The Children of Benjamin Branscomb:
Tabitha Branscomb (Washam)
The line of descent for Tabitha Branscomb:
(Note: Hereinafter the first three digits of the identification numbers are omitted. Please check the Author's Notes for an explanation of the numbering system I use for identifying individuals within any family.)
9. Tabitha Branscomb
Tabitha’s dates are from the Jackson County cemetery records. On 31 December 1857 she married William Thomas Washam (b. 27 April 1840, d. March 1906); both bur. Fairmount Cem. William was the s/o William Washam (originally Worsham) and Fanny Collins of Pittsylvania Co., VA. He was orphaned when very young; he came to Jackson County with his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Worsham Dove, when he was four years old. As a young man he worked at making bricks. At the time of the 1860 census William and Tabitha were living next door to her parents in household #747. William was shown as age 23, b. VA. Tabitha was recorded as Telitha, age 19, and they had a two-month-old son, John J. During the Civil War, on 20 September 1863, William enlisted in Company F of the Second Ohio Regiment of Heavy Artillery. He was in several battles before being mustered out of service in Nashville, TN, at the close of the war. He was discharged at Columbus, OH, on 29 September 1865. He then farmed until 1878, and next “engaged in the mercantile business.” (This summary for William was reported in “Jackson County Biographies” and was provided by Willa Norwood.)
On 21 April 1876 Wm. Washam gave a (quit claim?) deed to #7 Benjamin Branscomb; the deed in recorded in Jackson County Deed Book 15, p.327. The deed index is available, but the deed books are not.
The 1870 census lists four children for William and Tabitha (Lick Twp., dwelling #5, p. 139):
| |
Age |
Where born |
|
| Washam, William |
29 |
VA |
clothing merchant |
| Tabitha |
27 |
OH |
|
| John J. |
10 |
OH |
|
| William T. |
6 |
OH |
|
| Nellie O. |
3 |
OH |
|
| David |
7/12 |
OH |
Born in October |
| Branscom, Tabitha |
70 |
VA |
(also two female domestic servants) |
In 1871 (continuing with information from the biography) a nephew became a partner in William’s “mercantile establishment,” Washam & Co. Then in 1873 William purchased a 1/8 interest in the Ophir Iron Furnace and soon thereafter bought 3/4 of the company stock. He ran the furnace for 18 months, then sold both businesses to return to farming and to brick manufacture. He held various offices in Lick Township including trustee and treasurer. He was also active in the Masonic lodge, the Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of Red Men, and the Knights of Labor.
The 1880 census shows the family in District Four of Jackson Co., p. 110A; household #169:
| |
Age |
Where born |
| Washam, Thos. W. |
40 |
VA |
| Tabitha |
39 |
OH |
| John J. |
20 |
OH |
| W. T. Jr. |
16 |
OH |
| Nelie O. |
13 |
OH |
| David |
10 |
OH |
| Stella B. |
7/12 |
OH |
William and Tabitha had one additional child, Harry B., who died at three years of age. The cemetery records for Jackson County provide dates for William Thomas Jr. and Harry; both bur. Fairmount Cem.:
92. William Thomas Washam Jr., b. 1864, d. April 1944.
95. Harry B. Washam, d. 17 September 1878, age 3 years 2 months and 2 days (= b. 15 July 1875).
Further information about the family awaits discovery.