Edward Thomas Branch (December 6, 1811 – September 24, 1861) was a

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

legislator and Judge, and after the annexation of Texas to the United States, served briefly as

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House. The current s ...

Branch was born on December 6, 1811, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. After relocating to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, he settled at

Liberty, Texas Liberty is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Liberty County. The population was 8,279 at the 2020 census. It serves as the seat of Liberty County. Liberty is the third oldest city in the state—established in 1831 on the banks of ...

in 1835 after having been hijacked on his way to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and put ashore at Anahuac. He worked as a teacher in Liberty through early 1836. Branch joined the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution, serving as a first sergeant under William M. Logan, and saw action at the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged ...

. He later re-enlisted and served a stint as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

under Benjamin Franklin Hardin in 1837. Residents of Liberty County sent Branch as their representative to the First and Second

Congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

of the

(1836–1838). He chaired the House Ways and Means Committee during both sessions. Branch was appointed a District Judge in 1838, which also made him an associate justice of the

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...

. He served as judge until 12 August 1840. In 1843 he served as postmaster of Liberty, and in 1846, as representative of Liberty in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

of the

First Texas Legislature The First Texas Legislature convened from February 16 to May 13, 1846 in regular session. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate were elected in December 1845, after an election on October 13, 1845 that ratified the proposed state const ...

. During that session, Branch was elected Speaker of the House ''pro tempore'' and served as Speaker from his election on 9 March 1846 until Speaker William Crump returned from a leave of absence on 16 March 1846. In private life, Branch split his time between farming and his law practice. Branch at one time owned over of land and was a

slaveholder The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she in ...

. On 15 August 1838, Branch married Annie Cleveland Wharton, an adopted child of William Harris Wharton. Together they had five children. He was a

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. Branch died on September 24, 1861, and is buried in Liberty.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Edward Thomas Republic of Texas politicians 1st Congress of the Republic of Texas 1811 births 1861 deaths Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Justices of the Republic of Texas Supreme Court Methodists from Texas People from Liberty, Texas 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Army of the Republic of Texas officers