____________________
~~ "ROBERT" WILLIAM BRANSON ~~
________________________
"ROBERT William Branson" was born in Louisville, Jefferson Co., KY on 11-14-1893. HIS PARENTS were: "William Bonner Branson" & "Mattie Emma Williams Branson". He was their 2nd. son & child of this marriage.
________________________
ROB's PARENTS were married on 1-20-1890 @ Muhlenberg Co., KY.
________________________
ROB's FATHER:
"WILLIAM Bonner BRANSON" was born on 11-26-1847 @ Fayetteville, Lincoln Co., TN. He died on 1-8-1899 @ Central City, Muhlenberg Co., KY. He is buried @ Fairmount Cemetery there.
________________________
BRANSON LINEAGE:
Thomas Branson 1635 England--1684 MD
+ Amy ?Morris?
Michael Branson 1680 MD--after 1744 MD
+ Rebecca ?Yates?
Absolom Branson 1740-1798
+ Jemima Lorton 1744-1800
John Branson 1772--1851-55
+ Jane Norton 1773--about 1849
John N. Branson 1801-1880
+ Cynthia Hunter 1803-1880
William Bonner Branson 1847-1899
+ Mattie Emma Williams 1865-1927
Robert William Branson 1893-1973
+ Minnie Edwards 1897-1977.
_______________________
ROB's MOTHER's LINEAGE:
"MATTIE Emma Williams" was born on 10-8-1865 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY. She died on 9-15-1927 @ Tonkawa, Kay Co., OK. She is buried @ Restland Cemetery @ Boswell, OK where her last husband, F. Luther Woods, is buried.
MATTIE's parents married on 11-8-1849. She was their 5th. child.
Her Mother was "SARAH Ann ANTHONY"
b: 8-14-1833 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY (1st. child of her parents);
d: 10-21-1893 @ same place.
Her Father was "JOHN Milton WILLIAMS"
b: 6-14-1824 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY;
d: 3-16-1894 @ same place.
MATTIE's "Maternal" Grandparents (Sarah Anthony's parents) were "Thomas J. Anthony" & "Catherine Barfield Anthony". Catherine Barfield's father was "Thomas C. Barfield", & his father was "Jesse Francis Barfield" who fought in the Rev. War.
*** Revolutionary War Records Duplin & Sampson Counties, NC 1997 By Virginia L. Bizzell & Oscar M. Bizzell Barfield. Jesse, Private, N.C. Militia. "Jesse Barfield" served in the Duplin County Militia & took part in The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, serving there for 34 days. ***
_______________________
The Orphanage & ROB's MOTHER's Other 2 Marriages:
ROB's mother, "Mattie Branson", was crippled.
Her father, "William Branson", worked for the railroad in KY & IN. When WILLIAM died in 1899, his wife could not monetarily nor physically care for her 3 small children alone. Jack was either 7 or 9 depending on his birth year; Rob was 6; & Myrtle was 3. They went to live @ the Catholic Orphanage in Louisville, KY.
"Mattie" remarried in 1901 to a "Leonard Wise Middleton" in McGregor, TX. They had a daughter (Ruth) in 1903 when Mattie was 38. When their daughter was 3 (just like it had been with MYRTLE when "her" father died when she was also 3), L. W. Middleton died in 1906. The family story is that Mr. Middleton didn't want to help Mattie retrieve her 3 Branson children from the orphanage. Now, MATTIE had a total of 4 fatherless children (1 from Middleton "with her" & 3 from "William Bonner Branson" still "in the orphanage" in KY)!
"Mattie" met "Francis Luther Woods" who was a widower with several children of his own. He lived in Fannin Co., TX. He & Mattie went to Louisville, KY @ Christmas of 1907 & retrieved the 3 Branson children (Jack, Rob, & Myrtle) from the orphanage where they had been since 1899 (7+ years).
I remember ROB Branson telling me that it was the greatest thing to see their mother @ Christmas & get to "leave with her"! Rob "adored" his step-father who took-on raising Mattie's 4 children from her 2 deceased husbands.
ROB always said, though, that they were treated well @ the Catholic orphanage. He just said how terrible it was to be without their mother as such little children. He said that they hoped & prayed, each-&-every-day, that they could see their mother & that one day all 3 of them could leave "with" their mother! Mr. Woods made that possible!
The-day-after they got the 3 Branson children out of the orphanage, Mattie married "F. L.(Luke) Woods" on 12-26-1907 there in Louisville, KY. Then, they all went home to Fannin Co. TX! Now, Mr. Woods had 4 children of Mattie's to help raise.
These 3 Branson children all adored their mother! They actually understood: her physical ailment; her being left a widow with 3 small children; & her lack of money. They said that they knew how difficult her life, in-general, had been. As adults, they said that they "understood" her decision to place them @ the orphanage.
Mattie was once-again left a widow when her beloved F. L. Woods died in 1920. Her youngest child Ruth was then 17.
ROB & his family would often travel to "Boswell, OK" to visit his mother & his step-father after they moved there in the teen's. (In the 1910 Census they were in Fannin Co., TX; in the 1920 Census they were in Boswell, Choctaw Co., OK. Grandpa Woods died in 1920.)
ROB remained in Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX until his death. Mattie's 2 daughters often visited her in Boswell, OK after they married. Both Myrtle & Ruth M. Greenwood lived in the Ft. Worth, TX area until their deaths. But, Jack Branson settled in the Louisville, KY area after WWI where he remained until his death. The 4 children were close-to-one-another until their deaths.
_______________________
ROB's Full-SIBLINGS were:
~Andrew Jackson "Jack" Branson (1890-1961); &
~"Myrtle" Branson (m: Pratt) (1893-1973);
--------------------------------
ROB's Half-SIBLING by Middleton:
~"Ruth" Middleton (m: Greenwood) (1903-1986).
_______________________
Name = Jack's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Myrtle's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Ruth's Mem. Page Link.
_______________________
"ROBERT William BRANSON" married "MINNIE Edwards" in January of 1915 @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
ROB had come to Fannin Co., TX from Louisville, KY after the Christmas of 1907 with his new step-father, "Francis Luther Woods", & his mother, "Mattie Emma Williams Branson Middleton Woods".
This is where MINNIE lived with her family.
_______________________
MINNIE & ROB BRANSON had 3 sons:
~~"William" Harold Branson (11-6-1915);
~~"Hubert" Lee Branson (11-7-1923); &
~~"Rodney" Branson (12-11-1937).
All were born @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
_______________________
ROB was a true southern gentleman; a Mason; a faithful member of The Monkstown Methodist Church; spent his Sunday afternoons calling on the widow women in the area to see what they needed & arranged for their needs to be met by the local community the following week; was quiet; loved his wife & sons; liked to hunt & fish; was a devout Democrat; was a good mechanic; & appreciated the Catholic Orphans Home in Louisville, KY.
ROB was great friends & Masonic lodge brothers with The Speaker of The House, "Sam Rayburn".
ROB was a genuinely good & decent man who was mourned by those of us who knew & loved him! He passed-away on 5-6-1973 @ the hospital in Paris, Lamar Co., TX after a long battle with cancer.
_______________________
~~Lynda.
_______________________
~~ "ROBERT" WILLIAM BRANSON ~~
________________________
"ROBERT William Branson" was born in Louisville, Jefferson Co., KY on 11-14-1893. HIS PARENTS were: "William Bonner Branson" & "Mattie Emma Williams Branson". He was their 2nd. son & child of this marriage.
________________________
ROB's PARENTS were married on 1-20-1890 @ Muhlenberg Co., KY.
________________________
ROB's FATHER:
"WILLIAM Bonner BRANSON" was born on 11-26-1847 @ Fayetteville, Lincoln Co., TN. He died on 1-8-1899 @ Central City, Muhlenberg Co., KY. He is buried @ Fairmount Cemetery there.
________________________
BRANSON LINEAGE:
Thomas Branson 1635 England--1684 MD
+ Amy ?Morris?
Michael Branson 1680 MD--after 1744 MD
+ Rebecca ?Yates?
Absolom Branson 1740-1798
+ Jemima Lorton 1744-1800
John Branson 1772--1851-55
+ Jane Norton 1773--about 1849
John N. Branson 1801-1880
+ Cynthia Hunter 1803-1880
William Bonner Branson 1847-1899
+ Mattie Emma Williams 1865-1927
Robert William Branson 1893-1973
+ Minnie Edwards 1897-1977.
_______________________
ROB's MOTHER's LINEAGE:
"MATTIE Emma Williams" was born on 10-8-1865 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY. She died on 9-15-1927 @ Tonkawa, Kay Co., OK. She is buried @ Restland Cemetery @ Boswell, OK where her last husband, F. Luther Woods, is buried.
MATTIE's parents married on 11-8-1849. She was their 5th. child.
Her Mother was "SARAH Ann ANTHONY"
b: 8-14-1833 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY (1st. child of her parents);
d: 10-21-1893 @ same place.
Her Father was "JOHN Milton WILLIAMS"
b: 6-14-1824 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY;
d: 3-16-1894 @ same place.
MATTIE's "Maternal" Grandparents (Sarah Anthony's parents) were "Thomas J. Anthony" & "Catherine Barfield Anthony". Catherine Barfield's father was "Thomas C. Barfield", & his father was "Jesse Francis Barfield" who fought in the Rev. War.
*** Revolutionary War Records Duplin & Sampson Counties, NC 1997 By Virginia L. Bizzell & Oscar M. Bizzell Barfield. Jesse, Private, N.C. Militia. "Jesse Barfield" served in the Duplin County Militia & took part in The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, serving there for 34 days. ***
_______________________
The Orphanage & ROB's MOTHER's Other 2 Marriages:
ROB's mother, "Mattie Branson", was crippled.
Her father, "William Branson", worked for the railroad in KY & IN. When WILLIAM died in 1899, his wife could not monetarily nor physically care for her 3 small children alone. Jack was either 7 or 9 depending on his birth year; Rob was 6; & Myrtle was 3. They went to live @ the Catholic Orphanage in Louisville, KY.
"Mattie" remarried in 1901 to a "Leonard Wise Middleton" in McGregor, TX. They had a daughter (Ruth) in 1903 when Mattie was 38. When their daughter was 3 (just like it had been with MYRTLE when "her" father died when she was also 3), L. W. Middleton died in 1906. The family story is that Mr. Middleton didn't want to help Mattie retrieve her 3 Branson children from the orphanage. Now, MATTIE had a total of 4 fatherless children (1 from Middleton "with her" & 3 from "William Bonner Branson" still "in the orphanage" in KY)!
"Mattie" met "Francis Luther Woods" who was a widower with several children of his own. He lived in Fannin Co., TX. He & Mattie went to Louisville, KY @ Christmas of 1907 & retrieved the 3 Branson children (Jack, Rob, & Myrtle) from the orphanage where they had been since 1899 (7+ years).
I remember ROB Branson telling me that it was the greatest thing to see their mother @ Christmas & get to "leave with her"! Rob "adored" his step-father who took-on raising Mattie's 4 children from her 2 deceased husbands.
ROB always said, though, that they were treated well @ the Catholic orphanage. He just said how terrible it was to be without their mother as such little children. He said that they hoped & prayed, each-&-every-day, that they could see their mother & that one day all 3 of them could leave "with" their mother! Mr. Woods made that possible!
The-day-after they got the 3 Branson children out of the orphanage, Mattie married "F. L.(Luke) Woods" on 12-26-1907 there in Louisville, KY. Then, they all went home to Fannin Co. TX! Now, Mr. Woods had 4 children of Mattie's to help raise.
These 3 Branson children all adored their mother! They actually understood: her physical ailment; her being left a widow with 3 small children; & her lack of money. They said that they knew how difficult her life, in-general, had been. As adults, they said that they "understood" her decision to place them @ the orphanage.
Mattie was once-again left a widow when her beloved F. L. Woods died in 1920. Her youngest child Ruth was then 17.
ROB & his family would often travel to "Boswell, OK" to visit his mother & his step-father after they moved there in the teen's. (In the 1910 Census they were in Fannin Co., TX; in the 1920 Census they were in Boswell, Choctaw Co., OK. Grandpa Woods died in 1920.)
ROB remained in Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX until his death. Mattie's 2 daughters often visited her in Boswell, OK after they married. Both Myrtle & Ruth M. Greenwood lived in the Ft. Worth, TX area until their deaths. But, Jack Branson settled in the Louisville, KY area after WWI where he remained until his death. The 4 children were close-to-one-another until their deaths.
_______________________
ROB's Full-SIBLINGS were:
~Andrew Jackson "Jack" Branson (1890-1961); &
~"Myrtle" Branson (m: Pratt) (1893-1973);
--------------------------------
ROB's Half-SIBLING by Middleton:
~"Ruth" Middleton (m: Greenwood) (1903-1986).
_______________________
Name = Jack's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Myrtle's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Ruth's Mem. Page Link.
_______________________
"ROBERT William BRANSON" married "MINNIE Edwards" in January of 1915 @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
ROB had come to Fannin Co., TX from Louisville, KY after the Christmas of 1907 with his new step-father, "Francis Luther Woods", & his mother, "Mattie Emma Williams Branson Middleton Woods".
This is where MINNIE lived with her family.
_______________________
MINNIE & ROB BRANSON had 3 sons:
~~"William" Harold Branson (11-6-1915);
~~"Hubert" Lee Branson (11-7-1923); &
~~"Rodney" Branson (12-11-1937).
All were born @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
_______________________
ROB was a true southern gentleman; a Mason; a faithful member of The Monkstown Methodist Church; spent his Sunday afternoons calling on the widow women in the area to see what they needed & arranged for their needs to be met by the local community the following week; was quiet; loved his wife & sons; liked to hunt & fish; was a devout Democrat; was a good mechanic; & appreciated the Catholic Orphans Home in Louisville, KY.
ROB was great friends & Masonic lodge brothers with The Speaker of The House, "Sam Rayburn".
ROB was a genuinely good & decent man who was mourned by those of us who knew & loved him! He passed-away on 5-6-1973 @ the hospital in Paris, Lamar Co., TX after a long battle with cancer.
_______________________
~~Lynda.
_______________________
____________________
~~ "ROBERT" WILLIAM BRANSON ~~
________________________
"ROBERT William Branson" was born in Louisville, Jefferson Co., KY on 11-14-1893. HIS PARENTS were: "William Bonner Branson" & "Mattie Emma Williams Branson". He was their 2nd. son & child of this marriage.
________________________
ROB's PARENTS were married on 1-20-1890 @ Muhlenberg Co., KY.
________________________
ROB's FATHER:
"WILLIAM Bonner BRANSON" was born on 11-26-1847 @ Fayetteville, Lincoln Co., TN. He died on 1-8-1899 @ Central City, Muhlenberg Co., KY. He is buried @ Fairmount Cemetery there.
________________________
BRANSON LINEAGE:
Thomas Branson 1635 England--1684 MD
+ Amy ?Morris?
Michael Branson 1680 MD--after 1744 MD
+ Rebecca ?Yates?
Absolom Branson 1740-1798
+ Jemima Lorton 1744-1800
John Branson 1772--1851-55
+ Jane Norton 1773--about 1849
John N. Branson 1801-1880
+ Cynthia Hunter 1803-1880
William Bonner Branson 1847-1899
+ Mattie Emma Williams 1865-1927
Robert William Branson 1893-1973
+ Minnie Edwards 1897-1977.
_______________________
ROB's MOTHER's LINEAGE:
"MATTIE Emma Williams" was born on 10-8-1865 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY. She died on 9-15-1927 @ Tonkawa, Kay Co., OK. She is buried @ Restland Cemetery @ Boswell, OK where her last husband, F. Luther Woods, is buried.
MATTIE's parents married on 11-8-1849. She was their 5th. child.
Her Mother was "SARAH Ann ANTHONY"
b: 8-14-1833 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY (1st. child of her parents);
d: 10-21-1893 @ same place.
Her Father was "JOHN Milton WILLIAMS"
b: 6-14-1824 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY;
d: 3-16-1894 @ same place.
MATTIE's "Maternal" Grandparents (Sarah Anthony's parents) were "Thomas J. Anthony" & "Catherine Barfield Anthony". Catherine Barfield's father was "Thomas C. Barfield", & his father was "Jesse Francis Barfield" who fought in the Rev. War.
*** Revolutionary War Records Duplin & Sampson Counties, NC 1997 By Virginia L. Bizzell & Oscar M. Bizzell Barfield. Jesse, Private, N.C. Militia. "Jesse Barfield" served in the Duplin County Militia & took part in The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, serving there for 34 days. ***
_______________________
The Orphanage & ROB's MOTHER's Other 2 Marriages:
ROB's mother, "Mattie Branson", was crippled.
Her father, "William Branson", worked for the railroad in KY & IN. When WILLIAM died in 1899, his wife could not monetarily nor physically care for her 3 small children alone. Jack was either 7 or 9 depending on his birth year; Rob was 6; & Myrtle was 3. They went to live @ the Catholic Orphanage in Louisville, KY.
"Mattie" remarried in 1901 to a "Leonard Wise Middleton" in McGregor, TX. They had a daughter (Ruth) in 1903 when Mattie was 38. When their daughter was 3 (just like it had been with MYRTLE when "her" father died when she was also 3), L. W. Middleton died in 1906. The family story is that Mr. Middleton didn't want to help Mattie retrieve her 3 Branson children from the orphanage. Now, MATTIE had a total of 4 fatherless children (1 from Middleton "with her" & 3 from "William Bonner Branson" still "in the orphanage" in KY)!
"Mattie" met "Francis Luther Woods" who was a widower with several children of his own. He lived in Fannin Co., TX. He & Mattie went to Louisville, KY @ Christmas of 1907 & retrieved the 3 Branson children (Jack, Rob, & Myrtle) from the orphanage where they had been since 1899 (7+ years).
I remember ROB Branson telling me that it was the greatest thing to see their mother @ Christmas & get to "leave with her"! Rob "adored" his step-father who took-on raising Mattie's 4 children from her 2 deceased husbands.
ROB always said, though, that they were treated well @ the Catholic orphanage. He just said how terrible it was to be without their mother as such little children. He said that they hoped & prayed, each-&-every-day, that they could see their mother & that one day all 3 of them could leave "with" their mother! Mr. Woods made that possible!
The-day-after they got the 3 Branson children out of the orphanage, Mattie married "F. L.(Luke) Woods" on 12-26-1907 there in Louisville, KY. Then, they all went home to Fannin Co. TX! Now, Mr. Woods had 4 children of Mattie's to help raise.
These 3 Branson children all adored their mother! They actually understood: her physical ailment; her being left a widow with 3 small children; & her lack of money. They said that they knew how difficult her life, in-general, had been. As adults, they said that they "understood" her decision to place them @ the orphanage.
Mattie was once-again left a widow when her beloved F. L. Woods died in 1920. Her youngest child Ruth was then 17.
ROB & his family would often travel to "Boswell, OK" to visit his mother & his step-father after they moved there in the teen's. (In the 1910 Census they were in Fannin Co., TX; in the 1920 Census they were in Boswell, Choctaw Co., OK. Grandpa Woods died in 1920.)
ROB remained in Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX until his death. Mattie's 2 daughters often visited her in Boswell, OK after they married. Both Myrtle & Ruth M. Greenwood lived in the Ft. Worth, TX area until their deaths. But, Jack Branson settled in the Louisville, KY area after WWI where he remained until his death. The 4 children were close-to-one-another until their deaths.
_______________________
ROB's Full-SIBLINGS were:
~Andrew Jackson "Jack" Branson (1890-1961); &
~"Myrtle" Branson (m: Pratt) (1893-1973);
--------------------------------
ROB's Half-SIBLING by Middleton:
~"Ruth" Middleton (m: Greenwood) (1903-1986).
_______________________
Name = Jack's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Myrtle's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Ruth's Mem. Page Link.
_______________________
"ROBERT William BRANSON" married "MINNIE Edwards" in January of 1915 @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
ROB had come to Fannin Co., TX from Louisville, KY after the Christmas of 1907 with his new step-father, "Francis Luther Woods", & his mother, "Mattie Emma Williams Branson Middleton Woods".
This is where MINNIE lived with her family.
_______________________
MINNIE & ROB BRANSON had 3 sons:
~~"William" Harold Branson (11-6-1915);
~~"Hubert" Lee Branson (11-7-1923); &
~~"Rodney" Branson (12-11-1937).
All were born @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
_______________________
ROB was a true southern gentleman; a Mason; a faithful member of The Monkstown Methodist Church; spent his Sunday afternoons calling on the widow women in the area to see what they needed & arranged for their needs to be met by the local community the following week; was quiet; loved his wife & sons; liked to hunt & fish; was a devout Democrat; was a good mechanic; & appreciated the Catholic Orphans Home in Louisville, KY.
ROB was great friends & Masonic lodge brothers with The Speaker of The House, "Sam Rayburn".
ROB was a genuinely good & decent man who was mourned by those of us who knew & loved him! He passed-away on 5-6-1973 @ the hospital in Paris, Lamar Co., TX after a long battle with cancer.
_______________________
~~Lynda.
_______________________
~~ "ROBERT" WILLIAM BRANSON ~~
________________________
"ROBERT William Branson" was born in Louisville, Jefferson Co., KY on 11-14-1893. HIS PARENTS were: "William Bonner Branson" & "Mattie Emma Williams Branson". He was their 2nd. son & child of this marriage.
________________________
ROB's PARENTS were married on 1-20-1890 @ Muhlenberg Co., KY.
________________________
ROB's FATHER:
"WILLIAM Bonner BRANSON" was born on 11-26-1847 @ Fayetteville, Lincoln Co., TN. He died on 1-8-1899 @ Central City, Muhlenberg Co., KY. He is buried @ Fairmount Cemetery there.
________________________
BRANSON LINEAGE:
Thomas Branson 1635 England--1684 MD
+ Amy ?Morris?
Michael Branson 1680 MD--after 1744 MD
+ Rebecca ?Yates?
Absolom Branson 1740-1798
+ Jemima Lorton 1744-1800
John Branson 1772--1851-55
+ Jane Norton 1773--about 1849
John N. Branson 1801-1880
+ Cynthia Hunter 1803-1880
William Bonner Branson 1847-1899
+ Mattie Emma Williams 1865-1927
Robert William Branson 1893-1973
+ Minnie Edwards 1897-1977.
_______________________
ROB's MOTHER's LINEAGE:
"MATTIE Emma Williams" was born on 10-8-1865 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY. She died on 9-15-1927 @ Tonkawa, Kay Co., OK. She is buried @ Restland Cemetery @ Boswell, OK where her last husband, F. Luther Woods, is buried.
MATTIE's parents married on 11-8-1849. She was their 5th. child.
Her Mother was "SARAH Ann ANTHONY"
b: 8-14-1833 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY (1st. child of her parents);
d: 10-21-1893 @ same place.
Her Father was "JOHN Milton WILLIAMS"
b: 6-14-1824 @ Greenville, Muhlenberg Co., KY;
d: 3-16-1894 @ same place.
MATTIE's "Maternal" Grandparents (Sarah Anthony's parents) were "Thomas J. Anthony" & "Catherine Barfield Anthony". Catherine Barfield's father was "Thomas C. Barfield", & his father was "Jesse Francis Barfield" who fought in the Rev. War.
*** Revolutionary War Records Duplin & Sampson Counties, NC 1997 By Virginia L. Bizzell & Oscar M. Bizzell Barfield. Jesse, Private, N.C. Militia. "Jesse Barfield" served in the Duplin County Militia & took part in The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, serving there for 34 days. ***
_______________________
The Orphanage & ROB's MOTHER's Other 2 Marriages:
ROB's mother, "Mattie Branson", was crippled.
Her father, "William Branson", worked for the railroad in KY & IN. When WILLIAM died in 1899, his wife could not monetarily nor physically care for her 3 small children alone. Jack was either 7 or 9 depending on his birth year; Rob was 6; & Myrtle was 3. They went to live @ the Catholic Orphanage in Louisville, KY.
"Mattie" remarried in 1901 to a "Leonard Wise Middleton" in McGregor, TX. They had a daughter (Ruth) in 1903 when Mattie was 38. When their daughter was 3 (just like it had been with MYRTLE when "her" father died when she was also 3), L. W. Middleton died in 1906. The family story is that Mr. Middleton didn't want to help Mattie retrieve her 3 Branson children from the orphanage. Now, MATTIE had a total of 4 fatherless children (1 from Middleton "with her" & 3 from "William Bonner Branson" still "in the orphanage" in KY)!
"Mattie" met "Francis Luther Woods" who was a widower with several children of his own. He lived in Fannin Co., TX. He & Mattie went to Louisville, KY @ Christmas of 1907 & retrieved the 3 Branson children (Jack, Rob, & Myrtle) from the orphanage where they had been since 1899 (7+ years).
I remember ROB Branson telling me that it was the greatest thing to see their mother @ Christmas & get to "leave with her"! Rob "adored" his step-father who took-on raising Mattie's 4 children from her 2 deceased husbands.
ROB always said, though, that they were treated well @ the Catholic orphanage. He just said how terrible it was to be without their mother as such little children. He said that they hoped & prayed, each-&-every-day, that they could see their mother & that one day all 3 of them could leave "with" their mother! Mr. Woods made that possible!
The-day-after they got the 3 Branson children out of the orphanage, Mattie married "F. L.(Luke) Woods" on 12-26-1907 there in Louisville, KY. Then, they all went home to Fannin Co. TX! Now, Mr. Woods had 4 children of Mattie's to help raise.
These 3 Branson children all adored their mother! They actually understood: her physical ailment; her being left a widow with 3 small children; & her lack of money. They said that they knew how difficult her life, in-general, had been. As adults, they said that they "understood" her decision to place them @ the orphanage.
Mattie was once-again left a widow when her beloved F. L. Woods died in 1920. Her youngest child Ruth was then 17.
ROB & his family would often travel to "Boswell, OK" to visit his mother & his step-father after they moved there in the teen's. (In the 1910 Census they were in Fannin Co., TX; in the 1920 Census they were in Boswell, Choctaw Co., OK. Grandpa Woods died in 1920.)
ROB remained in Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX until his death. Mattie's 2 daughters often visited her in Boswell, OK after they married. Both Myrtle & Ruth M. Greenwood lived in the Ft. Worth, TX area until their deaths. But, Jack Branson settled in the Louisville, KY area after WWI where he remained until his death. The 4 children were close-to-one-another until their deaths.
_______________________
ROB's Full-SIBLINGS were:
~Andrew Jackson "Jack" Branson (1890-1961); &
~"Myrtle" Branson (m: Pratt) (1893-1973);
--------------------------------
ROB's Half-SIBLING by Middleton:
~"Ruth" Middleton (m: Greenwood) (1903-1986).
_______________________
Name = Jack's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Myrtle's Mem. Page Link.
Name = Ruth's Mem. Page Link.
_______________________
"ROBERT William BRANSON" married "MINNIE Edwards" in January of 1915 @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
ROB had come to Fannin Co., TX from Louisville, KY after the Christmas of 1907 with his new step-father, "Francis Luther Woods", & his mother, "Mattie Emma Williams Branson Middleton Woods".
This is where MINNIE lived with her family.
_______________________
MINNIE & ROB BRANSON had 3 sons:
~~"William" Harold Branson (11-6-1915);
~~"Hubert" Lee Branson (11-7-1923); &
~~"Rodney" Branson (12-11-1937).
All were born @ Monkstown, Fannin Co., TX.
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ROB was a true southern gentleman; a Mason; a faithful member of The Monkstown Methodist Church; spent his Sunday afternoons calling on the widow women in the area to see what they needed & arranged for their needs to be met by the local community the following week; was quiet; loved his wife & sons; liked to hunt & fish; was a devout Democrat; was a good mechanic; & appreciated the Catholic Orphans Home in Louisville, KY.
ROB was great friends & Masonic lodge brothers with The Speaker of The House, "Sam Rayburn".
ROB was a genuinely good & decent man who was mourned by those of us who knew & loved him! He passed-away on 5-6-1973 @ the hospital in Paris, Lamar Co., TX after a long battle with cancer.
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~~Lynda.
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Inscription
Just Click on the Name (underlined) to be taken to the LINK for "ROB's Beloved Step-Father" = "Francis Luther Woods" = Name
