Branscomb Genealogy - Thomas M. Branscomb

Branscomb/Branscum Genealogy

The Genealogy of
Richard Branscomb
of Brunswick County, Virginia,
and a Number of his Descendants

by Fred Tubbs

The Children of Henry and Elizabeth Branscomb:
Thomas M. Branscomb

Please check the Author's Notes for an explanation of the numbering system I use for identifying individuals within any family.
The line of descent for Thomas M. Branscomb is:

Richard Branscomb, the immigrant (d. 1775 in Brunswick County, Va.) and Sarah Proctor, parents of:
John Branscomb (md. Olive E. ___; d. 1821 in Wayne County, Ky.) John and Olive were the (presumed) parents of:
Henry Branscomb (b. ca. 1809 in Patrick County, Va.; md. Elizabeth Burris, d. ca. 1855-1864 in Putnam County, Mo.) Henry and Elizabeth were the parents of:

6. Thomas M. Branscomb
Thomas was b. December 1842 Mo., d. between 1900 and 1910, as shown by the censuses. His wife was Martha E. (Elizabeth) ___ , b. December 1857 Mo., died after 1920. Thomas’s name, age and birthplace were reported in the 1850 census for his parents in Macon County, and nothing more was known for him until Carolyn Canida found census data in Iowa. In 1870 Thomas and family were in dwelling #88 of Marion County, Iowa:

Age Where born

Branscomb, Thomas 26 Mo.

Martha 27 Mo.

Isaac 6 Iowa

Mary 1/12 Iowa

This record suggests that Thomas was in Iowa by 1864 and probably earlier. His relocation may have had something to do with the Civil War which broke out in 1861 when Thomas was 18 years old. (#B-1 Joseph Edmond Branscomb also had a son named Thomas M., born ca. 1841 Ill., about whom nothing more is known than his presence in the censuses for his father in 1850 [Knox County, Ill.] and 1860 [DeKalb County, Mo.]. He, too, may have chosen to live across the border in Iowa during the Civil War. However, the data for the Thomas in Marion County, Iowa, in 1870 is consistent with the son of Henry and Elizabeth.) By 1880 the family was further westward in Union County, dwelling #31 of Union Township:

Age Where
born Pa
born Ma
born

Branscomb, Thomas 36 Mo. Ky. Ky.

Martha, E. 37 Mo. Tenn. Ky.

Isaac M. 15 Iowa Mo. Mo.

Mary J. 10 Iowa Mo. Mo.

Adelia 4 Iowa Mo. Mo.

(plus two boarders, J. W. McCarty, age 15, and J. S. Parsons, age 23)

In 1900 Thomas and his family were back in Marion County, this time in Clay Township where Thomas’s sister Barbara Collins had resided earlier; dwelling #42:

Age DOB Where
born Pa
born Ma
born

Branscomb, Thomas 57 June 1842 Mo. Ky. Ky. md. 36 years

Martha 57 December 1842 Mo. Tenn. Ky. 6 children, 4 living

Cordelia 24 November 1875 Iowa Mo. Mo. dressmaker

James A. 14 1886 Iowa Mo. Mo.

By 1910 Martha, age 67, was widowed and was living in dwelling #42 of Clay Township With her was her son Arthur J., age 24, single, laborer for a railroad. In 1920 A. [Arthur] Branscomb was head of the household, 508 Fifth (?) Street, dwelling #103, of which Martha E., as Elizabeth, age 77, was a member.
Following is information for the four known children for Thomas M. and Martha E. as shown in the censuses and as reported by Carolyn Canida.DODs which Carolyn found in Polk County funeral records represent dates of burial rather than dates of death:

61. Isaac M. Branscomb, b. March 1865 Iowa, bur. 5 December 1939 in Polk Co, Iowa. Md. in Marion County 25 December 1887 Arrena Frances Woods (b. March 1867 Iowa, bur. 16 October 1928 in Polk County); both bur. Laurel Hill Cem., Lee Township According to the 1880 census for Lake Prairie Township, Marion County, dwelling #458, Arrena was the daughter of William and Sarah Woods. The 1900 census for Marion County shows Isaac’s family in Clay Township, dwelling # 162:

Age DOB Where
born Pa
born Ma
born

Branscomb, Isaac 35 March 1865 Iowa Mo. Mo. Carpenter; md. 13 years

Ariena 33 March 1867 Iowa Va. Va. 5 children, all living

Chester R. 10 October 1889 Iowa Iowa Iowa

Loela (?) E.(?) 9 August 1890 Iowa Iowa Iowa

Ada A. 7 July 1893 Iowa Iowa Iowa

William M. 5 November 1894 Iowa Iowa Iowa

Hazel B. 4/12 February 1900 Iowa Iowa Iowa

In 1910 the family was in Elm Township of Putnam County, Mo., dwelling #13. Numerous other descendants of Henry and Elizabeth were also in that township. Loela/Lela was married and living nearby; the other children were still at home (Chester R. as Raymond). By 1920 Isaac and “Ariena” had moved to Des Moines in Polk County, Iowa, where they lived on East 23rd St. (dwelling # 118). William was still at home, as was Hazel, who was married; her husband was also in the household. Arrena died in 1928. The 1930 census for Delaware Township in Polk County, dwelling #227, shows Isaac as the head of a family which included Raymond, William and his wife, Hazel, and several grandchildren. Isaac’s occupation was no longer carpenter but truck farmer.
The censuses show five children of Isaac and Arrena:

611. Chester Raymond Branscomb, b. October 1889 Iowa, is found (as Raymond, a son-in-law) in the home of Harry E. Mehring in the 1920 census for Des Moines, dwelling #178. Raymond was the husband of Harry’s daughter Hope, age 19 (=b. ca. 1901), b. Iowa. Raymond’s occupation was “architect in own office.” By 1930 Raymond, age 41 and divorced, was back in his father’s residence in Delaware Township of Polk County with a three-year-old son Raymond Jr. Raymond’s occupation was “carpenter.” That same census shows Hope Branscomb, age 29, divorced, in dwelling #305, the home of H. E. Mehrig, b. IL and his wife Lovie (b. Iowa), and with her was her son Linis or Lewis Branscomb, age 9, Iowa/Iowa/Iowa. In 1920 Hope was shown as b. Iowa, father b. Ind., mother b. Ill. In 1930 she was shown as b. Ill, both parents b. Iowa. These birthplaces do not conform fully to those stated for her parents.
612. Loela/Lola/Lela Branscomb, b. August 1889 Iowa; md. ca. 1907 Arthur Cecil Hatfield (b. in Putnam County 8 November 1887, d. in Polk County, Iowa, April 1965) Cecil was the eldest child of Hiram Hatfield and #81Melissa Collins (q. v.). Loela’s name appears to have come from a sister of her mother, Loella Wood. The name for #612 is shown in censuses as Laeley (1910) Lola (1920), and Lela (1930). In 1910 and 1920 Cecil and Lela were in Elm Township of Putnam County, dwellings #107 and #122 respectively, living next door to Cecil’s parents. In 1930 they were in Jefferson Township of Polk Co, Iowa, dwelling #179, and Lela’s second cousin #382 Barney Branscomb was nearby in dwelling # 176. The children shown for Cecil and Lela were Earl, Beryl E. (male), Pearl and Max
613. Ada Avis Branscomb, b. July 1893 Iowa, d. 12 October 1953 in Polk County; bur. Laurel Hill Cem. Md. ca. 1908 Arley Lee Hatfield (b. January 1890 Mo., d. 5 January 1945 in Polk County, Iowa.) Arley was the son of David Marion Hatfield and Cordelia Houghton; Cordelia was the daughter of Oliver Houghton (q.v.) and his second wife Cynthia. In 1910 Arly L. and Ada were in Elm Township of Putnam County, dwelling #14, and they had one child, Alice L. In 1920 and 1930 They were in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa: (1920: 2245 Elizabeth Avenue, dwelling #58; 1930: 3401 Dean Avenue, dwelling #133). In 1920 Arlie was a carpenter, and in 1930 he was a worker at the Ford plant. Alice Louise was their one child.
614. William M. Branscomb, b. November 1894 Iowa. William is shown in his father’s household for the 1900-1930 censuses, and, according to the 1920 and 1930 censuses, it appears that he continued in his father’s trade of carpentry. The 1930 census states that he was married at age 29 (= ca. 1925-1926). Also in Isaac’s household was Ellen Branscomb, age 27, md. at age 21, b. Iowa, father b. Sweden, mother b. Mo.; she appears to be William’s wife, although the age at which she married varies slightly from the data given for William. Also present was William Branscomb Jr., age 5, b. Iowa, obviously their son. Both William and Ellen were bur. Laurel Hill Cem, Polk County
615. Hazel B. Branscomb, b. February 1900 Iowa. Her name appears in the censes as a member of her father’s household from 1900, when she was four months old, until at least 1930, the most recent census which is available for review. In 1920 she was shown as married to Mac Sellers, age 24 (=b. ca. 1896), b. Iowa, who was also in the household. By 1920 Hazel was divorced, and she and her 9-year-old daughter Alice L. Sellers were in her father’s household. Nothing more is known currently for Hazel.

62. Mary C. Branscomb, b. April 1870 Iowa. She md. in Marion County 29 November 1893 George R. Andrews (b. January 1858 Iowa); apparently his second marriage. George and Mary moved to Mahaska County, Iowa, prior to 1900, and the census for that year reported them on 203 West A Avenue, dwelling #264, of Oskaloosa, Iowa:

Age DOB Where
born Pa
born Ma
born

Andrews, George 42 January 1858 Iowa Ohio Va. contractor/excavations

Mary 30 April 1870 Iowa Mo. Mo. md. 6 years; 1 child, living

Jesse 5 December 1894 Iowa Iowa Iowa

In 1910 their home was a part of the Fifth Ward of the city, and three children plus George’s mother were in the family. George was employed as a policeman. By 1920 the family had moved to Des Moines in Polk County (1409 Dean Avenue, dwelling #215), and George was working as a janitor at the railroad station. The 1930 census shows a George R. Andrews age 66, Iowa/Mass./Ohio, and his wife Mary C, age 59, md. at age 23, Iowa/Mo./Mo. in Washington D. C, dwelling #171; George was a “helper for the U. S. Government.” The names are commonplace, and not all data match (George’s age and the place of his father’s birth), but rarely do all items on successive decennial censuses match. The presence of a son, Don D., age 21, Iowa/Iowa/Iowa, in their home, and of Jesse Andrews nearby, is significant. George and Mary probably remained in Washington until their deaths. Their children:

621. Jesse E. Andrews, b. December 1894 Iowa. His wife was Mary B.___, b. ca. 1897 Iowa/Iowa/Iowa. They were in Washington, D. C., in 1920 with one son, Elmer C. In 1930 Jesse, Mary and Elmer were living in Washington at 153 Uhland Ave, dwelling #181, in the home of John and Katherine Crowley. Through 1930 Elmer appears to be their only child, or at least the only survivor.
622. George C. Andrews, b. ca. 1903 Iowa
623. Don D. Andrews, b. mid-1908 Iowa

63. Cordelia /Adelia Branscomb, b. November 1875 Iowa. The only information known for her comes from the 1880 and 1900 censuses for her parents. The 1900 census gave her occupation as “dressmaker.”

64. James Arthur Branscomb, b. 12 December 1885 Iowa, d. 29 June 1966 in Polk County, Iowa; bur. Glendale Cem. (He was actually child #6.). Md. ca. 1911 Hazel ___ , b. ca. 1894. The first known mention of Arthur is as a 14-year-old-son, James A., Iowa/ Mo./Mo., in 1900 in his parents’ household in Marion County In 1910 Arthur J. Branscomb, age 24, was in the home of his widowed mother, and he was employed as “laborer for railroad.” In 1920 Arthur was the head of the household at 511 Fifth (?) Street, dwelling #103, in which his mother resided; he worked at the courthouse:

Age Where
born Pa
born Ma
born

Branscomb, A. 34 Iowa Ky. Mo.

Hazel 26 Neb. Iowa Iowa

Amy 7 Iowa Iowa Neb.

Elizabeth 77 Mo. Tenn. Ky. Mother

In 1930 Arthur, Hazel and Amy were in Des Moines, Polk County. The only known information concerning their daughter Amy is her presence in the 1920 and 1930 censuses. It appears that she was the only child, or at least the only one who survived.

See also:
Henry Branscomb, son of John and Olive E. Branscomb
Elizabeth Burris, wife of Henry
Children of Henry and Elizabeth (Burris) Branscomb

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