I recently attended a family reunion of my maternal grandmother’s family, the Brantleys. Joining us this year was a branch of the Brantley family we had never met.
That particular branch descended from a couple who has always stood out for me because of their names. Vivian, the husband was married to a woman named Joseph. Vivian is in my maternal family tree while Joseph is in paternal family tree.
The reunion brought together the families of the daughters of William Day “Willie” Brantley (1897-1969) and Allie Ern Marbury Brantley (1898-1995): l to r: Virginia Brantley Lovelace (1917-2007), Dorothy Cordelia Brantley Jacocks (1919-2005) and Betty Brantley Sullivan (1926-1996).
Willie Brantley was the son of Henry Preston Brantley, who was the son of Henry Day Brantley.
Left to right: My third great-grandfather, Henry Day Brantley (1845-1918); my second great-grandfather, Henry Preston Brantley (1872-1956); and my great-grandfather, William Day “Willie” Brantley (1897-1969).
Henry Preston Brantley had several brothers and sisters, including Vivian Everett “Viv” Brantley (1882-1964), whose descendants joined us at the reunion. Other than his name, I knew very little about him.
Viv Brantley and his second wife, Anna Josephine Proctor Brantley (1908-1981).
Vivian Everett “Viv” Brantley was born Feb. 3, 1882, in Haywood County, Tennessee.
On Oct. 29, 1900, he married Joseph Lyda Castellaw (1882-1923). Joseph was a granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson “T.J.” Castellaw Sr. (1808-1878) and his first wife, Mary Elisar Hardy Castellaw (1809-before 1840). Therefore, she connects to my Castellaw line on my father’s side.
Another interesting thing about this couple. Two brothers of Vivian each married a sister of Joseph. Archie Erbert Brantley (1880-1953) married Mary Frances Castellaw (1878-1962), and Walter Earl Brantley (1876-1933) married Emily Castellaw (1880-1926). So three sons of Henry Day Brantley married three daughters of Joseph Dawson Castellaw (1836-1913).
I bet that made for a very confused group of cousins, especially when you realize, they all only had one set of grandparents.
In the 1910 census of Haywood County, Viv and Lyda owned their farm and lived in District 5, only a few farms away from his brother, Reginald A. Brantley (1885-1919).
By 1920, Viv and Lyda were still living in District five. Five farms away were my great-grandparents, Willie and Allie Marbury Brantley, and their three-year-old daughter, Virginia, my grandmother.
Joseph died of liver cancer on Aug. 12, 1923, at age 41. She left behind three children: Joseph Brantley (1901-unknown), Robert “Bob” Brantley (1912-unknown) and Margaret Brantley (1916-2003). Their last child, Larry Archie Brantley (1922-1922), had died the previous year at 7 months old.
Joseph and Larry Archie are both buried at Holly Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Haywood County.
Four years after Lyda’s death, Viv married Anna Josephine Proctor on Aug. 22, 1927. He was 45. She was 19.
Viv and Josephine had three children: Jerry Proctor Brantley (1928-unknown), Barbara Josephine Brantley (1930-unknown) and Larry Day Brantley (1934-1983). Larry’s middle name came from his grandfather, Henry Day Brantley.
Viv died July 12, 1964, in Haywood County. He was 82. Josephine died in February 1981 at age 72.
Descendants of Vivian Brantley.
Leave a Reply