![]() Tenth in a series of biographical sketches on Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company; in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in American at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island Christopher Branch served as a Burgess from Henrico County, VA. Who was this man?
Christopher Branch was about 22 years old when, in March 1619/20, he and wife Mary Addy embarked on the London Merchant for Virginia. He is listed in 1624 as living on the “College Land” in present Henrico County. In the 1624/25 muster, he, his wife and nine-month old son, Thomas, are named in the same location. In 1634, Christopher Branch of Henrico County was granted a lease on 100 acres. The next year, he patented 250 acres at “Kingsland” adjacent to his leased land using headrights gained for transporting himself and four others. By 1639 his plantation had grown to 450 acres. By 1640 there was a glut of tobacco on the market. The General Assembly decided to limit the tobacco crop to a percentage per planter and to destroy the remainder. Branch was then a Burgess for Henrico and was named by the Assembly to inspect each planter’s tobacco crop. In 1641 he was again named Burgess and in 1656 he was named a Justice. His will dated June 1678 and verified by witnesses in February 1682 indicated the general time of his death and that he was still at “Kingsland” at that time. His wife, Mary Addy, died much earlier. They were the parents of three sons: Thomas, William and Christopher. Christopher Branch was the third great grandfather of President Thomas Jefferson. First Mississippi Company Descendants of Christopher Branch: Suzanne Worthington Walters, Clayton Walters, Thomas Walters
7 Comments
Richard C. Bradley III
2/27/2019 10:23:04 am
Really enjoy the blog and the history.
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Joan Gabriel
5/25/2020 10:43:06 pm
Very interesting. I am yet another direct descendant of Christopher Branch too. Appreciate all of the work that was put into this article.
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Christpher Branch
9/7/2020 07:58:22 pm
I ran across this site by accident. I am the 11th direct generational descendant of Christopher. My immediate family comes from Petersburg and Richmond through Thomas Branch of Willow Hill. Thomas was my great-great grandfather. We had a wonderful family reunion last summer, 2019, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher immigrating to the New World held at The Branch House in Richmond. It was a great success and we would like to expand upon that success in the coming years. Please send me any information you may have on the Branch family of Virginia. Hope all is well.
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9/12/2020 11:31:09 am
This is my 8th Great Grandfather, these Branches are of high nobility, descending from many Saints, Kings & Queens of the World.
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Jean White Raleigh
4/11/2022 01:33:31 pm
I am already a member of the Jamestown Society, but I am working on other lines as well. My relative William Henry Holden [Died 1839] married Frances [Fanny] Branch whose father was Edward as stated in an old family Bible. Was this the same Branch family as Christopher?
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To Our ContributorsWe welcome properly researched contributions of ancestor profiles, vignettes and comments from members that focus on their ancestors’ roles in Jamestown’s history, plus other aspects of their lives, events and experiences in the colony. PLEASE NOTE that all information must be documented and backed up by primary source documents, and not unverifiable information and family and urban legends. Submissions without this backup may be rejected. Please limit contributions and blog entries solely to the ancestors themselves, and do not include subsequent lineage information. Entries should be no more than 400 words. Archives
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