VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
975
uel Snead arrived with his wife Alice, son
^\"illiam and a servant in 1635, and had a
grant of land from Charles I. of 250 acres in
James City county. The son, William, had
four sons, Charles, Zachariah, William and
Robert, and one of these is supposed to have
been the William Snead who was living in
Henrico in 1740. Archibald Snead, sup-
posed to have been a son of the Charles
Snead who had a grant in what is now
Fluvanna, was living there in 1777, at which
time he purchased 127 acres of land. He
had many descendants named \^^illiam. A
recent rambling work devoted to the Sneads
of Fluvanna has so few dates as to be of no
value to the genealogist. There can be little
doubt that the Snead family of Albemarle
and Nelson counties is an offshoot of that in
Fluvanna. The Revolutionary Rolls of Vir-
ginia show that several of the name of Snead
were soldiers in that struggle, including
Major Smith Snead, who served seven
years. The name is very ancient in Eng-
land and signifies the handle of a scythe
blade. It has many forms, such as Sned,
Sneed, Sneyd, Sneyde, but the most usual
form in modern times is Snead, as adopted
by this family.
W'illiam Snead, who was born in 181 1 in Nelson county, Virginia, afterwards moved to Albemarle county, and there married Sarah Elizabeth Clark. They were the par- ents of Chapman Price Snead, born July 25, 1(850, in Albemarle, died October 7, 1907. His wife, Frances Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Snead. was a daughter of Warner Winston and Mary Ella (Harris) Hutchinson. Chap- man Price Snead was a farmer in King Wil- liam county, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in political alliance a Republican.
Thomas Burton Snead, son of Chapman Price Snead, born in 1878 in King William county, \"irginia, attended private schools and William and Mary College. He subse- quently attended the law department of the University of Virginia, from which he re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1902. He was immediately admitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of law at Richmond. Gifted with a keen and analytic mind, IVIr. Snead has made rapid progress, and is now in the enjoyment of a large prac- tice, to which he gives his entire attention. Of modest and retiring nature, he has never sought to mingle in the conduct of public
affairs, and gives most of his spare time to
his family and home. He is a member of the
Protestant Episcopal church, and, like his
father, a Republican in political principle.
He served his enlistment as a member of
the Richmond Blues, one of the finest mili-
tia organizations of the state or United
States. In this, as in political aflfairs, he was
contented to remain a private, and found
satisfaction in the fulfilment of his duty. He
is a friend of education, and is ever ready
to lend his time, influence and support to
those higher social movements which are
calculated to develop the best in man and
promote the progress and welfare of the
community, the state and nation. He resides
in a beautiful home at No. 3 East Franklin
street. Richmond, which is the abode of hos-
pitality, refinement and peaceful enjoyment
of the best in life.
He married, April 19, 191 1, Mary Cooke Branch, a daughter of James Ransom and Lillian (Hubball) Branch. The Branch family is descended from Christian Branch, who came from England to Virginia in the ship "London Merchant." in 1619 or 1620, known as Christian Branch of "Arrowhat- tocks" and "Kingsland." He was descended from Richard Branch, of Abingdon, in Berk- shire, England, born prior to 1500, a son of Lionel Branch, who was born in England in 1602. The history of the Branch family is given elsewhere in this work in the sketch of the late John Patterson Branch, of Rich- mond. His brother, Colonel James Read Branch, who served with distinction throughout the Civil war, was the father of James Ransom Branch. Christian Branch, the immigrant, was the father of Christian Branch, born 1627, whose son, Benjamin Branch, resided in Henrico, and had a son, Benjamin Branch, who lived in Chesterfield. His eldest son, Benjamin (3) Branch, of Chesterfield, was a captain of the Revolu- tion, justice of the peace and sheriff. His youngest son. Thomas Branch, born April 4, 1767, married Mary, daughter of Colonel David Patterson, of Chesterfield. Their son, Thomas (2) Branch, resided in Petersburg and Richmond, and was the father of James Read and John Patterson Branch.
Robert Powell Page, M. D. While he was a descendant of the Revolutionary officer. Colonel William McGuire, and was himself a Confederate veteran, Dr. Page spent the
