Category: Brantley Family
-
The Real Edward Brantly and a Man Named Peter
I recently wrote about the DNA results that proved the Brantley branches of my family tree began in America with Edward Brantly, an English immigrant who arrived in Virginia in 1638 as an indentured servant. According to many online family trees, he was born around 1615, came from London and worked seven years for the…
-
Brantley DNA Results
And the father is… ‘Thanks to my cousin Betsy and her genealogical detective work, we recently participated in a DNA project that provided strong evidence connecting our branch of the Brantley family to the paternal line associated with Edward Brantly (about 1615-1688), who was living in colonial Virginia by 1638. It appears Edward Brantley is…
-
The Brantley Family: Preachers, Planters and Pioneers of the South
Photo: My second great-grandparents Henry Preston and Mary Etta Cobb Brantley with their children. In the back row, from left, are Clara and Gladys. Standing between them is my great-grandfather, William “Willie” Brantley. Mary is seated in Mary Etta’s lap, and Guy is seated in Preston’s lap. Photo credit: Elsie Watkins Haynes / I was…
-
Lots of Love, Cordilia
Photo: Dorothy Cordelia Brantley Jacocks (1919-present) / A few days ago, I posted a blog about the Haywood High School class of 1939 that included a photo of my great uncle J.T. Jacocks. He married my grandmother’s sister, Cordelia Brantley. I have a copy of a letter written by Aunt Cordelia to my grandmother the…
-
A Civil War Widow’s Long Road From Haywood County to Tomato, Arkansas
For a long time, I have been curious about Daniel E. Brantley (1833-1864), the brother of my third great-grandfather, Henry Day Brantley (1845-1918). Many members of their family fought in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, but I found Daniel listed as a Union soldier. That discovery raised an obvious question. Why would a…
-
The Man Named Vivian Married to the Woman Named Joseph
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…
-
B. F. Marbury and Mary, His Wife
On my list of favorite headstones is one in Zion Baptist Church Cemetery in Haywood County, Tennessee. Until this week, I thought it marked the graves of my third great-grandparents, Benjamin Franklin Marbury (1849-1884) and his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Yelverton Marbury (1853-1884). The problem there is the name. While working on the Yelverton line, I…
-
Centerville School Photo
Photo: Children at Centerville School in Haywood County, Tennessee, around 1918 In a recent post, I mentioned that I hoped to find a better copy of a photo showing students at Centerville School. A distant cousin I had never met saw the post and called with good news. Joan Cobb—pronounced Jo Ann—who lives in Bells,…
-
1934 Scrapbook
The casts of the Nickelodeon TV shows “iCarly” and “Victorious” visited my workplace, Graceland, today, and I found it fascinating to watch the kids reactions to celebrities. No doubt many of the photos they took will end up being posted in the current online version of a scrapbook. Cast members from Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” and “Victorious,”…
-
The Marbury Line to Prince William
Photo: Back row: my maternal grandfather, Guy Lovelace and my grandmother’s cousin, Hardy B. Marbury, Middle row: my maternal grandmother, Virginia Brantley Lovelace holding my Uncle Bobby Lovelace; My grandmother’s sister, Cordelia Brantley; My grandmother’s maternal grandmother, Lena Booth Marbury; my grandmother’s mother, Allie Marbury Brantley; and her father, Willie BrantleyFront row: my grandmother’s sister,…
-
Solomon Normon Brantley’s Tennessee Civil War Questionnaire
Photo: Soldiers and spectators watching the Battle of Nashville between the forces of Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood and Union Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, Nashville, Tennessee, Dec. 15, 1864. Photograph attributed to J.F. Coonley. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints Collection. The Tennessee Civil War Veterans…
-
Solomon Norman Brantley, Sincerely Yours in Peace
Photo: My third great-grandfather, Henry Day Brantley, (1845-1918) The country is currently marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the The Civil War. A few nights ago, I was flipping through channels and stumbled across Ken Burns’ documentary “The Civil War” on PBS. It caught my attention because I recently discovered Solomon Norman Brantley’s…