OUR BRANSFORD FAMILY HISTORY

Sir Robert, the eldest son, was also created a Knight of the Bath in 1306. He early adopted the profession of arms and became a great soldier, and also served with distinction in the Councils of State. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Cressy. Sir Robert was a member of Parliament for Essex 1330, 1332, 1338 and 1339. He succeeded his father as Justice in 1329 and in July 1334, was made Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. In 1337 he was in the French Wars at the Battle of Cadsant. He was appointed Lord High Chancellor by King Edward III and took oath December 14, 1340 but the appointment was unpopular and he resigned the post October 29, 1341. He was summoned to Parliament as a peer and served from 1341 to 1349 (the 16th to the 23rd year of the reign of Edward III). As a peer, his name was changed to Rob Burghch, Lord Bourchier. Sir Robert de Bransford, Lord Bourchier, married Margaret Prayers and they had two sons: John, Lord Bourchier, and Sir William Bourchier, Knight.

The second son of Sir Robert was Sir William Bourchier, Knight, who was born about 1333.. He was engaged in practically all of the wars under Edward III and was created Earl of Essex for his valiant conduct. About 1359, he married Alianore, daughter and heiress of Sir John de Louvaine. Alianore carried to her husband, Sir William, all the family estates, including Estaines (or Easton). Sir William died in 1365 and Alianore in 1397. They had only one son, Sir William Bourchier, Knight.

Sir William, Knight, the only son of Sir William Bourchier, Earl of Essex, and Alianore, was born 1355. He joined the Navy at an early age and rapidly rose to distinction. He was made Admiral of the North Sea in 1382. He was Lord of the Manor of Westhorpe in County Norfolk. He was one of the Captains sent to the side of the Duke of Bretagne in 1379 and held command in the Army which Sir Henry Spencer, the warlike Bishop of Norwich, led into Flanders in 1384. The expedition was disastrous, chiefly through the jealousy of the Duke of Lancaster, and, on their return to England, the Bishop and Sir William were condemned in a heavy fine. Sir William died in 1403 and was buried in the Abbey at Bury St. Edmunds. His wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Hugh Hastings, Knight of Elsing, died in 1419 and she was also buried in the Abbey.

Sir William and his wife, Elizabeth, had a son whom they also named William, born October 5, 1374. This William became Earl of Ewe or Eu and Lord Bourchier of Tickhill in Yorkshire. He had the intention of resuming the old family name of Bransford, having received a classical education and entered Holy Orders. In 1413 he had charge of Heley-Ombe Church in Oswaldflow, County Worcester. He went by the name of Bransford until he was called to arms by the King in 1415. He soon became a favorite of King Henry V, the renowned warrior, who made him Constable of the Tower of London for Life. In 1404 he married Anne Plantagenet (B Apr 1383). Anne was the Dowager Countess of Stafford, daughter and eventually sole heiress of Thomas (Plantagenet) of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester and youngest son of King Edward III by Eleanor.

Sir William was one of the heroes of the Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415. In February 1418 (or 1419) he was appointed Governor of Dieppe and on June 10, 1419 he was created Count of Eu (or Ewe) in Normandy, Earl of Essex, and Lord of Tickhill in Yorkshire. He died May 28, 1420 and was buried in Lanthony Abbey, Gloucestershire. His widow died October 16, 1438 and was buried in the same Abbey.

Sir William Bourchier, Count of Eu, and Anne Plantagenet had four sons and two daughters. Sir William died April 4, 1483: his widow died October 2, 1484. Both are buried in the Abbey of Byleigh, near Maldon and later removed to Little Easton.

The second son of Sir William Bourchier and Anne Plantagenet was also named Sir William Bourchier (later “Bowcher”), Lord Fitzwarine (or Fitzwarren). He was born about 1408 and was A. M. of Balliol College, Oxford, where, in 1429—soon after his graduation—he was elected by the Fellows to be Master of the College. He held this post for twenty-one years—longer than any Master from the founding of the College in 1282 until 1785—a period of over 500 years. While he was young, he took the name “Bowcher” and became a manufacturer of cloth goods.

He first married Katherine, daughter of Michael de le Pole, Earl of Suffolk. They were evidently divorced and remarried and she was known to be his wife in 1429. He married, before 1437, for his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Hankford. Katherine died while Sir William was still alive, and, with his consent, named her daughters Elizabeth Bowcher, Anna Bougchier, Isabel Bougchier, and Thomasine Bougchier. The last three named may have been from a subsequent marriage but Elizabeth will appear later in this record. He was summoned to Parliament from 2 January 1448 to 7 September 1469.

He died in 1470 and was buried in the Church of the Augustine Friars, London. His first wife, Katherine, was buried in the Parish Church of West Welryngton, County Devon. His second wife, Elizabeth, died before he did and was buried at his Manor of Tawstock, County Devon.

By his second wife, Elizabeth, are descended the Earls of Bath and the Earls of Bridgewater. However, it is in the first marriage that the Bransford line was continued to the American Bransfords

The second son of Sir William and Anne Plantagenet, Sir William Bourchier, Lord Fitzwarine (or Fitzwarren), and his first wife, Katherine de la Pole, It appears they had the daughter Elizabeth, named earlier, and one son, William.

This son was called Sir William of Henham Hall, Wangford, County Suffolk, and assumed the name of Brandon from a manor inherited from his ancestors. He was born about 1425 and attended Balliol College, Oxford. His father Sir William Bourchier (whose wife was Katherine de la Pole) was also known as William Brandon and was Master of Balliol College.

Sir William Brandon was Lord of Candelent in Suffolk; he was the King’s Escheator for Norfolk and Suffolk in 1454-55; Member of Parliament for New Shoreham, County Essex in 1468; was made Marshal of Marshalsee by John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (apparently his cousin by John being the son of Eleanor Bouchier Mowbry, Sir William’s aunt). He was Knighted by King Edward IV on the field of battle at Tewkesbury, May 4, 1471.

After the suppression of the Buckingham Rebellion in 1483, Sir William, in order to escape the tyranny of King Richard III, spent nearly a year in sanctuary at Gloucester. Grainger, the historian, says that King Richard was “anxious at first to conciliate both Sir William Brandon, Sr., and his son, Sir William Brandon, Jr. for the former was named in commissions as late as August 1483, while the latter received a free pardon on the 28th March, 1484, for his part in the Duke of Buckingham’s Rebellion”.

Sir William Brandon, Sr. married Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham, County Suffolk. They had three sons: Sir William Brandon, Jr., Sir Thomas Brandon, KG., and Sir Robert Brandon, Knight. They also had seven daughters. Sir William, Sr. died in 1491 and was buried in St. Mary Overy Church (now St. Saviour’s Cathedral) in Southwark.

Our lineage derives from the eldest son, Sir William, Jr Sir William Brandon, Jr., Knight, was the first son of Sir William, Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Wingfield. He was born about 1445 and was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, under the care and tutorship of his grandfather, Sir William Bouchier (or Brandon) who was Master of that great institution for 21 years. He was barely out of his teens when he was made Esquire of the body to King Edward IV. In 1483, he joined the Duke of Buckingham in his rebellion against the tyranny and murderous policy of King Richard III.

When this rebellion failed, he escaped to Brittany and there joined the Earl of Richmond, who became Henry VIII, and remained loyal to him, notwithstanding that King Richard voluntarily granted him a free pardon, 28 March 1484, and sought in other ways to conciliate him. He came out of Brittany with his brother, Sir Thomas Brandon, in the Earl of Richmond’s army and was Knighted by the Earl on landing at Milford Haven, Wales, August 7, 1485. At the same time, the Earl appointed him his standard-bearer. At the famous Battle of Bosworth Field on 21 August 1485, he was singled out by King Richard “in the hottest part of the fight” and was slain by King Richard in personal combat.

Sir William, Jr. married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Sir Henry Bruyn of South Ockendon, Essex. Sir William, Jr. and Lady Elizabeth Bruyn had three daughters: Elizabeth, Anna, and Katherine; and one son, Charles

According to Shiver’s family history, Charles Brandon, the son of Sir William, Jr. and Lady Elizabeth, was born at South Ockendon, County Essex, about 1465. The Dictionary of National Biography, published by the Oxford University Press, however, says it is quite uncertain when he was born but that he must have been before, or shortly after, the Battle of Bosworth at which his father, Sir William, died. The Battle of Bosworth occurred August 22, 1485, so Charles was probably born during that year.

There are other notable differences between Shiver’s account and the biography in the Dictionary of National Biography, principally concerning his wives, however, we will repeat Shiver’s history first:

Sir Charles was educated at Court and by King Henry VII. He was made companion to Henry, son of Henry VII, and became a great favorite of his. This son, Henry, succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII, and Sir Charles was made Esquire of the body in 1509. According to Froude, Charles Brandon “was the ablest soldier of the age” and Hasted, in his “History of Kent” says “he was the flower and perfection of the English Nobility of the period”. He was Chamberlain of North Wales, 1509; Marshal of the King’s Bench, 1510; Joint Marshal of the Household, 1511.

He was Knighted 20 March 1512; Master of the Horse, 1513; elected Knight of the Garter, 23 April and installed 15 May 1513. He was created Viscount Lisle 15 May 1513. In 1513, as Viscount Lisle, he was Marshal of the King’s Army in France, taking an active part against Therouenne, and in the siege of Tourney. He was created Duke of Suffolk 1 February 1513/14. He was Ambassador to the Court of Francis I in France and was present at the meeting of Francis I and Henry VIII, known as “The Field of the Cloth of Gold”, and greatly distinguished himself in the tournament on that occasion.

In 1523, he was Lieutenant General of the Army in an expedition against Paris and was Earl Marshal 1524 to 1534. He signed the impeachment of Cardinal Wolsey, 1529; was Lord President of the Council, 1530-1545; President of the Order of the Garter, 1530; accompanied the King in France, 1532; elected Knight of St. Michael of France at Boulogne on 25 October 1532. He was Joint Commissioner to depose the Queen Consort, Catherine in April 1533 and was Lord High Constable and Lord High Steward for the coronation of the Queen Consort, Anne, in the following May. The Duke died, 14 August 1545, at the Palace of Guilford and was buried at the personal expense of King Henry VIII, with great state, in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Sir Charles was married four times, but, by his first wife, Anne Neville, daughter of John Neville, Marquis of Montague and Earl of Northumberland, the Bransford’s of America descended. Their only son (and progenitor of the American Bransford’s) was Sir John Brandon. Sir Charles was a “man about town” as his four marriages indicate. His second wife was a sister of the King.

The Dictionary of National Biography also states that Sir Charles had four wives but their account is somewhat different: Their record indicates that Sir Charles was made guardian of Elizabeth, daughter of John Grey, the Viscount Lisle on 3 December 1519. She was underage but Sir Charles made a contract of marriage with her—possibly to seek the advantage of her family estate, because he was created Viscount Lisle on 15 May 1520 with succession to the male heirs of himself and Elizabeth, the Viscountess Lisle, his wife (as she was called in the patent). However, when she came of age, Elizabeth refused to marry him and the contract was cancelled. Literally, then, Elizabeth was never his wife.

Early, as a young man, he had also made a contract to marry a certain Ann Brown but, before actually marrying her, he married a widow named Margaret Mortymer (also known as Brandon). This marriage was later annuled because, Sir Charles stated, Margaret was was his first cousin, once removed. (The second daughter of Sir William Bouchier and Anne Plantagenet is shown in Shiver’s record as “Anne” and she married Edmund Mortimer (or Mortymer), the Earl of March. It is possible that Shiver’s record confused this daughter’s name with that of her mother and she was, in fact, named Margaret). This premise would fit with the fact that that daughter was a Brandon before her marriage to Mortimer.

In any case, the Dictionary of National Biography states that Sir Charles’ first legal wife was Margaret Mortymer. After their separation, and later annulment, Sir Charles married the Ann Brown that he had earlier had contracted to marry. It is conceivable that this Ann Brown was the Anne Neville recorded by Shiver. His third wife was Mary Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII and widow of King Louis XII of France. I do not find any record of what happened to this marriage but Sir Charles is reported in the DNB as having had a fourth wife (agreeing with Shiver but not named by him), Katherine Willoughby.

There is yet another source relating the matrimonial record of Charles: “Builders of England’s Glory” a history of the Tudor family by Godfrey Turton. In this book, Turton is kinder to Sir Charles than Shiver or the DNB—he presents Charles and Mary Tudor (King Henry VIII’s sister) as a real love story. He states that “As a young man he promised to marry Anne Browne, one of Queen Catherine’s maids-of-honour, and on the strength of his word she bore him a daughter; but then he sought a dispensation to upset the contract and married a rich widow, Lady Mortimer, instead. Later he regretted his act and used his influence again with the ecclesiastical court, which annulled his marriage to Lady Mortimer on rather dubious grounds of consanguinity. So Anne Browne became his wife after all. By the time, however, he accompanied the King to France she was dead, he himself ready to marry again”.

Sir John Brandon was born in 1484. He was Knighted at Blackheath 17 June 1497. In 1499 the Manor of Stansted, in County Suffolk, was vested in him but he chose to take up his residence at Newcastle-upon-Tyne about 1500. He assumed the name John Brandling, alias “Rainsford”, undoubtedly to avoid the name Brandon in rejection of his father’s divorce from his mother and the later marriages of Sir Charles.

As John Brandling, he became a “great Merchant, shipowner and possessed of landed estate”. He was Sheriff of Newcastle in 1505-1506, Mayor in 1509, 1512, 1516, and 1520; Governor of the Merchant’s Company, 1516. On October 13, 1513, he was granted the custody and stewardship of the forest of Essex and during the same year (1513) served under his kinsman, Lord Bourchier, Earl of Essex, at the Battles of Therouenne and Tourney and at the siege of Calais. He was one of the Knights who officiated at the funeral of Henry VII. In 1522 he was Lord of the Manor of Alpheton in Tattershall Parish, County Lincoln and Lord of the Manor of Stonehall in Essex.

Sir John Brandling, Knight (alias Rainsford) was, like his father, married four times. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Knavet, Esq.; his second wife was Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Clavering, Knight, of Callaley Castle; his third wife was Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Starkey; and his fourth wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John de Insule. There were children born of each of the last three marriages but the Bransford’s of America were descended from his second wife.

Sir John and his second wife, Margaret Clavering had five daughters and four sons. The first son was Sir Robert Brandling, Knight; the second son, George Brandling died young and unmarried; the third son, Thomas Brandling, was the direct ancestor of the Bransford’s of America; and the fourth son was Henry Brandling, born about 1510.

Thomas Brandling was born at Newcastle about 1512 and received his education at the Royal Grammar School. He was apparently his father’s representative at Antwerp, Holland, or Captain of one of his ships as he seemed to commute from England to Holland and vice versa. Thomas married Anne, daughter of William Argegon, alias Amalegene, of Antwerp, Holland. They had two sons and a daughter. He died in 1590.

William Brandling, Esq., of Felling, was the eldest son of Thomas Brandling and Anne Argegon. He was born about 1534. He was more a sportsman than a businessman and spent much time “a-shooting on Hareshaw Common”. He was away at the time of his Uncle Robert’s’ death, “having suddenly, upon a displeasure, departed into Flanders”. Nevertheless, he was declared to be “the true and undisputed heir” to his uncle’s possessions and held them, in spite of his relatives’ efforts to dislodge him.

After coming into possession of his great fortune he settled down to enjoy it, but, according to Welford, the Newcastle historian, he had been Lord of Felling and Gosforth no more than six years when he died. He was buried at Jarrow, 2 October 1575, leaving a son and a daughter by his wife, Anne, daughter of Sir George Heley, Knight. Their daughter, Jane Brandling, married John Hedworthe, Esq., son of Sir John Hedworthe. They apparently had no children.

The son, Sir Robert Brandling, Knight, was heir to Felling, Alnwick and North and South Gosforth. He was baptised 23 January 1574 (or 1575) and was educated at the Royal Grammar School and Cambridge University, graduating M. A. in 1601. He was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1617, declined nomination in 1628 but was again Sheriff in 1630. He was described as “an exceedingly headstrong, wilful and turbulent personage”, due doubtless to his determined effort to break up the monoply of the coal trade of Newcastle and secure the repeal of an obnoxious ecclesiastical law. In 1628 he was in conflict with the Ecclesiastical Court of Durham, which he defied and for which he was heavily fined. According to Welford, the historian, he acquired an appetite for strong drink after getting into politics, and this made him vulnerable to the attacks of his enemies.

However, he made a determined fight against a statute that “authorized the Bishops to imprison, fine, and force persons to accuse themselves on the oath generally known as that ‘ex-officio’”. He denounced the officers and the Court of High Commission in unmeasured terms and threatened to bring the matter before Parliament. The Act was finally revoked by a subsequent Act which states that “the Oath ex-officio was unjust and contrary to the laws of England”. Sir Robert died in 1636 and was buried in St. Nicholas Church, Newcastle. He married twice—his first wife was Jane, daughter of Sir Francis Wortley, Knight. Among their children, Sir Francis Brandling, Knight, was the eldest and the heir.

Sir Robert’s second wife was Mary Hilton, daughter of Thomas Hilton, Esq., Baron Hilton of Hilton Castle. They had two sons: Colonel Robert Brandling, born 30 October 1617 and Captain Roger Brandling, baptised 15 August 1620. Captain Roger Brandling joined the army of King Charles I at the outbreak of war between Charles I and his Parliament. He was Captain of a troop of horse soldiers and was slain in battle.

Colonel Robert Brandling was the eldest son and heir. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle. He adopted the life of a soldier and rose rapidly in the service of King Charles I. He was Colonel of Horse under the right honorable Marquess of Newcastle and given the chief command against the Scots. He continued in the service of the King until the triumph of Cromwell and the surrender of Charles I. He then stayed in Scotland until the Restoration in 1660. Upon the accession of Charles II he returned to England and took up residence at Leathley in County York. He died there in 1669 and was buried in St. Nicholas Church, Newcastle.

Colonel Brandling married, first, Elinor, daughter and coheiress of Arthur Lindley, Esq., of Leathley. Robert then married, 13 May 1668, Dorothy Vaughan, daughter of Lady Anne Vaughan. Lady Anne was the widow of Sir William Vaughan, Knight, of Terracoyd, County Carmertheu, Wales, “who had also lands in Newfoundland and America”. Colonel Brandling and Dorothy Vaughan had an only son, John, born 1668.

John Brandling was raised by his half-uncle, William Brandling, the youngest son by the first marriage of Sir Robert Brandling, Knight, and Jane Wortley, and the younger brother of Sir Francis Brandling, Knight. Both resumed the old family name of Brandford or Bransford.

William emigrated to South Carolina and had two sons: John Brandford, a planter situated in Dorchester, Berkeley County, South Carolina. The second son was William Brandford who also was located in Berkeley County. Apparently, their descendants continued to carry the name of “Brandford” or, as some records indicate “Branford”..

John Bransford, son of Colonel Robert Brandling and Dorothy Vaughan, was educated in the Westminister Grammar School in London and, on January 26, 1698, married Jane, daughter of Sir Alexander Croke, M. A., of Wadham College. He emigrated to Barbados about 1700 and settled on a plantation in St. Joseph Parish, which he cultivated with slaves. John Bransford and his wife, Jane, had only one son, John Bransford, Jr., born 1698. John, Jr. accompanied his parents to Barbados about 1700.

John Bransford, Sr., married, second, Mary ________, and from this union descended Dr. William Brandford, a noted surgeon; Charles Brandford, Esq., Solicitor General of Barbados; and John Brandford Lane, Member of the House of Assembly in Barbados. John Bransford, Sr., died in 1742 and his will lists, as his children: sons, another John (Born 1702), Edmund, William, Henry; and daughters, Mary, Ann, and Elizabeth.

John Bransford, Jr., the son of John, Sr., and his first wife, Jane, received some schooling in Barbados but in 1715, he was sent back to England for his Collegiate education. The Insurrection of 1715 in favor of the Pretender had just gotten underway when he arrived in England. Emulating the example of his ancestors, John, Jr., immediately enlisted in the Royal Army and was commissioned “Coronet” or Standard-Bearer in the Life Guards, a troop of cavalry.

In 1717, “against her parents’ consent”, he married Barbara, the only daughter of Sir Henry Heron, Knight of Cressy Hall. Maddison, in his “Lincolnshire Pedigrees” says it is doubtful if this marriage produced any children. However, it is believed by some that John and Barbara had one son, Robert, whose descendants (in England) included John Bransford, Senior Commander in the Royal Navy in 1829; H. Mills Bransford; Bancare Bransford, author; Reverend John Bransford; Victor Bransford, author; and others in the English Bransford family.

After the death of his first wife, John, Jr., having served his prescribed time in the Army, set about to complete his education. He graduated B. A. from St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1728 or 1729. He graduated M. A. from King’s College in 1732 and was ordained Dean (Lincoln) April 8, 1729; Priest, February 22, 1729 or 1730, Minor Canon of Durham.

John married, second, Mary Kingsford on January 25, 1727, at St. Alpharge, Canterbury. Mary was the daughter of William Kingsford, Esq., of Ash, County Kent, and the grand-daughter of John Kingsford, Esq., Mayor of the historic City of Canterbury, by appointment of King James II in 1687.

John Bransford first came to America shortly after graduation from St. John’s College. He arrived in the Spring of 1729 and took up residence in York County, Virginia. In the Court Records of that county for the Spring and Summer of 1729, there are several entries indicating that he was a very irascible (quick to anger) citizen, due doubtless to his imbibing too freely of strong drink. He himself stated in his family record that he got drunk when leaving London and failed to register his goods on the ship and, accordingly, lost them all. It might be well to state that his was not an exceptional case, as it was a common practice among the clergy and nobility of that period to indulge too freely in strong drink.

On this first visit to America, John remained only about one year. He then returned to England to rejoin his family and receive his M. A. Degree at King’s College, Oxford. He even considered locating in England permanently and accepted an appointment as rector to Elvetham Church, County Southampton, but he resigned the charge on November 21, 1732.

Bransford Village in SSW of Worcester and, nearby, is Bransford Bridge,
lending credence to the idea of "Bran's Ford"!

THE BRANSFORDS IN AMERICA

John and his wife, with their young son, John, Jr., reembarked for America and, upon arrival in 1733, settled on a plantation he had bought June 22, 1730 (apparently during his first visit to America), from William Eddings, in St. Mark’s Parish, which later became Orange County, Virginia. This was in the Spring of 1733, and, when the County of Orange was organized in 1734, John was a member of the first Grand Jury and, thence forward, proved a model citizen.

He continued to reside in Orange County until 1741, when he sold his plantation and moved to Richmond, where he received, from Colonel William Byrd, who had just laid out the town, a deed to some property at 19th and Franklin, in the present city of Richmond. After the Bransford home was gone from this site, it became the location of the Hoge Memorial Church. He owned the property until his death although he had moved many years before to a plantation in Dale Parish, Chesterfield County, just across the James River from Richmond. He died here in 1768, his wife having preceded him in death. He was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond and, doubtless, is buried there.

John Bransford of Richmond, Virginia was one of the first names on record in America. He was a member of the elders at St. John’s Church in Richmond. He died in 1768 leaving five children and a large estate. His eldest son, John, married Judith Ammonett and moved to Buckingham County, where he built and supported a Methodist Church in Richmond (Virginia) until his death in 1809. He was one of the Virginia farmers who rallied to George Washington’s call in 1781 and was present, as a soldier, at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

He had eight sons that reared large families. Their descendants, residing throughout the South and West in large numbers, are known as substantial, law abiding and useful people.

DESCENDANCY FROM JOHN BRANSFORD, JR

John Bransford II, Jr. - B 1728 London, England - D 1809 Buckingham Cty, VA married first, Sally (Sarah) Easter in 1754 then married second, Judith Ammonett (Amonette) in 1765.

This John's brothers and sisters were: Barbara (or Barbery) Bransford who married Thomas Dunn - a Sea Captain; Mary (or Mollie) Bransford who married Dr. Lewis Worrick (or Worrock); Elizabeth Bransford who married Francis West, a planter - in 1753; James Bransford (Died in Powhatan Cy, VA in 1782) who married Sarah Owen.

The children of John Bransford II, Jr. who came to America with his parents in 1729 - D 1809 and his first wife, Sarah (Sallie) Easter (married 1754 or 1758 - Sallie died 1764) were:

Molly (or Mary) Bransford who married Robert Mosely
Sally (or Sarah) Bransford who married James Agee
William Bransford (B 1759 - D 1812) who married Patsy Mosely
James Bransford (B 1761 or ‘62 in VA - D 1826) who married Celia Agee
John Bransford III (B 1763) who married/ Mollie Ridgeway (D 5 Feb 1840)