The letters of this prominent North Carolina family relate chiefly to business, legal practice, and politics. John Branch (1782-1863), Governor of North Carolina, U.S. Senator, and the Secretary of the Navy, has a few papers relating to appointments in 1829 and 1830. He became Governor of Florida Territory, 1843-1845.
Correspondence between 1840 and 1860 shows Governor Branch and his nephews, Joseph and Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, deeply involved in land speculation, chiefly in Leon County, Florida. Family, business, and political matters are mentioned throughout their correspondence.
Lawrence O'Bryan Branch (1820-1862) graduated from Princeton University and entered legal practice and politics in Tallahassee, Florida in 1841 and in North Carolina in 1848. He began to battle the Whig control of the State, with the result that he was elected to the Congress in 1855, serving until 1861. His correspondence reveals that by 1859 the question of disunion was deeply disturbing to many North Carolinians. Numerous letters show strong feelings of loyalty to the Union. Branch was also initially loyal, until following the fall of Fort Sumter. He joined the Confederacy in April 1861. Civil War correspondence is scant.
Legal papers in the collection center on cases in his law practice. The bulk of the volumes are from Lawrence O'Bryan Branch's political career, recording political questions and constituents in Eastern North Carolina. There are also volumes documenting John Branch's estate, and account books kept by Lawrence O'Bryan Branch's wife, Nannie Blount Branch.
Papers largely consist of business and political correspondence from Joseph Branch, Lawrence O'Bryan Branch (1820-1862), and their uncle John Branch (1782-1863).
John Branch was a North Carolina state senator (1811-1817), governor of North Carolina (1817-1820), U.S. Senator from North Carolina (1823-1829), Secretary of the Navy under President Andrew Jackson (1829-1831), U.S. Representative from North Carolina (1831-1833), and the appointed Governor of the Florida Territory (1843-1845).
Lawrence O'Bryan Branch was originally from North Carolina, and attended University of North Carolina and Princeton University. He practiced law in Tallahassee and Raleigh and served as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina (1855-1861). He joined the Confederate Army in 1861 and rose to become a brigadier general. He died at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862.
