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

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

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 speaker (politics), 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 ...

Biography

Branch was born on December 6, 1811, in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. After relocating to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, 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 county seat of Liberty County. Liberty is the third oldest city in the state—established in 1831 on the ...

in 1835 after having been hijacked on his way to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and put ashore at Anahuac. He worked as a teacher in Liberty through early 1836. Branch joined the Texas Army during the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

, serving as a

first sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

under

William M. Logan William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, and saw action at the

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

. 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 se ...

under Benjamin Franklin Hardin in 1837. Residents of

Liberty County Liberty County is the name of four counties in the United States: * Liberty County, Florida * Liberty County, Georgia * Liberty County, Montana * Liberty County, Texas Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 ...

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 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 Texas Court o ...

. 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. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

of the

First Texas Legislature The 1st 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 cons ...

. 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 notable people who owned other people as slaves, where 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 wealthi ...

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

Cornelia Branch Stone Cornelia Branch Stone (1840–1925) was an American Woman's club movement in the United States, clubwoman and Women's suffrage in the United States, suffragist from Texas. She served as President-General of the United Daughters of the Confederacy ...

. He was a

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

and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. 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 Texas state court judges Army of the Republic of Texas officers American slave owners 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature