VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
1057
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
VIR— 67
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
