Christopher Branch (circa 1600-1681) was an early English settler in Colonial Virginia, tobacco planter, and a member and justice of the House of Burgesses. He was a three times great-grandfather of United States President Thomas Jefferson.

Early life and marriage

Branch was born in England around 1600. or 1602. His parents were Lionel Branch and Valentia Sparks of London. He married Mary Francis Addie, daughter of Francis Addie of Darton, Yorkshire, on September 2, 1619 in St. Peter's,

Westcheap Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

, London. Christopher and Mary Branch sailed to Virginia on the ''London Merchant'' in March 1621 and survived the

Powhatan attack of 1622 The Indian massacre of 1622, popularly known as the Jamestown massacre, took place in the English Colony of Virginia, in what is now the United States, on 22 March 1622. John Smith, though he had not been in Virginia since 1609 and was not an ey ...

the following year. They were living at Colledg Land in Henrico by February 1623 when their son Thomas was nine months old. According to the ''William and Mary Quarterly'', Thomas was born in 1623. They then had two more sons. William was born in 1625 and Christopher was born about 1627. His granddaughter Mary became the great-grandmother of President Thomas Jefferson, making him the three times great grandfather of the president.

Career

Branch acquired land in Henrico (now Chesterfield) County on the south side of the James River and north of Proctors Creek beginning in or before 1634 and established the Kingsland and Arrahattock Plantations. Randolph first settled at Arrahattock on the north side of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. The Kingsland Plantation, which grew to 450 acres by 1639, was located across the river from Arrahattock. Branch operated a tobacco plantation and due to a glut in the market, a limit of the tobacco crop to a percentage per planter was established by the Virginia General Assembly. The remainder of the tobacco crop was to be destroyed. In 1639 he was a member of the House of Burgesses from Henrico County and was named a tobacco inspector that year. He was a member of the House of Burgesses again in 1641. In 1656, he was the Justice of Henrico County. He died in 1681 while living on the Kingsland Plantation. His wife, Mary, died many years earlier, likely before 1630.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Christopher People from the Greater Richmond Region People from Kent 1600s births 1682 deaths House of Burgesses members People from Chesterfield County, Virginia

Early life and marriage

Career

See also

Notes

References