Mary Jane Branch or her sisters were at during the 1840 Census. However, in 1850, Mary Jane Branch (age 18) lived in Wayne County with John and Mary Fulks (carpenter) and three enslaved women 18, 25, 2 and a boy aged 1: Mathilda Hagans, Mary, Leazy, and John. Mary Branch later in 1853, married Griffith Brockett, a newspaper printer/publisher of Goldsboro, Wayne County NC.

Mary Jane Branch Brockett Davis was born June 3, 1831, and died December 22, 1886 according to her grave in Goldsboro.  She married Griffith Brockett in 1853.

Griffith and Mary had four children on record, all born in Goldsboro.:

1. Thomas Milton Brocket (4 Jan 1855)
2. Bertha Ganela Brockett (18 Nov 1856)
3. May Anna Brockett (23 Oct 1860)
4. Lewis Brocket

John Griffith “Grif” Brockett of Goldsboro NC

Mr. Grif Brocket (1831-1863) was born in New Hanover County NC before living in Goldsboro.  The census of 1860 for Goldsboro records the household of Griffin Brockett and wife Mary as both 28 with children Thomas and Bertha.

Grif Brocket was a printer and at one point operated a newspaper in Goldsboro; he apparently worked under Thomas Loring and purchased the newspaper, The Goldsboro Tribune in 1862. But he was drawn into the Civil War and died, likely in the Goldsboro area, during the war in 1863.

Mary Brocket is a widow in the Census of 1870 for Goldsboro NC.  She is 33 with three children: Thomas 14; Bertha 13; and Mary 10.  As a widow, Mary Jane Branch marries W.E. Davis on November 17, 1870; info is from the Wayne County, NC – Marriage Register 1867-1872.  The place of marriage is at “Mrs. Brocket” house. This entry is valuable because it lists the parents for the bride as Aron Branch and Elizah Branch.  The documentation of her parents is a very significant discovery.  At some point, Mary runs a boarding house in downtown Goldsboro. She created a successful life for herself and her family despite tragedy and setbacks.

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OBITUARY: Mrs. Mary J. Davis was born on June 13th, 1831. Her maiden name was Branch. She first married Griffith Brockett, with whom she lived happily for several years. After the death of her first husband, she lived as a widow with her children for some time until she married Mr. E. Davis of Goldsboro, NC, who remained her faithful companion until her passing.

After a long and painful illness, she died a Christian death at her home in Goldsboro on December 22nd, 1886, aged 55 years, 6 months, and 10 days. A large portion of her life was spent in the City of Goldsboro, where she moved as a young woman. Two of her children, one by her first marriage and one by her second, preceded her in death.

Mrs. Davis professed her faith at the age of 17 during a meeting held by Rev. Ira T. Wyche in 1848, since which time she had been a member of the Methodist Church. When in good health, she regularly attended church services and greatly enjoyed hearing the preaching of God’s word. However, for several years she suffered from illness and was confined to her home. She bore her afflictions with great patience and submission until God called her away to the rest of Heaven. She leaves behind a husband and three children to mourn her loss.

Dearest sister, you have left us;

Here, your loss we deeply feel.

But it is God who has bereft us,

He can heal all our sorrows.