Background
Branch moved with his father to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1852.
Branch moved with his father to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1852.
He attended Lovejoy’s Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, Bingham Military Academy near Mebane, North Carolina, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Virginia Military Institute at Lexington.
He joined the Confederate Army and served as a courier on the staff of General R. F. Hoke. He later surrendered with General Joseph East. Johnston’s army in 1865.
Branch studied law but never practiced.
In 1867 he took charge of his landed estate near Washington, Beaufort County, North Carolina, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1895) and was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress.
He again engaged in agricultural pursuits on his estate. He died in Washington, North Carolina, November 18, 1910.
Interment in Oakdale Cemetery.
In 1896 Branch became a member of the State house of representatives.