My Genealogy Hound

J. H. Branson, farmer, was born in Crawford County, Ark., in 1856, and is a son of J. W. and Nancy (Francis) Branson. The father was born in Kentucky, September 21, 1829, but was reared in Missouri, where the mother was born, February 18, 1832. Mr. Branson immigrated to Crawford County, Ark., in 1854, and for several years served as justice of the peace. He was a farmer, miller and blacksmith, and now lives in Barton County, Mo. He served for three years during the war as saddler, in the Sixth Kansas Cavalry, and was in the battle of Camlin. He was once wounded through the thigh by bushwhackers. The grandfather, William Branson, was born in 1806, and was married in 1828, the following year moving to Missouri. In 1854 he accompanied J. W. Branson to Arkansas, and has since resided in Crawford County, with the exception of the war period, when he lived in Texas. The maternal grandfather, H. F. Francis, was of Irish descent. Our subject received a good education when young, and when of age began life for himself upon a farm. In 1877 he married Miss Margaret Snider, daughter of James and Talitha (Bethel) Snider, and a native of this county, born in 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Snider were born in Kentucky in 1831, and in Tennessee in 1839, respectively. In 1832 Mr. Snider came to Crawford County, where he afterward engaged in farming. He was a carpenter by trade, and for three years during the war worked for the Government at Fort Smith. He participated in the battle at Prairie Grove and in the skirmish at Cane Hill the previous day. Although he started in life without means, Mr. Branson has, by industry and economy, become the owner of forty acres of land, and has a stock of cattle and mules valued at about $600. He is a Republican, and as such is serving as justice of the peace. He is a member of the Agricultural Wheel, and his wife belongs to the Methodist Church. They have four children.