Welcome to Just a little of The Branson History.

I have always been interested in our genealogy from way back. But never had the time to just get it started.    Since the Internet has came alive with so much information, I set out to do a little research of my own.    To my surprise just in a few days I had recieved E-Mail that someone could help me.   I feel so bad that all this info just fell in my lap, without much effort on my own.    I just want to give all Thanks and Gratitude to Anne Nace of Layton, Ut. for all of her hard work and all the research she has done to put all of this together and being so kind to share it with me.   I pray all who reads it will enjoy it and think of all the hard work that Anne has put into this history . I also would like to say keep records as much as possible and write down all the storys that are told, you never know when you might want to know some of them and can't find those names you once had wrote down, or just can't remember anymore.  Please foregive me for all mispelled words and typing errors, I am not a typest.

'"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others' lives."                                         - Richard Bach

If your genealogy is covered in this work, your forebears were a part of early American history, And you can consider yourself of hardy stock.    Some of your forerunners came to American shores more than 200 years ago, venturing in an untamed, primeval wilderness, largely unexplored, cutting their way through forests rif with danger.   Some came before the Revolutionary War, which won America's independence from Great Britain. Their names are among those who fought with the Virginia regiments of the Continental line in the Revolution.   They were landholders and taxpayers in the Powell Valley, Turkey Cove, Big Moccasin Gap, Sugar Run, Hickory Flats, Wallens Ridge, Cane Creek and Big Snake Creek, Va. Then some of them crossed the Big Black Mountain into Kentucky and built again in another wilderness that eventually became Harlan and Letcher Counties.   On our paternal side, their surnames are Adems, Blair, Caudill, Collier, Day, Ewing, Harris, and Sims. On our maternal side, their surnames are Ball, Branson, Chadwell, Creech, Croxall, Ely, Hix, Howard, Kelly, Parker, Posey, Scott, Spencer, Turner and Yearly.   For more than 30 years I have been pursuing this history. As a child I listened for hours as my parents talked of family folklore. My father's recollection's of his family often were told while he visited on our front porch with his brither-inlaw Nathan Randall Day of Whitesburg, Ky., who had researched the Day history and shared his records. The Days also kept good records in the family Bibles.   The journey through family lore with my mother turned a child's listening to grown-up stories into an avocation. The work did not recieve full attentiom untill after my resignation from The Twin City Sentinel, Winston-Salem, NC., where I had worked as a news reporter and assistant city editor.   No one I found anywhere knew as much about our forebears as my mother. When I turned to official records to add to what she recalled, I found her memory  unparalleled and very accurate.   Just my living and listening, she had gleaned information that preceded the turn of the nineteenth century. Her firsthand knowledge provided the incentive for this work. Together, we read vital records of every sort, reviewing hundreds of names. She recalled entire families and where they lived. We visited old landmarks and old cemeteries. She had known most of the people whose names were on the gravestones and could identify unmarked graves.   Other research was in state and county censuses, compilations on land grants, deeds, county birth and marriage records, Bible ans Church records, pension snd military records in the National Archives, in libraries, in books on the region and in personal interviews.   Correspondence was begun through which relatives in many parts of the country were met. Family infomation was exchanged and friendships were made that continue today.   Some of the narratives and anecdotes are taken from my yet unpublished story of Cumberland, Kentucky and its people, Once More, Dear Home.   If you are looking for perfection, Samuel Johnson reminds us that " seldom is any splendid story wholly true, " although every effort was made for accuracy. May this book encourage you to keep good records of your family so that later generations may enjoy the pleasure of knowing their origins.   Since this compilation was prepared for my family, it dwells particularly on my direct line. No effort was made to comlete all of the family lines of others. In many cases, lines are brought only through the early generations. Descendants therefore have the challenge of completing their own lines.   This work is offered with loving appreciation of the place where I grew up and of all kinfolks who made it home.

_ INTRODUCTION _

Poor Fork Page # 1

Deer Lick Page # 2

Henry Branson Page# 3

Continued Fr. Pg. # 3 Page # 4