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KANAWHA COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA - BIOS: BRANCH, William Wirt
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
Sandy Spradling
SSpradling@AOL.com
September 26, 1999
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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and Representative
Citizens
W.S. Laidley
Richmond Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, ILL.
1911
p. 456-459
WILLIAM WIRT BRANCH was born in Kirtland, Ohio, September 5, 1835, and died
in Charleston, W. Va., April 12, 1907, at the age of seventy-one years, seven
months and seven days.
He was descended from Peter Branch of Kent County, England, who with his son
John emigrated to America in 1632. The father dying on ship-board, the son
landed on an island in Massachusetts Bay, which was afterwards called
Branch's Island. On his mother's side, his ancestry traced to Roger Williams.
His mother, Lucy J. Bar-tram, being also a direct descendant of the famous
botanist of that name.
William Branch, grandfather of the sub-ject of this sketch, enlisted in the
Conti-nental Army at the age of seventeen and served through the entire war,
being engaged in many of the most noted battles, Brandywine, Monmouth, Fort
Miffliii, and others. He was with Washington at Val-ley Forge. He was
present at the court-martial of Maj. Andre, and was one of the three guards
who removed the body from the gallows. Later, in the War of 1812 he was
commissioned a lieutenant.
William Witter Branch, the father of William Wirt Branch, was a man of much
prominence in Lake County, Ohio. Being a wagon-maker by trade, and later
being admitted to the bar in 1842, he arose through his own efforts, and was
elected to Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and served capably on the
bench for many years. He encouraged the building of railroads in his section,
and it was largely due to his influence that the opposition to the
construction of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern was overcome.
William Wirt Branch was the oldest of nine children. He had a common school
education, and after teaching for several years, during which time he studied
law, he was admitted to the bar in Cleveland. His tastes and talents led him
also to mechan-ical pursuits and manufacturing. He in-vented and patented
several labor saving devices, and becoming interested in the lumber industry,
he finally gave up the law. The veneer industry today owes much to him for
the many improvements he made in veneer cutting machinery. He was one of the
pioneers in the industry in this country, and was introduced at the first
meeting of the National Veneer and Panel Mantifacturers Association as "The
Father of the Veneer Industry." He established the W. W. Branch Veneer and
Lumber Company, in Madison, Ohio, in 1867, and in 1884 moved to Charleston,
W. Va., where it soon grew to be one of the important business concerns of
the city.
A man of public spirit, he gave active support to all movements of a public
nature that his judgment approved, and was an especially ardent advocate of
educational enterprises. Politically, he was a Demcrat, but ever lifted his
voice in behalf of purity and honesty of government. He was prominent and
active in the Masonic fraternity, having his membership in Kanawha Lodge No.
20; Tyrian Chapter No. 13; Kanawha Commandery No.4; and in Beni-Kedem Temple
A; A. 0. N. M. S. In 1876 he was married to Miss Annie M. 'Lewis in Utica, N.
Y. Three children were born to them. The wife, two children, two brothers,
and four sisters survived him.
Sandy Spradling
SSpradling@AOL.com
State Contact for WV GenExchange
http://www.genexchange.com/wv/index.cfm
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