Edward Thomas Branch

Branch's road to Liberty began with a story the Handbook of Texas tells cautiously: bound for Cuba in 1835, he was reportedly robbed and put ashore at Anahuac. He lost the race for delegate to the Consultation, then taught school in Liberty until spring 1836. The judgeship that made him an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court barely functioned, because the court did not meet until January 1840 and he left office that August. The Handbook also records that he was a slaveowner who at one time held 3,343 acres.

What the plaque says

Edward Thomas Branch (December 6, 1811 - September 22, 1861) Virginia native Edward Thomas Branch came to Texas in 1835 and settled in Liberty. As a first sergeant in the Texas Volunteers, he participated in the Battle of San Jacinto, and remained in the army as a second lieutenant until October 1836. He later served as a lieutenant colonel in the Texas militia. Branch was elected to represent Liberty County in the House of Representatives of the first and second congresses of the Republic of Texas (1836-1838). He moved to Nacogdoches in 1838 after he was elected judge of the Fifth Judicial District, comprised of Red River, Houston, Nacogdoches, Shelby, and Fannin counties. Resigning from the bench in 1840, he returned to Liberty, where he was postmaster from 1842 to 1843. In 1846 he was elected to represent Liberty County in the first Legislature of the State of Texas and served as speaker of the House of Representatives for a brief period. Branch married Anne Cleveland Wharton, daughter of texas pioneer statesman William H. Wharton, on August 15, 1838. When not occupied by public business he was involved in farming, community activities, and the practice of law. Branch was a charter member of the Liberty Masonic Lodge, organized in 1848. (1992)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center — 3.8 mi
  A state archives and museum north of Liberty with an exhibit on Southeast Texas history and a campus of historic buildings, including an 1848 house and an 1898 church.
• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site — 27 mi
  The 1,200 acres of coastal prairie and marsh where the Texas Revolution ended in eighteen minutes, and the 567-foot shaft of fossil-studded limestone that has stood over them since 1939.

More markers nearby

• Liberty Methodist Church — steps away
• Tarver Abstract Company — steps away
• Captain William M. Logan — steps away
• Casa Consistatorial (Courthouse Square) — steps away