Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/723

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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close of the struggle, and he was a member of the forces of General Lee when surrend- ered at Appomattox. He was detailed on the stafif of Major Snodgrass, who was act- ing quartermaster general of Lee's army, but on the cessation of hostilities immedi- ately engaged in business as a banker, re- moving in 1871 from Petersburg to Rich- mond, where his home continued until his death. He was probably the foremost busi- ness man of the South, succeeding his ven- erable father as president of the Merchants National Bank of Richmond in 1880, and soon after became head of the banking and commission firm of Thomas Branch & Com- pany, of the same city, holding both these positions until the close of life. He was the author of numerous articles on finance, which aftorded instruction to many in things concerning the business development and commercial welfare of the community. He was a recognized leader in the movement for city improvements, insisting on better streets, good sewerage, pure food, and all the things making for the public welfare. His was no unimportant part in the reor- ganization of the board of health and the adoption of effective sanitary regulations. He donated to his home city the funds nec- essary for erecting the first public baths in the state, and was a liberal contributor to every public charity or work calling for gifts from men of means. Mr. Branch never sought or accepted a political office, but his influence was largely felt throughout the community, and always was exerted for the promotion of the public welfare. .\t the early age of thirteen years, he united with the Methodist church, and was a faithful and liberal supporter of that organization, as well as of many other agencies for the uplifting of mankind. He was a steward and trustee of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Richmond : one of the trustees of the Randolph-Macon sys- tem of colleges and academies ; a trustee of the Methodist Orphanage of the Virginia conference, and of the board of managers of the Methodist Institute for Christian Work in Richmond. He was repeatedly a delegate to the annual and general conferences of the church, and built and equipped the Branch Dormitory at Randolph-AIacon College in Ashland, as a memorial of his wife, who died in 1896. For many years he was one of the largest contributors to the mission fund of

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the Methodist church in the South, and was ever ready with contributions in time of special need. Mr. Branch married, in Pe- tersburg, May 12, 1863, Mary Louise Mer- ritt Kerr, daughter of Rev. Dr. John Kerr, of that city. Children : Blythe Walker, in business at Paris, France ; John Kerr, Effie Kerr, and Margaret Elizabeth.

John Kerr Branch, junior son of John Patteson and Mary Louise Merritt (Kerr) Branch, was born May i, 1865, in Danville, \"irginia, and was eight years old when his parents settled in Richmond. He was a student of the celebrated McGuire's School of Richmond, and from 1882 to 1884 studied in Paris and in Germany. His business life began at the age of twenty-one years, as a clerk with the firm of Thomas Branch & Company, in which he was later admitted as a partner. For the last fifteen years he has been vice-president of the Merchants Na- tional Bank, and is interested in many other business enterprises, being a director of the Continental Insurance Company of New York, largely interested in Southern cotton mills and railroads, and a director of the Petersburg Savings & Insurance Company. He is a worthy successor of a worthy sire in the business and activities of his home city, and is identified with many clubs and associations, including the Country Club, Westmoreland County Club, Common- wealth Country Club of Virginia, Business Men's Club, Deep Run Hunt Club, New York Yacht Club, Manhattan and Metro- politan clubs of New York, Sleepy Hollow Country Club, and Downtown Association of New York. He is also a member of the New York Stock Exchange. He is a parish- ioner of the Protestant Episcopal church, and politically a Democrat, but is not bound by party mandates. He married, October 27, 1886, Beulah Frances Gould, born at Quaker Hill, in the town of Pawling, Dut- chess county. New York, daughter of David Ripley Gould. The last named was born in Sharon, Connecticut, his mother being Mary Brewster, a descendant of Elder Wil- liam Brewster and Governor Bradford of the Mayflower colony.

Charles Ashley Ellett, D. D. S. Dr. Charles Ashley Ellett, a prominent and suc- cessful dentist of Richmond, belongs to a well known old Virginia family, which was established early in the eighteenth century