On 8 Dec 1925 when Florence Virginia was 18, she married James Wesley INGRAM in Forrest City, St. Francis Co., AR. Born ca 1891.

On 29 Oct 1928 when Sara Blanche was 19, she first married Marvin Benton “Jack” BRANSON, son of Marshall BRANSON & Mary ALFORD, in Columbus, Lowndes Co., MS. Born on 10 Jul 1891 in Gibson Co., TN. Marvin Benton “Jack” died in Memphis, Shelby Co., TN, on 15 May 1965; he was 73. Buried in Yorkville, Gibson Co., TN. They were divorced on 12 Nov 1946.
Initially this person was listed here at John Marvin “Jack” Branson. The name was corrected by information uncovered by Jack Elliott, Jr., in June, 2006. Scroll down to bottom of this notes section for information Jack sent me in June, 2006.

Mr. Branson was from Gibson Co., TN

The below information is from Jack Elliott, Jr. during email exchanges we had in November, 2000.

Greg,

Me get tired of being bombarded with this material?? Not likely!

Your meeting your sisters after Uncle Bill's death reminds me of a
recent revelation in the wake of Mama's death. I'm afraid that Mama was
always very secretive about some parts of her life. She would
apparently get mad at someone and then we would never hear her mention
them again.

Her real father John Marvin "Jack" Branson lived until 1965 in Memphis,
about 150 miles away. She never mentioned him. I had only a vague
awareness that he was even alive, although I was twelve when he died. I
never laid eyes on him. A few years later Mama suddenly reconnected
with her half-sister Juanita who was considerably older than her
(probably 15 years or more older, and Mama was born in 1930). From 1969
on for the next few years, Mama and Aunt Nita would get together. That
suddenly ended in the mid-1970s. The last time that I ever saw Aunt
Nita was in January 1976 when she attended John's wedding. After that
Mama never mentioned her again; never explained why the two never
communicated. Upon Mama's death we had to do some phoning around to
find out if Aunt Nita was still living. She was it turned out, living
with her son Linus. Her daughter-in-law Donna and her daughter, it
turned out, had died years before.

Then a few months after Mama's death, I was going through some of her
papers and found a form filled out by the funeral home that attended to
her father. And there I found out that he had a son--Billy
Branson--whom I had never even heard of before. Of course that was 35
years ago, so have no idea as to what ever happened to this guy. But
it's something of a shock to realize that Mama had a brother whom she
never mentioned.

Jack


Below emails from Jack Elliott to Greg Lasley in June, 2006.

greg,
I've started looking into my mystery grandfather, Jack Branson on the web. As it turns out it appears that some of the information that i supplied you might be wrong.
Here are some corrections, as matters currently appear.  His name was not John Marvin Branson as I had previously informed you. Instead his name was Marvin Benton "Jack" Branson. according to a funeral service record that I found in mama's papers he was born 17 july 1892 (and not 10 july 1891; although the 1900 census lists his birth date as july 1891 so who knows) in Gibson County Tennessee and died 15 may (not 4 may) 1965 in Shelby County Hospital, Memphis. He is buried in a cemetery in Gibson County Tenn. at Yorkville (quite likely the one identified as "Yorkville Cemetery," beside his parents.  I remember visiting these graves in the mid-1960s.
It turns out that "Jack" was married twice before he married nana. married (1) claudie warren, 1916, gibson county, and (2) ruth couch, 1924, gibson county. then of course he married sara lasley in 1928. so he went through wives pretty quickly. i'm not sure how these two wives correlate with jack branson's first two children, juanita and billy. i suspect that given her age (i.e. she was considerably older than mama and her oldest daughter bobbie ann was probably born in the late 1930s), juanita almost had to be the daughter of claudie. i have no idea as to how old the son billy was. however, since i never heard juanita or mama ever talk about him, i suspect that he had a different mother, which through process of elimination would suggest that ruth couch branson was his mother.
jack branson's parents were marshall branson and mary alford branson (married 1875, gibson county), both of gibson county, and both buried in the same cemetery as "jack." i don't have their birth and death dates right now, but will find them. i know that we have a photo of their tombstone around here.
children of marshall and mary branson:
1. william  b. ca. 1877 according to 1880 census which lists him as 3 years old, however the 1900 census gives birth date of  feb 1878
        married on 20 November 1904 in Dyer Co. TN to Bertha Fetherston (Bertha: 1883-1968, buried Fairfield Cemetery, Dyersburg, Dyer County, TN
          daughters: Lucille and Edith (i knew these two women)
                         Lucille married on 19 Nov. 1921 to Add Waldron in Dyer Co.
       william was probably dead by 1920 at which time his wife and two daughters were living in dyer county.
2. clarence    b. according to 1900 census june 1882
        married willie or millie prior to the 1910 census
          sons paul and harold
clarence appeared in the 1920 census with his wife and two sons. the census taker noted that that particular page had been ennumerated on january 12 and 13 1920. within a couple months clarence was dead as indicated in this item that i found online from the newspaper The Courier-Chronicle, Humboldt, TN March 12, 1920
 
---KILLED BY FALLING TREE---Clarence E.BRANSON, a young farmer of the
8th District,died at his home,Wednesday morning following  a serious
accident on Tuesday.  He was engaged in felling a tree having three prongs.  As it fell to the ground it split in three ways, and he could not get from under the weight of one section.  He was
crushed to the ground and his body entirely paralyzed from the neck down.He was 38 years of age,had been working in Caruthersville,MO.,for several months and had only returned to his home the first of the year.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~tngibson/Register/humboldtcourier2.htm
3. randolph ("ran") b. according to 1900 census feb 1884
          married bessie summers
           sons:
      a. carl wyman,    listed as 3 in the 1920 census. he died on 14 january 1921 (records of J.W. Curry Funeral Home, Dyer Co., on web), age given as 5, so he was born ca. 1915-1917.
    i recall  that uncle ran had a son who as a small child died of tetanus. this is almost certainly this child.
        b.  earl houston
                         i met uncle ran and earl houston in the 1960s.
4. marvin born according to 1900 census july 1891, according to funeral service record he died 17 july 1892
 
regarding occupations, marshall branson and his oldest three sons were always listed as farmers in the census listing where i found them. jack however departed to become an insurance salesman, and given the way that he went through wives and liquor, probably was at least partially responsible for the reputation that traveling salesmen have.
jack


greg,
here's a bit of supplemental information about jack branson's brother clarence taken from a photograph of the headstone for him and his wife:
Clarence E. Branson
30 June 1882
9 March 1920
[wife]
Willie Jetton Branson
27 October 1885
1 August 1961

jack
 

On 24 Dec 1946 when Sara Blanche was 38, she second married W. W. “Bill” SWAFFORD in West Point, Clay Co., MS. Born on 18 Jan 1900 in Georgia. W. W. “Bill” died in West Point, Clay Co., MS, on 27 Jan 1969; he was 69.

On 12 Feb 1931 when Mary Isabelle was 19, she first married Arthur Benjamine “Bob” HARRISON, son of George Walker HARRISON (1849-1931) & Adelia ROARK (1876-1892), in Marion, AR. Born on 25 Dec 1891 in Olive Branch, Alexander Co., IL. Arthur Benjamine “Bob” died in West Point, Clay Co., MS, on 27 Dec 1948; he was 57. Buried in Greenwood Cemetery, West Point, Clay Co., MS.

Mary Isabelle second married Clyde DILL in West Point, Clay Co., MS. Clyde died on 23 Dec 1976. Buried in Palestine Cemetery, Clay Co., MS.

James Dennis first married Lillian JORDAN (Private).

ca 1960 when James Dennis was 46, he second married Annette OWENS in Egypt, Chickasaw Co., MS. Born on 7 Oct 1916. Annette died in Una, Clay Co., MS, on 23 Nov 2001; she was 85. Buried on 25 Nov 2001 in Pleasant Grove Methodist Church Cemetery, Una, Clay Co., MS.

On 9 Sep 1941 when Claude Hardy was 26, he married Eloise Elizabeth WELLS, daughter of Henry Nathaniel WELLS Sr. (1880-1961) & Mary Willie TEASLEY (1888-1966). Born on 1 Jul 1919 in Greenwood, MS. Eloise Elizabeth died in Kansas City, MO, on 19 Jul 2004; she was 85.
Obit: Starkville, Mississippi Daily News, 22 July 2004

Eloise Elizabeth Lasley, 85, of Kansas City, Missouri, died Monday, July 19, 2004. Mrs. Lasley died of natural causes at home at 11:50 a.m. surrounded by her children.

Mrs. Lasley was born Eloise Elizabeth Wells on July 4, 1919, in Starkville. She met Claude H. Lasley Sr. of West Point in 1938 and they were married September 9, 1941 and were married for 57 years. After 31 years in the US Navy, Eloise and Claude retired to Port Hueneme, Calif.

She was preceded in death by Claude on Dec. 17, 1998. She is survived by a son, Claude (Judy) H. Lasley; daughters, Jan (Larry) Payne of Kansas City, Mary (Brian) Johnson of Pacifica, Calif.; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Eloise will be greatly missed by her many friends and family members.

Memorial contributions may be made to Kansas City Hospice of the Northland, 3100 N. E. 83rd St., Suite 2300, Kansas City, MO 64119.

Arrangements are being handled by the Cremation Society of Kansas & Missouri (866) 566-9888.

William Henry first married Margaret Frances OWINGS (Private).

On 12 Jul 1937 when William Henry was 20, he second married Dorothy Evelyn MIDDAUGH, daughter of Henry D. MIDDAUGH & Nettie Edith BARNES, in Denver, Denver Co., CO.6 Born on 20 Sep 1920. Dorothy Evelyn died in Bullhead City, Mojave Co., AZ, on 2 Jan 1987; she was 66. Marriage was annulled ca Oct 1937 in Denver, Denver Co., CO.
William H. Lasley, 1420 Delaware, Denver
Dorothy E. Middaugh, 1362 Cherokee, Denver

Marriage License #10702, State of CO., City and County of Denver
Married July 12, 1937
Witness: her sister, Louise Baremore and John F. Hodgkin
Clergeman: Robert C. Pollock (pastor of the First Presyterian
Church at 2814 Birch)

In the 1938 city directory Dorothy Lasley is shown living at 126
Grove....alone. No listing in 1939.

Father- Henry D. Middaugh- Iowa (on Louise's death certificate he
is shown as Henry Franklin)
Mother- Nettie Edith Barnes- Kansas

William Henry third married Margaret Frances OWINGS (Private).

On 13 Nov 1945 when William Henry was 29, he fourth married Eleanor Catherine ADAMS, daughter of Harry Ambrose ADAMS (1882-1959) & Terrine Elsie WAGNER (1881-1958), in St. Louis, MO. Born on 9 Jun 1912 in Reading, Berks Co., PA. Eleanor Catherine died in Austin, Travis Co., TX, on 26 Jul 1987; she was 75. Occupation: 1st Lt., U.S. Army Nurse Corps during the WWII, thereafter housewife. Education: Nursing School, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY (grad 1934). They were divorced in 1972 in Forest Park, Clayton Co., GA.
1st grade - Detroit, MI
2nd - 4th grade - Chestnut Street, Pottstown, PA
5th grade - Beech Street, Pottstown, PA
6th grade - New Grade Bldg., Pottstown, PA
7th - 9th grade - Jefferson Jr. High, Rochester, NY (graduated 16 Jun 1927)
10th - 11th grade - West High, Rochester, NY
12th grade - Northern High, Detroit, MI (graduated 10 Jun 1930)
Nursing School, Rochester General Hospital, NY (graduated 21 October 1934)7
Certified as a Registered Nurse by the University of the state of New York on 23 May 1935.


Houses resided in:
538 N. 12th St., Reading, PA
Chestnut Street, Pottstown, PA
? Danville, IL
Warren Ave., Detroit, MI
426 King Street, Pottstown, PA
444 Walnut, Pottstown, PA
43 Locust, Rochester, PA
23 Locust, Rochester, NY
313 Kenwood Ave., Rochester, NY
7609 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, MI
8044 Poe Ave., Detroit, MI
71 Mt. Vernon, Pottstown, PA
109 N. Hanover, Pottstown, PA7

Obit: Austin American Statesman, Austin, Texas, 28 July 1987
Eleanor Adams Lasley
Eleanor Adams Lasley, age 75, of Austin, died Sunday.
Born in Reading, Pennslyvania, June 9, 1912, she graduated from nurse’s training in Rochester, New York, and served as a Captain in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II.
She was married to William Henry Lasley of West Point, Mississippi, in 1946, and lived in St. Louis, Missouri, Forest Park, Georgia, and several overseas locations before moving to Austin in 1974.
Mrs. Lasley is survived by her husband; her two sons, Gregory William Lasley of Austin and James Henry Lasley of Stillwater, Oklahoma; and her sister, Emily Adams Tait of St. Louis, Missouri. No services are planned. Memorial contributions may be made to a favorite charity. Arrangements by Weed-Corley Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar. 452-8811.

On 21 Sep 1973 when William Henry was 57, he fifth married Margaret ELLIS in Chickasaw Co., MS. Born on 6 May 1921 in Woodbury, KY. Margaret died in Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS, on 22 Oct 1994; she was 73. Buried in Greenwood Cemetery, West Point, Clay Co., MS.
Her name on marriage license is Margaret Albright which was apparently the last name of her former husband