Joseph Branch (Florida politician)

Joseph Branch (died 1864), also referred to as Josephus Branch, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the first Florida Attorney General.[1][2]

Joseph Branch
1st Florida Attorney General
In office
July 26, 1845 – July 14, 1846
GovernorWilliam Dunn Moseley
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byAugustus Maxwell
Personal details
Died1864 (1865)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Annie Pillow Martin
Mary Jones Polk
Children6
OccupationLawyer

History

Branch is a member of the Branch family, being the nephew of North Carolina Governor John Branch and the brother of Confederate Army Brigadier General Lawrence O'Bryan Branch.[3]

Branch had been a lawyer in the city of Tallahassee in the Florida Territory in the 1830s and 1840s. When Florida received statehood in 1845, Branch was appointed the first Florida Attorney General by Governor William Dunn Moseley. He served in this position until July 14, 1846.[4]

Branch was twice married. With his first wife, Annie Pillow Martin, Branch had two children: George Martin and Henry Lewis. With his second wife, Mary Jones Polk, Branch had four children: Mary Polk, Lawrence O'Bryan, Lucia Eugenia, and Joseph Gerald Branch II. The latter would go on to become a member of the Florida Legislature, as well as a successful planter in Desha County, Arkansas until his assassination in 1867 on his plantation.[3] Branch died in 1864.[5]

References
  1. "Florida Attorney General - Florida Attorneys General (1845 - )". myfloridalegal.com. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  2. Buford, Rivers (1923). Report of the Attorney General of the State of Florida. Tallahassee: Capital Publishing Company. p. 3 – via Google Books.
  3. Branch, Mary Polk (1911). Memoirs of a Southern Woman "Within the Lines," and a Genealogical Record. Chicago: Joseph G. Branch Publishing Company. Retrieved 2019-04-22 – via University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "Joseph Branch". Florida Historical Society. 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  5. Joseph Branch Papers, 1830-1869

Sources


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